Guild of Truth 02 - Shield from the Heart Read online

  He exhaled slowly. “It’s a habit. I know better than anyone that people aren’t what they seem and I don’t want to ‘pick up’ anything if I don’t have to.”

  Had he picked up anything on her when they’d touched? There were so many emotions running rampant inside her that he probably wouldn’t have been able to differentiate between them. The thought gave her some peace of mind. She didn’t want him to see the fear inside her over whether or not they were really Mirror Mates, or the more embarrassing, all-consuming lust she had felt as she ran her hands through his silky black hair.

  “Do you accidentally read people a lot?” she asked as inconspicuously as possible. Would he tell her if he’d ever read her?

  A man in a black leather coat walked into their compartment. Merrick sat up a little straighter. The man spotted an older woman, his face splitting into the biggest grin.

  Merrick relaxed. “Sometimes I can’t control it.” He spoke softly from the corner of his mouth. “Mostly my control slips when I’m angered or — ” He cut off, his eyes darting to her.

  “Or what?”

  He stared at her for a few seconds before answering. “If I’m aroused.”

  Sydney felt the blood rush to her face. He had read her then!

  He must have caught sight of the sudden fear in her expression. “I haven’t read you,” he said fiercely.

  “Are you lying?” she shot back.

  “No.”

  How did she know if he was telling the truth?

  Oh, what she wouldn’t give to have Cali’s powers right about now.

  Merrick turned to face her more fully. “I wouldn’t do that to you, okay? Believe me, I’ve learned my lesson. I never want to know what’s inside someone’s head. It’s not meant to be known. It gives you nothing but pain, horror, or disappointment.”

  Something in his voice had her believing him. “Why do you say that?”

  His stare was level. “Do you really want to know?”

  She nodded.

  “There was a high school teacher I took out to dinner once. My powers were still relatively new. I didn’t fully understand the consequences of having them or what they’d expose me to, but I got my first glimpse that night. The whole date went off without a hitch until I took her home.”

  Sydney didn’t know if she wanted to hear the rest of this story.

  “I kissed her outside her apartment. She was wearing this scarf around her neck and when I touched it … ” He paused. “When I touched it I saw her using that same scarf to tie one of her students to her bed as she had sex with them.”

  Sydney’s heart stopped.

  “She slept with her senior students. No one knew about it.”

  “Except you,” she said softly.

  “Except me,” he said, disgusted.

  “Did you report her?”

  Merrick nodded. “Not at first. I was too sick to my stomach. Eventually I realized what I needed to do so I gave an anonymous tip. I stopped dating for a while after that. Then I met this woman who was a friend of a client of mine. I decided to give dating another try and took her out for coffee. I made sure not to touch her clothes but that didn’t matter. I bought her a scone and accidentally touched the cloth napkin while she went to the bathroom.” His jaw bulged. “I got a full view into her mind when she first laid eyes on me in the café. She found me lacking and entertained thoughts about how I’d look so much better if I adopted her ex-boyfriend’s fashion sense and body language.”

  “Did you ever date after that?”

  He shook his head. “I gave up on finding comfort from another human being. One way or another I’d eventually see something that I wasn’t supposed to.”

  “That must be very lonely,” Sydney mumbled. Her heart constricted in her chest. Did he think she was harboring ill thoughts and feelings about him? She wanted to touch him, to let him read her so that she could prove him wrong.

  She swallowed the lump in her throat. “When did your powers first start manifesting?”

  “I noticed things when I started working as a detective. I’d touch something and get glimpses of things, things I knew no one else would know. I researched my ability on the internet and then started practicing at work. Sometimes I could get my powers to work when I wanted, other times they didn’t. As my control grew I started solving more and more cases. My co-workers didn’t like that.” He gave a forced laugh. “They started to alienate me. Eventually I got the hint and left. I started my own PI agency.”

  “And that’s when Vander found you?” she guessed.

  He focused his ice blue eyes on her. She felt the touch all the way to her soul. Heat bloomed in her lower abdomen. “Not Vander,” he corrected. “Collette.”

  • • •

  Sydney tried Joel’s phone for the fifth time.

  Straight to voicemail.

  Again.

  Unease wormed its way into her thoughts.

  “Still no answer?” asked Merrick. He stood at the curb on the lookout for a taxi.

  She pocketed her phone. “That’s not like him. He always picks up.”

  A yellow cab made its way toward them. Merrick dropped his arm. “We’ll go see for ourselves why he’s not answering his phone. Don’t worry too much until we know all the facts.” He rested his hand briefly on her shoulder before opening the car door for her.

  She missed the heat from his skin instantly.

  She gave the cab driver directions to the hotel and tried to refrain from fidgeting in her seat.

  Why wouldn’t Joel answer his phone? There’d be no reason for him to have it switched off.

  It could have died.

  She considered the idea. It was feasible that it had died and he was simply charging it.

  When they arrived at the hotel she felt a little more reassured. There were no cops, no ambulances, which meant that nothing of import had happened.

  She approached the main desk. Their check-out time had long since passed and she hadn’t discussed with Joel if they were going to prolong their stay or not. She’d imagine, given the circumstances, that he would have rebooked their room, but she needed to make sure.

