Jinn & Toxic (18 page)

“Lopez!” came the shout. They were out of time.

Jinn picked up the rifle and handed the extra handgun to Burgess.

“Give me the knife too,” she said.

With a shrug, Jinn handed it over.

“We’ll finish this between us later.”

“Burgess, you really need to work on your listening skills. I’m not your enemy.”

The flap opened and in raced Iceman and two others. Before either man could lift their weapons, Jinn was able to use her gift.
You surrender. Lie down on the ground and give up now.
Both men followed her orders.

Burgess was in a hand-to-hand combat with Iceman, the knife wavering in between them. She barely leaned on her wounded leg. Shots and yelling rang out beyond the tent as the team closed in.

We’re here.
Whispered over her mind was Tab’s welcome voice.

Another man entered the tent and aimed directly at Burgess, but Jinn slammed the butt of the gun into his abdomen and took him down. He rolled and grabbed her leg, pulling her on top of him. Jinn didn’t have his strength, but she could use her mind. This one was more resistant to suggestion.

You are weak, much too weak to fight. Sleep now.

Nothing happened.

Your limbs are losing strength and you want to sleep. Let go now.

Finally, the man relaxed into a sigh and closed his eyes.

Burgess was down on her knees, struggling to hold onto the knife as Tab raced into the tent and grabbed Iceman. His large fist slammed into the albino’s jaw, knocking him backward against the wall of canvas. He slid down and lay still.

“Are you two all right?” Tab asked.

“Yes, sir.” Burgess saluted her Captain, but Jinn simply nodded.

The glance Tab gave her contained an emotion she couldn’t make out. Was he angry or relieved?
I never could figure out men.

“Let’s round these fools up.”

“Look out!” Burgess shouted.

Iceman held a pistol on Tab and fired at the same time as he did. A smooth, neat bullet hole landed straight in the middle of
Iceman
’s forehead while Tab grunted and dropped to his knees.

“Tab!” Jinn cried, going to him. He slid to the ground. Jinn cradled him in her arms, holding him tight to her chest. “Tab, please be all right.”

The bullet hole in his jacket was at rib height. Burgess ripped open his clothing and applied pressure to the wound. He was unconscious.

“Wake up. You have to heal yourself now. Please wake up.”

“Oh, my God!” Jinn heard a familiar voice say out loud. She lifted her gaze up and saw her mirror image looking back at her.

“Julie?”

“Jinn!”

“What the hell is going on here?” Burgess asked looking back and forth between the sisters.

The man standing next to Julie rushed forward and brought out a medical kit. He knelt at Tab’s side and worked fast to stem the flow of blood.

Torn between her sister and the love of her life, Jinn kept staring at Julie, amazed that they still appeared to be identical.

“How did you get here? I thought you were dead, Julie.”

“Never mind that, Jinn, are you okay?”

Burgess stared at the identical women and snapped, “Somebody tell me what’s going on.”

“Classified, Burgess. Hang tight and we’ll do what we can to fill you in, but the details will be minimal.” Julie sat beside Jinn and touched her cheek tenderly.

“Hello, big sister. It’s about time we met.”

“I can’t believe it’s you. How did you find us?”

“We were following your trail and heard the shots. We’re searching for a little boy who we believe is with that man.” Julie nodded at Iceman.

“I’ve met Jaques. He’s in the next tent.”

“Not anymore. Some woman took off with him.”

The man beside Julie swore but kept working.

“This is Lope Ramiro Diaz, Jaques’s father. I call him Wolf. We’ve been looking for the boy. Iceman took him from a crooked cop and is using him to block all telepathy. The kid is a strong psychic.”

“Julie, we have to save him, but Tab, we must do something to help him first.”

Eyebrow rising in question, Julie asked, “Tab? Since when are you two so informal?”

“Since we saved each other’s butts a few times. If he lives…oh, Julie, he can’t die. I need him like the air I breathe.”

Her sister smiled and looked over at the Latino working on Tab.

“I know what you mean.”

Tab opened his eyes and stared at Jinn.

“You’re done with running through the rainforest, woman. I told you, you’re going back to your base to face the music.”

Jinn reared back as though struck. “Like hell! I just spent the past week saving your hide and this is the thanks I get?”

The smile Tab bit back escaped though pain still showed in his eyes.

“You’re all right? Why you jerk. I thought you were a goner. I should kick—”

“My ass, I know.”

He pulled her head down and kissed her.

“Let’s go find Jaques and round up the team. We have a big job to do.”

“As long as the job is with you, count me in.” Jinn threaded her fingers through his hair and kissed him again.

“Enough of that mushy stuff. I’m getting nauseous,” Julie said. “We have one more problem, sis. A certain rogue scientist is behind all this and we’re going to take her down.”

“Who is it?”

Julie stared back at Jinn with bitterness before she answered. “Someone we haven’t seen since we were ten years old.”

“Fill me in as we walk. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

“You better believe it, but first there’s something I’ve been waiting to do for fifteen years. Stand up, Jinn.”

After releasing Tab, Jinn stood before her sister. It was truly like staring into a mirror except for Julie’s hair was a little lighter in color. Then they hugged and all was right in their world…for now.

Biography

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Franny Armstrong has written creatively since she was a child. Her mother always told her to write down her feelings and she did. When she was ten, she started writing and acting out plays in her garage for the neighborhood kids.

When she became ill in her forties, she used her author skills to create stories that took her away. Living in the country with her husband and mother, three dogs, and two cats, she loves the silence when working on her books, when she can get it. With three full grown children and four grandchildren, she has a full life.

Previously, Franny had ten published paranormal romance books, but took them off the market when the contracts ran out to fine-tune her career as an author. She hopes to find new homes for them.

Writing is her life now. Her main goal is to be a #1 Best Selling author and tour with booksignings.