Page 135 of Visions, Paws, and Claws

Jake scowled. “That was no suicide.” Fielding shivered, and Jake gazed at him, seeing to the heart of his unrest. “You’re afraid of what Theron will do when he learns what you’ve revealed to us.”

“Theron is an important Geran leader,” Aelryn told him.

Jake shook his head. “I hate to contradict you, but he istheleader.” And suddenly he was out of energy. He broke contactwith Fielding, shaking and beyond exhausted. Fielding slumped in his chair, his eyes closed.

“You need to rest.” Horvan’s voice was kind.

Jake managed to shake his head again. “Not yet. Have to find Theron’s residence. Because that’s where all the answers are.” Fielding chose that moment to open his eyes, and Jake recoiled from the look of stark hatred.

“I hope you’re proud of yourself,” Fielding said with a sneer. “You just mind-raped me. You say you’re all benevolent, but you’ll get dirty when the need suits you.”

Jake blinked, then recovered. “No, you’re wrong. A good man will do whatever he has to in order to protect what’s his. All this? It never would have happened if you’d been a normal person. Butno, you had to be a murderer, killing people who got in your way, people you had no more use for. It wasn’t mind-rape. It was stopping a monster.” He snorted. “But Iwillsay this. Thank you.”

Fielding’s eyes bulged. “For what? I did none of that willingly.” He sounded as tired as Jake.

“I’m not thanking you for that. I’m thanking you for thirty years of pushing me, testing me, trying to work out the limits of my abilities. Because it forced me to push the boundaries of those limits. My psychic talents were pretty good before you took me. Your treatment of me made me hone them, develop them.” Jake gestured to his body. “You made me into the psychic you see before you. And now? I’m going to be the engine of your undoing. Not just you—everyGeran who believed the lies you spun.” Jake turned to Horvan. “Now get me away from this bastard. I’ve had about as much of him as I can stomach.”

How he got back to the cot bed Nicholas had procured for him, Jake had no idea, except that Horvan had had a hand in it somehow. Jake dropped like a stone onto the bed, arm thrown over his eyes.

“I can’t thank you enough.” That was Aelryn.

Jake huffed. “Don’t thank me yet. Save it for when youreallyhave something to thank me for.”

“Are you okay?”

“No, but it’ll pass.” He swallowed. “Where’s Horvan?”

“I’m right here.”

Jake’s stomach clenched. “He was right, you know.”

“Fielding? Right about what?”

“What I did just now? It was cruel and unusual. I tortured him.”

“Butyouwere right too.” Horvan’s tone was gentle. “You did what you had to do to stop a monster. You said it yourself. He wouldneverhave told us any of that, not in a million years. And we needed to know—to save lives.” There was a pause. “If you still feel the same way when this is all behind us? There’s always therapy. It’s saved me a few times. And maybe if I shared that with more people, they’d get help instead of carrying all that baggage around with them, weighing them down, dragging them deeper into some mental mire that seems inescapable.”

Jake peered at him. “Okay, I didn’t expect that.” He smiled. “My son got real lucky with his mates.”

Horvan returned his smile. “We’re the lucky ones.”

Crank stood at the foot of his bed, holding out a stainless-steel ring. Jake stared at it.

“What’s that?”

“It’s not important,” Crank replied with a cough. “Saul said you wanted something of Vic’s so Seth could do his thing.”

Saul appeared next to him. He rolled his eyes. “I said a cock ring wasn’t appropriate.”

“Hey, you said something personal. How much more personal can you get?”

Next to the bed, Horvan chuckled. “I’m dying to know what you’re doing with Vic’s cock ring, but you know what? I can live without knowing.”

Jake propped himself up on his elbows. “Anyone else want to join us? Should I sell tickets?” Then he saw Seth at the foot of the bed. “Okay, good. You’re supposed to be here. Your turn.”

Seth took the cock ring from Crank and held it in both hands, eyes closed. Silence fell, until all Jake could hear was the drone of a plane taking off in the distance.

Then Seth froze. “I see a man. He’s shortish, very slim… he seems very young.”

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