Drop back where you’re safe from attack. The second the words left his mind he wished them back. She was not a woman to be idle when there was danger. She’d spent far too much time on her own, and she’d relied heavily on her own judgment. He had to find a way to curb his overwhelming protective instincts.
Dahlia clenched her teeth and didn’t respond. In her life, very few people ever tried to give her orders. Even Whitney had given up after a few harrowing accidents. It wasn’t just other people’s emotions, it was her own she feared most. She had a fiery temper and all the Zen meditation in the world didn’t seem to help her when someone tried to boss her around.
She watched as Nicolas made his way hand over hand across the distance, breathing a sigh of relief when he swung silently onto the roof. She dropped back to give him more room. He crawled over to her.
Something is different. The energy is very violent. It feels the same as when we were in the bayou.
Dahlia didn’t look at him when she gave him the information, and he took that as a bad sign. She was definitely not happy with him assuming command. I feel it too. My best guess is this: the team entering the house now has a military background and they’re looking for you and Jesse. I believe they’re NCIS. The team coming up behind them are the ones from the swamp and are most likely here to kill you. Do you agree?
Dahlia watched him crawl to the side of the roof where the gutter ran the two stories to the ground. Yes. And I think the second team is aware of the NCIS men and intends to kill them.
I’d have to agree. Nicolas took a small metal object from his pack and began tapping a rhythm on the gutter. He repeated the rhythm over and over. Long and short, dots and dashes. A warning to the men sent out by the NCIS that they were in for a firelight. Morse code wasn’t used much anymore, but many of those in the Navy had learned it. As he tapped out the warning, he sent a subtle “push” for the men to readily hear and recognize the age-old warning.
It was Dahlia who first felt the rising tension from within the house. They know. They got your warning. She didn’t know if it was the level of malevolent energy finding her or the continual use of telepathy, but her body was beginning to react. She tried to hide it from Nicolas. He was slithering into position, sliding his weapon forward, fitting the butt of the rifle snugly into his shoulder, and putting his eye to the lens.
Listen to me. Don’t get upset until you hear me out. His voice whispered in her mind. Touched her insides with danger all around them. She wanted to reach out and hang onto him to keep the energy at bay, but he needed complete concentration. I want you to leave now. We can set up a rendezvous point. I’m going to have to kill someone. I can’t leave the men in the house defenseless. Those stalking the NCIS team have mortars, and we know they aren’t afraid to use them. Your people don’t have that kind of firepower. There are civilians in the area. This could turn ugly very fast. If you go, I have only myself to worry about. I know you can make your way through their lines. If you stay, Dahlia, you’re going to be too sick to walk out on your own.
He was right, and she hated that he was right. I’ll go, but we can’t go too far. We can backtrack these people or better yet, follow them back to Jesse. If you do have to kill them, don’t kill all of them. She tried to sound grown-up and calm about it. In her line of work, no one died. She went in under cover of darkness and played the same games she played as a child. No one was around to see what she did and no one ever got hurt. In the last few hours she’d seen more death and violence than she ever wished to see in a lifetime.