Excerpt

The blast threw her across the sidewalk and against the wall. Stunned, she tried to piece together the scene before her. The blue Jeep had exploded, that much was obvious by its charred remains. She slowly moved each of her limbs and ran her hands over her body. She felt bruised and sore, but nothing seemed broken, and she didn't seem to be bleeding.

Katlin heard a soft plea for help coming from somewhere close by. The man who had dropped his suitcase lay sprawled on the ground, the Jeep door, part of the engine and other debris half covering his body. She looked around and realized everyone who had been standing next to her was gone, blown across the sidewalk. She was the only one within distance who was not injured and could help.

Pushing herself off the ground, using the wall for support, she made her way slowly to his side. Every instinct in her body was screaming at her to flee, to get away before something else happened, but she clamped down on the panic and forced herself to focus. Blood flowed from under the metal covering the injured man, forming small red rivers on the asphalt. She had always hated the sight of blood. Her jaw set in determination, she reached down grabbed the edge of the door and tried to lift it. She grunted and strained her muscles. The metal didn't budge. There was too much weight for her to move by herself. She changed her tactics, and instead of trying to pull the door off, she tried sliding one edge of it away from his body. Katlin pushed and shoved and finally felt the door give a little, then a little more, until it was far enough off him she could see the source of the stream of blood--a wicked looking piece of twisted metal stuck out from the man's chest.

Turning away in horror, she felt herself begin to gag.

What should she do? If she tried to slide the door any further, she would risk pushing the metal in deeper. The thought of the metal pieces squishing into the man's skin made her sick to her stomach. Katlin sat down, unsure what to do next, exhausted from her efforts.

She grabbed the man's hand and spoke words of comfort. "Emergency people will be here soon. Hold on. Someone will be here to help you."

"Please ... It hurts, help me," the man moaned.

Katlin had never felt so helpless. She didn't have any medical training, all she could do was take off her jacket and stuff it against his wound in an attempt to stop the blood. But the red stream didn't seem affected by her efforts, and her jacket was soaked within minutes. She kept pressure on his wound, staying by his side, trying to keep him calm until someone with medical training came along. Suddenly the man stopped moaning. Concerned, Katlin leaned over and gently brushed away the dirt and metal covering his face.

"Stay with me, keep awake." As she leaned over his eyes fluttered open. Their glances locked and her head filled with visions.

Images flew across her mind, scenes full of people and places Katlin had never seen before. Snippets of conversation floated past her ears. It was like watching a movie, but then the movie started to move faster, the images sped up. She could no longer make out the people or the sounds as the images flashed faster and faster across her mind. Moving too fast to distinguish, they become nothing more than a long blur of motions, vivid colors and indistinguishable sounds.

The problem was that the images were moving too fast. Her mind was having trouble keeping up. None of her training covered this type of connection. She tried to break free, tried to pry her eyes away from his. She started to pull herself physically back, but his gaze stayed locked into hers. She was frozen in place, unable to move. She didn't know how much longer she could stay conscious as her mind rebelled against the intrusion. Her body started to shut down. She was on the brink of passing out when the visions started to slow down. As they slowly came to a stop, the rush of colors disappeared. The world around her was suddenly dark and quiet.

She sighed in relief and moved away, when the man's mind tugged at hers again. This time there were no images or sounds, only the feeling of being pulled. Like someone had tied a rope around her, and she was being hauled across the ground. Only it was his mind that was dragging her, not across the ground, but into the darkness. She hadn't been able to break the connection. Somehow his mind was still linked to hers, even as he was dying.

Katlin struggled to regain control. She knew she was in extreme danger. She felt his mind begin to fade, felt his spirit begin to fall, spiraling downward. He pulled her along with him, dragging her down into the darkness. She screamed, but it never reached her lips. She was immobile, as her spirit and mind fought to break free. She was losing the battle, she couldn't hold on any longer.

Suddenly the connection was broken. Katlin tried to focus on her surroundings. Her cheek burned as if on fire. She raised her eyes and saw the blond man raising his hand as if to strike her.

She screamed at him, "Stop!"

"Are you okay?" He was crouched in front of her, his jacket riddled with burn holes, streaks of dirt and blood covering his face. A small, jagged cut above his right eye was bleeding.

"Your friend is dead," she said, cradling her cheek with her hand. She wondered how many times he had slapped her across the face before she came to her senses.
"He's not my friend." The man turned and stared down at the lifeless body. "Are you sure he's dead?"

"Yes, I felt him die." Her head jerked up as she realized what had just come out of her mouth. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to focus. "I watched him die."
Reaching out he grabbed her wrist, and his fingers ran softly over her skin. She could feel the energy hum where his fingers touched her.

Leaning forward, his breath caressed her ear as he whispered, "You're a Talent? Don't worry, so am I. My friends call me Ryker." He pulled away from her. "Are you bleeding?" His face filled with concern as she struggled to control herself.
Looking down at her clothes, she realized her blouse was covered with blood. "No, it's his, not mine."

