Wow, youre all just one big happy family, huh?
He ignored her sarcasm. Most of the time, though we have our squabbles now and then.
She stood and paced a little, stopped and stared out the window over his head. The rage had subsided to a bearable level, but the slow burn of anger remained. Along with a big side helping of frustration. Why didnt you know?
Excuse me?
She looked down at him to see him frowning at her in question. You claim to be psychic, right? Why didnt you know what was going to happen to my brother and stop it?
His expression became sympathetic. Im not psychic; Im a PreCog. Big difference, because the visions I receive as a PreCog are only a small part of psychic ability. Anyway, I was a special agent with the FBI at the time Micah and the others vanished. I didnt know the team members seven months ago, but even if I had theres no guarantee I wouldve seen the event in time to avert it, or at all. Im not omniscient.
So you pick up what you can, like spotty cable television reception?
One corner of his mouth curled up. Something like that.
It was a really nice mouth, too. Sexy. The big bastard was probably an animal in the sack. Though like Dean, the buttoned-down sort wasnt really her type. Shutting off that line of thinking, she focused on her mission, crossing her arms over her chest. Okay, the twenty questions routine is wearing me out, and when Im tired I get cranky. Fill in the blanks for me, starting with what the hell my brothers job here entails, what he was doing when he disappeared, and what you think happened.
Nick took a long time to answer. But when he did, his voice was low and patient. Like most of the team, Micahs a wolf shifter. Almost six years ago, when he and several of the others were part of a Navy SEAL team stationed in the mountains of Afghanistan, they were attacked by rogue werewolves.
He gave her a few seconds to digest that tidbit, and she took the time. All right. Im a cop, and we deal in facts. I saw men turn into wolvesand one into a panther. I think maybe Im in a coma and dreaming, but Ill go with it.
The man chuckled, shaking his head. No, youre very much awake, though before long youll wish you werent. He paused. As the survivors recovered from the attack in a military hospital, physicians discovered anomalies in their blood work. It wasnt long before the first man shifted into a wolf right in his hospital bed, and chaos ensued.
I can imagine. What a wild tale. But still, she had seen the results with her own two eyes.
Studies were conducted on the men, and it was found that each of them not only could shift into a wolf but had various special abilities.
Like the one you claim as a PreCog?
He didnt comment on her apparent
continuing doubt. Exactly. But each mans is different. One is a Telepath; ones a Firestarter He trailed off, a look of sadness shadowing his face before he went on. It turned out theyd possessed these tendencies since childhood, but after they became shifters, the power of their gifts had increased many times over.
Assuming I can buy what youre saying, what is Micahs so-called gift? She couldnt wait to hear this.
He wasor isa Dreamwalker. The team and the doctors here told me that your brother could literally visit peoples dreams to communicate.
Rowans legs grew weak and she sat down in the chair again, hard. Instantly, she was transported back to when she and Micah were children. Growing up, shed had dreams in which she talked with her brother about whatever, and she distinctly recalled several occasions where theyd compared notes and discovered theyd had the same dream. But a lot of people had those. Didnt they?
No, they didnt. Not the same dream at the same time. What if
Her mind whirled with the implications, and the truth was wrenched from her gut. I havent dreamed about my brother in almost a year.
That doesnt mean hes dead, Nick said gently.
Unlike what I was told by your colleague, General Grant, she snapped, swiping impatiently at a stray tear.
That was done against my better judgment.
And yet you didnt rectify his lie.
I wanted something solid to give Micahs family first, he said firmly. Grant was right in not giving the relatives false hope, and he didnt want the questions that listing them as missing would prompt. I just dont agree we shouldve claimed they were dead without the bodies to prove it.
She could almost feel her insides crumbling under the weight of all shed learned. Especially about the brother she loved more than her own life. If he could walk in dreams, and yet hadnt visited hers in months, chances were he really was gone. Despite Grants lie.
Fortunately, I do have something I can share with you.
Shaken out of her downward spiral, she snapped her gaze to his. Im listening.
A few weeks ago my team conducted a rescue op at a facility where some nasty experiments were being performed on shifters and humans. While there, one of my men swore he caught Micahs scent.
His scent ?
Yeah. Wolves have an excellent sense of smell. We can discern the signature of each individual scent and never forget it.