Chills & Thrills: Three Novel Box Set Read Online Free PDF Page A

with Ayden. Probably because Ayden did not hide his feelings for me. Probably because Ayden was a single man. I now knew that Noah had feelings for me. It was hard not to care about your team members—especially this team, a team that worked so closely together, trained so closely, and shared such an unusual bond. I was chalking our kiss up to that, but couldn’t help wondering if it did mean more. However, I couldn’t allow that. I was not willing to come between someone’s marriage.
    Noah’s wife worked in another department in the CIA. A far less glamorous and safer department. I knew the two of them loved each other, and Noah had always said kind things about his wife. But, I was fairly certain, he had never looked at his wife the way he looked at me the other night. I had seen them together enough to believe that the spark between them had either died, or was never there in the first place, and yes it made me curious, but it was not my business.
    The elevator door opened onto a bright hallway with polished floors and gleaming ceiling lights.
    We passed through a checkpoint at the far end, underwent fingerprint scans, retina scans, and telepath scans. Strange to be sure, but there were those in the department who specialized in telepathy, including our boss. No one but an expert could pass the telepaths.
    I waited for the young man to scan my thoughts, then he nodded and I passed through the final checkpoint and stepped deeper into the PSI Los Angeles office.
    A receptionist looked up from her desk. She could have been Moneypenny from James Bond. I always suspected that the man I sometimes thought of as my stepdad, likened himself to James Bond.
    A psychic James Bond, that is.
    “Mr. Simms is waiting for you,” said the receptionist.
    I nodded and we all stepped into Grant Simms’ spacious office.
    The office had a majestic view of downtown Los Angeles, high enough that helicopters swept before the massive windows, which Grant Simms was currently peering through, his hands clasped behind his back. Grant was a tall man with wide shoulders. He’d been a hell of a field agent, I had heard. Now he ran a secret government agency that few in congress had even heard about. I was still certain the president himself had no knowledge of this division of the agency.
    “I’m sorry to bring you back here so soon,” said Grant, finally turning around. He would have been a handsome man, with his full head of gray hair and strong jaw and deep-set eyes. Handsome, except for the half dozen fine scars that ran along his cheeks. They looked like knife wounds, except Grant Simms never talked about them, and pretended as if they weren’t there. I pretended too.
    Grant Simms had always been there for me, especially when my father was killed. Grant had overseen my early training and education, and had even recruited me for this very program. He’d always been there, through thick and thin.
    And so when he asked about my injuries, he was sincere, his concern for me obvious. But he never gave me special treatment in the program, and for that I was glad. I didn’t need special treatment.
    Ayden sat in one of the four client chairs before Grant’s leather tooled desk. “What gives, boss? Can’t a guy spend a little time on a sandy beach with a beautiful woman?”
    Ayden looked at me. I was used to his flirting. Noah looked away.
    “The beaches can wait,” said Grant. He leveled his considerable stare onto me. “I have an assignment for your team.”
    I nodded, waiting.
    “We’re looking for a girl who’s been kidnapped.”
    “A rescue?” said Noah, sitting up.
    Grant Simms nodded. “She’s not just any girl, either.”
    Noah rubbed the back of his neck. I knew he was getting a psychic hit. “She’s one of us,” he said suddenly.
    Grant Simms nodded. “Very good.”
    “There’s more,” said Noah, rubbing his neck again and looking at me. “She’s an audial. Like you.”
     
     
     
    Chapter Five
     
     
    I looked