Ryker stood and offered his hand. Katlin took it, and he helped her to her feet and then let her go. Katlin felt herself begin to sway, but suddenly strong arms reached out, and Ryker gently pulled her into his body. She leaned against him, closed her eyes and concentrated on the warm solid male against her, trying desperately to block out the rancid smell of blood, the moans of pain, and concentrated instead on the sound of his heartbeat. Her muscles relaxed.

"Do you hear a ringing?"

"What?" she asked, her voice muffled against his chest.

"A phone, I hear a phone ringing." He kicked a pile of debris on the ground near his feet. And there, underneath all of the dirt and metal, lay a small, black purse.

Katlin reluctantly stepped out of his arms. "That's mine." Bending down, she opened the purse and pulled out her cell phone. "Hello?"

"Katie, are you okay?" It was her brother, and his voice sounded thick with worry.

"Colin, I'm fine." She realized her voice was now emotionless and flat. I must be in shock, she thought as she looked around at the carnage of bodies and scorched metal surrounding her.

"Thank God. I got this flash of you in danger. God, Katie, it was awful, some kind of fire or explosion."

"It happened, Colin, there was an explosion, but I'm not hurt." Colin didn't answer. She could hear him breathing loudly on the other end.

"Colin, are you there? Can you hear me? I said, I'm not hurt."

"Katie!" Colin cried out, "Katie, run! Get out of there, right now! Do you hear me? Run, Katie!"

Colin, the stable one, the one who never lost his cool, screaming at her in panic, was enough to set her in motion.

She grabbed Ryker's hand and tried to pull him with her. "We have to get out of here!"
But Ryker was strong, and even though she yanked on his arm trying to get him to follow, his body didn't budge.

"What are you talking about?" The expression on his face clearly indicated he thought she had lost her mind.

She tried to drag him into following her again, but when he wouldn't, she gave up and dropped his arm. "Run! For the love of God, move!" she screamed at him as she turned and started sprinting.

She could hear his footsteps behind her. Katlin didn't bother to look behind her, she just ran, jumping over debris and bodies. She ran as fast as she could, as far away as she could. When she heard the explosion, she didn't pause, didn't stop to look, she just ran faster. Small objects pelted her back, and some of them cut into her body, but she ignored the pain and blocked out everything around her. She blocked out everything, but the feel of the breeze on her face and the pounding of her heart.

The one thing Katlin knew how to do was run.

* * * *
"Stop. Will you stop!"

Katlin had completely lost track of her surroundings. She slowed down and looked over her shoulder. Ryker stood twenty feet back, leaning over from the waist. He was breathing heavily and holding on to his side. She jogged back and stood in front of him.

"Christ, lady, you can run," he said between breaths.

"The name's Katlin. Where are we?"

"From the smell of chow mien, I would guess we're in the back alley of Mandarin Gate's Chinese restaurant, about two miles from the hotel."

"Two miles, I can't believe we ran that far." Her feet were beginning to throb. Somewhere along the way, she'd kicked off her shoes. She didn't know how long she had been running barefoot, but it was long enough to shred the hell out of her pantyhose and feet.

"I've been yelling at you to stop for the last half mile." He straightened up and grimaced.

"Are you all right?" she asked as she watched him wince.

"Yeah, just got a stitch in my side trying to catch up with you." He stared at her, and she saw it suddenly dawn on him that she wasn't breathing hard at all.

She couldn't help herself--she smiled at his expression. "I train during the week."

He looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"I used to run competitively in school. I kept it up after I graduated, mostly out of habit." She tried to straighten what was left of her skirt, but it was torn into shreds. She gave up on it and looked down in horror at her blouse. There was very little material left.
She started arranging pieces of fabric artfully around her, tying strips of material together. She ripped off a piece of her blouse and held it out. He just looked at her, so she motioned toward his face. "Your eye, you have a cut above your eye." She handed him the fabric, and he wiped the blood off. He didn't even flinch as he wiped across the cut.

"Thanks." He spun around as if trying to get his bearings. "I think we're about three miles from the main strip."

"That other explosion, did you see what happened?"

"Yeah, another car blew up. One parked on the road next to the hotel."

"Was it bad?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady. Another explosion meant more dead bodies.

"I don't know," he answered as he started walking down the alley.

She followed him, trying to ignore the throbbing pain coming from her feet as she made her way on the rocky gravel. "Do you think anyone survived?" Katlin hadn't given any thought to her coworkers until now. And McDonald, what had happened to him? More bodies sprawled out on the pavement. She shuddered at the thought and prayed that McDonald and everyone from the meeting were safe.

Instead of answering her, Ryker stopped and stared intently at the alley wall. Katlin almost ran into him. She reached up and shook his shoulder, trying to get his attention.

"Ryker, do you think anyone survived?"

He spun around and pulled her into an embrace. Before she could react he whispered in her ear. "I heard you, be quiet." Crouching down against the wall, pulling her with him, a gun appeared in his hand.

"What is it?" She asked. Her mouth had gone dry, and her heart was pounding loudly in her chest.

