The Missing

grabs them for their specialized units.”

    “You mean . . .” Cullen glanced at his daughter, and then he glanced at Taige’s battered face. Oh, hell, no.

    “You know what I mean,” she said softly. Her mouth twisted in a bitter smile as she said, “Jillian has this amazing gift. Jones expects a person with a gift to use it.”

    In his mind, he heard the words he’d hurled at her that day. You have this amazing gift. But you hide from it, don’t you? You hide yourself, and screw the people you could help.

    Yeah, she’d hidden some. But he’d had no right to expect more than she already gave. He hadn’t understood the hell she lived with until he saw his daughter going through it.

    Slowly, he shook his head. “I don’t want that for her. I don’t want her forced into a position where she’s used as some kind of tool.” Like what I did to you, he thought silently. “If she makes the choice, then it’s hers, but I won’t let him force it on her.”

    Taige cocked a brow and said, “Then you’d better make sure you keep him away from her. He’ll have to talk to her about this, about his case. But after that’s done, keep him away from her. Right now, you can. She’s just a child, and you’re there to protect her.” Her eyes darkened, and her voice fell to a soft whisper as she added, “She deserves to be a child, Cullen. Don’t let anybody take that away from her.”

    She jerked the door open and paused once more, looking back at him. “And stay the hell out of my dreams.”

EIGHT

    “DIDN’T I tell you to stay out of my dreams?”

    Taige glared at Cullen, her arms crossed over her breasts.

    He glanced around and shrugged. “Easier said than done. That’s assuming I wanted to stay out of your dreams.” He closed the distance between them and touched his fingers to her lips. “This is the only way I can be with you. The only way you’ll let me. You won’t call me back. You returned the letters I sent you. I tried to send you flowers, and you wouldn’t accept them.”

    He dipped his head, kissing her quick and light before she could move away. “So for now, this is all I can do.”

    Turning her head, she stomped toward the house. She didn’t know why she bothered; she knew she was dreaming and knew that when she opened her eyes, she’d be lying on the beach towel where she’d fallen asleep. Hell, the way her luck was going, she’d wake up as red as a damn lobster.

    “What in the hell is that supposed to mean . . . for now?” she asked as he fell into step beside her.

    From the corner of her eye, she saw him shrug. “Just that. Sooner or later, Jillian and I are going to get back to our life. Sooner or later, I’m going to stop hiding her away. When that time comes, I’m going to show up on your doorstep.” He reached out and caught her hand, forcing her to stop. “And when that happens, you’re going to have to let me in. You’re going to have to deal with me.”

    Pushing her hair back from her face, she sneered. “I already have dealt with you, Cullen. There’s no damn reason for you to come down here. You said your thanks. Your daughter is safe. Go live your life, and let me live mine.”

    A grin canted up the corners of his mouth, and he whispered, “Life? That’s exactly why I’m counting the days until I come back for you, Taige. You are my life.”

    He moved closer, close enough that if she leaned forward, their bodies would be touching. She held herself still, completely still, even though everything inside her yearned for him. It should have been so easy to reach out to him, so easy, but it wasn’t, even when she had thought he was little more than a figment of her lonely imagination. Now that she knew these were a little more than the average dreams, it made it that much harder to give in.

    Staring into his clear blue green eyes, she held his gaze and then took a slow, deliberate step back. “I’m not your life, Cullen. I never was.”

    A faint grin curled his lips upward, and he reached up, caught a wayward curl, and tucked it behind her ear. “I miss your braids,” he said softly. Then he skimmed a finger over the soft, delicate skin under her left eye. “The swelling’s gone.”

    She gave him a sardonic smile. “Been a month. It ought to get better.”

    Cullen shrugged restlessly. “A month? Yeah. I guess. Seems longer—and not. I see your face almost every time I close my eyes. And I see that bruise some bastard left on