house.”
“But?”
“She didn’t.” His words were more clipped than usual, and that was saying something for Pierce.
I scrunched my face, hoping it would push puzzle pieces into place. “Does this situation have anything to do with why you quit your job?”
“About ten minutes to Straub. Your fingers ready?”
Ignoring my question by asking one of his own was the same as a resounding yes for Pierce. Maybe. Possibly. The puzzle piece fit, so I went with it. I was nowhere near ready to see Millie hurt and in a hospital bed, and never would be. Illness and injury brought back the pain of losing my parents, but I pushed my apprehension aside. There was no room for running away, not when there was the possibility my new healing gifts could help Millie. I was almost positive they only worked on someone who’d been poisoned with the toxic plant substance my mother discovered, but I hadn’t tested that theory. This was a perfect opportunity. Relief pounded through me. It would be so much easier to face Millie if I could help her.
Pierce grunted, cutting into my thoughts. “Fingers? Ready?”
“They’re always on. Or mostly. I’ve gotten good at filtering over the past year.”
“Bet that contributed to marital bliss.” Again with the hint of bitterness in his voice.
A frown tugged my lips down. The snarky comments from Pierce were more than irritating, but now wasn’t the time to discuss it. I moved on to the important stuff. “I’m not comfortable touching Millie without her permission. She’s awake, right?”
“She wasn’t when I last checked in.” Curt. Impatient. “If she could talk to me, I wouldn’t need your gift.”
She wasn’t awake? An overwhelming knot of sadness burst in my chest.
I hadn’t really accepted that Millie had been hurt that badly. I’d been away from the spy game long enough that Mitch-induced protectiveness had run roughshod and diluted my spidey senses. I spent a few minutes nourishing my curiosity, building it back to normal frequency. It wasn’t too difficult, considering the events of the past day and a half, or so. “When is it?”
Pierce understood what I didn’t say. “Next day. Hawaii time.”
I’d been unconscious for the remainder of the flight, and while Pierce moved me from the plane to the Jeep. I used my fingers to count. “We left around one in the afternoon Raleigh time, which was seven in the morning Hawaii time. Then we were airborne for ten hours, so it should be evening here, but it’s morning. Care to explain?”
“We landed in San Francisco, had you looked at.”
I shivered, and not from cold. There wasn’t anything I hated more than being out of control, and all this had gone on while I was unconscious. Just like when I had the gunshot wound. With Pierce in control. Damn, but that was disturbing. My stomach did another pitch and roil. “San Francisco? Did you take me to a doctor?”
He eyed me in the rear view mirror. “Friend of mine—medic—came to the plane. Hooked you up to an IV, stabilized you.”
“Holy Mamma Mia. You’re saying I was, what, on the brink of death?”
“Not the brink.” He grinned, showing off a row of textbook-perfect white teeth. “Close enough that I didn’t want to take any chances.”
He cared, in a strange Pierce sort of way. My jaw relaxed for the first time since he’d kidnapped me. Except for when I was unconscious, of course. “Guess you really need my fingers, huh?”
His lips quirked in a half-smile. “Something like that.”
“I didn’t think knock-out drugs fell into the fatal category.”
No words, just a cool stare and single raised eyebrow.
We were obviously done with that stimulating topic of conversation, so I moved on. “Any update on Millie?”
“They’re keeping her sedated.” He kept his eyes on the traffic pattern. Probably a good thing since cars were buzzing all around us.
“It seems wrong to steal information from Millie.” Something was way off about
“But?”
“She didn’t.” His words were more clipped than usual, and that was saying something for Pierce.
I scrunched my face, hoping it would push puzzle pieces into place. “Does this situation have anything to do with why you quit your job?”
“About ten minutes to Straub. Your fingers ready?”
Ignoring my question by asking one of his own was the same as a resounding yes for Pierce. Maybe. Possibly. The puzzle piece fit, so I went with it. I was nowhere near ready to see Millie hurt and in a hospital bed, and never would be. Illness and injury brought back the pain of losing my parents, but I pushed my apprehension aside. There was no room for running away, not when there was the possibility my new healing gifts could help Millie. I was almost positive they only worked on someone who’d been poisoned with the toxic plant substance my mother discovered, but I hadn’t tested that theory. This was a perfect opportunity. Relief pounded through me. It would be so much easier to face Millie if I could help her.
Pierce grunted, cutting into my thoughts. “Fingers? Ready?”
“They’re always on. Or mostly. I’ve gotten good at filtering over the past year.”
“Bet that contributed to marital bliss.” Again with the hint of bitterness in his voice.
A frown tugged my lips down. The snarky comments from Pierce were more than irritating, but now wasn’t the time to discuss it. I moved on to the important stuff. “I’m not comfortable touching Millie without her permission. She’s awake, right?”
“She wasn’t when I last checked in.” Curt. Impatient. “If she could talk to me, I wouldn’t need your gift.”
She wasn’t awake? An overwhelming knot of sadness burst in my chest.
I hadn’t really accepted that Millie had been hurt that badly. I’d been away from the spy game long enough that Mitch-induced protectiveness had run roughshod and diluted my spidey senses. I spent a few minutes nourishing my curiosity, building it back to normal frequency. It wasn’t too difficult, considering the events of the past day and a half, or so. “When is it?”
Pierce understood what I didn’t say. “Next day. Hawaii time.”
I’d been unconscious for the remainder of the flight, and while Pierce moved me from the plane to the Jeep. I used my fingers to count. “We left around one in the afternoon Raleigh time, which was seven in the morning Hawaii time. Then we were airborne for ten hours, so it should be evening here, but it’s morning. Care to explain?”
“We landed in San Francisco, had you looked at.”
I shivered, and not from cold. There wasn’t anything I hated more than being out of control, and all this had gone on while I was unconscious. Just like when I had the gunshot wound. With Pierce in control. Damn, but that was disturbing. My stomach did another pitch and roil. “San Francisco? Did you take me to a doctor?”
He eyed me in the rear view mirror. “Friend of mine—medic—came to the plane. Hooked you up to an IV, stabilized you.”
“Holy Mamma Mia. You’re saying I was, what, on the brink of death?”
“Not the brink.” He grinned, showing off a row of textbook-perfect white teeth. “Close enough that I didn’t want to take any chances.”
He cared, in a strange Pierce sort of way. My jaw relaxed for the first time since he’d kidnapped me. Except for when I was unconscious, of course. “Guess you really need my fingers, huh?”
His lips quirked in a half-smile. “Something like that.”
“I didn’t think knock-out drugs fell into the fatal category.”
No words, just a cool stare and single raised eyebrow.
We were obviously done with that stimulating topic of conversation, so I moved on. “Any update on Millie?”
“They’re keeping her sedated.” He kept his eyes on the traffic pattern. Probably a good thing since cars were buzzing all around us.
“It seems wrong to steal information from Millie.” Something was way off about
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