"Two men coming down the alley. Katlin, did the man pass you information?"

When she didn't answer he shook her. "I know you were mentally linked to Halster when he died. Did he pass something on to you?"

"Yes."
He pushed her away from him. "Try to hide. You're in danger."

Another shot of fear and adrenaline pumped through her body. Kneeling down on the alley floor, trying to squeeze herself as close to the wall as possible, she scanned the alley. She had always had terrible night vision, and although there was some light shining into the alley from the restaurant windows, she could only make out one figure in the dark. He stood at the mouth of the alley.

The man cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Ryker!"

Ryker stood, but when she started to stand, too, he pushed her back down against the wall. Her body was concealed in the shadows.

"You don't have to shout, Murray, I'm here." Ryker shoved his pistol back into his pocket, but Katlin noticed he didn't take his hand off the gun. Whoever these people were, Ryker obviously knew them, but he was still expecting trouble.

Without turning in her direction, he lowered his voice. "Katlin, the man is a Talent working for Vector--you're broadcasting too loud. And for God's sake, get down and out of sight."

She immediately stopped mentally scanning, she didn't really have to, she could see the man's outline clearly now.

"I thought you were retired, my friend," he said as he walked farther into the alley toward Ryker.

Ryker immediately walked away from Katlin's hiding place. He moved slowly, his voice friendly. "I was thinking of retiring last year, but changed my mind."

Katlin could not make out the man's features in the dark. His voice was deep and raspy."Give us the girl, Ryker. We have no beef with you."
Ryker walked across the alley. He casually leaned against the fire-escape ladder. "Why do you want her? She has nothing to do with this."

Katlin could see the man turning his head back and forth. He must be scanning the alley looking for her. She lowered herself onto the ground. She tried to ignore the puddle of mud she now lay in, and the smell of urine drifting toward her from the alley wall.

"Halster passed it to her," the man said, once again focusing his attention on Ryker.
Ryker had positioned himself directly under a stream of light shining out from one of the windows. He was trying to draw their attention away from her, she realized. He was allowing himself to become a visible target while the other man stood partially hidden in the dark.

She watched as Ryker put both of his hands in his jean pockets. "Impossible, she's not a Courier. She's just some woman in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"No, it's been confirmed. He passed her the info."

"Come on, Murray, you know how unreliable the Sight is. I'm telling you, you're dead wrong."

"Tony is my best man. He tells me the information is passed, I believe him. Did he pass it on, Tony?"

The second man, who had concealed himself in the shadows, stepped out into a stream of light. "Yeah, he passed it, Boss."

"Hey, Tony," Ryker called out, lifting one hand in greeting.

The man acknowledged the greeting and nodded his head, "Ryker, I thought you were retired and living the good life up at some ranch in the mountains?"

"Semi-retired and not a ranch, just a cabin. How's the family?"

The man's face split into a wide grin. "Good, we had twin boys four months ago."

Ryker laughed a deep, rich laugh that took Katlin by surprise. You'd have thought he was at a party instead of standing in an alley facing down two men. "Really? I hadn't heard. Congratulations. Tell Maria I said hi."

Murray lit a cigar. "Are you going to give the girl to us?"

Ryker turned and addressed Murray, his voice losing all traces of friendliness. "Depends. What are you going to do with her?"

"We had a relationship with Halster. We had hopes of making some kind of arrangement with him. Killing him was an accident." Murray paused and took a drag on his cigar. "My nephew is breaking into the business. He's enthusiastic, young, trying to make a name for himself. You know what that's like."

"It's tough getting started." Ryker sounded amused.

"He was in charge of the explosions. They were only meant to scare Halster into coming back to us."

"Who caused the distraction? That Black Void was a little bit showy just to get us out of the place. Those things are usually only used for large-scale assault, they cost a fortune."

"Nah, the Vector's got a guy on the payroll whose only Talent is projecting those things. He's pretty creepy, but he works cheap."

"If Halster hadn't been such a klutz, you would have gotten us both."

"Tony gave Halster a little mental push into dropping the suitcase. No one was supposed to get hurt."

Ryker turned and saluted Tony. "Thanks for saving my life."

Tony returned the salute. "I owed you for Mexico. Now we're even."

Ryker turned back toward Murray, "And the girl?"

"She's a stranger to us. We have no past, no relationship, how can we trust her?" Murray's voice filled with regret, "We have no choice. We have to kill her."

"And if I let you have her? How much is in it for me?"

"Now you're talking sense. Fifty-thousand."

"I need some time."

Murray threw down his cigar and exploded in anger. "Time for what? There's nothing to think about. Your involvement in this situation is over! Your client is dead. Do the smart thing, Ryker. Hand over the girl."

"Like I said, Murray, 'I need some time'," Ryker growled.

"Because of our past relationship I'll give you three days. If you don't turn over the girl, then everything between us is forgotten." Murray turned and walked back down the alley. Tony followed closely behind him.

Murray stopped at the entrance, "You understand me, Ryker? I don't get what I want from you, you're both dead."