Redemption (Bennett Sisters Book 5) (14 page)

Brody shook his head. “I used all my strength in trying to slow the
SUV down before we hit
. I’m all tapped out of the good juice. It’s up to you.”

Lydia
shook her head. “I can’t do it. I don’t have control like you do. I could end up hurting you worse.”

Brody chuckled.  “Rick is going to need both of us to save his ass. He believes in you. He told me himself.” Brody winced as he tried to move his leg again. When he spoke again, his voice held a serious tone. “Red, now it’s your turn to save mine. Just concentrate on what you want the SUV to do. Concentrate on the dashboard that has my leg trapped. Imagine pushing it away. You’ve got this, doll. It’s time to save my ass so I can save your boyfriend’s.”

Lydia
stood up and stepped back, holding out her arms, trying to get everyone to stay clear. “Stay back. I don’t want to accidently hurt anyone.”

They each took a giant step back and gave her room. Jaime stood behind her and whispered, “Just focus.”

Lydia
closed her eyes. She was pissed that someone had done this to her friend and taken Rick. She could feel the energy gaining in her body. Leaves flew around her. Her hair blew in her face. She reined it all in like a ball of yarn she was keeping stored and focused it on the SUV. How it was supposed to look in her head, not the mangled metal before her. She imagined it up on four wheels and all of the metal pieces returned to their sleek lines.
Lydia
dropped down to her knees. She could hear the metal screeching and bending back into place, but she didn’t dare open her eyes to check her progress. No, she needed to do this right.

She focused on the dashboard and how it was supposed to look. She imagined pushing it back into place. She heard the slid of the tires against the dirt as she moved the SUV further away from the tree. Brody release a sigh. “You did it,
Lydia
. Open your eyes and take a look for yourself.”

Lydia
unclenched her eyes and peeked from beneath her lowered lashes. Before her eyes stood the SUV. It was still dimpled and crumpled, but it was in the basic shape of an SUV and unbelievably on four tires. Ridge was on the driver’s side of the vehicle, pulling Brody out, careful of his leg.
Lydia
felt all of her energy drain from her. She could no longer hold herself up. She was going to fall, maybe even go into a sleep, and there was nothing she could do about it. She’d saved Brody, but not Rick.

The general scooped her up in his arms. “Just close your eyes and rest,
Lydia
. I’ve got you.”

****

Lydia
lay limp on her bed. She could tell by the feel of the familiar mattress and covers that surrounded her. Rick’s masculine scent drifted to her nose, the smell still embedded in the pillows from the night before.
Lydia
struggled to open her eyes but couldn’t muster the energy. Her thoughts were hazy at best, remembering how she’d come to this place in her life. All of her limbs felt like bricks attached to cement. She was going nowhere fast. She was living in her own personal hell. Feelings like this was the reason she lived on caffeine. She’d have attached an IV of the black stuff into her arm had she known that trying to save the day was going to wipe her out.  This was a new low for her, one she hoped to never experience again, but she knew the wish was futile. She’d been in these types of situations before but never when a car was involved, never when someone was depending on her to use her gifts to fix things.

Rick needed her, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.

Lydia
felt the tiniest of pinpricks at her feet. It was like her whole body had fallen asleep, everything except for her mind that replayed her vision over and over again. Taunting her that she was about to lose. The little prickles were followed by a warm sensation that increased as her body started to regain feelings she’d thought she lost. The warmth flowed through her, heating her from the inside out. The feeling traveled up to her legs and into her chest, just hovering above her heart, bringing life back to everywhere it touched. One arm and then the next, all the way down to her fingertips and stretching back up to her shoulders. Her head cleared without the anxiety she’d expected to feel. She knew she was safe from the things that scared her, safe from the troubles she’d run into next.

Rick needed her, and she’d use her last breath to save him, the same breath that was becoming less laborious by the minute.
Lydia
blinked her eyes open, relieved she’d guessed correct and found she was no longer in the woods where she’d fallen from exhaustion. Jaime’s familiar face came into view. Jaime’s hands still hovered over
Lydia
’s fatigued body that was slowly waking from its latent state.
Lydia
knew instantly she had been touched by a gift. Jaime’s gift.

“Welcome back. How do you feel?” Jaime asked with a grin.

“I’ve been better.”
Lydia
tried to push herself into a seated position but couldn’t muster the strength.

Jaime frowned. “Can’t you sit up?”

Lydia
managed a shake of her head. “Not yet, but I’m getting there. Do you think you could find me some coffee
or chocolate, anything with caffeine will work
?”

Jamie tilted her head. “Coffee? Really? I used the best magic trick in my arsenal, and it didn’t help.” Jamie threw her hands up.

