Unforgettable (Talented Saga #6) by Sophie Davis Page B

the frantic ramblings of
others. Their fear became my fear. Their panic became my panic.
Their fury became my fury.
    I wanted to scream. The voices inside
of my head, the ones that weren’t mine, were like hundreds of tiny
bombs exploding in unison, blasting holes in my mental shields. The
invisible barriers I’d built and reinforced regularly to keep Talia
from my darkest thoughts wavered.
    She must have guessed. Or maybe I was
physically slapping at my skull to get rid of the voices. Either
way, Talia’s fingers were dry and cool as they skimmed my wrist, up
over the base of my palm, before sliding home between
mine.
    She didn’t speak inside my head, but
her physical presence was enough to quiet the others. She alone
understood, to some degree, what I was going through.
    Unfortunately, my balm
morphed into yet another symptom. Every reaction was amplified by the
drug. Including the effect she had on me. Her touch caused my heart
rate to reach near painful speeds, and my thoughts instantly turned
indecent. Images of her chestnut curls wreathing her delicate face
as she stared up at me through those long, black lashes, only the
tiniest hint of vibrant plum peeking out from beneath the lids,
made me abruptly pull my hand away. As pleasant and preferable as
thoughts of my girlfriend were, the uber-serious briefing was
neither the time nor the place to be fantasizing.
    I felt her questioning gaze on me, but
didn’t turn. Had I done so, mental barriers or not, she would’ve
known my mind was no longer in the theater, but back in our
bedroom. Or the shower. Hell, even the elevator was sounding good
right then.
    “ And you really think that
is going to happen?” Janelle called out, her voice shattering the
silence as effectively as a hammer taken to glass. “Like, the
Treaty might really be overturned?”
    “ Yes, Agent Longpre, I do
believe that is a very real possibility,” Victoria
replied.
    “ Why don’t we just kill all
of the Created and be done with it? They’re the problem, after
all,” a male agent lounging near our table muttered, punctuating
his opinion with a snort. “Or let the mobs take care of them.
Vigilante justice—nothing wrong with that.”
    “ Agent Olenginski,”
Victoria addressed him, turning a deceptively friendly smile on the
guy. “You might think that having vigilantes, as you call them,
doing your job for you is a good thing.” Her smile disappeared. “I
do not . Ordinary
men hunting and killing Created is only one step removed from
ordinary men hunting and killing Talented. People who are
frightened are not reasonable. They will not take the time to
discern between the two, to somehow recognize which are the
Created. And even if they do, they may not care. So, tell me, Agent
Olenginski, is that what you want? To have the added worry of being
shot on sight the instant you set foot on one of the
continents?”
    The agent was short, only three or
four inches taller than Talia, and the way he folded into himself
at Victoria’s rebuke made him look like a child.
    “ No, Ma’am,” Olenginski
said meekly. “I was merely suggesting….”
    His voice trailed off, eyes bugged as
he searched for something that would pacify Victoria.
    Lucky for him, Olenginski was saved
further scrutiny by Penny. She raised her hand before speaking,
like this was a classroom. Welcome to Hunting the Created
101.
    “ How will the council
decide who gets to come to the islands?”
    Beside me, Talia nodded and her
adorable button nose wrinkled in disgust. Had my mind been open,
I’d probably have been involved in the mental conversation
obviously taking place between my girlfriend and her best friend.
Penny may have asked the question, but the look on Talia’s face
told me that she’d been the one to think it.
    Annoyance flashed in Victoria’s gaze,
causing her eyes to appear more feline than human. This was
evidently something she didn’t want to discuss.
    “ A lottery system, Agent
Crane. The council