Whispers in the Dark - Maya Banks [123]
Shea? Can you hear me? It’s Joe.
He kept it short, fearful of causing her unbearable pain. He waited, his breath held, his fingers curled into tight fists.
At first there was quiet and then he felt a slight stirring in his mind. It was unlike anything he’d ever felt before. A burst of warmth, but with that warmth came a flood of terror, panic and clawing pain.
He flinched but held on to that pathway with every part of himself. Immediately he could see her surroundings. Felt what she felt. Experienced all she was experiencing.
She was being held in a long, plastic tube that opened from the top. Steel bands clamped around her wrists, ankles and neck. He could feel the horrible panic over the belief that she would choke.
Dear God. He didn’t even know what to do to try to make her feel better, to take away the awful fear that ate at her sanity.
She closed her eyes and everything went black. He could feel her battle to remain calm.
Open your eyes, Shea. Open them for me, sweetheart. Let me see what you see.
There were electrodes attached to her head. When she opened her eyes, he saw through them to the machines monitoring her brain activity. She was trying valiantly to keep her mind quiet, but one of the lines spiked too high and suddenly he was assaulted with an electrical shock that sent him to his knees.
He folded over, holding his stomach with his arms, and then he had to put one down to the floor to prevent himself from pitching forward.
“Oh my God,” he rasped out, each word laced with pain.
“What is it?” Nathan demanded. “Goddamn it, Joe, talk to me. What’s going on?”
Joe held up his hand to silence his brother. He couldn’t lose concentration now. Not now. He had to fix this. He had to find a way. He was so fucking furious that she was being treated like some kind of an animal that he wanted to kill someone.
He tried to soothe her, sending her waves of comfort and love, but it was hard when his mind screamed revenge and retribution. He forced the blackness away and brought to mind all the things that made him happy.
Summer rains. A good book in a hammock. A day of fishing on the lake. Hanging out with his brothers. Seeing his mom and dad again. Knowing that Nathan was alive and coming home.
Then he forced that comfort to Shea and once again spoke to her.
Nathan is with me. Try to remain calm. Don’t speak back to me yet. Just listen. Gather your strength. Focus on the one thing that will help us the most in finding you.
Focus, Shea. Will the pain to go away. You’re strong. You can do this. Nathan and I are coming for you. Do you understand me? We’re going to get you back and then we’re going to take apart those sons of bitches who hurt you.
Breathe, baby girl. Breathe and calm yourself. And then I want you to think about the one thing you can tell me. Don’t even say it through your mind. Just picture it. Close your eyes and imagine what it looks like. I’ll see what you see.
She closed her eyes, shutting off his vision of her surroundings. She relaxed and some of the pain faded away, leaving her weak and shaky. Her nerve endings twitched and her fingers jumped spasmodically. Those fucking bastards. He’d take great pleasure in making them suffer for what they had done to her.
Slowly, the blackness drifted away and he got the sense of being outside. He bobbed up and down. It felt like someone was carrying him and then he realized he was reliving Shea’s memory. What she wanted to show him.
The surroundings came into view. Mountains. Crisp, clean air. The scent of pine. Cool temperatures. He shivered as the chill crept over his skin. Gravel crunched underneath the feet of the man carrying her. A doorway. Slowly her gaze drifted higher, above the door.
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Then everything went black again.
“Uniform, Foxtrot, Victor, five, five, niner, one,” he said urgently. Then he repeated it again until he heard Swanny say from seemingly a mile away that he’d gotten it down.
I’ve got it, Shea, he said gently. Rest now. Save your strength. We’ll find you.