Jinn & Toxic Page 14

  Jinn glared at him, pretending she wanted the fight. “I thought you’d never ask.”

  His girlish chuckle filled the tent. “You surprise me. We could have shot you on sight yet you come to fight to the death for the second time. What makes you think you can win when she beat you before?”

  “I’ve been called stubborn in my day. I guess I’m a sucker for punishment.”

  “Hmmm…I might keep you if you win. You intrigue me.”

  Burgess snapped, “You’ll die this time, Dennison.”

  Unable to let the woman know she was there to save her, Jinn taunted, “Try me.”

  Iceman chuckled. “Very good. You will meet in one hour. It’s too bad you don’t have your dress still. I love to see a woman fight in her most vulnerable state.”

  “You’re kidding yourself if you think I’m vulnerable in any way.”

  “What is your first name, Dennison?”

  “J…Julie.” She’d almost given herself away. I’ll have to be careful with this guy.

  He offered a feral grin and slid his fingertip across her breast.

  “No man touches me unless he’s earned the right. Keep your paws to yourself.” Anger began to build as he continued, moving up to her collarbone then her neck.He slipped his fingers through her hair and clenched his fist, yanking her head back. His cold stare became frosted as he kept her gaze.

  “I tell you what to do, not the other way around. Do you understand me?”

  “For now.” Jinn raised her chin and narrowed her eyes to show defiance. She was rewarded with a sharp slap across her face.

  “You’ll learn.” Iceman turned and left them. “Watch them carefully, Lopez.”

  Jinn listened carefully and found she could hear more than one person outside the tent.

  ***

  There was no time to warn Burgess of her plan as Jinn watched Lopez checking his weapon. One look at the woman proved she wasn’t into listening to reason. Her hard stare was enough proof. Jinn taunted Burgess to keep up the farce.

  “You’ll lose, Burgess. Why not give up now and admit it.”

  “Bite me!”

  “I may, but it will be more like I’ll slay you.”

  “Why you bitch. I’m going to take you apart piece by piece.”

  Their guard chuckled. “Shut up. You’ll get your chance to fight soon enough.”

  “It won’t be much of a fight with this useless waste of woman. She should have escaped from your gang on the first day.”

  “Ha! No one escapes the Tridente de Muerte. Iceman is powerful. He has many women, guns, and drugs, as well as mucho money. Untouchable, that is him.”

  Lying on her side, Jinn studied the man. He had a lot of faith in his leader but also a touch of awe. It was time to take him down a few pegs.

  “If your boss is so great, why isn’t he sharing the wealth with you and your friends?”

  Bingo! The man’s expression changed to one of dismay as though he’d only just realized that fact.

  “He pays us well enough.”

  “More than a measly wage, I hope. How much does he have compared to you?”

  The man didn’t answer but stood, clicking the stock of his gun into place.

  “Seriously, what does he pay?”

  “Stop talking, you witch. My leader knows what’s fair.”

  “You’re telling us that your leader makes you risk your life for peanuts. That’s great. Maybe I can hire you to rob a NorthAmerican bank and give me all the money while I pay you nothing. It’s the same deal.”

  “Be quiet!” he shouted, seriously upset. His hands began shaking and his expression turned foreboding. Jinn had hit the mark and now could wait for the results to unfold.

  Chapter Twelve: Mirror, Mirror...

  The wait was killing him! Tab couldn’t stand another minute yet years of training helped him to calm his mind and think clearly. It was time for strategies, not rash decisions. Jinn could take care of herself, and so could Burgess, if she was still alive. As for the boy, Tab figured he was a commodity and safe enough as long as he was useful.

  The team had to watch what was happening, gather information, and take out the enemy at the precise moment, just like all the other missions they’d been on. So why was it so difficult to stand by and let fate intervene? It was because he loved Jinn, and now his judgment was cloudy. For years he’d warned his team not to get involved with anyone for their own sakes and now look at what he’d done.

  Iceman came out of the tent. “Watch them carefully, Lopez.”

