Tapping his pen on his desk, he pondered just how he was going to make this happen.
Taige was going to have his ass. Cullen would go for his throat.
But he couldn’t damn well help it that they’d brought their daughter to Disney World and she’d picked up on a slave ring, could he?
“Uh-oh.”
He looked up and saw that Dez had shifted on the couch and was studying him, chin propped in her hand. “That look on your face spells trouble, Taylor.”
“Tell me about it.” Pinching the bridge of his nose, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. It was bizarre, how easily she could read him now. And to think, a year ago, she hadn’t even been in his life . . . because he’d pushed her away.
What in the hell had he been thinking?
A soft sound caught his attention and he lowered his hand, opened his eyes. Dez stood at his side. She lightly pushed on his shoulder and he obliged, turning away from the table. As she straddled him, he loosely wrapped his arms around her waist and stared up at her face. “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured, reaching up and cupping her cheek, his tanned skin pale against the dark, smooth brown of hers. She felt like satin under his hand . . . soft, warm . . .
“You’re trying to distract me.”
“No. I’m just telling you that you’re beautiful.” He slid a hand under her shirt, went to flick her bra open, only to discover it had a front clasp. Improvising, he eased her back and pushed her shirt up, burying his face between her breasts. “If I wanted to distract you, I’d do this.”
“And it would work.” She combed a hand through his hair. “But you need to tell me what’s up . . . what’s the deal, Jones?”
“I’m going to have to call Taige.” He closed his eyes and rested his head on her shoulder.
Dez stroked the back of his neck, her fingers soothing, gentle. “Okay. That doesn’t usually have you so glum. Besides, I know her . . . if you tell her what’s at stake, she’ll help out.”
“It’s not Taige’s help I need.” Lifting his head, he traced his finger over the bow of her lip. “Last month, they took Jillian to Disney. She started having nightmares almost right away, but she didn’t tell them.”
She nipped his finger and then caught his wrist, tugged his hand away. “That’s odd. Wouldn’t Taige feel it if Jillian’s nightmares were that bad? Both of them have the same kind of gift. Living together as long as they have, you’d think they’d be a little more in tune than that.”
“Nobody is in tune with Jillian anymore, I don’t think. They don’t have the same gifts. Not anymore. Jillian has the same sort of telepathy that Taige does, but . . .” Taylor rested his head against Dez’s chest again, eyes closed, breathing her in, letting the warmth of her soothe him. “She’s far surpassed anything Taige will ever be able to do. And she’s fourteen. Fourteen years old, Dez. How can she handle it?”
Dez was quiet. Her fingers stroked through his hair, and he concentrated on that simple gesture for a minute before he made himself continue. A kid. Jillian was just a kid. And she had to live with all that darkness in her head. Everything she saw, everything she knew . . . it was hard enough for him to live with, and he did it because it was the job, because he knew he made a difference.
“She ended up calling me. Last month when I had to leave for a few days? It was to come down here. I met her in the park.”
“Jillian . . . you met Jillian in Disney World. Taige let you?”
“Taige didn’t know,” Taylor said grimly. “She took off for a few minutes—the kid didn’t bother to tell me that part until after we’d met up. She pushed a notebook into my hands and then disappeared. I never saw Taige or Cullen.”
“She disappeared? After what happened to her?”
Taylor shook his head. “I tried to tell her that—the girl has a mind of her own. I think I feel sorry for her parents.”
When Jillian Morgan had been younger, she’d been kidnapped. Taylor’s unit had been put on the task, and he’d learned some interesting facts about the young girl—namely that she’d actually known she would be kidnapped . . . she’d seen it. So far,