Page 44 of Ace (The Deuces Wild #4)

‘There are many different talents, Savannah. Telepaths read minds and Clairsensitives sense other psychic energies. You and Keller are Intuitives, commonly called Empaths. By the way, Keller is the strongest Empath I’ve ever met.’

‘I know. He just needs to learn to balance how much of himself he gives away. He wouldn’t have those killer migraines then.’

‘Keller has killer migraines?’

Ooops. She’d just told on Keller, not good. But Savannah could also sense Isaiah’s I-told-you-so grin all the way from the East Coast. ‘I never knew he suffered with his gift until now. See how strong you are?’

‘Well, um, yes, but I shouldn’t have told you. That’s for Keller to share.’

‘Understood, Savannah. I won’t break your confidence.

But as far as other psychic talents, I have yet to come across a true Telekinesist, someone who can actually move physical objects with their mind.

Most I’ve met were fakes who relied on sleight of hand, magnets, or other tricks.

I haven’t met a Psychic Surgeon yet either, but the Russians claim they’ve got one.

If they’re telling the truth, that person would be able to psychically heal damage done to a person’s psychic consciousness. ’

‘Psychic consciousness?’ Savannah felt like a sponge.

Isaiah’s excitement was growing. ‘Amazing concept, right? The belief among scholars studying psychic phenomenon is that all babies are born psychics, to one degree or another. Isn’t that wild?

Unfortunately, we’ve come into a world where those gifts are ignored or rejected at birth, even treated as black magic and witchcraft.

Psychic babies didn’t live long in the Stone Ages.

Imagine what happened during the Middle Ages or the Inquisition.

Then along came the Renaissance, and the few babies strong enough to have survived, were at last able to contribute to society in phenomenal ways. ’

‘You believe psychics fueled the Renaissance?’ That actually made sense. Psychics did see things differently. How could they not?

‘No, I believe all people are psychics, Savannah. Every man, woman, and child walking the earth today is gifted. Some gifts are just stronger than others. Some are encouraged to grow while others are stamped out. Some gifts are scary, like yours and mine.’

She held her breath. Scary?

‘Precognition,’ Isaiah answered quietly. ‘Can you influence people to change their minds without them knowing it? Can you bend their will to suit your agenda? Could you make someone not step on a bus in Israel because you know there’s a bomb on that bus?’

‘No,’ she breathed, her heart suddenly beating up high in her throat at all Isaiah had implied. Holy Mother, a person like that could destroy the world if they were evil enough. She had to ask, ‘Can you?’

‘Yes. I’m a Level Ten. I believe you are, too. Think about it. Have you ever compelled someone to, oh, I don’t know, leave and never come back?’

‘Me? Why, umm…’ She didn’t know what else to say. That was precisely what she’d done to Keller. Isaiah was right. She was scary, too .

‘The point is that none of the rest of us come from the strong psychic upbringing that you do. You had your great grandmother to guide you. But the rest of us had to figure things out as we went. It’s hard for a kid to wake up one day and realize he’s different, that he’s hearing things no one else can.

No teenager likes being labeled ‘the weirdo’.

We all wanted to fit in, and… shit. I am so dumb.

That’s it! I should’ve recognized what Keller needed from the start. ’

‘Why, because you’re God?’ Savannah teased. She couldn’t help herself. She needed a break from this all-too-serious discussion. Isaiah was doing it again, thinking he was responsible for saving the world. ‘Do all men have a hero complex, or is it just you?’

That bought her a genuine laugh. ‘All right, all right, I get the picture—’

‘Excuse me, Isaiah,’ a woman’s mental voice interrupted. ‘We’ve re-located Keller’s GPS signal.’

‘Re-located?’ Savannah asked.

‘Hey, Eden, I’m speaking with Savannah Church. Savannah, my friend and Special Agent Eden Winchester. Yes, Savannah, sometimes we lose GPS signals during air travel. Where is Keller now, Eden?’

‘Hey, Savannah. I can’t wait to meet you,’ Eden called out.

‘He just entered Florida airspace. We believe he’s being taken to Bruce Fontenette’s stables west of Jacksonville, but Champion Acres sits on a large piece of land near Hollybrook Park.

It’s heavily wooded. I can pinpoint Keller’s phone once he lands, just not him.

Fontenette’s got multiple stables, outbuildings, and plenty of acreage. I was hoping Miss Church could help.’

‘You can’t read him either,’ Isaiah muttered. ‘That’s interesting. I’ve never been able to clearly read Keller, but you can, right, Savannah?’

‘Yes,’ she replied timidly. ‘I connected with him before I knew his name. It was easy. Only now, he’s so far away. I’m not sure I’ll be able to reach him much longer.’

‘Try,’ both Isaiah and Eden said.

Adeptly, Savannah pulled her Buick to the side of the road.

She couldn’t concentrate on driving and locating Keller at the same time.

She and the dogs had passed Lake Pontchartrain by then, and she’d just hooked onto Interstate 59, headed North.

She needed an overpass that would take her back to New Orleans, but she hadn’t come to one yet. ‘Hello, Agent Winchester, I—’

‘Eden, please. May I call you Savannah?’

