Page 27 of Joshua's Mistake
“You’re stalling, Lakeland.”
“I know, but the fact that Banta is involved takes this to a new level, Tessa. He’s all the way bad.” He sat down adjacent to her at the long table and sipped his coffee.
“I’m a big girl. I can take it.” The words sounded confident, but his demeanor and reluctance left her heart racing and her palms clammy.
He gave her a crooked smile, leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. Tenderness and intensity shot through the kiss. He was both of those things and he had given her only a taste of what being part of his world could be like. In spite of their insane situation, she wanted more of Joshua Lakeland and if there was a price maybe she was willing to pay it.
“Troth was a great soldier. He and I were assigned to the same team. We were young and enthusiastic about whichever mission the powers that be might send us on. After a while you learn not all missions are for the greater good. Sometimes it’s just greed or worse. Anyway, Troth got himself in a jam with a crooked politician and nearly got the entire team killed. It wasn’t really his fault. He was a pawn in a game he was too ignorant to understand at the time. Once he realized he’d been used and not in a good way he started to change. He was angry and power-hungry. He stopped using good sense with regard to danger.
“I was promoted and he stopped getting assignments. About a year later he went off the grid and started taking high-paying jobs from the private sector. His ethics plummeted to nonexistence. He didn’t care who he hurt or who got killed as long as he was making money and gaining power.”
“What kind of power?”
“He uses fear to control people. He’s one of the most skilled psychic probes in the world. He’s fast, telekinetic, telepathic and audiopathic.”
“I’ve never heard of an audiopath.”
“He can create and move sound. It’s a rare talent and very effective for throwing your enemy off the trail.”
“What happened last year that landed him in jail?”
“He was working for a guy named Oscar Thorn.”
Tessa knew the name though she’d never met the man. “The millionaire who went to prison for insider trading?”
“That’s the guy.”
“What was Banta doing for him?”
“He was his muscle and when his ex-wife needed finding and probing he sent
Banta after her.”
“He must have really hated his ex.”
Joshua nodded. “Thorn is a dowser. He gathered up power. One of the things he gathered was Lena and her gifts.”
“Didn’t you say your sister-in-law’s name is Lena?”
He was smiling again, maybe because she had remembered his family or maybe at the thought of his brother’s wife, Tessa wasn’t sure. “The very same. My brother Kane is a bounty hunter. He was contracted to bring her in after she escaped prison. She was being held on a trumped-up charge, but she knew her ex would get to her, so she ran. Banta found them both and probed Lena. He came close to having Kane killed.
“Banta had avoided capture when Thorn was brought in, but he just couldn’t leave it alone. He couldn’t stand that Kane had won. In the end, he landed in jail with a cracked skull.”
“I guess your brother got his revenge.”
A wicked grin turned his lips. “I guess, but it was Lena and her floor lamp that bashed Troth’s head in.”
She couldn’t help laughing. “I have got to meet your sister-in-law. I like her already.”
“You would like her. If we live through this, I’ll introduce you.”
The idea that he might want to keep her in his life beyond their current situation started something bubbling in Tessa’s chest. It might have been joy. She shook her head. Better not to get ahead of herself. The fact still remained, they were likely going to be killed and the future might be a pipe dream. “What was Banta doing to Jake?”
She saw him tightening as if he were a rubber band pulled to its limit. All the joy of talking about his family washed away. “I don’t know. I suspect he was taking something from your friend, but I’m not sure.”
“Jake was dead. What can you take from the dead?” Her voice rose higher when she was scared. Controlling her fear was part of her job, but she could never keep her voice even.
He shook his head and downed the remainder of his coffee before getting up and putting the mug in the sink.
