Penumbra (Spook Squad 3)

O’Hearn raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment. “I’d also like to perform some tests with you both. See just how strong the connection is between you.”

“We also need to perform tests,” Finley added, “to define your psychic talents and strengths.”

Sam frowned as his words brought back memories of the dream. Memories of being chained to a chair while the flames licked her face and the trauma and anger it had caused. The deaths sh

e’d caused as a result.

If the dream was to be believed, that is.

But even if it wasn’t, there’d been too many tests in her life already. She really didn’t want to do any more. Yet if she wanted answers, what other choice did she have? Still, that didn’t mean she had to be an overly willing guinea pig, either.

“That might be difficult, given my current assignment.”

Especially since whatever spare time she did have she wanted to spend down in Kingston fixing up her house, not hanging around either SIU’s or O’Hearn’s labs. As much as she wanted to discover who and what she was, she also longed to get on with her life. She’d already been in a holding pattern for far too long. For the first time, she actually had something she was excited about.

Besides, what was the point of discovering how strong the connection between her and Gabriel was when he had every intention of fighting it?

“Surely you can spare an hour or so a day.” Finley’s tone suggested she was a fool if she didn’t. But then, he was the scientist, not the lab rat.

“Maybe.” She glanced at her watch. She was due to meet Wetherton at his office by six thirty. If she left now, she’d not only make it there with time to spare, but she’d beat the storm brewing outside. And how she knew that without even turning around to look was something she didn’t want to think about right now. “Look, can we wrap this up soon? I really have to get going.”

O’Hearn nodded. “Shall we book you both in for Friday, then? After lunch, perhaps?”

Sam sighed. “Try three. That’ll give me time to catch up on sleep after my shift.”

The doctor nodded, her gaze on Sam’s. Not meeting it, just looking at it. Sam raised an eyebrow and said, “What?”

“The blue in your eyes is receding as the night falls. The silver is growing brighter.”

“There’s a storm gathering outside,” Karl commented. “If storms are her element, then that could be an indicator of power.”

“Or maybe just a sign that it’s easier to see the silver in my eyes at night.” And yet, even though her back was to the window, the electricity of the oncoming storm danced across her skin, filling her with power, energy.

And that was terrifying.

Sam rose. “Let’s continue this Friday, then.”

“Gabriel, perhaps you’d better escort—”

She held up her hand, halting Karl before he could finish. “I’m a big girl now. I don’t need a nanny.”

“But the storm—”

“Is just a storm, like a thousand other storms I’ve walked through before without harm.” Something clunked at her feet, and she looked down to see her phone had somehow fallen out of her pocket. As she reached down to pick it up, she noted the tiny sparks leaping from finger to finger. As if the storm’s energy had filled her to overflowing.

She wrapped her hand around the phone, hiding her fingertips in the process. Maybe it was a stupid reaction since she was here to discover answers, but right now, she just wanted out. Wanted time to contemplate everything she’d been told—the worst of which was not the fact that she was something other than human, but rather that she could be eternally tied to a man who—no matter what his sister might think—wanted nothing to do with her.

She straightened and gave the watching scientists a tight smile. “I’ll see you all Friday.”

“Be careful,” Karl said. “If you are a walker and the storm is your element, you could find yourself lost in its power without even realizing it was happening.”

“The walker gene might appear dominant, Karl, but it is only one part,” O’Hearn said. “Don’t you think the nonhuman mix might mute its force?”

Karl shrugged. “Until we do more tests, we don’t know.”

“So, I’ll be careful.” Sam glanced at Gabriel. He didn’t say anything, just looked at her with an annoyed light in his eyes. Yeah, he was really pleased with the turn of events—and Jessie, for all her clairvoyance, had to have been mistaken. She turned and walked out the door.

It wasn’t until she stood outside the building that she remembered she hadn’t asked Finley about the tests on Wetherton’s would-be assassin. She half-turned to go back inside, then stopped and took a long, shuddering breath. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t face them all again. Not yet. She could ring Finley later, or send him an email or something. Right now, she desperately needed time alone to absorb everything she’d been told.