“It worked on Brody, and you have the same gift. Why didn’t it work on you?”

Lydia
struggled with all of her might, pushing into a seated position, albeit leaning against the headboard, but it worked just the same. “It worked just fine. You pretty much brought me back from the brink of death, but coffee will just give me an extra kick.”

Jamie left the room and returned minutes later with a steaming cup of coffee. “This stuff isn’t a healthy way to regain your strength.”

Lydia
chuckled. “I come from a long line of coffee worshipers. It’ll do the trick.”

Jamie perched beside
Lydia
on the other side of the bed and propped her back against the headboard. She crossed her boot-covered feet and laced her fingers together in her lap. “You want to tell me what’s going on so I can help?”

Lydia
took a sip of her steaming coffee and rejoiced as the warm liquid slid down her throat. “Didn’t the general fill you in?”

Jamie shook her head. “Nope, can’t say that he did. I was ambushed at lunch by people telling me that we had a situation and to get my ass to the intel room. I had no idea what had happened, and after that, I spent the rest of the afternoon healing Brody’s obnoxious ass and now yours. And let’s not even talk about Briggs. I thought I was going to have to knock him out cold so I could concentrate on you.” Jaime grinned. “Let’s just say… he wasn’t a happy camper when I pulled my Glock and threatened to shoot off his manhood to get his ass out of the room.”

Lydia
’s gasp turned into a cough. “Tell me you didn’t.”

“Yep, as I see it, you owe me an explanation for having to put up with that overbearing, grumpy man. So start talking.”

Lydia
let her head fall against the headboard and inhaled a deep breath. “I had a vision. The men that ran Brody and Rick off the road made a comment that I’d come and find Rick. That was why they took him. They didn’t even want him; they wanted me.”

“Hmm. Do you know what for?”

Lydia
shrugged. “To have control over my gifts, I suppose. I have no clue other than that.”

“Sounds like we’ve got a rescue to attempt.” Jamie slid from the bed and held out her hand. “Hand me your cup, and I’ll refill it. It seems we need to get you back to one hundred percent so we can go save your boyfriend.”

Lydia
chuckled. Even in the dire situation, she couldn’t help but appreciate the fact that Jaime was an unexpected friend in this crazy place. A friend that she could count on when the chips were down and that wasn’t required by birth to like her. “You know he’s not my boyfriend, right? He’ll be leaving soon.”

The thought was sobering. It created a void in her chest, the same type of void she’d had since he’d been taken.
Lydia
downed her coffee and handed Jaime the cup. She slid her legs off the bed and pushed to her feet, keeping a hold of the headboard to steady herself.

“Do you want me to take another crack at healing you with my hands?”

Lydia
shook her head. “Nope, just keep filling me up with more coffee. I’m no good to anybody in this condition.”

Jaime rounded the end of the bed and put her arm around
Lydia
’s shoulder. An act of friendship or to help her walk? She didn’t care which. Both served her purpose. She was going to need someone in her corner when she went after Rick, and she
was
going after him with or without the help of those in the compound. A call to her family would be all it took to get the troops in motion. They’d come to help her; she was sure of it.

Chapter 15

Lydia
leaned against the counter in little kitchen thinking about Rick and what he must be going through. If she could take it all back and make him stay in Southall, she would. He wouldn’t have been captured and could have moved on with his life, a life without the added danger and pressures someone with her gift added. Jaime had left her only an hour ago to finish her pot of coffee. Her energy had started to revive. She could feel the tendrils coursing through her body. It was just going to be a matter of time before she went in search of Rick. She felt as though she was wasting time but knew she’d need her full strength to succeed.

A knock on her door pulled her from her thoughts.

She pulled the door open and came face to face with Brody. A grin stretched across his face as he winked.

“I see you’re back to your old self,”
Lydia
said, acknowledging his playfulness.

Brody took her hand in his and brought it up to his mouth, pressing a gentle kiss to her knuckles. “Thanks to you. How are you feeling?”

Lydia
slid her fingers from his hand and stepped out of his way to let him enter her room. “Another pot of coffee…or two and I’ll be good to go.”

Brody hopped up on her kitchen counter. “I taught you well, grasshopper. You proved yourself today and accomplished a feat that, to be perfectly honest, I’m not even sure I could have done.”

Brody’s teasing didn’t faze her. There was only one person on
Lydia
’s mind. “Did you see Rick before they took him? Was he hurt? Was he bleeding?”

Brody hopped off the counter and took both of her hands in his. “I was unconscious,
Lydia
. Unfortunately I didn’t see a thing.”

Lydia
lowered her head. If she’d had any thought about someone else being able to help her identify Rick’s assailants, those hopes vanished.

