Brain Storm by Cat Gilbert (detective books to read .TXT) 📖

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IT TURNED OUT the kitchen was very well stocked. After washing off at the sink, I cut myself a large chunk of cheddar to snack on as I rummaged the refrigerator and cabinets, throwing together enough stuff to keep us munching away for a while. Taking out an armful of Diet Coke, Cokes, and bottled water, Jonas shook his head in amazement.

“All the comforts of home,” he mumbled, and I had to agree.

Whoever this guy was, he had seemed to anticipate our arrival, or at the very least, mine, as most of my favorite foods had been stocked. A Watcher he’d called himself and not just any Watcher at that. He was mine. I wasn’t sure I liked the implications of that and kept a close eye on him when he returned with the medical supplies. Jonas caught my look and went to oversee Trinity’s first aid treatment.

I carried the armloads of food to the table and went back for plates and utensils. By the time I had wrestled everything to the table, Trinity was patched up and knocking down some painkillers. Jonas disappeared and returned with an ice pack, which he dropped onto Trinity’s face with instructions to keep it there. She looked like she’d been beaten half to death, but the grin on her face as I popped the top on a Diet Coke for her, let me know she was feeling the effects of the codeine.

“You need to eat something,” I ordered, shoving a plate of food in front of her. “What’s the extent of her damages?” I asked Mac, who had done most of the patching.

“Except for the black eye from getting smacked around, along with various other bruises, she’s doing pretty well. There’re a lot of tiny glass cuts, but nothing major.”

Relieved, I looked at Jonas, who had also been extremely lucky. The gun I had heard go off had missed him completely. He’d taken some good hits and would be bruised and sore, but aside from that and the glass cuts he too had suffered, he would be good as new in a few days. I had taken inventory and discovered that apart from a few bruises from being dragged around by the leg, I was in pretty good shape, especially considering the events of the past week. At least physically. I had a sinking feeling that mentally and emotionally, I wasn’t doing all that well.

I pushed my plate aside, feeling somewhat revived and ready to get down to business. I might not want to hear it, but I needed to know what was going on, and I was willing to bet that Mac had some answers.

“So, someone tell me what happened tonight,” I started in, looking from Jonas to Mac.

“You can start with what happened at my place. Who were those guys and what did they want.”

“That’s simple,” Mac replied, taking a sip of water, which he had opted for over soda. “They wanted you, and they planned on killing Jonas and Trinity and whoever else got in their way to get you.”

“Why? What would they possibly want with me?”

“Come on now. You know exactly why they wanted you. We all know why. It’s your power,” he said, sending shivers down my spine. I looked over at Trinity who looked as spooked as I felt. “Good news is, they need you alive. Which is why they used tasers on you. They had hoped to put you down so you couldn’t use your power against them. They underestimated you.”

“I didn’t use my power,” I said, shaking my head in denial. “I was helpless. I couldn’t even move. I knocked the guy away from Trinity, and that must have been when they hit me with the taser. I couldn’t do anything after that.”

“They tasered you the minute they came through the door, Taylor,” Jonas said. “You went down so fast, I thought they’d killed you.

“That’s impossible. I remember hitting the guy attacking Trinity.”

“You did hit him,” Mac said, “but with your mind. You never moved from where they dropped you when they came through the door.”

“Same thing with the guy with the gun. He had me dead in his sights. I was a goner. Then something hit him, and the shot went wild,” Jonas added. “Knowing what I know now, I have to assume it was you.”

“What about the explosion?” I asked, fearing the worst.

“Explosion?” Jonas looked at me confused. “There’s wasn’t any explosion.”

“She means the windows.” Mac looked at me, assessing, and I braced myself, knowing I wasn’t going to like what was coming. “The windows didn’t explode. They imploded. The glass flew into the room, not away from it.” He paused, watching me, letting his words sink in. “ You saved two lives tonight. That’s the thing to remember.”

His words struck me to my core. He thought I had broken the windows. No, that was wrong. He didn’t just think it. He knew it. Was convinced of it. But how? How could I do such a thing? My mind flashed back to the keys, the peanut butter, the coffee. There had been no planning, no thought to any of it. It had all just happened. He was right. Somehow, I had done it. I had sent the deadly shards of glass, flying into the room. I may have saved two lives, but how many did I kill? I looked at Mac, the question written in my eyes.

“Yes,” he answered, waving Jonas to be quiet as he moved to stop him. “I will not lie to you. Not now, not ever. So, I’m not lying when I tell you that I wouldn’t have gotten there in time. That if you hadn’t done it, both Jonas and Trinity would be dead now, and you would have been taken. What you did was self-defense.”

“He’s right, Taylor.” Trinity reached across the table, her icepack falling to the floor. “If you hadn’t stopped them, Jonas and I would both have been killed. You fought for us and protected us. That’s why we’re still here.” The tears were flowing down her face, her voice tight with emotion. “You did what you had to do.”

“I didn’t do anything, Trinity. I didn’t think at all,” I whispered, turning away. “I just reacted. I have no control over this thing. I could have killed you both.”

“But you didn’t.” Jonas leaned over to pick up the ice pack and put it back on Trinity’s face. “Trinity and I barely have any cuts at all. You stopped them, and