A Deadly Web by Kay Hooper Page A

minute.”
    “I thought she was cautious,” Astrid said.
    “That’s why she’ll let the shields down.”
    Astrid eyed him, too accustomed to his habits to take offense at having to address his back. “You sure?”
    “Positive. Try again, Astrid. And keep trying.”
    “Until what? Until I have a migraine or a nosebleed?”
    “If that’s what it takes.”
    “You’re a bastard, Duran, you know that, right?” Her voice was on the edge of mocking.
    “Of course. Keep trying.”
    “Yes, sir.” Astrid relaxed in her chair, closed her eyes, and concentrated.
    —
    “So far,” Tasha said slowly, “you’ve talked about a mysterious conspiracy to abduct psychics and possibly usethem in some way, but you can’t tell me who they are or what they want with the psychics. You can’t tell me who’s in charge. You can’t tell me the endgame. You can’t even tell me much about this organization you’re supposed to be part of, a group fighting the supposed bad guys.”
    “It does sound unlikely,” Brodie admitted.
    “It sounds insane. No offense.”
    “None taken. What can I do to convince you?”
    Caught a bit off guard, she replied, “I . . . have no idea.”
    “You’re a telepath,” he said. “So read my thoughts.”
    “I thought you said most psychics couldn’t read you.”
    “Unless I let them. I’m letting you. Once I let
my
guard down, most telepaths can read me.”
    Tasha frowned, then shook her head. “Just because you honestly believe something doesn’t make it true.”
    “Look deeper,” he invited calmly. “Look as deep as you need to.”
    “It’s not fun, dropping my walls all the way,” she told him. “There aren’t a lot of people around, but there are some. And I’d have to sift through all their thoughts in order to find yours.”
    His brows rose slightly. “You can read everyone around us?”
    “Probably. Why does that surprise you?” She was still frowning at him.
    He didn’t answer right away, and when he did, it was slowly. “It’s . . . unusual. Most telepaths have limits. The thoughts of each individual, the electromagnetic energy in the brain, produces a unique . . . signature. Think aboutradio frequencies; not every receiver can pick up every frequency. To my knowledge, it’s the same with telepaths. You have a finite range of frequencies you’re sensitive to, therefore you can only read people whose unique electromagnetic energy signatures fall into your range.”
    “I guess I’ve been meeting all those people, then.”
    “Your whole life?”
    A little impatient, Tasha said, “I tend to go to a lot of trouble to
avoid
trying to read people, especially in crowds. All I can tell you is that I’ve never not been able to read someone when I tried. Sometimes the thoughts are only surface, bits and pieces, phrases, and sometimes it’s hard to understand them because they’re jumbled or confused. But I’ve always been able to pick up something.”
    If anything, Brodie just looked grim. “I see.”
    She stared at him. “Did I say something wrong?”
    “No. It’s just that you may have just answered a question I’ve had since we stumbled on Duran’s goons watching you.”
    Distracted, she said, “That’s how you found me? By finding them?”
    “That’s how. Not so unusual. He has better resources, or at least knows how to best use them. You weren’t exactly hiding, but you weren’t using your abilities in any way as to attract attention.”
    “So how did they find me?”
    “I have no idea,” Brodie confessed. “But the strength of your abilities may have something to do with it.”
    “You aren’t filling me with a lot of confidence here, Guardian,” Tasha told him.
    “Just because I don’t have all the answers doesn’t mean I don’t know how to keep you safe. Now, are you going to read me, or not? Because this won’t work unless you at least believe I’m trying to help you.”
    Tasha hesitated for another moment but finally closed