Fear the Dark by Kay Hooper

to decide if I’m okay to try to use my abilities. As long as I’m conscious, my decision.”
    â€œI have veto power.”
    â€œYeah, but only if I’m showing signs of too much strain. Nosebleed,sensitivity to light, pounding headache. I don’t have any of those. So I get to decide.”
    Because he couldn’t help himself, Jonah looked at the very intense fed and said, “How on earth did she get you to agree to that?” Then he remembered these two were married and added hastily, “Never mind, nosy question.”
    Luke took his wife’s hand, neither of them seeming anything but amused, and said to Jonah, “Some things really are better left as mysteries. Let’s go try to figure out the ones that need to be solved.”
    â€”
    DANTE STEPPED AWAY from the evidence board, where he had constructed a neat timeline for the disappearances, and rubbed the back of his neck as he studied it.
    In a conversational tone, Robbie said, “I hope you realize that the longer you keep your shields at full strength, the more likely they are to desert you when you really don’t want them to. Like when you’re sleeping.”
    â€œPot, meet kettle,” he murmured.
    She ignored that. “I’m just saying, there’s no negative energy here, so maybe it would be a good idea for you to rest your shields, that’s all. I checked; this building was constructed less than twenty years ago, and nobody ever died here. No deaths in previous buildings at this location, and it’s not some kind of Indian burial ground or anything.”
    â€œSo there are no spirits here?” He turned his head to look at her; while he had worked, she had set up, on a small table against one wallrather than the larger round table, one of the laptops they’d brought from Quantico. “Have you ever worked with a medium before?”
    â€œNot as a partner, but in a group, sure. You know as well as I do that Bishop sort of mixes and matches until he gets a good fit.” She frowned. “I wonder why he thought we’d be a good fit?”
    â€œMaybe he’s still mixing,” Dante suggested. “Members of the team generally
have
to work together before anyone—including Bishop—knows whether they’ll work
well
together.”
    â€œAre you saying we don’t?” She was curious rather than offended.
    â€œI don’t think either of us knows yet. We haven’t really had to do anything so far that required a collaborative effort. But, for future reference, most mediums will tell you that whether someone died in a place has absolutely nothing to do with whether spirits are present. As a matter of fact, according to Bishop, and based on both lab and field studies, one thing we’re reasonably sure of is that mediums tend to attract spiritual energy. Whether we’re trying to or not.” He rubbed his neck again. “This place could be filled with spirits, gathered from all over town and God knows where else, waiting for me to open a door for them.”
    She couldn’t help looking around rather warily, even though she knew she’d see nothing out of the ordinary. “Do you intend to keep your shields up regardless?”
    â€œRegardless of what?”
    â€œRegardless of whether this case suggests or even demands that we investigate spiritual energy.”
    â€œI don’t know,” he said finally, adding, “If there’s no negative energy here, why don’t you drop your shields?”
    â€œI meant what I said about seldom if ever dropping themcompletely,” she replied. “But I do have a window open. That’s how I knew your shields were still up.”
    â€œMaybe you just can’t read me.”
    â€œActually, I can.” When he frowned slightly, she shrugged. “You, Luke, Sam—and Chief Riggs. I can read all of you. Riggs is clearest, since he only has the bare shield nonpsychics