Blood Sins Kay Hooper

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.""Homeland Security?""Maybe, scary as that possibility is.But even though he hasn't said so in so many words, I think Bishop's worried it might be somebody in the Bureau.""Which explains why Haven is out front on this one?""Well, only partly.It made more sense on several counts to have a civilian organization involved, especially given our� dearth of evidence against Samuel or the church.Haven investigators can go places and ask questions we just can't, not legally.In a situation like this, that ability isn't only vital, it's critical.""So John told me," Tessa said.She inclined her head slightly in invitation and walked out of the foyer.Hollis followed the other woman into the big, sunny kitchen and nodded when Tessa gestured questioningly at the coffeemaker."Please.I'm still jet-lagged."Tessa hunted in a still-unfamiliar pantry for the coffee and didn't respond until she found it."Eureka.Why jet-lagged? Don't you guys work out of Quantico?""Most of us, yeah, but I was out in California on another case.He didn't admit it, but I don't think Bishop expected the church to move so fast or to be so� insistent once they made contact with you.You've only been here a couple of weeks, after all.From our research and experience, it usually takes a couple of months for them to even begin to gather a potential new convert into the fold."Measuring out coffee without looking at Hollis, Tessa said, "It took months for Sarah, didn't it?"Hollis slid onto a bar stool at the kitchen's island and clasped her hands together on the granite surface, frowning down at a chewed thumbnail."It did.But her cover wasn't quite as enticing as yours is.""Is that why I was placed here even before anything happened to her?""Well, the plan was to have� multiple fronts, as it were.To use every avenue possible to find information and, hopefully, evidence.We couldn't be entirely sure, from the outside, just what sort of background or situation would prove to be the most attractive to the church and Samuel.And not every agent or operative is going to be working the same way or be able to gain access to certain levels of the church hierarchy.Sarah wasn't able to get near any of Samuel's closest advisers in any meaningful sense, but she was still able to gather valuable intelligence.And able to get a couple of the kids out.""Have they found her?" Tessa asked quietly."No." Hollis waited until Tessa got the coffee going and faced her before she added deliberately, "The bodies always turn up downstream.Sooner or later."Tessa looked at her for a moment, then said, "It takes a while, I'm told.To build that shell around your emotions."Unoffended, Hollis smiled slightly."Sometimes.But it's usually all smoke and mirrors.None of us would be in this line of work if we didn't care deeply.If we didn't believe we were making a difference.""Is that why you got in?""I was dragged in.More or less." Hollis's smile twisted a bit."When your entire life changes, you build a new one.But when that change happened to me, I was lucky to have kindred spirits around me, people who understood what I was going through.Just like you were lucky when they crossed your path.""It was easier for me," Tessa said, adding, "My abilities weren't triggered by trauma.""Adolescence is trauma," Hollis pointed out."Of a kind, sure.But nothing like what happened to you."Musing rather than revealing much of herself�or, perhaps, revealing a great deal�Hollis said, "In the SCU, my experience isn't so unusual.Not even the degree, really.The majority of the team went through some kind of personal hell, coming out the other side with abilities we're still trying to figure out."Tessa recognized the courteous warning and shifted the subject back to answer Hollis's implicit question."I didn't find kindred spirits because I went looking for them; Bishop found me.Years ago.But I didn't want to be any kind of cop, he left, and I thought that was the end of it.Until John and Maggie got in touch.""And you decided to be a cop without a badge?""Mostly, I haven't been.Investigating, but not in any sort of dangerous situation.Not like this one.Not with people dying.There've been eight bodies found in this general area, right? So far.Eight people killed the same way.The same very unnatural way."Hollis nodded."Over the past five years, yeah.That we know about, anyway.If we knew for sure� probably more."Tessa didn't move from her position but leaned back against the counter and crossed her arms in a gesture that wasn't quite defensive.Hollis took due note of that and asked herself for at least the third time since she'd arrived here hours ago if John Garrett, the director and cofounder of Haven, had made a wise choice in sending Tessa Gray on this particular assignment.She was a little above medium height and slender, almost ethereal, an impression emphasized by her pale skin, fair hair, and delicate features dominated by large gray eyes [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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