The Power of Three Read Online Free PDF Page A

smelled good. She had the absurd desire
to press her face against the crook of his neck and simply inhale
him.
    Maybe her government had a point about
keeping male and female telepaths strictly apart. She felt quite
unlike herself, all needy and—
    “ You’re hurting, too.”
    She glanced up at him and then wished she
hadn’t. This close, his eyes were a deep warm brown, his military
short black hair fighting a curl and his hard mouth was…
    “ I can help you with that.”
    He reached for her hand and she snatched it
away.
    “ What’s wrong?” he hesitated . “Did those bastards
touch you, hurt you ?”
    She shrugged which brought her even
closer into his shoulder. “Just a little
welcom e- to-our-facility party.
I don’t think they appreciate female soldiers or
telepaths. ”
    He reclaimed her hand.
“ Then let’s do our best to heal each
other .”
    “ I don’t know
how .”
    “ It’s easy. Just let down
your shields a little .”
    She looked at him. “ Easy? To do that ?”
    He squeezed her hand.
“ I forgot you don’t live in a very tolerant
society. Your shields are extraordinary. Even most telepaths
wouldn’t get anything out of you without your
permission .”
    “ Thank you .”
She concentrated very hard and felt his mind flow into hers. She’d
always hated leaving herself vulnerable. The shock of his intrusion
was like a jolt of caffeine. “ Oh .”
    “ Can you feed it back to
me ?”
    She concentrated again, and felt him respond
in an infinite loop of healing. Within a few moments, her headache
dissipated, as did the ache in her kidneys and ribs.
    “ Better?”
    “ Yes, sir.” She eased her hand away.
“Thank you, sir.”
    “ Esca will do fine.”
    “ But you’re an officer.”
    “ Captain Jong is in charge of this
operation.” He shifted position as though to test the strength in
his leg. “I’m still technically on leave.”
    “ Which means no one will come after
us.”
    “ I’ve arranged a pickup in
thirty-six Pavlovan hours. All we have to do is get out of here and
meet the shuttle .” He sighed. “ Of course I didn’t expect Wassain to run off and leave me
inside the facility as opposed to breaking my way
in .”
    Soreya smiled for the first time.
“ I can get us out.”
    “ Then one wonders why the
hell you’re still sitting here. ”
    She glanced up at him. “Because there was nowhere for me to
run.”
    He shifted closer until his upper body
was aligned with hers against the wall. “Wassain said you were considered natural wastage. I told him
where to stuff it .”
    “ I bet he took that
well. ”
    “ So well that when I get
back I’m going to either kill him with my bare hands or have him
court-marshaled. ”
    The cold fury in his words made Soreya shiver
and yet she wasn’t afraid of him. It was the first time anyone had
stood up for her since her mother was taken. She fought to get her
mind back onto the practical.
    “ If they are consistent, the
guards check in about every two hours. I can create a diversion
that will fool them long enough for us to get
away. ”
    “ Then do it,
Lang. ”
    She nodded and walked over to the door. There
was no sound from outside but the cell doors were thick so that
could be deceptive.
    Esca’s deep voice resonated in her
head. “ I can sense life forms through their
thought patterns. There’s no one out
there .”
    She focused on the wall closest to the door,
and placed her palm on it. Closing her eyes she allowed her mind to
follow the pulses of energy, sorting them into their correct forms
and identifying the systems she needed.
    “ Are you ready, sir?”
    He rose to his feet and came to stand beside
her. Upright he loomed over her.
    “ What can I do?”
    “ Do you have a map of the interior of
the facility?” He sent it to her telepathically. “Thanks. Can you
keep an eye on our escape route while I deal with the security
system?”
    “ Absolutely, Lang.”
    She found the five separate sources she
needed to