‘Sure, umm, Eden.’ As quickly as Savannah touched Eden’s mind, she could plainly see the confident petite woman with spiraling blonde curls cascading over her shoulders.

Dressed professionally in a dark black dress shirt, slacks, and low heels, Eden was armed, a pistol holstered on her hip and a badge on her chest. Her eyes were a vivid, intelligent green that seemed to be looking straight through Savannah.

The images came faster then. Not too long ago, Eden Winchester had been the Bureau’s only psychic.

This morning, she’d left a toddler, a cute little guy named Kyler at home with her nanny.

Ky Winchester, her husband, the strapping, handsome man she adored with her whole heart, stood over her shoulder, dressed in black, an FBI badge clipped to his belt.

Another man Eden respected, her boss, Tucker Chase, hovered nearby.

Dark-haired, intense dark brown eyes that sparked with ego, pride and—something else.

Had to be love the way that man glowed. Love for an equally strong woman and a teenage son whom he adored—Melissa and Devlin. But Tucker called him Deuce.

The images came faster. Savannah could barely keep up with the information pouring out of Eden’s brilliant mind and into hers.

Vivid splashes of someone’s time spent in Vietnam roared over Savannah.

On its heels, vivid, wild blues of frozen Alaska burst like a dynamic Northern light.

Next came another mountain of a man, also with dark hair, Special Agent Tate Higgins.

His pixie-sized wife, Winslow Arizona. The freedom loving state of Texas.

Longhorns. American flags snapping in a stiff breeze.

A desert in far off Sierra Leone, and...

‘Stop, Eden. Stop. You’re swamping me,’ Savannah whispered, her inexperienced mind fluttering much like that flag she’d seen. ‘ Too much. You’re sending too much. I can’t absorb it as fast as you’re sending. Tamp it down. Please. Slow the flow.’

‘I can do that?’ Eden asked even as Isaiah inserted, ‘Come on, Eden, compartmentalize. We talked about this. You just need to practice. Think order. Think calm. Think structure. ’

It took another minute before Savannah could sort out what she needed from everything that could wait for another day.

By then she’d pressed her forehead against her steering wheel and her eyes were closed to help her focus.

Red whined anxiously from the back seat, while Galahad still snored.

Silly boy. He’d been sleeping since they’d left the hotel.

‘Who’s traveling with you?’ she asked, needing to understand which of the men she’d just been shown could actually help find Keller now.

She’d never met psychics like Isaiah or Eden before.

These two were powerful. Even Gran Mere had communicated more with feelings than actual words.

Psychic conversation would take time getting used to.

‘Just our boss, Special Agent Tucker Chase. I’m sorry, Savannah. I’m used to talking with the guys, and we’re all—’

‘You’re all in sync, I get that, but trust me, Eden, not everyone speaks the same language as well as you do.

’ Savannah couldn’t help her sharp tone.

The deluge of intel she’d just received from Eden had actually hurt her head, and she was more worried for Keller.

‘In the future, stick with one idea or one subject at a time until you know who you’re dealing with.

Then just parse out a thought at a time until you’re sure you’re not coming on too strong. Have you ever heard that less is more?’

‘As I’ve just been properly schooled,’ Isaiah piped in.

‘ Thanks, Savannah. We do tend to forget we’re the different ones in the world.

Which is why we could use a psychic teacher and a training program for our newest recruits, instead of them learning the hard way.

Think about what I asked. Personally, I struggled for years before Tate taught me how to block the deluge of voices crying out for help in the world.

It’d sure be nice to be able to mentor new agents like Keller instead of baptizing them by fire. ’

‘Keller has needs?’ Eden asked.

‘Never mind,’ Isaiah answered. ‘But admit it, Eden. A psychic mentor to guide us through those first turbulent years would’ve saved a lot of headaches.’

‘I had my mother, but yeah. An expert would’ve been more helpful.’

Savannah sniffed. ‘I’m no expert, but right now I’m still in Louisiana. Where are you, Eden?’

‘In the air, East Coast, closing on Jacksonville, Florida.’

Savannah’s heart sank. All this time she’d thought it was just a matter of catching up to some truck on the road.

That she could somehow stop that truck and rescue Keller, that she alone could save him.

She should’ve known better. Fontenette was made of money.

He only had to snap his fingers, and Keller would be gone forever.

A tear slipped from her eye and down her cheek. Pitiful much?

‘A wise woman once told me it wasn’t my job to save the world,’ Isaiah whispered. ‘Find a safer place to park, Savannah. Get off the freeway. Get where you can concentrate and not be worried about traffic. Eden and I can’t reach Keller like you can.’

Well, okay then. Tracking traffic in the rearview mirror, she pulled carefully back onto the busy interstate. ‘Give me a minute. I’ll be in touch as soon as I can.’

‘Thank you,’ Eden said. ‘We need you, Savannah. I need you.’

‘You already know how much I need you,’ Isaiah murmured, ‘but Keller needs you most. Don’t be long.’

Savannah stepped on the gas, shielding her thoughts from her intriguing new friends. Keller might need her help right now, but was he willing to risk his heart again? She wasn’t so sure. Could he let Carol Marie go and move on with his life? That was the real question.