Page 85 of Diagnosis Attraction

“No fair,” she said aloud.

“Everything’s fair.”

“Oh, is it?” She heated the metal stakes, making them too hot for him to handle.

“Nice move,” he approved.

“We’re just playing around.”

“But everything we do is practice for when we need to use it.”

Rachel had another report for Jake in the morning. “She felt me probing her, and she’s trying to shield her mind.”

He cursed under his breath. “That means they have something to hide.”

“Don’t jump to conclusions.”

“Then what?”

“Suppose you’d felt an outside presence trying to read your thoughts; wouldn’t you try to keep them from doing it?”

“That’s one explanation.”

“But you think they have evil intentions?”

“I want to keep you safe.”

“You’re always so suspicious.”

“I guess it comes from my early childhood experiences.”

She reached for his hand. Jake had grown up on the streets of New Orleans, and he’d learned never to trust anyone until they’d proved themselves.

“Did you get into his mind?” he asked.

“She’s more open.”

“Why?”

“Like I said, he was a doctor in Africa. I think he learned caution on a lot of different levels.”

“And they’re on their way down here?”

“Yes.”

“I guess we’d better be prepared.”

“How?”

“Keep trying to figure out what they’re up to.”

“On the other hand, maybe it’s better if I don’t try to dip into her thoughts—except to know maybe where they are.”

Elizabeth and Matt left the motel after breakfast and got back on the road, keeping up their practice sessions as they drove.

But there were some things Elizabeth couldn’t hide from Matt. The closer they got to New Orleans, the more unsettled she felt, and he picked up on her mood.

“You think we’re going to be in danger when we get there,” he said, not bothering to frame it as a question. “From whoever that Clemens guy is working for.”

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