Redemption (Bennett Sisters Book 5) (2 page)

Lydia
left the men standing there and walked over to the Humvee of armed men that were waiting to whisk them away. She turned to see if the General was going to follow. Their conversations were anything but quiet as they argued against the General’s plans.
Lydia
leaned against the Humvee as she watched and listened to each of them. The outcome of her vision forever altered, regardless of whom traveled along on her new adventure.

Thompson dropped his arms
. “
Damn woman. She’s not leaving without me.
”

Maxwell Briggs stood beside him. The longtime friend and ex-military commando had been a silent witness to the Bennett families’ trouble, but he’d been there when her sisters had needed him most. The silent giant was wise beyond his years. His eyes hinted of stories untold; his loyalty was unspoken. The fact that he’d appeared also and wasn’t in her dream, deepened her uneasiness. Briggs nodded to the General. “She’s my new assignment.”

Briggs shook the General’s hand; a rare grin graced his lips. He tilted his head toward Rick. “Besides someone has to watch him, watching her.”

****

Lydia
tapped her foot with her hands planted on her waist as she waited for the decisions to be made. General Lister didn’t need to see her narrowed eyes to realize she didn’t approve. The air vibrated with energy making the tiny hair on his arms stand up. She was a powerful woman with abilities unlike any he’d seen before. She’d made her decision and was expecting everyone to abide by it. The first thing the little red head needed to learn was that she didn’t get to make the decisions, he did. This had turned into a damn circus and if he didn’t get control now, he never would.

She’d
eventually
come to harness her gift. He’d help train her to survive
,
if it was the last thing he did
; he owed her for saving both of his daughters’ lives
. For someone with the gift of foresight, she should have seen this coming. He
’d
found it interesting, that she hadn’t. Something he
would explore as soon as he got her the hell out of this god-forsaken town. The sooner he could accomplish that the better for everyone including his daughter
.

The general studied the strong m
en
who’d come to take a stand for
Lydia
.
Briggs had been under his command during his military service and was a good guy; although quiet. Briggs wanting to tag along wasn’t what surprised the general; the wild card in this bunch was FBI Agent Thompson. The General let his gaze run down and back up the agent assessing him.
“
Grab your gear. We have to leave now.
”

The general turned on his heel
; he could feel the energy in the air sizzle even as he walked toward
Lydia
and his men who were waiting for him. She was gifted all right; and he was going to push her to her limits.
H
is
mission was almost complete. He was bringing her in, where they could observe and help her.

Lydia
glanced around at the caravan of vehicles following the General’s SUV. The escort to wherever they were going should have eased her fears, but instead it amplified them. The proximity of the two men flanking her in the back seat did little to calm her nerves, hell if anything Rick’s thigh pressed unconsciously against hers set off a whole different reaction, one she tried her best to ignore.

Lydia
cleared her throat and leaned forward in her seat, placing her elbows on the seat backs in front of her. “Where are you taking me?”

The General glanced into the rearview mirror at her before training his eyes on the road in front of him. “You’ll be debriefed when we get there. It’s safer that way.”

Lydia
tilted her head. “Safer for whom?”

The General’s lips tilted up at the corners. “My men at the compound.”

Lydia
leaned back in to the plush leather seats and sighed. The General’s answers were vague, but she couldn’t blame him. He had people to protect just like she did.
Lydia
shifted and glanced out the window, the darkness of the night sky concealing any mile markers they passed. She wished that she’d had time to take a tour of the town, but with everything that had happened, she hadn’t. Her unease increased, she had no clue where she was going.

Briggs leaned over and whispered in her ear. “Don’t worry doll, it seems we’re heading to a secure airport, just outside of town. If I had to guess, we’ll be traveling by air.”

Rick crossed his arms over his chest and grunted.
Lydia
could no more decipher the man’s thoughts than she could her own. One minute he’d demanded that he come with her, and yet it seemed like he wanted to be anywhere but by her side, as if it was her fault she’d made some decision and dragged him along. 

****

Rick watched as Briggs leaned over whispering in
Lydia
’s ear. His words were meant for her, but he’d heard what Briggs said just the same. Why it bothered him that Briggs felt comfortable enough to be whispering into the ear of a woman, that none of them really knew, was beyond him. Just like the fact that he hadn’t liked it one bit bothered him worse.

Rick crossed his arms over his chest. He wasn’t going to let the little redhead get to him. He was here for his own mission. He’d find out everything he could, no matter what his clearance at the bureau allowed him.
Lydia
had seamlessly waltzed into his friend’s life, and rooted herself in the family he’d come to care about. Not many questions had been asked, they’d all accepted her, some more quickly than others had and that bothered him. Rick still had his doubts about her timing. She’d shown up right when the FBI was about to take down a man they’d been after for twenty years. It was a bit too convenient for his tastes and he wanted answers.

Rick glanced down at the redhead and felt his lips tilt up at the corners.
You know what they say about keeping yo
ur friends close, and your enemies
closer, and that was just what he planned to do.

The General stopped in front of a gated barb-wired fence, pulled something out of his wallet and flashed the man holding a semi-automatic rifle guarding the gate. After being waved through the caravan came to a halt in front of a large metal hanger. The doors stood open and he watched as more military men canvassed the area; some standing guard, some loading the plane. It looked like a well-oiled operation. Each highly trained employee went about their own tasks like they’d done this a dozen times before and practiced the moves daily. 

