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“Pink dust?” repeated Nine. “I don’t even know where to go with that.”

“Neither did we,” smirked Kane. “You have to understand that it wasn’t until about twenty years ago that we all found one another and discovered what was happening with us. We thought we killed the woman responsible but it turns out we didn’t get to all of them.”

“Who do you think is chasing you?” asked Gaspar.

“I wish I knew. CIA. Some lab that wants to experiment on us. I’m just not sure any longer.”

“You were always different, Kane. We knew that. We saw it,” said Ghost. “How did you and Aislinn meet?”

“It’s a story. A long one,” he grinned.

“We got nothing but time,” said Gaspar.

About twenty years earlier…

Aislinn heard the familiar beeping of the heart monitor attached to her body. Her head was heavy and thick with a drug-induced fog. Her limbs were weak, tingling from the awakening and something inexplicable in the room.

This wasn’t her first rodeo. And no doubt, it wouldn’t be her last. She tried to remember the events of the past few hours. The coffee. The coffee that had ruined her sweater, a sweater she loved. Then she saw Willy, and he let her through. Then, then it was the elevator. She remembered being at work and setting her things down. Then Mr. Lewis walked up to her cubicle.

Oh God! I cursed him out! I’m going to be unemployed.

“You won’t lose your job,” said the rich, velvety voice. Aislinn wondered if it was her imagination or real. She tried to open her eyes, but the heaviness prohibited even one eyelash from moving. “Don’t even try. The doctor said it would be a while before you could probably open your eyes.”

“I- who are you?” she asked in a cracking voice.

“We don’t really know each other. Although, I did lie and tell them I was your boyfriend,” he said, grinning. He knew it was stupid. She couldn’t see his grin, see the face that might make her turn away and scream in horror or laugh.

“Y-you told them. Why?” she asked again, her lashes fluttering with another attempt at opening them.

“They wouldn’t have let me in otherwise.” He said it so matter-of-factly she almost didn’t question him.

“But, I don’t know you,” she said quietly.

“How do you know? You haven’t opened your eyes yet,” he said, smiling down at her.

“I-I know. I know I would recognize your voice.”

He couldn’t argue with that logic. She most likely would have recognized his voice. It was definitely distinguishable from others. The raspy velvet undertones hadn’t always been there. His new voice was courtesy of a Taliban leader.

“I don’t mean to scare you,” he said apologetically. “I’m Kane Jackson. I was passing by your office building when they were taking you out. I’m not sure why I followed, but something told me I should. I promise I’m not a psycho or a stalker.”

“So, you just decided to come along for the ride?” she asked.

“Something like that,” he said quietly.

Aislinn felt the last of the pain slip away and knew it would be okay for her to open her eyes now.

“Is the light out?” she asked.

“Yes, I thought it might be easier for you,” he said quietly. His face was something most women needed to get used to gradually. He stepped back a few steps from the bed and watched as she carefully let her eyes flutter open. He knew that she was trying to focus, trying to see his image.

“Hello,” she said quietly in the sweetest voice he’d ever heard. His breath caught in his chest, and his stomach flipped.

“Hello.”

“Can you step closer for me?” she asked.

He was hesitant, wary, and she wanted to know why. He took a small step forward, and she saw his size more clearly. He was dressed in dark jeans and a sweatshirt. His hair was shoulder-length, rich shades of wavy brown tresses kissing the broad muscles tight beneath the sweatshirt.

“Closer.”

He took another tentative step closer. She looked directly at him, directly into his face, and he held his breath. Waiting with bated breath, he prepared himself for the inevitable gasp.

“Thank you. You said your name is Kane? Do we know one another?” she asked calmly. His eyes went wide with shock. She showed no reaction at all, no signs of disgust or fear.

“Y-yes, my name is Kane. No, we don’t know each another. As I said, I saw you coming out of that building and just felt like maybe you could use someone by your side.”

“I see. And you’re used to rescuing damsels in distress?” she said with a small grin.

“Not hardly.” His lips were tight, and he watched her face. She was joking with him, actually joking with him.

“Well, I do appreciate you being here,” she said, trying to sit up. She pushed the button on the bed and raised the head, her body now upright and woozy. She waited to gain her equilibrium. “I need to leave now.”

“You can’t leave,” he said calmly.

“Why not?”

“The doctors are doing a bunch of tests on you. They said you would most likely be here at least twenty-four hours, if not more.”

“I don’t need a bunch of tests. I know what it was. It was a headache. A bad one.”

“Lady…”

“Aislinn,” she countered.

“Aislinn, that’s beautiful. Aislinn, I’ve seen my fair share of headaches, had a few of my own,” he said, rubbing the side of his face, “but I’ve never seen a headache that caused so much pain.”

“Mine are, unusual. But I’ve had them since I was a little girl. Believe me. There is nothing that anyone can do for them.”

Aislinn pushed up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. The glass partitions that separated her from the other emergency room patients were slightly ajar. She looked out at the nurses’ station. The back of a tall doctor leaned over the desk made her suddenly sit up straight. As he turned, she could see his profile clearly and knew that her vision was real.

