Riding the Storm (39 page)

Remy
rolled his neck from side to side to try to ease the sudden ache he felt in his
head, and then he looked Devlin in the eye. Because he knew Devlin would know
he was doing that, would expect it. Deserved that respect for all he'd done for
Remy.

"I
can't sign this. Not right now. Not until I see Haley and get some things
straightened out."

"You
won't be able to see her until she wakes up. I can put you up here on the
compound until that happens, keep you safe until you decide."

"Thank
you. I appreciate that."

"I
know what it's like to have the life you once knew taken from you," Dev
said, his voice quiet. "But don't wait too long to make up your mind,
Remy. I want you trained, better than you've ever thought you could be
trained."

Remy
nodded, stood and shook Dev's hand. Dev pressed a button on his desk.
"Marlena, will you send someone in here who can take Remy to the guest
house for the night, please?"

Haley
hated doctors almost as much as she hated pounding headaches and creepy little
men who produced sticky web stuff like Spider-Man gone bad.

"Your
CT scans are clean, Ms. Holmes," the cute, way too young doctor said.
"Your ribs are bruised, and you're working on a couple of black eyes, but
we'll give you some pain meds and ice packs. If it still hurts to swallow and
your voice hasn't returned to normal by Tuesday, come back in. I don't suppose
I can talk you into staying overnight?"

"We
already discussed this."

He
started to say something, but when she glared, he snapped his mouth shut,
jotted something on a chart and then said, "Most of the trauma, including
your loss of consciousness, was caused by psychic bruising. I do think after a
few days' rest, you'll be fine."

Great.
She might be physically fine, but mentally? There was a reason she hadn't
signed on as a superspy operative. Other than the utter lack of special
ability, of course. She was a wuss. And she really disliked being beaten and
strangled.

Fortunately,
she didn't remember much after Apollo crushed her in some sort of invisible
vice, but she did recall waking as medics wheeled her from the ACRO jet, and
being confused because Remy hadn't been there.

No
one could—or would—say where he was now, or why he hadn't come to visit her
during the fourteen hours she'd been stuck in the tiny ACRO clinic. Dev had
sent word that Remy was fine, but that was all she knew.

Wincing,
she eased out of her bed. Her clothes had disappeared, but she found combat
boots and a folded stack of black BDUs in the corner chair. She reached for
them, but the curtain swept open and she grabbed the gaping back of her
hospital gown instead.

"Do
you think I could have a little privacy?" she asked, her voice hoarse and
raspy from Apollo's air-choke.

"I've
seen it all, darlin'."

Haley
whirled, found herself face-to-face not with the cute doctor, but with a
fifty-something woman whose white badge identified her as a medium from the
Paranormal Division, but who was currently working in the Medical Division's
Psychiatric department.

"Who
are you?"

"Dr.
Helen Mclntyre. Call me Helen. I'm a counselor. All operatives are required to
attend at least one session with me following a mission, but the Special Ops
director figured that since you're injured, it would be best for me to come to
you."

"It
wasn't a mission," Haley grumbled. "More of a kidnapping. And Jason
isn't my boss."

"Not
now that you're back, but Devlin is, and he agreed."

"It
still wasn't a mission."

Helen
rolled her eyes. "You're as stubborn as your father says you are."

Haley
managed to sit on the bed before she fell over. "You can see them? My
parents? That Itor guy wasn't lying?"

"I
can see them. And they love you. Very much."

It
was Haley's turn to roll her eyes. "Lady, they have you
so
fooled."

Helen
pulled the chair out of the corner and took a seat. "You don't believe
they loved you at all?"

"Does
it matter?"

"It
matters because they don't want you to be afraid to have children."

"Wow,"
Haley said. "That came out of left field. I haven't even thought about
kids." Which was only partly true. She hadn't thought about them before
Remy, but now… maybe children could be a possibility.

And
though she knew in her heart that she would love her children wholeheartedly,
the memories of how her parents had cast her aside in favor of their own love
affair gave her pause.

Helen
thumped her on the head with one finger.

"
Ow! What was that for? "

"From
your dad. He said you've learned from their mistakes, and the connection you
have with your children's father will only intensify your feelings for the
kids, so to stop lying to yourself, and to me."

Haley
sucked in a harsh breath that hurt her ribs. "Have you seen him?"

"Who?"

"Remy."
When Helen stared at her blankly, Haley huffed. "You know,
the father
of my children
."

An
impish glint sparkled in Helen's green eyes, and Haley knew she'd been played.
Psychics and their weird sense of humor.

"I
caught a glimpse of ACRO's newest golden boy earlier, and I have an appointment
with him tomorrow."

Relief
turned her inside out. She'd trusted Dev, but to hear Remy was okay from
someone in person…

"Can
you tell me what's up with the tattoos?"

Helen
tapped her lips and stared over Haley's shoulder for so long, Haley began to
wonder if the other woman had gone into a trance.

"Clever,"
Helen murmured, and then shifted her gaze to Haley.

"What's
clever?"

"It's
a little complicated, but… do you believe in soul mates?"

"You're
kidding, right?" Haley crossed her arms over her chest and winced when her
elbow smacked her bruised ribs. "The Itor guy brought it up. I threw down
the bullshit flag then, and I'm doing it now."

Helen
clucked her tongue and puffed up like one of the laying hens that Haley's
parents kept in their backyard. "Everyone has a soul mate, but few make
contact with each other while living one of their many human lives. Soul mates
primarily spend time with each other on the Other Side." Haley's
skepticism must have shown on her face, because Helen huffed. "What? Don't
look at me like that. I'm trying to explain this."

