Page 49 of The Hitman and the Psychic

“Sure. But at least tell me what happened to the other soldier. It looked like you were trying to help him.”

He closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Unsure if he would tell me, I pushed a little harder. “You were dragging him toward a gated compound. The soldier looked pretty bad. I lost what happened after that because you pulled me out of the vision. I know you made it out, but… what about the other guy? Did he make it?”

Shaking his head, Stone let out a sigh. “I was in the service for six years. My specialty was security—kind of what I do now.” He swallowed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I was good at what I did, but that doesn’t matter when all your intel is wrong.” He swallowed, a haunted look in his eyes. “Everything went tits-up— it went all wrong, and a lot of good guys died.”

Stone dropped his arm and met my gaze. “So, to answer your question—no, he didn’t make it.” Glancing away, he let out a long breath. “I got out as soon as my time was up.”

I raised my brows. “I see.” It didn’t take a psychic to know it bothered him. A lot. He could probably use some counseling. Still, even knowing that, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was linked to his current predicament. “So, you’resureyour service there isn’t related to what’s going on now?”

His steely-eyed gaze met mine. “Positive.”

Rubbing my forehead, I licked my lips. “Okay. But I think you might be making a mistake.”

“I’m not. Unless you saw something else?”

“No.” I closed my eyes. “It’s just a feeling I have that it’s related. That’s all.”

“Well, I have a feeling that it’s not.” He huffed and took a calming breath. “You’ve been wrong before, but I’ll try to keep an open mind.” He glanced around the room. “Is that your ‘vision-quota’ for the day, or was there something else you wanted to touch?”

I followed his gaze to the bed.

A smile twisted his lips. “How about my pillow or the comforter? You might get something from that.”

Naturally, he was goading me. Probably payback for pushing him so hard on the rock. I opened my mouth to tell him no, but the smirk on his face sent me over the edge. With a show of bravado, I reached down and grabbed his pillow.

“Sure. Let’s see what other secrets you’re hiding.” I closed my eyes, ready to make up an embarrassing story, but my vision went dark.

Chapter 13

Stone

Serenity froze and her eyes glazed over.

Oh, shit. I hadn’t expected her to actually see something. Was she seeing me with one of my exes? I cringed. That would be the worst. I opened my mouth to interrupt her, but that hadn’t gone so well last time, so I bit my lip instead. Closing my eyes, I prayed to God that whatever she saw was the clue we needed, and not me with another woman. I shook my head. What was I thinking?

She hugged the pillow against her chest, and finally, her eyes flew open. “Stone!”

The alarm in her voice sent adrenaline rushing down my spine. “What?” I grabbed her arms. Did we need to run?

Her frantic gaze met mine for a fraction before flying to my chest. She reached out to press her hands to the skin right over my sternum. Swallowing, she rubbed her handsover my heart before raising her eyes to mine. “Thank God. There’s no blood. You’re okay.”

My stomach tightened, but a sliver of relief washed over me. “What did you see?”

“You got shot. Right there.” She patted my chest again. “There was so much blood.” Her vivid blue gaze met mine. “You—” Her voice trembled. “You died.”

Her certainty hit me like a punch in the chest. “I died?”

She nodded, her lips trembling.

“Hey, it’s okay.” I pulled her against me, trying to reassure her, though my heart pounded like a jackhammer. “I’m sure we can stop it from happening.”

She shook her head. “I’ve never had a vision like that before. It was like I was there. You got shot, and you died right in front of me. All that blood. And the pain in your eyes. It was awful.”

“Did you see who did it?”

“No.” She pressed her head into my chest. “The light was blinding, and everything else was faded and washed out.”

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