Free Anita Blake 18 - Flirt by Laurell K. Hamilton Page A

and my voice was squeezed down tight.
    “The other two are still asleep. They worked last night, but when they get up we’ll have men on them, too.”
    “You obviously know our schedules. Now what do you want?” I put the phone down and let him slide it across the table to himself.
    “First, if we don’t check in with our sniper, he shoots Micah when he comes out from the meeting.”
    I nodded. “So I can’t shoot you here.”
    “No,” he said.
    I nodded, small little nods over and over. I wasn’t thinking very clearly, but I had enough sense to put my gun back in its holster. It went in smoothly from all that practice, even while the rest of me was frozen. I couldn’t think. It was like a great roaring silence in my head, but it wasn’t quiet. It was filled with a sound like wind, or storm.
    “Good,” Jacob said, “come with us, quietly, and no one has to get hurt.”
    “What do you want me to do?”
    “We want you to raise the dead for us.”
    “You know you can just make an appointment for that.”
    “You’ve already turned the job down,” he said.
    That made me look at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    “Come outside with us, let us pat you down for weapons, and we’ll take you to our employer. Then it will all be explained.”
    “I would do it before your Nimir-Raj comes out from his meetings,” Nicky said. “You want us to call our friend the sniper before he comes outside again.”
    I stared at him, did the long blink as if I were having trouble focusing. I guess I was; I felt damn near light-headed. I never fainted, but part of my brain was thinking about it. Crap. I had to do better than this, had to be stronger than this.
    I nodded again and got up, but I had to touch the table to steady myself.
    “You’re not going to faint, are you?” Nicky said.
    “No,” I said. I took in a lot of air, let it out slow, did it a second time. “I don’t faint.” I started walking, and really wished I were in jogging shoes rather than high heels, but you never plan to be kidnapped, so you’re never dressed for it.
    I caught my heel on a chair leg, and Nicky grabbed my arm. All touch makes metaphysical powers more. My lioness snarled inside me, her power lashing out, and a slap like claws, saying, Get back!
    Nicky staggered a little, but didn’t let go of my arm. He squeezed hard enough for it to hurt, and growled out, “That hurt!”
    “It was supposed to,” I said.
    “Let her go, Nicky.” Jacob was up with us, using his taller body to try to block the view.
    Nicky growled at him, still holding my arm.
    The lioness and I were in agreement, as we lashed out at them both. The visual was of claws slicing at them. They both reacted as if the pretend claws had weight to them. Jacob touched Nicky’s wrist. “Let her go, now, before we cause a scene.”
    “She started it.”
    “Bullshit,” I said.
    Jacob made the other one let me go. They stepped back, gave me some room. But both their beasts were watching me. It was that feeling that you might get on the grasslands surrounded by all that gold, wavy grass, and you stop because you feel something watching you. I knew I had not just the men’s attention, but also that part of them that turned furry once a month was staring holes in me.
    I heard, felt, smelled my lion’s thought. Make them fight among themselves, save the cubs. It wasn’t words, but it was emotion that translated into words, because I was human and I needed them. But the idea was good; we had enough power to make them fight among themselves—maybe that could save Micah, and Jason, and Nathaniel? But not yet; I wanted them to call off the first sniper from Micah. I needed to cooperate long enough for them to do that. I told my lioness, Patience , and she hunkered down in the long grass and began to wait. She was a stealth predator; they understand patience.
    I was out the doors, slipping my sunglasses on against the bright summer sun. I stopped at the top