Brody put his finger below her chin and raised her gaze to meet his. “I can tell you this, though… It wasn’t your fault. If anything, it was mine. I should have been paying more attention. We were just caught up in a… a conversation, and neither one of us saw it coming.”

“What
sort
of conversation?”

Lydia
watched as Brody chewed on his bottom lip. He looked down at his feet before meeting her gaze. “I’m not sure I should tell you this. It’s not really my place.”

Lydia
backed away from him, needing the space. She wrung her fingers together and twisted the watch that her brother had given her. “Tell me.”

Brody hesitated.

“Tell me damn it!”

Brody drew in a deep breath before releasing it. “He said he’d step out of the picture if it meant that I’d continue to train you.”

Lydia
threw her hands up. The energy in the room thickened.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You’re wasting energy,” Brody said as he took a step toward her.

She couldn’t help what she did to her surroundings. There wasn’t going to be any way to dissipate the surge. Brody placed his palm on her arm. “You can’t save him if you wear yourself out.”

The truth of his statement resonated through her ears.
Lydia
closed her eyes and visualized her Zen-like place. A place inside her subconscious where she’d visited on occasion when she couldn’t stand the pain around her, like the day her best friend had died. She stayed in that state until she felt her pulse slow down and her temper subside. She lifted her gaze to his. “Brody, I hope you understand that he doesn’t make my decisions.”

Brody dropped his hand from her arm. “I kind of figured that, but you have to admit he has it pretty bad for you if he was willing to take a back seat to your training.” Brody paced the small kitchen and lifted his hands in the air. “I mean what man does that?”

Lydia
poured another cup of coffee and offered one to Brody. She needed to be very clear. She gestured to the couch. “A good man,”
Lydia
said. “Listen, we need to talk.”

“Oh no we don’t.” Brody stepped back and placed one hand over his heart. “The last woman who said that to me walked out on me and took my heart with her.” Brody took a sip of his coffee but sat on the couch anyway. “And, no, I don’t want to talk
about it, so get that thought out
of your head right now.”

Brody’s confession made
Lydia
pause. All of this time she’d pegged him for a playboy that never gave enough of himself to get hurt, and here he’d proved her wrong. Yep, she’d figure out a way to help him, just like he’d helped her, when this was all over. “I just want to talk. Don’t be scared.”

Brody eyed her warily. “Unless it’s about your undying need to be with me, you don’t really need to explain. I get it.”

Lydia
laughed for the first time in a long time. “My undying need, huh?”

Brody shrugged. “One can only hope.”

Lydia
raised her brow. “It’s not going to happen.”
Lydia
stood and started pacing the room. “But I am going to tell you what is going to happen. I just need to know where you stand.”

Lydia
stopped in the middle of the room and turned toward Brody. “I am going after him…with or without the help of anyone from the compound.”

Brody crossed his arms over his chest. “What makes you think we won’t help?”

Lydia
gestured toward the door. “I don’t know those people. They might not be concerned about a certain FBI agent, but I am. It’s my fault he came here, it’s my fault he was taken, and I’ll be damned if I let it be my fault that he dies.”

The vase on a nearby table rose and slammed to the ground, breaking into shards.
Lydia
swiveled at the sudden noise. “Crap.”

Brody rose to his feet. His big frame came to tower over her. He pulled
Lydia
into his chest and whispered, “You’ve got to rein all that energy in.” He leaned back from the embrace. “I’m going to help you, and we’ll get him back. If we have to tear down the whole building, we’ll find him. We just need to find out which one he’s in.”

Lydia
leaned into Brody’s comforting embrace. She needed the support, not in a draining way, but a friendship way. She was alone now in this place. Sure Briggs was on her side and Jaime seemed to be too, but someone who understood what she was going through with her gifts was just as important to her. A tear slid down
Lydia
’s cheek.

Brody swiped it with his thumb. “You aren’t alone.”

He picked up the coffee pot, handed her the mug she was using, and grabbed her hand. “Let’s go find the warehouse.”

Brody pulled open the door and walked with one hand holding hers and the other supporting the coffee pot. The looks and snickers they garnered as they made their way to Jonah didn’t go unnoticed. Passing Marlaina in the hall had been awkward, but
Lydia
didn’t care. She knew she wasn’t hitting on Brody. He was her friend, and Marlaina was just going to have to get used to seeing them together.

Jonah nodded in their direction as they entered the command post. Briggs stood in the room giving Jaime a look of death, and Jaime just smiled back. The heat those two were generating was enough to fry all of the electrical equipment in the room without any help from
Lydia
.

“Did you pull the files?” Brody asked Jonah.

