Page 45 of Protector Unmatched

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Pearce entered the compound and went in search for Winter. He found her in the great room, where she was drinking tea and reading. She wasn’t alone. In the adjacent kitchen, Leila was preparing a snack for the twins, who were playing chase.

“Hey,” Leila said. “The guys were looking for you.”

Winter looked up from her book. “Enya got back a little while ago.”

Which meant that she’d probably filled his brethren in about what had transpired earlier today. “They can wait.” He walked toward Winter. “I wanted to ask you for a favor.”

Winter closed her book and laid it next to her on the couch. “I have the feeling this involves my gift.”

“You truly are a psychic,” Pearce joked.

“And you’re very transparent. You want me to force a vision.”

Pearce sat down on the couch and turned to her. “I think after what happened today and last night, I believe I eliminated the event that will drive Daphne to kill me. I think I changed the future. But I need certainty.”

“We all want certainty,” Winter said, and sighed. “But there’s no such thing. And you know as well as I do that I can’t force a vision. I’ve gotten better at it in the last few months, but it’s not an exact science. I still haven’t learned to truly control and channel them. They may come or they may not. If I could control them, then I would have solved a lot of mysteries by now.”

Pearce lifted his hand. “Please, hear me out. By preventing Daphne from breaking into that safe last night and saving her from being arrested, I changed her path in life. She owes me big time.” Though he’d never want anything for it. Knowing she was safe was good enough. “She has no reason to kill me. Whatever the reason was before, she would never do it now. She’s grateful for my help.” Besides, they had chemistry. That couldn’t be ignored. Most people were driven by emotions, and from what he knew about Daphne by now, she was no exception. Whatever she did, her heart was in it.

“Yeah, Enya mentioned something about you two helping Daphne rescue her brother, and that it was some kind of scam her brother was pulling. Total shitbag, that guy.”

He had to agree. How could a man put his own sister through so much pain and agony, not to mention the danger she’d been in? “Despicable. But the details aren’t important right now. What matters is that I helped her get out of a jam, no matter who ultimately caused it.” Though if Tim were his brother, he’d get a more serious beating than the one Daphne had doled out.

“Just try it, Winter,” Leila said from the kitchen. “Or you’ll never get him off your back. He’s like a dog with a bone.”

Winter exchanged a look with Leila. “You’re right about that. In the end, they’re all the same, your mate and mine, and the rest of this motley crew. When they want something, they won’t stop until they get it.”

Pearce rolled his eyes. “I’m nothing like Logan or Aiden. Or any of the others.”

“Right,” Leila said, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

“Nothing like them at all,” Winter added, just as disingenuously.

Realizing that he wasn’t getting anywhere with Winter if he didn’t agree with her, he finally said, “Fine, so I’m a little like Logan and Aiden. Happy now?”

Winter chuckled. “One nil for Winter.” Then she stretched out her hand. “Do you have anything that belongs to Daphne?”

Pearce had prepared for this moment and reached into his jacket pocket. He pulled out a scarf he’d clandestinely taken from Daphne’s apartment when he’d dropped her off there an hour earlier. She’d asked him if he wanted to stay, but he’d declined and told her he’d call her later. She’d given him the kind of look a woman gave a man when she knew he wouldn’t follow through. But she’d said nothing. And he hadn’t been able to promise her anything else. Nor could he, until he knew whether his actions had produced the right outcome. Only then could he take the next step.

Winter took the scarf, closed her eyes, and concentrated. Her breaths were even, her face relaxed. Pearce waited and tried not to show his impatience. He needed to know, needed to confirm that what he’d done had changed the outcome of Winter’s original vision. Because if it had, then he had options.

For a few minutes, all he could hear were the twins, Julia and Xander, playing in the kitchen, the clatter of utensils, and Leila opening and closing the refrigerator as she was preparing food.

When Winter opened her eyes a few minutes later, Pearce already knew the answer to his question.

Winter shook her head. “I’m sorry. I’m not getting anything.”

Desperate for any sort of confirmation, he asked, “Is it possible that you don’t have a vision because she won’t kill me? I mean, you can’t see an event that’s not gonna happen anymore, right?”

Winter shrugged. “I don’t know. Just because I don’t get a vision, doesn’t mean the threat is gone. You should still take precautions. Like staying away from her.”

“Stay away from her?” When the words were repeated in his own voice, he realized that he’d never planned to stay away from Daphne after this. Even though he’d tossed Daphne a casual “I’ll call you later” that she’d interpreted as a kiss goodbye, he now knew that a goodbye was the last thing he wanted.

They’d been good together. They had things in common, not just when it came to computers. They’d been more than just compatible in bed. They’d set the sheets on fire. He couldn’t throw that away because a vision confirming that she wouldn’t kill him wasn’t forthcoming.

“Yes, that would be the safest,” Winter said, cutting through his thoughts.