Page 63 of Training Rain
“If you say so.”
“Are you afraid of him, nurse? Maybe it’s time you had a reassignment.” Breckenridge’s voice brimmed with malice.
To the nurse’s credit, her tone remained completely even and unaffected. “Not at all, sir. He never attacks anyone other than you. When you’re not here, he’s a model patient and always has been.”
Jess tucked that information away and headed toward the room. By the time he got there, Joshua and Kane were exiting room 2032. They had the arms of an enormous man slung over each of their shoulders and practically carried the listless guy.
“That’s Troy Breckenridge?” Jess couldn’t hide his surprise. For some reason he expected a frail twenty-three-year-old, not a giant as big as Will.
Whatever the drugs were that the senator demanded be administered, they were working. The bottoms of Troy’s feet barely made contact with the floor. He tried to walk, but mostly he was dragged.
“This is the guy,” Tessa said.
“Yeah? Well, his father is here and evidently our young man gets a bit testy with dear old dad from time to time.”
“Great,” Kane said.
Joshua passed his side of Troy over to Jess. The kid had to weigh two hundred fifty pounds. Jess grunted under the dead weight.
“Rain, you’d better block Troy for now.”
Jess could see that she didn’t like the idea, but she didn’t argue with Joshua. “I’ll be blocking Jess and Kane as well. They’re too close to Troy for me to separate the effect of the block.”
“I understand.”
Breckenridge turned the corner and stomped down the hall. “What do you understand and where the hell do you think you’re going with my son?”
“You’re up early, senator. Were you going to have a visit with Troy or just use him for something? Is that why you had him drugged up good and early?”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about and you sure as hell don’t know what you’re dealing with. You think you’re stealing an asset, but he’s a monster. He’ll kill you as soon as he gets the chance. He can crush your bones more easily than an aluminum can and he won’t think twice about doing it either.”
A low sound emanated from Troy. It was a kind of growl, but if he was angry about his father’s words, the drugs he’d been given kept the emotion in check.
Joshua turned toward Rain and lifted an eyebrow.
“He seems quite passive.”
“Maybe it’s only your bones Troy is after, senator.” Joshua looked from the senator’s eyes down to his casted wrist.
Breckenridge widened his eyes and one of the bulbs in the hallway popped and exploded glass all over the slick floor. “Lakeland, I’m warning you, if you leave now, I won’t report this. Don’t test my power. I will crush you and your little organization.”
Tessa moved to stand in front of Rain, effectively protecting her and Troy. “It seems in spite of Senator Breckenridge’s claims to hate all things psychic, he has a bit of a gift himself.”
“So it would seem.” Joshua opened his palm so their foe could see the electricity popping from his skin. “I assure you, wearegoing to take Troy out of here today. Though not for the reasons you assume. But I’ll tell you what, senator, once Troy is himself and all the drugs are out of his system, if he wants to come home to daddy, we’ll deliver him to you without delay. Until then, he’s coming with us.”
Jess saw pure fear in Bradly Breckenridge’s eyes. He was definitely afraid of his son and the idea of a drug-free Troy had him shaking in his seven-hundred-dollar Italian shoes. The senator was more afraid of the boy than he was of Joshua. Most people were terrified of a guy who could shoot electricity from his fingertips. His son must have really had it in for him. It begged the question,why? “Kane, you think you can hold him up for a few minutes?”
Kane nodded. Jess moved forward and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rain slide Troy’s arm over her shoulders. He had to get away from her blockade, so he moved closer to Joshua and Breckenridge.
As soon as he was five feet away from Rain his psi senses slipped back into place. It was comforting to have them back and disturbing to be blocked, as if he’d lost the use of his eyesight or hearing. He focused on the older Breckenridge. “Senator, what have you been using your son for?”
The senator fought the impulse to tell the truth. His face strained with the effort.
Jess pushed harder. “Why do you have to keep him drugged?”
“He’s dangerous. I already told you that. Look at what he did to me.” The senator’s mind was strong, but not strong enough.
“Has he ever hurt anyone else?”
