Heart in her throat, she cracked open the door, knowing her coat and boots would give away her intent if she was caught. And she had no intention of being imprisoned again. Creeping down the hallway, she glanced into the open doorway of a bedroom.
Dev.
He lay with his head on a small writing table, his hair mussed. Knowing she should just walk on, she nonetheless went to him. His pulse beat strong under her fingers. Relief was a cool rain against her cheeks.
Pressing a kiss to his jaw, the roughness of stubble enticing her to linger, she went to leave the room. That was when she saw the stunner tucked in the small of his back. She hesitated. She had no desire to hurt anyone, but if either Tag or Tiara woke, she'd need something with which to warn them off. "Don't hate me," she whispered, and took the weapon before making her way to the entrance of the house.
Tag sat in front of the entertainment screen, a science fiction show playing in the background. His eyes were closed, his head tipped back against the sofa.
A near-empty mug of coffee sat in front of him.
Scared at his stillness, she went to put her fingers on his throat.
He groaned, shifted.
Freezing, she waited for him to wake and raise the alarm. But after a fraught few moments he slipped back into sleep. Relieved, she spread out her senses, searching to make sure the child was okay. Tag's shields were holding - the man was a very strong telepath. Unsure if they'd continue to hold as he dropped further into unconsciousness, she wrapped her own shields over his. Then, with a thousand silent apologies, she ransacked Tag's wallet, taking all the cash he had on him.
The alarm was the next hurdle.
"Help me," she whispered, not knowing who she was pleading with.
A door opened down the hall.
"Tag?" Tiara's voice came closer, husky with sleep. "I thought I felt - " The other woman froze when she saw the stunner pointed at her. Beautiful brown eyes streaked with a hundred shades of gold and amber flicked to the big man on the couch, worry crawling their depths.
"He's fine," Katya said. "I don't want to hurt anyone - I just want out."
"I can't let you do that," Tiara murmured, her hands loose at her sides.
Katya didn't relax her guard. The woman had a weapon on her somewhere. And she was a telepath. Katya held back the powerful psychic assault with her own abilities, creating an effective deadlock. "Do you know something, Tiara?"
"What?"
"I know that if I change the direction of this stunner," Katya whispered, "that if I press it to Tag's head, you'll do anything and everything I want."
Tiara sucked in a breath.
"But I don't want to do that." It was a plea. "I don't want to become a monster."
"You won't get away, you know." Tiara's tone shifted. "Dev will hunt you down."
Katya gave the other woman a shaky smile. "So it shouldn't matter if you let me go now."
"Katya, I know you're not going to shoot me," Tiara said point-blank. "So this standoff is pointless."
"The weapon's set for mild stun," Katya said. "You really want to leave the child vulnerable by making me take you out?"
Tiara swore under her breath. "You're not as helpless as you look."
"Thanks. Now walk over to the alarm panel." She shifted to keep Tiara a good distance from her as the woman moved. "Input the code."
Tiara complied without further questions.
Katya felt her lips quirk. "Did you send out a silent distress signal? It doesn't matter - just as long as the alarms don't shriek when you open the door."
"Why do you care?" Tiara arched one perfect eyebrow. "I'm already awake."
"I don't want to scare the boy."