  “Excuse me.” She offered up her best smile to the woman behind the counter.

  The woman held up her finger as she finished giving directions to the person on the other end of the phone. Merrick came up behind Sydney. The back of her body grew warm from his nearness.

  The woman hung up the phone and turned to give them her full attention. Her eyes stuck to Merrick and her smile instantly grew.

  Sydney had to tamper down the jealousy that surged inside of her. “I was wondering if you could tell me if the occupants in room 436 renewed their stay,” she said through clenched teeth.

  Merrick glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Was that a smirk she saw tugging at his lips?

  At the mention of room 436, the woman instantly snapped out of her doe-eyed daze. “I’m afraid the occupants of room 436 were asked to leave after the disturbance they caused. If you’re looking for some kind of refund, I’m sorry but the credit card given has already been charged with the damages done to the room.”

  “What?”

  The woman flinched. “There’s no need to yell.” She held her hands out in front of her. In any other situation Sydney would have found the idea of a woman nearly five inches taller than herself cowering from her in fear laughable.

  “What happened?” she demanded.

  At her side, Merrick was already scouting the area.

  Sydney slammed her hands down on the counter. “Did anyone get hurt? Where did they go after you kicked them out?”

  Had Vander gotten to them? How had he found them? Did they have more than one Tracker?

  Sydney’s mind was awhirl with possibilities. She focused her thoughts. She had to concentrate on finding Joel and the others. What about Luke and his injury? Was he healed? Had he been reinjured?

  “Well?” she snapped when the woman didn’t answer her i
n a timely fashion.

  The woman still held her hands out in front of her as if that would protect her from Sydney’s wrath. “There was a noise complaint. When the staff was sent up to give them a warning they found the room in shambles.”

  “You mean you didn’t find anyone there?” Sydney’s blood turned to ice.

  “I wasn’t working at the time and only heard from a co-worker. I’m not sure whether the occupants were there or not. All I was told was that they destroyed the room and that there had been a noise complaint.”

  “So what you’re telling me is that what you heard could have been embellished and you would have no idea?” That gave Sydney nothing to go on. That left too many options and she didn’t like it. She liked order, simplicity.

  “Thanks very much,” she managed to ground out before she stomped down to the elevators.

  The woman didn’t even bother asking if she was a paying resident.

  Merrick waited until they were alone in the elevator to speak. “I’ve never seen you go bat shit crazy before,” he said idly.

  She turned on him. “I did not go bat shit crazy. You want to see bat shit crazy?” She floundered for something else to say or do that would demonstrate bat shit crazy and came up blank.

  Merrick laughed. “Behold, she curses.” As if her cussing was some remarkable feat.

  She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed in silence.

  Merrick eventually sobered. “Want to tell me why we’re going to the fourth floor?”

  She avoided looking at him. How dare he make fun of her! “I want to see the damage for myself if they haven’t cleaned it up already.”

  “You think they were ambushed by Vander?”

  “What other option is there?”

  He shrugged. “But if you already know they were ambushed then why go visit the room? What are you hoping to find out?”

  Some of her anger diminished. “I don’t know. Maybe there’s a clue they left that would let me know they got away?”

  He nodded. “Good thing you have your ‘clue’ right here.” He pointed to himself.

  Sydney’s anger faded completely as she perked up. “I forgot. You can read the objects around the room, right? You’ll be able to tell if they were taken again?”

  “In theory. I can’t promise anything, Sydney.”

  She didn’t care. She threw her arms around his neck.

  He stumbled from the unexpected weight, his arms instantly banding around her as his back connected with the wall of the elevator.

  For a split second Sydney reveled in his embrace. The hard planes of his body, the feeling of protection and security … she could stay in his arms forever.

  She pressed harder against him, her heart hammering in her chest. The tingles of desire only increased when she felt his erection press against her lower abdomen. She clenched her legs together as a throb of want went through her.

  She pulled back. Merrick held her at arm’s length, those intense light blue eyes of his searching her face.

  She could no longer deny that there was something here between them. How deep that connection ran, she didn’t know. But she needed to.

  She recalled the first time she’d met Cali and how the Silencer had thought Sydney and Joel were Mirror Mates. Cali had asked if Sydney had felt a jolt the first time she’d touched Joel. She hadn’t, but with Merrick she had.

  She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Did you feel a shock the first time we touched?”

  “I felt something.” His voice came out low, rough. His fingers tightened around her hips.

  Her breathing grew shallow as she imagined his fingers digging into her flesh as he pounded himself into her. As she imagined his powerful body atop hers covered in a thin sheen of sweat, nothing but raw passion reflected in his eyes.

  The force of her desire shamed and embarrassed her.

  Merrick’s erection twitched against her.

  Oh, what are you doing, Sydney?

  She didn’t know. She was spiraling out of control and she hated herself for it.

  She was trapped in his icy gaze.

  Would he kiss her again?

  Would she let him?

  Her body was suddenly too hot. The elevator too small.

