Brain Storm by Cat Gilbert (ebook reader computer .txt) 📕

Help me get a handle on this thing, or help me find out who was after me? Maybe it was both. The thought cheered me up a bit. I hoped I was right, and he wasn’t involved in this because I was really starting to like the little guy. We settled down on the grass, and I hunted for a flat spot to set my coffee before starting in on my sandwich. It was just as good as I’d anticipated.

“Now?” he asked, and I nodded that it was safe to talk. “You think Hughes has listening devices in the lodge?”

“I think Hughes does whatever makes his job easier and uses his position to cover it up. If he has access to the equipment and I’m willing to bet he has, then yes, I think he’s done it and not just to the lodge. Probably medical and anywhere else he thinks it might be beneficial.”

Connors looked down at his clothes in dismay.

“I think you’re safe, Dr. Connors. Even if Hughes did bug you, the energy you put out would take care of it, but I wouldn’t count on anyplace else being safe.”

He picked up his muffin and broke it in half, exposing its insides. It was full of berries and nuts and some oozing dark purple substance that looked delicious.

“What is that?” I asked, munching away on my sandwich.

“It’s a high energy muffin. They make them especially for me. There’s probably three times the amount of calories inside as what you’re eating there.”

I looked down at what was left of my sandwich which wasn’t much. Full of butter and fat, nuts and seeds this was one high calorie meal and not something I would do on a regular basis, but right now I needed it. I had a feeling those special muffins were something Connors needed on a regular basis.

“How many of those in a day?” I asked.

“It would stagger even your mind,” he said, managing a smile.

We finished eating and got up to walk. I didn’t feel real comfortable staying in one place for long. Not with Jenny’s warning that Hughes would be looking for me. We strolled out toward the perimeter, making our way through the gardens.

“How much of your story was true?” Connors asked as we made our way around to the back side of the lodge.

“Most of it.”

“You think Hughes was right about the men who attacked you being thieves or do you think Brown doubled crossed him?”

“Neither.” I paused, thinking about just how much I wanted to tell him. I trusted him, or I wouldn’t have risked my life, telling him as much I as I had, but I just wasn’t prepared to risk the others. If nothing else, I had to protect Trinity, Jonas and Mama D. I owed them that much.

“I think that Brown decided to take matters into his own hands. He attacked Sean and came after me.” I didn’t state the obvious and Connors didn’t need me to fill in the blanks. He was smarter than that.

“So Hughes has no idea you’re onto him?” I shook my head no, and pretended to stop and look around at the grounds. “You think he’s the one calling the shots?”

“That’s what I’m here to find out. I do know that he’s not working alone. He has others here that are involved, so you need to be careful. Hughes is dangerous.”

He nodded at my warning, and we started back toward the lodge. I’d gotten a good look at the security Hughes had in place during our walk. I didn’t discover anything new that we hadn’t already known about from when we’d cased the place before. I’d had the advantage of both Jonas and Mac then and even from a distance, we hadn’t missed much. I looked up at the mountain where we had been before, and felt secure that Jonas or Trinity were up there now, watching my every move.

“There’s one thing I don’t understand, Taylor.” Connors had interrupted my thoughts, and I turned to him, waiting for him to explain. “It’s Brown. The man was a teacher, an educator. He wore tweed jackets. I can’t see him besting a fly, much less a trained military man like Sean.”

I looked him in the eye, confident he was kidding, but he wasn’t. Connors didn’t understand. He might be the Director of an agency that investigated paranormal abilities, but he had no idea what he was dealing with here. For a split second, I was jealous. I used to be like that too. I knew there were bad people. Really bad people. But I’d thought there were limits. At least in my realm of existence. Now I knew better. I hated to be the one to burst his bubble, but he needed to know. For his own protection and mine.