He could only guess, they weren’t flying coach when they traveled with the General. The General stepped out of the SUV and spoke in hushed tones to a man with a lab coat on. The man who resembled a doctor glanced at the SUV as Rick held a hand out to
Lydia
helping her step down. The doctor nodded once more and boarded the plane.

Briggs threw his arm around
Lydia
’s shoulder. “Just stick with me kid.”

Briggs comment was so out of character for the big brute, Rick just shook his head and ignored it. He grabbed the black bag he kept packed for emergencies. Having one in his trunk had come in handy on more than one occasion. The general had given him only minutes to grab his gear, but it had been long enough. Guns, clothes and money were all that he’d need. Rick traipsed up the steps onto the plane. “Where do you want me?”

The man dressed from head to toe in camouflage looked him up and down with a questioning glance. “Who are you?”

Rick pulled his badge and flashed it to the man. “Special Agent, Rick Thompson.”

The man in camouflage raised his brow. “You must be on the wrong flight, buddy.
That
badge won’t get you a seat on
this
plane.”

The General stepped up behind the man and patted him on the back. “He’s coming with us. Thompson this is Connors. He’ll be the one training
Lydia
.” The General glanced at Connors. “Thompson here is her escort and bodyguard along with Briggs.”

Connors nodded and turned to shove a bag in the overhead compartment. “Just grab a seat. Wheels are up in five.”

Rick held out a hand and gestured for
Lydia
to take a seat as she approached him. She stopped in front of him and smiled. “I already promised Briggs, I’d sit next to him. Sorry.” If the look on her face was any indication, she was anything but sorry. He guessed that she wasn’t too pleased he was here, but she’d come to get used to it. He’d didn’t doubt his ability to win her over, all it was going to take was some time to get her to drop her guard so he could get the answers he needed. 

The man in the white lab coat approached
Lydia
from behind. He pulled a needle from his lab coat and stabbed the needle into her arm, pushing the plunger.
Lydia
stumbled forward into Rick’s chest. Her legs almost instantaneously giving out on her, he wasn’t sure if it was from the surprise or what had been in the needle. Rick caught
Lydia
around the waist with his steel arm, and pulled a gun from the back of his pants with his free hand. He trained the barrel pointing directly into the doctors’ chest. “What the hell did you give her?”

The man in the white lab coat reached for
Lydia
.

Rick cocked the hammer daring him to touch her. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

The doctor put a cap on the needle and dropped it in the pocket of his lab coat. He slowly raised his hands. “It was just something to keep her sleeping during the flight. The General ordered it.”

The general nodded from where he stood.

Rick released the hammer and shoved the gun back into the waistband of his dress pants. Unease settled over him. He hadn’t been expecting them to sedate her. He was failing miserable at protecting her, since the little doctor had gotten the drop on him.

The General walked up behind the doctor, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I gave the order. Why don’t you secure her in a seat.” He gestured to the extensive plush leather surrounding them.

Briggs strolled up behind Rick and scooped her up in his arms. “I’ve got her.” He carried her back up toward the front of the plane and sat down.

Rick felt his blood pressure rise and spun back on the General who gestured to a window seat. Rick hesitantly moved to sit keeping one eye on the General and his other on the rest of the inhabitants of the plane. The General slid in the seat next to him as the plane’s engines hummed to life and started out of the hanger. The vibrations increased as the engines revved gaining speed down the runway eventually lifting and climbing into the air.
The plane
and the men on it were all comfortable with each other. A few of them bantered back and forth over the hum of the engines. “That wasn’t a smart way to gain her trust.”

Rick rubbed a hand at the back of his neck. It appeared there was more than meets the eye with the General and his team. Another mystery he would solve.

Rick glanced around the plane. It was unlike any military flight he’d been on before. There were no strangers on the plane. They all seemed to share a sense of camaraderie.
The
leather-covered seats looked as if they had never been used before at all.
There were no magazines
deposited in the
pockets of the seats, nothing that screamed
of a commercial
flight.
The plane was a means to an end just like the reason Rick was on the flight.

The corner of the General’s lips turned down. “You’re right. Next time I’ll tell her before we have to sedate her. What exactly do you know about Lydia Stevens?”
The general asked as he nodded his head and gestured up the aisle.

Chapter 3

What did Rick really know about the redhead? If he was honest with himself, it was nothing. Just what he’d seen and heard, Rick shrugged his shoulders. “She’s gifted like the rest of the Bennett’s.”

The General remained silent before speaking. “That’s where you’re wrong, Thompson. She may come from the same line, but her gifts are dangerous; not only to herself but to everyone around her. Until she learns to control her telekinesis, she’s a danger to everyone.” He reached up and scratched at the stubble on his chin. “It’s her visions that we need to understand.”

Granted each Bennett honed a different set of gifts and
Lydia
’s seem more physical for lack of better word, but she wasn’t dangerous. Rick stilled at the accusation.
Just what the hell was the General’s plan anyway
. “Why the drug to knock her out?”

The General’s lips turned up into a grin. The weathered lines around his mouth deepened. “That’s so we make it to the compound in one piece.”