"I'm
listening," Haley muttered.

Helen
leaned forward and touched Haley's knee in an oddly comforting gesture.
"According to your spirit guide, many lifetimes ago you and Remy worked
out a way to know each other in human form. The tattoos. His childhood spell activated
them, and if you sit and think about it, you'll realize that you two are meant
to be."

"I
already have," she said quietly, because although she might still be a
little skeptical about the soul mate thing, she did believe that she and Remy
belonged together. What she'd felt back at the Itor house had been too powerful
to deny. "But I don't suppose you can tell me what's up with Remy's
weather ability? Is it related to this
soul mate
thing?"

"I'm
sorry, but I can only discuss that with him."

Haley
sat there, numb from too much mystic overload anyway. "Are we done
now?"

"Yes,"
Helen said, standing. "I'd like you to make an appointment at my office
next week."

"Is
it mandatory?"

"Let's
call it voluntary, but if you don't show up, I'll put in an order to make it
mandatory." She smiled a kindly grandmother smile, which didn't work, not
when this woman gave off a tough-old-bird vibe.

"I
guess I won't argue, then."

"That's
wise. I always win." She patted Haley on the head like she was a
troublesome child. "And there's someone else here to see you."

Remy?
Haley's heart went ballistic. Dr. McIntyre stepped out of the curtained
cubicle. A few moments later, Dev walked in, and Haley had to smother a sigh of
disappointment.

"How's
the new Meteorology department head?" he asked, as he moved unerringly to
the chair next to the bed.

"I
guess that answers my question about whether or not I got the promotion."
Which was great, but for some reason, she wasn't nearly as excited as she would
have been just a few days ago. Too much had happened. Life, for one. Love, for
another.

"You
did." Dev rolled his shoulders as though he'd stayed too long in one
position, like at a desk. "You handled your assignment as well as you
could have, given the Itor fuckup."

"What
happened, Dev? Before I left for Louisiana, you told me Itor wouldn't make it
that close to us."

His
jaw tightened and flexed, and she figured he'd need to see a dentist if he kept
grinding his teeth like that. "I don't know why or how we got caught with
our pants down. I don't know how they got private information about you either.
What you tell our counselors stays between them and you—and me if I need to
know—but it's possible that someone broke into the office…

"Or
that one of the counselors is responsible for leaking information."

"Speaking
of counselors, how'd the session go?"

"I'm
sure you know." The blatant attempt to shift away from the subject of a
possible traitor inside ACRO annoyed her, and her reply came out sharper than
she intended.

"Is
there something you'd like to say?"

She
turned away, stared at the blue and white stripes on the curtain. "I want
to know why Remy hasn't been here to see me."

"Mission's
over, Haley. Why do you want to see him?"

Leveling
a look at him she knew he could somehow see, she said, "Because he was
more than a mission."

"Ah."
He lounged back in his chair, hooked his combat boots at the ankles. "I
expected him to sign on today. He refused until he sees you. So go home, get
some rest, and I'll have him brought to you tomorrow."

Little
butterfly wings fluttered in her belly at the thought that she'd get to see
Remy, as if she were some lovesick teen. "And then?"

"I
need you to work up a training plan to cover the weather segment of his
instruction. When you called me from the hotel you said he still needs work on
some aspects of his control?"

"Yes.
But now that he's in an environment where he no longer has to hide his gift,
where he's encouraged to use it, I think he'll master it in no time."

"And
the sexual consequences?"

Her
cheeks burned. "I doubt it will ever be easy. Mother Nature influences his
sex drive the way it influences sunlight depravation depression and the change
of seasons. And the tattoos, well, they had an unexpected side effect."

"I
know. Your Triad picked up on it. The tattoo connection will be helpful when
he's out in the field and the weather goes to hell."

Great.
The Triad probably got a mind's-eye full. "I want to sever the Triad link
before I go home."

He
nodded. "Of course. And I know you're tired, but I'm going to need to know
everything you learned about Itor's weather machine. And once you finish Remy's
training plan, your first priority will be to determine the location of the
thing." He speared her with a look that penetrated despite his
sightlessness. "I'm sure I don't need to impress upon you the importance
of finding it."

She
shook her head. "The more I think about it, the scarier the whole thing
is. If their machine is half as powerful as Apollo said, it could generate F5
tornadoes in cities like London or Seattle, cities unprepared for that kind of
force. Or it could unleash hurricanes so destructive that scientists would have
to revise the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. Itor could pound the U.S. coasts
with category six hurricanes one after another."

The
nightmarish possibilities ran through her head in slow motion. Hundreds of
thousands could die. The country would be plunged into financial ruin. Anarchy
could destabilize the government.

She
stood, managed not to wince at the multitude of aches, and Dev came to his feet
as well.

"I'll
get on it immediately. But can I ask one favor?" Dev inclined his head,
and she continued. "I want more training. Lots and lots of operative
training. With every kind of self-defense instruction you've got." She
clenched her fists at her sides. "No one is going to make me feel helpless
again." And no one would ever again make Remy feel like she was so
helpless that he needed to kill himself to protect her.

"You
got it." Dev stuck his hand in his pocket and looked inward, as though
seeking a specific kind of calm. "Email your mission report in the
morning, and copy Special Operations and RSO. Remy's new supervisors will want
to know everything that took place."