Read Online The Thorndykes 1: Dispossessed by Lynne Connolly - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lynne Connolly
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granted.
With any luck, by the time she awoke, he’d have everything settled. Or when he saw her again, because sure as fuck he needed to see her again. Do this again. And if all went well, do it some more.
It took him five minutes to slide her away from him, but he held her mind. He sent her waves of reassurance that smoothed over the slight disturbance rippling through her.
He got ready in record time. While he was showering, he contacted his aide, the one who’d taken the family away under the cover of the party last night. Masquerades meant they could switch clothes easily, and then other Talents watched to see if anyone took an interest, noticing if anyone was noticing. So far, nobody. Maybe Blue observed them. Jay didn’t kid himself that Blue was some passerby; he was powerful, and he’d turned up last night for a reason. Jay didn’t know what, and that concerned him.
He checked her again before he left the house. He wasn’t afraid of leaving her here; his security was second to none, and he’d held the party in the public part of the house. The links between that and his private quarters were either outside, in which case the cameras, guards, and locks would stop intruders, or inside through one narrow hallway, also guarded. When he didn’t throw his home open, he kept security to a minimum, but with a strange Talent on the loose, he had the place secured.
He alerted his housekeeper to the fact that he had a personal guest and asked her to take Lucille some food. He didn’t even know if Lucille ate breakfast or what kind, so he played safe and ordered a good selection. Plus ordinary clothing. He doubted she’d considered that.
Leaving the kitchen, a purloined muffin in hand, he nearly collided with his agent. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Nice.” Pete raised a sandy brow. “I just got back. Nothing to worry about; everything went well. You’ll get a call tomorrow morning. But so far, so good.” He fixed Jay with a more alert stare. “Something different about you today. That woman you scored was worth it?”
Jay tried to shrug and nod, but Lucille was more than “that woman.” She was one of his kind. She needed his protection. No, fuck it, he wanted more of her. “It didn’t stop me coming to check, did it? How were they?”
“The family?” Jay liked that Pete didn’t use any names. Better that way. That family had been close to detection by some very nasty people. Today they could have been lying dead. But they weren’t, so he should feel good about that. Shouldn’t he?
“They’re fine. Scared, worried about what lies ahead, but fine. We’ll extract their finances and make sure they get it all.”
“Great. Let me know if you need help.” Clearing up the possessions was a snap compared to moving the family. Routine, almost.
He crossed the lawn at the front of the house, registering the soft springiness of the turf, another expensive luxury in this place. Someone stood waiting by the helipad, so he scanned the stranger’s mind. Just a guest out for a stroll, the normal, chaotic mind of a mortal with no idea of the power he could harness. Mortals were lazy or focused outside themselves, or they didn’t have time to learn. Except for a few, who’d realized psi powers were available to all, depending on the level of the gift.
Nah . Jay paused and spread his senses. Sleeping people, some amazingly still playing after the ball he’d set up last night. Nobody he considered a threat.
Jesus, all his fucking life he’d fought this insidious menace, the prejudice against those of his kind. A few mortals knew about them, and some resented them. People had always been afraid or jealous of others who looked the same as them but weren’t. Sometimes Jay thought it might be easier if Talents just admitted they existed. What could they do?
An answer came immediately. A lot. Threats easily turned into action, and while vampires were infinitely more powerful than mortals,
With any luck, by the time she awoke, he’d have everything settled. Or when he saw her again, because sure as fuck he needed to see her again. Do this again. And if all went well, do it some more.
It took him five minutes to slide her away from him, but he held her mind. He sent her waves of reassurance that smoothed over the slight disturbance rippling through her.
He got ready in record time. While he was showering, he contacted his aide, the one who’d taken the family away under the cover of the party last night. Masquerades meant they could switch clothes easily, and then other Talents watched to see if anyone took an interest, noticing if anyone was noticing. So far, nobody. Maybe Blue observed them. Jay didn’t kid himself that Blue was some passerby; he was powerful, and he’d turned up last night for a reason. Jay didn’t know what, and that concerned him.
He checked her again before he left the house. He wasn’t afraid of leaving her here; his security was second to none, and he’d held the party in the public part of the house. The links between that and his private quarters were either outside, in which case the cameras, guards, and locks would stop intruders, or inside through one narrow hallway, also guarded. When he didn’t throw his home open, he kept security to a minimum, but with a strange Talent on the loose, he had the place secured.
He alerted his housekeeper to the fact that he had a personal guest and asked her to take Lucille some food. He didn’t even know if Lucille ate breakfast or what kind, so he played safe and ordered a good selection. Plus ordinary clothing. He doubted she’d considered that.
Leaving the kitchen, a purloined muffin in hand, he nearly collided with his agent. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Nice.” Pete raised a sandy brow. “I just got back. Nothing to worry about; everything went well. You’ll get a call tomorrow morning. But so far, so good.” He fixed Jay with a more alert stare. “Something different about you today. That woman you scored was worth it?”
Jay tried to shrug and nod, but Lucille was more than “that woman.” She was one of his kind. She needed his protection. No, fuck it, he wanted more of her. “It didn’t stop me coming to check, did it? How were they?”
“The family?” Jay liked that Pete didn’t use any names. Better that way. That family had been close to detection by some very nasty people. Today they could have been lying dead. But they weren’t, so he should feel good about that. Shouldn’t he?
“They’re fine. Scared, worried about what lies ahead, but fine. We’ll extract their finances and make sure they get it all.”
“Great. Let me know if you need help.” Clearing up the possessions was a snap compared to moving the family. Routine, almost.
He crossed the lawn at the front of the house, registering the soft springiness of the turf, another expensive luxury in this place. Someone stood waiting by the helipad, so he scanned the stranger’s mind. Just a guest out for a stroll, the normal, chaotic mind of a mortal with no idea of the power he could harness. Mortals were lazy or focused outside themselves, or they didn’t have time to learn. Except for a few, who’d realized psi powers were available to all, depending on the level of the gift.
Nah . Jay paused and spread his senses. Sleeping people, some amazingly still playing after the ball he’d set up last night. Nobody he considered a threat.
Jesus, all his fucking life he’d fought this insidious menace, the prejudice against those of his kind. A few mortals knew about them, and some resented them. People had always been afraid or jealous of others who looked the same as them but weren’t. Sometimes Jay thought it might be easier if Talents just admitted they existed. What could they do?
An answer came immediately. A lot. Threats easily turned into action, and while vampires were infinitely more powerful than mortals,
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