“What’s wrong? Are you in pain? Should I call the doctor?” asked Kane.

“I need you to get me out of here. It’s a matter of life and death.”

“Life and-look, Aislinn, I think you need help,” he said, shaking his head.

“No, you look, Kane. I don’t know you, and you don’t know me, but I promise you this is a matter of life and death. I need to get out of here.”

“Okay, okay,” he said, raising his hands in self-defense. “But I need more context.”

“More context? You don’t need more context. You can’t help me. I just need to get out of here. Can you help me do that? Can you help me get home?”

“I can do that, but you need to give me an explanation, and then I can help you,” he said firmly.

Kane recognized fear when he saw it, and something had spooked Aislinn. He wasn’t sure what, but he knew that something put fear in her eyes, and he desperately wanted to be the man to remove it.

Aislinn eyed the tall, dark man. At five-foot-five, she was average. Her curves were athletic and firm but still curves. Some men liked them. Some didn’t. It didn’t matter to her. A relationship would never be in the cards for Aislinn. Her eyes traveled up his body. He was well over six feet, his defined muscles etched beneath the tight-fitting sweatshirt. His brown hair was shaggy and still wet from the rain, touched his shoulders, the green of his eyes stared into her soul.

Aislinn let her eyes follow the scars along his face. Ugly, raised scars that appeared to be burns from his cheekbone to his neckline and below the sweatshirt.

“Tell me something honest and real about yourself. And don’t lie,” she said, “I’ll know.”

“I never lie.” He crossed his arms, flexing purposefully. “I was in the Army for almost twenty years.” He stared at her, his arms folded, waiting for her response. He watched her eyeing his scars and knew she was curious.

“Thank you for that.” She started to stand and reach for her clothes, but he grabbed the stack of damp garments and held them out of reach.

“Not so fast. Something honest about you.” Aislinn eyed the man again, her rich brown eyes penetrating his own.

“Fine, but remember you asked,” she said, taking a deep breath. She wasn’t sure why she was willing to risk everything to tell this man, but she knew in her heart it was the right thing to do. Her only prayer was that he wouldn’t judge her, or worse, he wouldn’t call for the doctors. “My headaches aren’t just headaches. They’re visions. Visions of murder, and that doctor out there is going to murder someone tonight.”

CHAPTER FOUR

“Jesus, are you serious?” frowned Wilson.

“I’m afraid so. It’s just been us the last few years so it doesn’t happen as often for her. She has to physically touch the person, or they touch her.”

“And your gift?” asked Cruz.

“I can tell whether a man is good or evil by simply shaking his hand.”

“That’s how you knew that chieftain was going to set a trap for all of us,” nodded Ghost.

“Yes, sir. But I couldn’t tell you that. You’d think I was a lunatic,” smirked Kane.

“Probably,” he smiled. “What about you and your wife?” He nodded toward the doctor, Adam and he grinned at him.

“Another story,” said Adam.

About eighteen years ago…

“Are you alright? Can I give you a hand?” he asked. Fiona craned her neck looking up at the rain-soaked stranger. His black hair plastered to his head, his blue eyes glowing in the streetlight. She looked down at his hand and back up at him.

Gingerly, she took the masculine hand and he easily lifted her to her feet. Her backside was soaked through, her hands stinging and burning from the concrete. She wiggled her ankle and felt the twinge of pain, but knew it wasn’t severe.

“Thank you,” she said quietly.

“I saw everything if you’d like to make a police report,” he said smoothly.

“You’re American.” She said the words as a statement, not a question and he nodded ever so slightly.

“Guilty,” he smiled.

“Sorry, no guilt intended.”

He was still holding her hand and she looked up into his face, his eyes almost appeared as though they were calculating something. Fiona thought she should be nervous, but all she felt was warmth and security.

“It doesn’t seem that you have any serious injuries. Is your ankle painful?” he said.

“So, you’re a doctor then, are you?” she smiled jokingly.

“Actually, I am,” he replied. “I’m here on vacation for a friend’s wedding, but yes, I’m a doctor. A surgeon actually.”

“Impressive. Yes, I mean no. No serious injuries. The ankle will most likely be bruised and sore, but nothing I can’t live with.”

“I’m Adam, Adam Thorn,” he said still holding her hand.

“Hello Adam Thorn, and thank you, again. I’m Fiona Graham and I suppose I should probably take a taxi back home. That is, if you’ll give me back my hand.” Fiona smiled at the giant of a man.

“Why don’t I buy you dinner first so you can warm up and dry off? By that time, most of the evening traffic will have died down and you can catch a taxi home.”

“Alright, O’Neill’s is pretty good. Good Irish pub food, if you’re okay with that,” she said.

“I’m more than okay with that.” He held her elbow as they crossed the street and the warmth of his hand travelled up Fiona’s arm at an alarming rate. It was as if his hand was on fire and her body instantly warmed.