  Merrick cupped the side of her face. That fiery passion she’d been imagining seconds ago was now present in his eyes.

  He wants you.

  It should have scared her. She should have been appalled. But all she felt was a giddy excitement and an answering burn in her breasts and between her legs.

  For the first time in her life she entertained thoughts of having sex with a man somewhere other than in a bed.

  Merrick leaned toward her, his chest rising and falling just as fast as hers.

  She wanted his tongue in her mouth again.

  The realization slammed into her.

  Chapter 9

  No. This is wrong.

  The elevator doors dinged. Sydney used them as an excuse to jump away from Merrick before he could kiss her. She practically ran into the awaiting hallway. The temperature was frigid compared to the stifling heat in the elevator. She wrapped her arms around herself as goose bumps erupted along her skin.

  Joel. Think of Joel, she chanted over and over again in her mind.

  That’s why she was here. That’s who she should be thinking of at a time like this. He was missing. She had no idea if he was safe or injured or captured.

  Merrick was a silent sentinel behind her as she made her way to room 436. She didn’t want to turn around and see his face. She was too afraid of what she might find there.

  Would he be angry? Relieved? Her stomach knotted.

  Or would he be hurt? Her heart constricted.

  She kept her eyes straight ahead as the room came into view. She tried the handle. Locked. She tried her keycard. Didn’t work. She stomped her foot in frustration.

  “Stay here,” Merrick said. He continued down the hall toward the distant sound of vacuuming.

  She waited, hoping no one would open their doors and find her standing there like an idiot.

  A few minutes later Merrick returned holding the housekeeper’s master key.

  She blanched at him. “You stole that? What if we get caught?”

  He unlocked the door and propped it open for her. “Get in,” he ordered.

  She stepped into the room. The receptionist had been right. It was in shambles. The door slammed shut behind her. She jumped and turned to find Merrick not in the room with her.

  He wasn’t in the hallway either.

  A few seconds later there was a knock followed shortly by, “It’s me. Let me in.”

  “Where did you go?” she asked him as she stepped back to give him room.

  His stare was flat. “I had to go return the key. Don’t want to tarnish your perfect little record, now do we?”

  So he was angry? Heat flooded her cheeks. “What’s that supposed to mean?” she snapped.

  “Let’s not do this,” he said, his voice still frustratingly emotionless.

  “Do what?”

  “Argue. We have a mission to do.”

  “Well, if you didn’t want to argue then why did you make that dig at me? Are you angry at me for not kissing you back there in the elevator? Is that it? Because — ”

  “I know,” he cut her off. “You have a fucking boyfriend, you don’t have to keep repeating it. Shit.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets.

  Sydney’s temper started to rise. “Well, sorry for trying to remain loyal to my boyfriend.”

  She could read in his eyes that he wanted to call her out on their kiss earlier. On everything they’d done that would raise eyebrows. “When you throw yourself on a man who hasn’t been with a woman in well over four months you shouldn’t be surprised with his reaction.”

  The comment cut deeper than she thought it would. “So you’re saying the only reason you wanted to kiss me was because I was the only available female to you?” Her hands itched to
slap him clean across the face.

  He leaned closer to her. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

  And to think she’d thought he was her destined soul mate.

  Tears burned the back of her throat but she rather choke on them than let them fall in front of Merrick. “Then why did you tell me you felt something the first time we touched?”

  The question caught him off guard. For a moment his impeccable mask slipped, she glimpsed a flash of hope before his face settled into a harsh, unfeeling expression. “We need to get to work.”

  Sydney didn’t know which was worse — his non-answer or if he would have answered. She decided it didn’t matter.

  “Agreed,” she said as aloof as possible.

  • • •

  Merrick’s neck tingled as anger rode him. He kicked a coffee table leg out of his way.

  Sydney sat silently on one of the beds.

  He should be focused on finding an object to read but all he found himself thinking about was Sydney and Joel fucking under those sheets. Had she and Joel had a quick fuck before they’d busted him out? Had she moaned his name as she climaxed?

  He wanted to hate her, but he couldn’t muster the feeling with her sitting there looking so miserable.

  He felt like the biggest asshole. He shouldn’t want her. She had been absolutely right to pull away from him. Shit, he could only dream of having a woman as loyal as her. She was a good person.

  Too good for you.

  He didn’t deserve someone like Sydney. She was honest and true, while he scammed people with his powers when he was crunched for money. He could only imagine what she’d think of him if she ever learned about that.

  His thoughts circled back to her question in the elevator. It was the only thing that didn’t make sense to him. Why would she ask if he’d felt anything when they first touched? Had she been trying to figure out how he felt about her?

  His mind flipped through the possibilities.

  Why would she be asking about an obvious sign of chemistry between them if she had no plan on exploring it?

  His frustration grew.

  He paused near the fallen cards that littered the floor. He picked up a handful and received a hurricane of different impressions. Juliet’s smugness at her sleight of hand, Hazel’s feelings of contentment as she sat surrounded by the closest thing to friends she had, Luke’s hesitant thoughts about having a future where he wouldn’t have to be afraid all the time, and finally Joel’s worry over Sydney.