  Jinn was in there, he knew, and watched, waited, held his breath, and died a thousand deaths inside. When Iceman went into the tent next door and came rushing out again screaming for his men, Tab knew something had seriously rattled the man.

  “Where is Solange?”

  Two men with rifles shrugged, but a third answered.

  “She took a Jeep and left with the boy.”

  It seemed impossible, yet the albino paled further.

  “Go after them and bring them back here. If you fail, I will kill you!”

  The three men raced off and climbed into a truck then left, rumbling down the beaten path. Iceman was furious, his face becoming mottled red as he began to pace in front of the tents.

  “That bitch. I’ll rip her limb-from-limb. Lopez, get out here.”

  When the man didn’t answer or leave the tent, Iceman shouted, “Lopez!”

  ***

  “Lopez, does he respect you? Does he give you a bonus when you do a good job? Does he even tell you when you do so?”

  It was almost too easy for Jinn to taunt the man as Lopez stood watch.

  “I said be quiet, woman.”

  “Oh, come on, Lopez, tell me you’re happy working for a murderous bastard.”

  She kept pushing his buttons until he came over to her raising the rifle to strike her. She’d freed her hands just in time, hooked her feet behind his ankles, and pulled on his pant leg so that he lost his balance and fell forward. Before he could utter a word, she grabbed the shoulder strap from the rifle and choked him until he was unconscious.

  Once she’d dropped him to the ground, she took his knife and cut the ties on her ankles then released Burgess.

  “The Captain is waiting. Let’s go.”

  “Wait a minute. I don’t believe you. You all abandoned me.”

  Jinn rolled her eyes, frustrated to no end. “We don’t have time for this, Burgess. Let’s go. No wonder you didn’t escape on your own. I’m beginning to think you want to be a prisoner.”

  “Like hell,” the woman grumbled, rubbing her wrists. “They kept me in the box when I didn’t conform to their orders. I want out of here.”

  “We have to take out Iceman or this won’t end. The team is still scattered and the two traitors are dead. Now are you with me, or what?”

  “Two? Who was it?”

  “Seguire and Tanaka.”

  “No, that’s not possible.”

  Anxious, Jinn watched the tent flap. “We don’t have time now to argue. He’ll be back soon.”

  “Lopez!” came the shout. They were out of time.

  Jinn picked up the rifle and handed the extra handgun to Burgess.

  “Give me the knife too,” she said.

  With a shrug, Jinn handed it over.

  “We’ll finish this between us later.”

  “Burgess, you really need to work on your listening skills. I’m not your enemy.”

  The flap opened and in raced Iceman and two others. Before either man could lift their weapons, Jinn was able to use her gift. You surrender. Lie down on the ground and give up now. Both men followed her orders.

  Burgess was in a hand-to-hand combat with Iceman, the knife wavering in between them. She barely leaned on her wounded leg. Shots and yelling rang out beyond the tent as the team closed in.

  We’re here. Whispered over her mind was Tab’s welcome voice.

  Another man entered the tent and aimed directly at Burgess, bu
t Jinn slammed the butt of the gun into his abdomen and took him down. He rolled and grabbed her leg, pulling her on top of him. Jinn didn’t have his strength, but she could use her mind. This one was more resistant to suggestion.

  You are weak, much too weak to fight. Sleep now.

  Nothing happened.

  Your limbs are losing strength and you want to sleep. Let go now.

  Finally, the man relaxed into a sigh and closed his eyes.

  Burgess was down on her knees, struggling to hold onto the knife as Tab raced into the tent and grabbed Iceman. His large fist slammed into the albino’s jaw, knocking him backward against the wall of canvas. He slid down and lay still.

  “Are you two all right?” Tab asked.

  “Yes, sir.” Burgess saluted her Captain, but Jinn simply nodded.

  The glance Tab gave her contained an emotion she couldn’t make out. Was he angry or relieved? I never could figure out men.

  “Let’s round these fools up.”

  “Look out!” Burgess shouted.

  Iceman held a pistol on Tab and fired at the same time as he did. A smooth, neat bullet hole landed straight in the middle of Iceman’s forehead while Tab grunted and dropped to his knees.

