Page 1 of Joshua's Mistake
Chapter 1
It wasn’tJoshua’s first time in the safe house at the New Jersey Shore. He’d always liked the location. The simple slip-covered couch and recliner were all the furniture in the living room. The shaded windows looked out toward the dunes and the Atlantic beyond.
He didn’t like the man standing in the middle of the room. He had to force his hands from clenching into fists. It was a tell and there was no reason to give his emotional state away.
“Blake.” Joshua kept his voice even and detached.
“Lakeland. You’re late. I called for you three hours ago.” Blake’s jaw muscle ticked.
Joshua crossed the room before the other three FBI agents could react. He grabbed Blake by the throat and pushed him up against the wall, thrusting his forearm across the shorter man’s neck. “I don’t work for you, Special Agent Blake. Just because we both work for the same government doesn’t mean you get to tell me when to arrive. Frankly, if I hadn’t gotten a call from much higher up than you, I wouldn’t have come at all.”
The other agents had pulled their weapons. Three Glock 22 handguns cocked and ready with their barrels directed at Joshua’s head. He was confident he could crush the agent’s throat before they killed him.
Blake probably knew it too. He waved them off. His eyes watered but he managed to focus on Joshua. “Let me go.”
The guns lowered slowly. Joshua’s psychic ability allowed him to sense they were reluctant to let down their weapons, but they respected Blake.
Joshua had to admire the way Blake kept his cool in spite of the fact that his windpipe was an ounce of presser away from crushed under the weight of Joshua’s arm. The agent’s glare remained steady.
He released him. “What do you want?”
Blake tilted his head to one side, cracking his neck, before straightening his shoulders. He pointed to a small monitor on a desk in the middle of the room. “Your assignment is to interrogate her.”
“Interrogate? If that was what you wanted you would do it yourself. You want a mind probe.” He’d done it a thousand times and it still made his stomach clench.
Blake had no psi skills. He made a disgusted face. “It’s what you do, Lakeland. It’s your specialty.”
Working for the government hadn’t been Joshua’s choice. The little boy they’d acquisitioned from an orphanage was only a vague memory. Still, he’d done all right over the years. Ripping the throat out of an FBI agent would not help his career. He turned toward the monitor. He knew the room. It was just beyond the door to his left. In any other of the vacation homes on the block it would have been a bedroom in the two-story house. However, this was an FBI safe house and all it had was a large metal table and a few shelves. A six-inch steel ring had been welded into the middle of the table. Her hands were cuffed in front of her with the chain running through the ring. The weight of the table and strength of the cuffs were enough to keep her secured. She looked familiar, though he was sure he’d never met the tall blonde before. Her straight hair was cut to her chin and her pale-blue eyes narrowed at the camera.
She sensed him. He could feel her psi energy radiating throughout the house. Rage, curiosity and just a touch a fear swam through his senses in an oddly pleasant way.
Joshua had been in that room before. The camera was hidden in the wall. She knew it was there. Then he recognized her from her records. “That’s Tessa Clark. She’s with the psi unit. What is she doing here and why is she chained to the table?”
“Double agent. As soon as you prove it, she’ll go to trial and get the death sentence for treason.”
“What makes you so sure I’ll find what you’re looking for?”
Blake stepped forward until he was inches from Joshua. “Don’t get sentimental just because she’s a woman, Lakeland. Her entire detail was killed and she was responsible. Somehow, she managed to survive with barely a scratch. Three men dead, all of them with psi abilities. I had a long briefing from very high up. There are people in the government convinced she’s a traitor and she’s all but convicted. Just go in there and get the information. We’ll take it from there.”
“Did you chase down the information yourself?” Regardless of Joshua’s personal feelings about the agent, he’d admit the guy was good at his job even if his tactics were a bit repulsive.
Joshua sensed anger and frustration from Blake without even having to tap in. Not good.
“I have superiors and I have orders, Lakeland. The fact is that the business with your brother and Thorn last year brought the existence of your kind into the light with some politicians who are not too happy about Psi Agents having so much power.”
Joshua had to admit there was truth in the statement. The Psi Agency had been better off with only a very select few knowing about them. Ultimately it didn’t matter. He had his own orders, but it didn’t mean he had to like them.
He studied the agent. A year earlier Blake had used his position and influence to help arrest Oscar Thorn, a very wealthy and powerful man. He was also corrupt and evil to the core. Blake’s influence had saved Joshua’s sister-in-law from death or worse, a hellish life with Thorn. Blake’s tactics had been questionable. He’d left Lena in prison for months even though he knew about her abusive marriage and that she was innocent of the charges against her. He’d known Thorn was abusing Lena, but Blake abandoned her in a dangerous marriage so he could build his case. He thought it would help him manipulate Lena more effectively if she was really desperate. He planned to use her fear to get her to testify against her husband. Blake would do anything and risk anyone to make an arrest.
Joshua’s brother Kane had been assigned by the court to find Lena after she escaped prison. He’d found her and then had to rescue her from a homicidal mercenary, another bounty hunter, and ultimately Thorn. In the process, the two had fallen in love and nine months later Lena had given birth to a beautiful baby girl.
In spite of the “favor” he’d done for Joshua’s brother a year earlier, Joshua didn’t like Blake. The man was too much of a sheep for his taste. He had no problem letting someone suffer if it furthered his goals. Still, he didn’t sense any deception. Blake followed orders. He didn’t make policy.
Joshua took a step away. He reached over to the back of the monitor and pulled the wire, tearing it from the back. The screen went black. Turning back at Blake, he drew close to the shorter man, whose eyes were wide with suppressed rage. “I’m going to tell you again. I don’t work for you. I’m going in there, but a probe is ratherintimate. I’ll need some privacy.”
“Who are you protecting, Lakeland? Don’t want us to see you getting excited over a piece of ass?”
There was nothing pleasant in the smile Joshua gave. Losing his temper could lead to a dangerous outcome. His fingers already tingled with pent-up energy. “Don’t test me, Blake. You won’t like the result.”
