Page 48 of The Hitman and the Psychic

“At the end of the hall. I’ll show you.”

He took a step in that direction, but I put my hand on his chest to stop him. “That’s okay. I can find it. You should stay out here. It’s better if I do this alone.” Smiling, I patted his chest and hurried to the hallway, hoping he’d stay where he was.

“Chicken.”

I ignored him and stepped to the last door in the hallway. The door was partially closed, and I slipped my glove back on, wanting to make sure I only touched what was necessary, and hoping to avoid seeing him with some woman.

Inside, his bedroom held a king-sized bed covered in a plush, black comforter. The wooden headboard and dresser had a rustic, outdoorsy finish, and the walls were painted a dark forest green. It was earthy and masculine, completely different from the contemporary look of his apartment.

Finding his closet door ajar, I hurried over and pulled it open. The large walk-in closet had clothes and shoes neatly organized on one side. The other side was empty, except for a sexy, ice blue lingerie set with a matching bathrobe. Hmm… I was not touching that, I didn’t want or need to know whothosebelonged to.

Closing the door, I wandered over to his dresser. Loose change and a tube of lip-balm sat on top, along with a framed photo of a much younger Stone standing beside abeautiful woman. From their similarities, it was easy to tell the woman was Stone’s mother.

A round, polished stone sat next to the photo. It was black, with white veins running through it, and would easily fit in the palm of your hand. From the shine, it looked like Stone had handled it a lot, maybe even running a thumb or finger over the smooth surface.

Should I touch it? It had to be something personal, and definitely important to Stone. Maybe it had something to do with his name? It might be just what I was looking for. Pulling off my glove, I held my breath and reached out to pick it up.

The moment it touched my palm, my vision went dark. The room disappeared, replaced by hot desert sand and blinding sun. Shouting sent my pulse racing, right before a huge explosion rocked the ground.

Screaming filled the air, and gunfire erupted. Stone emerged from the smoke, wearing military gear and dragging a wounded soldier to safety. More shots sounded and he hit the ground, instinctively covering the fallen soldier with his body.

The gunfire stopped and he jumped to his feet, rushing to pull the soldier toward a gate and the compound on the other side. Another explosion rocked the ground, and shots sounded again, but he didn’t stop. Ducking into a crouch, he moved faster, continuing to pull the soldier behind him. The gate swung open and he—

“Hey! Give me that!” Stone grabbed the rock from my hand.

The vision disappeared, jerking me back to his room. Gasping, I staggered back and collided with the edge of the bed. Off balance, I fell backwards, landing right on my wound. With a yelp, I tried to get up, only to have my feet slide out from under me. Right before my butt met thehardwood floor, Stone grabbed me under the arms and pulled me to my feet.

I shoved away from him, fury tightening my chest. “What did you do that for?”

“I… I didn’t want you to see—” He shook his head. “This doesn’t have anything to do with the current situation.”

My brows shot up. “How do you know? There were explosions. It could have everything to do with it.”

His jaw tightened, and his gaze hardened. “It doesn’t. It’s in the past. It’s over.”

I studied him, seeing the way his whole body had tensed up. That had been a bad time in his life. I let out a breath and softened my voice. “You knew I was here to touch things. If you didn’t want me to touch it, you should have said something.”

Swallowing, he shook his head. “I came in as soon as I remembered it, but you already had it in your hand. I just reacted.” He absently rubbed the rock with his thumb, like it was something he’d done many times before. Realizing what he was doing, he hastily set it back on his dresser. “Look, let’s just forget it, okay?”

“It could be important.” I wasn’t trying to be a jerk, but I got my visions for a reason.

His mouth pulled into a frown, and he shook his head again as if fighting back strong emotions.

I softened my voice. “I saw a battle. It looked like you were in the middle of a war zone. There was an explosion, and guns were shooting, with bullets flying everywhere. You were helping someone—dragging them to safety—”

“Stop.” Stone tensed, the muscles in his arms tightening. “You don’t need to tell me the rest.”

I paused. “You were a soldier?”

“Yeah.” He glanced away. “The… rock was kind of a… goodluck charm.”

“Oh.”

He shook his head. “But I’m sure it has nothing to do with what’s happening now.”

I raised a brow. “But what if it does? Where were you when this happened? It looked like the Middle East. I’m guessing you were in the army?”

He took a deep breath. “It happened a long time ago.”

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