  “Tab!” Jinn cried, going to him. He slid to the ground. Jinn cradled him in her arms, holding him tight to her chest. “Tab, please be all right.”

  The bullet hole in his jacket was at rib height. Burgess ripped open his clothing and applied pressure to the wound. He was unconscious.

  “Wake up. You have to heal yourself now. Please wake up.”

  “Oh, my God!” Jinn heard a familiar voice say out loud. She lifted her gaze up and saw her mirror image looking back at her.

  “Julie?”

  “Jinn!”

  “What the hell is going on here?” Burgess asked looking back and forth between the sisters.

  The man standing next to Julie rushed forward and brought out a medical kit. He knelt at Tab’s side and worked fast to stem the flow of blood.

  Torn between her sister and the love of her life, Jinn kept staring at Julie, amazed that they still appeared to be identical.

  “How did you get here? I thought you were dead, Julie.”

  “Never mind that, Jinn, are you okay?”

  Burgess stared at the identical women and snapped, “Somebody tell me what’s going on.”

  “Classified, Burgess. Hang tight and we’ll do what we can to fill you in, but the details will be minimal.” Julie sat beside Jinn and touched her cheek tenderly.

  “Hello, big sister. It’s about time we met.”

  “I can’t believe it’s you. How did you find us?”

  “We were following your trail and heard the shots. We’re searching for a little boy who we believe is with that man.” Julie nodded at Iceman.

  “I’ve met Jaques. He’s in the next tent.”

  “Not anymore. Some woman took off with him.”

  The man beside Julie swore but kept working.

  “This is Lope Ramiro Diaz, Jaques’s father. I call him Wolf. We’ve been looking for the boy. Iceman took him from a crooked cop and is using him to block all telepathy. The kid is a strong psychic.”

  “Julie, we have to save him, but Tab, we must do something to help him first.”

  Eyebrow rising in question, Julie asked, “Tab? Since when are you two so informal?”

  “Since we saved each other’s butts a few times. If he lives…oh, Julie, he can’t die. I need him like the air I breathe.”

  Her sister smiled and looked over at the Latino working on Tab.

  “I know what you mean.”

  Tab opened his eyes and stared at Jinn.

  “You’re done with running through the rainforest, woman. I told you, you’re going back to your base to face the music.”

  Jinn reared back as though struck. “Like hell! I just spent the past week saving your hide and this is the thanks I get?”

  The smile Tab bit back escaped though pain still showed in his eyes.

  “You’re all right? Why you jerk. I thought you were a goner. I should kick—”

  “My ass, I know.”

  He pulled her head down and kissed her.

  “Let’s go find Jaques and round up the team. We have a big job to do.”

  “As long as the job is with you, count me in.” Jinn threaded her fingers through his hair and kissed him again.

  “Enough of that mushy stuff. I’m getting nauseous,” Julie said. “We have one more problem, sis. A certain rogue scientist is behind all this and we’re going to take her down.”

  “Who is it?”

  Julie stared back at Jinn with bitterness before she answered. “Someone we haven’t seen since we were ten years old.”

  “Fill me in as we walk. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

  “You better believe it, but first there’s something I’ve been waiting to do for fifteen years. Stand up, Jinn.”

  After releasing Tab, Jinn stood before her sister. It was truly like staring into a mirror except for Julie’s hair was a little lighter in color. Then they hugged and all was right in their world…for now.

  Biography

  Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Franny Armstrong has written creatively since she was a child. Her mother always told her to write down her feelings and she did. When she was ten, she started writing and acting out plays in her garage for the neighborhood kids.

  When she became ill in her forties, she used her author skills to create stories that took her away. Living in the country with her husband and mother, three dogs, and two cats, she loves the silence when working on her books, when she can get it. With three full grown children and four grandchildren, she has a full life.

  Previously, Franny had ten published paranormal romance books, but took them off the market when the contracts ran out to fine-tune her career as an author. She hopes to find new homes for them.

  Writing is her life now. Her main goal is to be a #1 Best Selling author and tour with booksignings.