Free Agent S5: Jaydan by Joni Hahn Page B

on hips. “Yes. I am.”
    Swallowing down a bite of food, he paused to stare at her. “No. You’re not. I want to get in, see what’s going down, get Keegan, and get out. If I take you, it’ll take me twice as long.”
    “And how do you propose to get her to go along with you?”
    He shrugged. “Carry her.”
    Hope gave an incredulous bark of laughter. “You saw how she reacted last night. She’s terrified. She won’t go with you willingly.”
    “I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.”
    Starting toward him, she stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes zeroing in on the far wall. Her face visibly paled, her breath quickening.
    “Hope...”
    She didn’t acknowledge him, didn’t move a muscle.
    “Hope. What’s wrong?”
    Standing in place, she trembled, her chest heaving for breath.
    Jumping up from his chair, he shook her. She didn’t respond, her body flailing like a ragdoll. Fear rolled down his spine, hot and lethal. “ Hope . Dammit, wake up.”
    She fell against him, her unconscious body sliding down his torso. Lifting her into his arms, he carried her to one of the living room sofas and laid her on it. Kneeling beside her, he clutched her hand in his and kissed her palm.
    He couldn’t remember feeling this scared since his father died.
    The realization startled him. He’d vowed long ago, after he’d left home, that he’d never fear again.
    “Hope, wake up,” he whispered, kissing her lips, her forehead, her cheek.
    The taste of salt on his lips made him sit up. Tears ran from her closed eyes and into the hair at her ears.
    His heart pounded against his ribs.
    “ Hope ,” he said in a loud voice. “Wake up, dammit .”
    Her eyes opened as though she woke from a nap, calm and relaxed. “How long was I out?”
    The breath rushed from him in a gust as curse words spew from his mouth like bad tobacco. “About three minutes. What the hell happened?”
    Glaring at him, she sat up. “Why are you yelling?”
    He waved an arm in the air. “You scared the shit out of me, that’s why.”
    She stood and walked into the kitchen. “I had a vision. That’s all.”
    He stared after her, incredulity rooting him to the floor. “Are you saying that happens all the time?” Rising to his feet, he followed her.
    “Not all the time.” She picked up her orange juice and drained the contents. “Most of the time, I don’t black out.”
    “And you’re just now telling me this?” He ran his fingers through his hair and over the microchip beneath. “What if it had happened last night at the luau or while you were driving?”
    Whipping around, she waved her hands in the air. “What am I supposed to do, Jaydan? Sit in a chair twenty-four seven and wait for them?”
    She had a point. It just didn’t make him feel any better about it. “Do you get any advanced warning?”
    Taking a deep breath, she shook her head. “No. I’ve just tried to deal with them the best I can.” Her voice turned gloomy. “The truth is, dealing with the visions isn’t the hard part. It’s waiting for them to happen that’s difficult.”
    Approaching her, he ran a thumb over her still moist cheek. “This one made you cry. What happened?”
    She backed away from him, a glimpse of fear vanishing behind a wall of resolve. Walking past him, she headed down the hall. “Nothing that concerns you.”
    ***
    They found Dylan McCall running up on shore, surfboard under his arm. The board had seen better days, as had the faded, navy swim trunks riding low on his hips. His washboard abs were lean and hard, the prominent muscles on his arms and shoulders a twisted harmony of sinew. What had been day-old stubble last night looked more like an unkempt, starter beard, his copper locks glistening with golden highlights.
    The man ranked right up there at stifling on the hottie thermometer. However, he didn’t come close to Jaydan’s dark, mouthwatering appeal.
    As if he’d known she’d been thinking about him, Jaydan’s hand appeared in