Moon - New Moon Part 60

Logan managed to answer with a small negative shake of his head, then allowed Lance to escort him to his SUV.

"Want me to drive?" his brother asked.

"No!" He climbed behind the wheel. The moment his brother was in his seat, he gunned the engine and sped down the drive.

Beside him, Lance fumbled with his seat belt. "You trying to get us killed?"

"I'm trying to make sure he doesn't follow us."

Behind him, he heard Cooper's car start. Before the detective could turn his car around and head down the driveway, Logan took a detour into a nearby development, making several turns, then going out the back way so that they were on a different road from where they'd entered.

"Let's hope we lost him."

"But you and the cop are both going to the convenience store, right?"

"Yeah. Only he's just going to see a couple of big s.h.a.ggy dogs in the woods." He changed subjects abruptly. "You got your cell phone?"

"Um hum."

"Call Ross and tell him we're meeting at the recreational area just west of the Easy Shopper in Mount Airy." He gave Lance the address of the store and also directions to a parking area on the other side of the woods.

THE soldiers pushed Rinna into the campaign tent, then stood behind her, blocking any means of escape. She struggled not to tremble as she waited for her eyes to adjust to the dim light.

When she finally looked up, she felt a wave of relief. Falcone was not alone. Two of his adepts were also there-Avery and Brusco.

"Here she is at last," he said in a conversational tone.

The two men were looking at her in a way that made her stomach knot. They knew something she didn't.

"What are you planning?" she asked.

"Another little psychic operation for you. You're too dangerous as you are. But I believe the three of us can fix it so you won't be threatening the stability of Sun Acres again."

She looked from one man to the other. "Is that what he told you? That I'm threatening the stability of his little kingdom? Who says he has the right to rule Sun Acres?"

Avery looked abashed. Brusco gave her a stony stare. He was younger than Avery. Perhaps he hoped for a good place in the new government.

Falcone pushed Rinna into a camp chair, then bound her arms to the chair arms with rope. More rope secured her legs and feet.

When she was secured in place, her captor stepped back and looked at her. She made a subtle try at sending him a suggestion that he wanted to leave her alone. The effort made her head throb, but it had the opposite effect than she'd intended.

"I was ready for that," Falcone muttered as he reinforced the block he'd put up, then punished her with a wave of pain that he sent directly into her skull.

As the blast hit her, she gasped, going limp in the chair, then tried to collect her scattered thoughts over the ringing in her ears, in her brain.

Making a terrible effort, she stared up at Falcone.

But it was Avery who spoke. "I felt that jab from her. I thought you made it impossible for her to use that power."

"Apparently she still can."

"She's dangerous."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you," Falcone snapped. "And you've been putting up all kinds of arguments. Do you believe me now?"

"I believe you. But I have been on the council for a long time. Years ago we agreed that destroying the brain of a human being is counter to... morality. Death is more humane."

"It may be humane. But that's not what we're going to do. I want her alive so she can bear me children. If we leave her the way she is, there's no telling what she can do."

The old man nodded, looking regretful.

Falcone turned to Brusco. "And you agree that she can't be allowed to influence other people's behavior?"

The younger man gave his agreement quickly.

Rinna turned toward Avery. "You could just let me go," she gasped out. "That's all you have to do. Let me live out my life in this world where I won't be a threat to Sun Acres."

"She has a point," Avery murmured. "That would solve any problems concerning her for Sun Acres."

"You're forgetting that I want her children," Falcone snapped. He gave her a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Women tell me I'm a skillful lover. You might have already discovered that, if you hadn't been so intent on hating me. But after we operate on your mind, you won't be thinking about who is giving you pleasure."

The boastful words made her stomach curdle.

Falcone turned from her and addressed the two men. "Let's get it over with. I want her neutralized so that we can bring her back safely."

As she watched in horror, the three men gathered in a circle around her. When they joined hands, a wave of cold swept over her. They were all strong psychics, and she knew they had the power to damage her mind beyond repair, especially if Falcone was directing the proceedings.

With a silent prayer to the Great Mother, she struggled for calm, even as she braced for the pain.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE.

LOGAN PULLED INTO a parking spot beside a picnic table in the recreational area directly west of the Easy Shopper.

He tried to lean back in the seat and relax. But he found it was impossible to simply sit in the car and wait for Ross. He got out and looked up at the afternoon sky, amazed at how much time had slipped through his fingers.

He wanted to find Rinna immediately, but it didn't seem to be happening. After pacing to the far end of the parking lot, he stepped into the woods, thinking that he'd have a look at the convenience store, then come back. Just then another car pulled into the parking lot.

He tensed, then saw it was Ross. He got out and trotted over to him.

"What can I do to help?" his cousin asked, and Logan felt a surge of grat.i.tude. He'd gone straight to Lance because he lived closer. But he saw now that if he'd found Ross first, they wouldn't have ended up fighting. His cousin was determined to make relations.h.i.+ps work in the Marshall family, and he was good at keeping tempers at a manageable level.

Logan struggled to keep his voice steady. "My lifemate has disappeared. I think she's been kidnapped by a guy named Falcone, the same one who already raped her."

Ross winced.

They'd spoken a little on the way over. But Logan knew that cell phone transmissions were far from secure, and he hadn't wanted to give any paranormal details that someone else could pick up.