An instant of pure silence.
WHTIOSKTNIHIGHNSTIONTIJO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Her head snapped back against the headrest as her shields slammed shut with brutal force. It took several minutes for her head to stop ringing. Her spine was damp with sweat by the time she reopened her eyes, her hair plastered to her forehead.
"Okay," she said, "okay." Calming her racing heartbeat enough that she could force her mind to cooperate took another five long minutes. Finally able to think again, she gripped the chair arms even harder and dropped her internal shields once more - this time, by the merest fraction.
Dev was talking to Cruz about model cars - a hobby the boy remembered enjoying before he'd been placed into state care - when there was a knock on the door. Dev got up. "I'll have to see what that is. They wouldn't interrupt unless it was important."
Tiny lines appeared on Cruz's forehead. "I can almost hear something." He shook his head. "It's gone now. He scared it away." Making a face, Cruz fluffed his pillow and glared at the doorway.
Eyebrows raised, Dev opened the door and walked out - to find himself toe to toe with Tag. The big telepath had a thunderous look on his face.
Since the other man usually made an extreme effort to appear nonthreatening, Dev's instincts went on full alert. "What?"
"Close the door." His voice shook with fury.
"I'll sit with Cruz." Walking in, Glen shut the door behind himself.
Dev met Tag's eyes. "You look like you want to kill someone."
"That would be you," Tag muttered succinctly. "I should fucking pound your stubborn head into the ground."
"You could try."
"Pretty boy, I could crush you with one fist." Releasing a huge breath, Tag pointed up. "You've got a goddamn powerful telepath up there and you didn't think to warn me?"
Dev froze. "What're you talking about? She's midrange, weaker than - "
"Bullshit," Tag interrupted. "Your little secret is closer to the very high end of the spectrum." Tag shook his head, rubbing at the sides of his temples. "I just caught her mind as it brushed mine. Don't know what she was looking for, but I hope to hell I gave her enough of a scare that she stopped."
Dev was already moving, anger rising inside him in a scalding wave. A telepath that strong could do a massive amount of damage. Katya could tear apart the shields of the weaker members of Shine, leave his people nothing more than vegetables. And he'd brought her here. He'd kept her safe.
Slamming out with his senses, he touched every drop of metal in the building. As a result, his fury had turned into a cold kind of rage by the time he reached Katya's suite. Using his abilities to unlock the door before he got to it, he pushed through with every intention of flaying her with his tongue.
That was before he saw her collapsed in an armchair, blood leaking out of her nose.
What had Tag done?
Putting his fingers on the pulse in her neck, he breathed out a sigh of relief. Why, he didn't know. Her death would've made his life considerably simpler. Pushing aside his violent repudiation of the thought, he pulled out his cell and called Tag. "She's unconscious."
"She should be," Tag said. "I sent through a scream along the telepathic line."
Dev's hand clenched on the phone. Tag had done the right thing, but damn if he didn't want to punch the other man in the face for it. God, he was fucking pathetic. This woman had played him from day one, and still he wanted to protect her. "Is she going to come out of it soon?"
"Won't be long. It'll teach her a lesson." Tag's voice changed. "No telepath should ever leave themselves that open, Dev. She should know that. If I'd wanted to, I could've sent in something more than a scream."
Even with rage an icy inferno inside him, Dev knew why Katya had taken the chance. "I put her in a prison. What would you have done?"
"Probably the same." Tag took a deep breath. "That doesn't mean we can afford to feel sorry for her. Your shields are titanium, but she's strong enough to break the shields of half the people in Shine."
"I'll make sure there isn't a next time." Closing the phone, he slid it into his pocket before walking into the bathroom and returning with a damp towel. There wasn't much blood, but he left the stained towel on the little end table as he waited for her to come out of it, an explicit visual reminder of what she'd just chanced.
As he waited, he slid a critical glance over her face. Impossible as it was, it seemed as if she'd dropped several pounds in the short time since he'd last seen her. But that, he thought, rejecting his natural instincts, wasn't his problem. This time, he wasn't going to let her use his weakness where vulnerable women were concerned against him. If she wanted to starve herself, he'd let her.
Katya's head was a pounding bruise, dark and mottled, when she finally managed to open her eyes. Her stomach revolted at almost the same instant, and she pitched forward, feeling her gorge rise.
"Breathe!"