Jonah nodded toward the conference room. “They’re in there, ready for
Lydia
to look through when she’s up to it.”

Lydia
glanced up at Brody with a questioning look.

“I thought we’d start with warehouses in the surrounding area and work our way out from there.” Brody shrugged. “Unless you happened to have noticed the address… That would save us a lot of time.”

Lydia
started walking toward the conference room. “That would have been too easy.”

“Then it seems like we’re in for a long afternoon.”

Jaime and Briggs followed behind them and took seats at the table. Brody sat next to
Lydia
and poured her another fresh cup of coffee before he finally put the pot in the middle of the table. “What do you remember? What are we looking for?” Brody asked.

Jaime rolled her eyes at Brody. “
Lydia
shut your eyes and try to remember your dream. Tell us what you see, imagine you were there.”

Lydia
closed her eyes and tried to remember her vision. Rick’s face entered her subconscious. “All I see is Rick.”

“Imagine that he’s somewhere safe and keep trying.”

Lydia
took several deep breaths in and out. “It was a metal warehouse, and there were armed guards.”

“Did you have to go through a fence? Take a step back from advancing on the warehouse. Look around and tell me what you see.”

Lydia
imagined the warehouse in front of her, and her need to move toward it almost consumed her. She had to make herself stop in her mind. She turned in place. “There are trees everywhere.”

Lydia
turned in her vision. “They’re oak trees. I can’t see any road from where I am.”
Lydia
paused and glanced back toward the compound. “There’s a twelve-foot fence topped with barbwire in front of me. Brody is using something I can’t see to cut through it.”

“Walk over to Brody and go beyond the fence and tell me what you see.”

“We’re hiding. We’re behind some type of thick brush.”

“What does the building look like? Tell me what the men look like.”

Lydia
lifted her head above the brush. “It’s an old silver-colored metal building. I can see rust on the roof.”
Lydia
opened her eyes. “I don’t see how this can help. We already knew the color of the building.”

Brody patted her arm. “You did good. We now know we aren’t looking for a warehouse in a residential area, and we know that there is a fence we’re going to have to get through. So that’s going to help.”

Jaime pushed a stack of papers down toward the other end of the table. “All of these are residential, so we can ignore them.”

Lydia
shrugged. “Didn’t the general already have intel on where he was holed up?”

Briggs grabbed a stack of papers in front of them and started thumbing through them. “The intel wasn’t any good. We already converged on the erroneous warehouse the bad information provided while you were healing.” Briggs glared at Jaime. “Since I was such a distraction, I went with them.”

Briggs tossed a few of the papers toward the discarded pile. “We should be able to work through these in no time.”

Two pots of coffee later
and a glass of orange juice
,
thanks to Jamie,
they’d narrowed it down to two warehouses in the next town. They looked identical; it could have been either one of them.

The door to the conference room opened as
Lydia
glanced around the table and asked. “What do we do now?”

The general walked in. “You do nothing.”

Lydia
pushed from her chair. “You can’t possibly be asking me to sit this one out.”
Lydia
pointed to the pictures of the two warehouses. “Rick is in one of those, and we need to go get him.”

The general crossed his arms over his chest. “This is bigger than Rick. We need to do this the right way so Floyd doesn’t escape.”

The air around her stirred to life. A few of the discarded papers lifted from the table.
Lydia
could feel her blood pressure rising, the rapid beating of her heart. If the general thought she was just going to wait around, he had another thing coming. She wasn’t.

Brody came to stand beside her and leaned to whisper in her ear, “Pull it back,
Lydia
. You’re going to need it.”

Lydia
closed her eyes and pulled the energy back inside of her. Brody was right. She was going to need all of the strength she had if she was going to be doing it alone. The best thing she could do was just agree, but she didn’t. “You’re right. You do your surveillance, make sure you got the right one, but don’t expect me to sit here and wait until you’re satisfied that I picked the right place.”

Lydia
stormed passed the general. “I’m going, even if I have to do it alone.”

The general placed his palm on her shoulder. “Your family wouldn’t approve.”

Lydia
narrowed her eyes. “My
family
wouldn’t expect anything less.” She shrugged his palm from her shoulder. “You’re not in this to help me. You’re just as bad as Floyd. You want to use me the same way he does.”

Lydia
stomped from the room, almost knocking Marlaina over as she passed. She got to her room and slammed her door. She pulled the extra coffee pot from the cupboards and shoved it in the coffee maker, starting a fresh pot. She was going to drink the entire thing before she left.
Lydia
spotted the gun that Rick had given her. She shook her head. She wasn’t going to be needing it, not as pissed as she was. She picked up the gun and turned in place looking for a good hiding place. She shrugged her shoulders and stashed it under the couch.