“Dr. Connors, Caleb Brown wasn’t what you thought he was. He wasn’t the only one here keeping secrets. He had abilities, powers that no one knew about. Apparently not even you. You saw what he wanted you to see and nothing more. Not everyone uses the power they have for good. Brown was bad, but Hughes is worse. He’s an animal, and you need to realize that. There’s nothing he won’t do.” I paused, regretting what I was about to do, knowing it needed to be done. “Tell me about Abby.”

He stopped so fast I ran into him. It was like running into an electric fence.

“What do you know about Abby?”

“That she could find things. Lost things. I know that she’s missing.” Connors looked at me, fear etched on his face, waiting to hear the rest and I forced myself to finish. “And I know, she’s not coming home again.”

His face crumpled in grief, his eyes suddenly awash with tears.

“It’s my fault. They were trying to find me and used her to do it,” I told him, trying to ease both his pain and mine. “I’m sorry. You can’t even begin to imagine how sorry I am.”

I walked on back towards the lodge, stopping to admire the gardens along the way, giving him some space to deal with it. It wasn’t long before he joined me, having pulled it back together.

“Tell me what you need me to do.” His voice was strong and determined, and I knew he finally understood what we were facing.

“I need to know that Sean is safe. That Hughes can’t get to him.”

“Done. What else?”

“Be careful and keep your eyes open. You know what’s normal around here, and I don’t. Let me know if something doesn’t jibe.”

He nodded that he understood. We’d reached the main entrance to the lodge, and he stepped up, opening the door for me. His hand fell gently on my back, guiding me through the door. The spike of energy pulsed through me at his touch, and I was relieved to find that it no longer startled me.

Whatever relief I felt was short-lived, though, as we came through the doors to discover Hughes entering the lobby from the dining area, heading toward the stairs. I stopped short, blocking Connors from his view.

“Ah, Ms. Morrison, there you are,” Hughes said, as he changed direction and headed toward us. “I thought I’d find you and Dr. Connors in the dining room.”

Connors was behind me, but as soon as he heard Hughes, anger erupted off him in waves of energy. I’d seen Connors angry earlier in the garden, and that was nothing compared to what was happening now. It was my fault. I hadn’t expected to run into Hughes so soon. Connors’ emotions were still too raw from finding out about Abby to deal with the situation.

The heat was so intense I was surprised that my clothes didn’t burst into flames. Hughes might not have been able to feel the heat or see the energy coming off Connors, but he could certainly feel the anger being directed toward him and I could tell from his narrowed gaze, that he assumed it was coming from me. Either he hadn’t noticed Connors behind me, or he’d dismissed him, not knowing about his ability. I had plenty of reasons to be angry at Hughes, but none I wanted to share with him. As far as he knew, I didn’t suspect him, and I wanted to keep it that way, but I needed something. Connors was having enough trouble dealing with his anger at Hughes. I didn’t want to give him the chance to explain it to Hughes in person.

My mind was desperately searching for a logical reason for me to be furious with him, when I spied the bracelet dangling from his fingers and remembering Jenny’s warning, felt my temper flare. We were going to have it out about that anyway, and this was the perfect time to make my feelings clear on the subject. Fate had dropped the answer right in my lap.

“I know about the bracelet, Hughes, and you should know right now. I’m not wearing it. You could have saved yourself the trip over here.” I ground out the words, and braced my legs, my attitude definitely hostile.

Connors was still standing frozen behind me, and I was hoping, trying to get his anger under control. The heat was still pouring off him, and I could feel the sweat gathering at my hairline.

“Jenny told you?” he asked, although if my suspicions were right, he already knew. I didn’t even bother to answer. “It’s for your own protection, Taylor. We can protect you better if we know where you are.”

A second man entered the lobby from the dining area and came to stand next to Hughes. He was dressed in black, like the rest of the security team I had seen and was armed with a gun and a radio. My watchdog, I assumed. This was just getting better by the moment.

“Protect me? So far you’ve done a poor job of that. If I’d left it up to you, my friends would be dead now, and I’d have been sold to the highest bidder.”

He’d been able to keep his cool pretty well, but my insult about his ability to do his job pushed his buttons. That I’d done