"Cooley is hunting. He's good. " She knew he was good. She had heard the tales her father told of training with him when they were both in service together years before.
"I'm better," Braden said. There was nothing like male confidence, Megan thought as she barely refrained from rolling her eyes.
The comm link was filled with the Breeds' low-voiced reports; the night echoed with the sound of gunfire and men's raised voices, and the feel of evil, of death. Megan felt the pressure tightening in her head as she breathed in deeply, staying low as she followed Braden through the overgrown brush that led along the slanted walls of the canyon. They should be above the soldiers.
They should be safe.
She gasped as the pain sliced at her head. She gripped a nearby branch as she fought to keep her footing. Cooley knew what he was doing. She
could feel the pleasure he felt at the loss of life, at the pain he had caused. He was deliberately thinking about the deaths of the Breeds, the women he had raped.
Bile rose in her throat as she clenched her teeth and forced herself to move to keep up with Braden.
"Block him. Search out the information and bypass the pain," Braden ordered in her ear. "Don't let him weaken you. "
She breathed in deeply, nodding fiercely as she fought to drive the images out of her head.
"He's close. " Her eyes searched the night, catching brief glimpses of the soldiers rushing through the canyon below. "He's using the Coyote to track me psychically. "
"They aren't dependable. " She felt him surrounding her, his thoughts, his warmth, flowing around her like a comforting fog.
He was good. She let a smile cross her lips as she felt the slightest touch of his lust kiss her mind. He was bad too.
But the deliberate distraction eased her mind and helped her to follow the mental threads she needed to connect to, rather than the ones Cooley was throwing out to her.
The sudden spray of dirt above them and the rat-a-tat-tat of ammunition firing from the opposite side of the canyon had her ducking and rushing to follow Braden behind an outcropping of boulders.
He motioned her to lay cover fire in the direction of the gunfire. As she lifted her weapon and began firing, he ducked and threw himself to the next covering-a thick fallen tree lying precariously on the canyon edge and began firing back.
Rocks and clumps of dirt exploded on each side of her as she sought the direction the bullets were coming from.
Heat. Cold remorselessness. She didn't need to aim. The next volley of shots rewarded her with a broken cry from the enemy as he fell to the canyon below.
"Move. " Their position was compromised and she knew it.
They rushed along the canyon face, heading lower for the safety of the caves that pitted the walls below.
As they jumped the final feet, Megan bent to one knee and reached out for the information she needed. She felt Braden close by, the strength of his own focus fueling hers as she reached out.
Her breath caught in her throat the same second she felt Braden tense.
"Very impressive, Megan. You're better than I imagined you could be, hiding like this. "
She came to her feet, turning slowly to meet the deadly cold gaze of Mac Cooley. The man her father called friend.
She felt Braden behind her, the silken threads of warning emanating from him, flowing into her.
"I didn't want to believe it was really you. " She lifted the goggles from her eyes as she became aware of one of the soldiers moving up on them, covering them from the side.
Mac looked older than she remembered, but he was still in good shape. At five foot eight, with silvergray hair and cold, merciless blue eyes. Eyes she had always thought held compassion and warmth. He stared back at her, the pistol he carried pointed at her chest.
Her gaze flickered to his side. Deputy Jose Jansen.
The betrayal from the other deputy shouldn't have been a surprise.
"Yes, it's really me. " Mac's smile was evil, a flash of teeth as his lips
curled into a sneer. He glanced at Braden.