“You’re quite tall aren’t you?” she asked looking up at him. His eyes grew wide and a small grin escaped his beautiful lips.

“I suppose I am. I’m six foot two, but you’re pretty tall as well. Most women don’t reach my shoulders.”

“Aye, I am. Five feet nine in my bare feet. My parents were both tall. Da was six feet three and mam was five feet eight. I suppose it’s a curse and a blessing.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s a curse. It’s a nice change for me.”

“Well, thank you. It’s harder for a tall woman though, most men don’t want to have a woman as tall or taller than him. I have to be careful with my shoes.”

Present day…

“Anyway, we discovered that we were meant to be together both through our gifts and romantic match. It didn’t matter. We already knew that.”

“So, you can see inside the body and assess damage?” asked Cruz with a perplexed expression.

“Yes. I can see just about everything and usually diagnose it without x-rays or scans. What I can’t see, Fiona usually can feel and she can heal it. She takes on the injury, the cancer, whatever it is and within minutes it’s gone from their body and into her body.”

“Holy shit, that has to be scary,” said Cruz.

“I didn’t want her to do it at first but we all know how that turned out for me,” he smirked.

“What about you, Flip?” asked Gaspar.

“My gift is simpler. I see something and I can move it. Just about anything. Boulders, weapons, vehicles, anything.” They all stared at him and he chuckled. “Watch.”

Standing he walked toward the edge of the grove, looking at the beautiful stone fountain. It easily weighed a ton or more. Lifting it, he moved it toward another path and set it back down.

“Phillip Cho! You best put my fountain back where it belongs right now!” yelled Mama Irene.

“Oh shoot. Sorry, ma’am. I’ll put it back.” He did exactly that and she smiled at him, nodding.

“Good man. I’ll get you an extra piece of cake for that.”

“I love cake,” smirked Flip.

“You’re gonna love it here,” laughed Tailor.

“Were you in service as well?” asked Ghost. Flip nodded. “I heard about you. They were afraid of you because of the things you could do. Flipping vehicles, even tanks, pulling weapons toward dying men, removing weapons from the reach of the enemy. They thought you were some sort of voodoo or witchdoctor magic.”

“People didn’t understand and were afraid of me. I tried to help that’s all,” he said.

“We understand those feelings,” said Nine. “We don’t have your gifts but it doesn’t change that sometimes trying to do something good doesn’t win you any friends.”

“Nat is a fire starter. If you anger her, watch out or you’ll get burned for sure,” he chuckled. They all frowned at him and he shook his head. “I’m kidding. She has great control now but she can definitely do some damage. We try to keep her and Nash somewhat close because he can bring the rains or water from any source.”

“Spook? What about you?” asked Ian.

“Unfortunately, my brain hears every wireless communication, airline call, trains, cell phones, e-mails, anything. If it’s digital data, wireless data, it passes through my head. Where we were in Wyoming, it was somewhat limited but as we were traveling, it was horrible.”

“Fucking hell,” muttered Nine. “I hate hearing the ping of a message on my cell phone. That has to be miserable.”

“It’s not bad here. I think because of the shields you have on the property it’s preventing some of it. I’ve felt much better. My wife, Valentina, she can turn hate into love, or love into hate. She feels it with people and is able to manipulate that but it can also make her sick if it’s too much. Especially the hate.”

“It’s just insane that we’re even talking about this,” said Ghost. “If I hadn’t seen it all for myself, I’d say you were crazy. What about the others?”

“Well,” said Kane with a long sigh. “Ivy can make plants grow. Anything that once inhabited the ground, she can bring to life again. It’s how we’ve been able to feed ourselves when things are lean. Kelly can blend in with any surrounding, camouflage herself and she’s literally unseen. Her husband, Juan can transport from one location to another just by visualizing where he’s going, but he’s naked when he does it. Not very convenient.”

“No, I don’t suppose it is,” laughed Ian.

“You saw some of what Garrett is capable of, the winds and Griffin and David, speed. Ashley & Akin can block sound, creating absolute silence.”

“I need them around Mama when she’s yelling at me,” smirked Gaspar.

“We’ve lost a few along the way. Some were with us for a while, others only briefly,” said Kane. He shook his head looking out over the grove.

“You did what you could, Kane,” said Adam.

“It wasn’t enough. I should have reached out for help sooner,” he said.

“Why didn’t you?” asked Ghost. “A brother never turns a brother away. Not in our house anyway.”

“We’ve not experienced that much in our history, Ghost. I could only hope that you would remember us, remember me and not turn us away. Honestly? I’m not sure what I would have done if you had. We’re about at the end of our rope and our energy.”

“I remembered you, brother, and this all explains a helluva lot.”

“Is there somewhere we can rest. We’re all pretty damn tired.”

“Of course,” said Gaspar. “Mama has cabins ready for you on an island where we live. Most of our children and grandchildren live here on the main property. The older team members moved to another island quite a while back. Something we’ll explain later. For now, let’s get you all to your new homes.”