the place. Her eyes, a bright and vivid blue, practically glowed as she smiled at him.
She was a pretty kid. A memorable one, especially considering the wallop of the power he could feel coming from her.
“Hi, Joss!” She grinned at him, a smile that displayed a set of braces with purple rubber bands that matched the purple sweater she wore.
He’d never met that kid before in his life.
* * *
“YOU’RE fu . . . shi . . .” Joss almost choked to keep from swearing in front of her—again. Judging by the look on the kid’s face, she knew exactly what he was thinking . . . she knew. She was amused. She wanted to laugh.
Ha, ha, kid. So glad I amuse you, he thought sourly, looking away from her and glaring at Jones. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he said.
Jones just stared back at him.
“You’re kidding,” Joss said, his voice getting rougher. Shoving back from the table, he stood up and stared at the girl, unable to believe he had to sync his mind to a child’s.
“You ever known me to have that much of a sense of humor, Crawford?”
Joss wanted to swear. No, what he really wanted to do was hit something, and then head out of there, find a bar, and have a few drinks. Instead, he continued to stare at the girl.
She was strong. He could feel the buzz of her in his mind, even through his shields. Strong, hell. That was kind of like calling a Category 5 hurricane strong. The power he sensed in her was devastating. But was she controlled? They hadn’t even started scraping at the surface of what he was supposed to be getting into, but anything that involved human trafficking was dangerous. He didn’t really want to get involved in that sort of shit when he had an uncontrolled gift—
“I’ve got more control than you do,” she said, wrinkling her nose at him.
Crossing his arms over his chest, he cocked a brow at her. “Yeah? Then you oughta know you shouldn’t go poking your fingers into my brain without asking me.”
“I can’t help that you think loud.”
“I don’t think loud,” he said, narrowing his eyes.
“You aren’t thinking quiet enough for me.” She didn’t look bothered by the glare.
It was a glare that normally made people back up about ten paces. She was either too young to have developed that common sense or she’d already figured out the basics of Joss Crawford—he was a mean-ass bastard, but certain groups were safe from him. Namely animals and small kids. They were about the only groups that were off his list.
“Jilly.”
The girl looked away and Joss felt a pressure he hadn’t even been aware of lift off his mind. Then, the girl looked sheepish, a red flush creeping up her neck as she stared at whoever had said her name.
Turning his head, Joss found himself staring at a ghost.
Taige . . .
“I’ll be a motherfucker.”
She slanted a narrow look at him, rueful humor glinting in her gray eyes. He grimaced and looked at the kid. “Um, sorry.”
The girl giggled.
Taige sighed and shook her head. “Long time, no see, huh, Crawford?” Then she looked back at the girl. “Jilly, sweets, you know that everybody sounds loud for you at first. Give him a break and work a little harder at blocking him out, okay?”
Jillian—
Taige—
Pieces of the puzzle started to click together, and he glanced around. Taige was married. Had a stepdaughter. Weird job a few years back—the kid had been gifted . . . shit, he hadn’t realized the girl was that gifted. The kid’s dad was a rich son of a bitch, if Joss recalled correctly.
Absently, he glanced around the room, although he didn’t really expect to see anybody. He would have felt another person . . . except, he hadn’t. There was a sixth person in the room. A man, about his age.
Joss hadn’t sensed him at all.
Instinctively, he tensed, because the guy was almost a void. A blank.
“Not many people can read him,” Jillian said.
He looked at the kid. She smiled at him, and there was something smug, yet . . . oddly endearing . . . about that smile. “He’s my dad.”
Sighing, he looked at Taige. They’d worked together a few times, and he knew she’d hear him. Hoping the kid wouldn’t, he pushed his thoughts to her. Just how strong is she?
Taige stared at him. Stronger than everybody in here, combined.
Something that just might have been apprehension settled