The unease he’d experienced since entering this cafe resurfaced, tugging on his metaphysical senses. Movement caught his eye, and he glanced at the courtyard archway, the entrance to the cafe a dozen feet away. A young woman stood there, shoulders bunched, tension evident on her face. She’d tied her raven hair back in a long ponytail, the locks glistening in the sunshine. The light also glinted in her eyes, igniting the lighter highlights in her deep-blue irises. She was beautiful.
And for the first time in two months, despite his shields, he felt something. A twinge of what he could only describe as… longing. A bizarre impulse to wrap her in his arms. She seemed so lost, almost afraid. Of what?
“Sean,” David said, with an uncharacteristic sharpness to his tone.
Blinking rapidly, struggling to shake the… whatever the girl had incited in him, Sean returned his attention to David. “What?”
“I’m glad you’re still interested in girls,” David said, “but we were having a serious conversation. Why would you think we’re better off without you?”
“Because —” His gaze inexorably traveled back to the girl. She was fidgeting and scratching her arms, exposed by the short-sleeve shirt she wore. Her jeans had trendy slashes in them that gaped open around her knees, complete with fashionable threads dangling from them.
The girl lowered one hand, her arm straight at her side, parallel to her body. She flexed her fingers.
“For Christ’s sake, Sean, pay attention.”
He flicked his gaze to David, but his focus was pulled back to the girl by an inexplicable sensation of impending danger. Sean’s body went rigid. He stared at the girl, not blinking, not moving, racking his mind for the source of this dread.
“Grace thinks you’re suppressing your powers,” David said. “Is she right?”
“What if she is? It’s my business, not yours.”
“Sean, suppressing your powers is dangerous. Not to mention bad for your health, mental and physical.”
“I’m fine.”
Sean couldn’t look away from the girl. She’d closed her eyes, her face pinched. The power of her anguish battered his shields, but only a trickle penetrated them. It was enough, though. Even a taste of her pain left a bitter tang in his mouth. He shouldn’t care, goddammit, but something about her…
He jumped up. “Back in a minute.”
Before David could protest, Sean stalked toward the girl, weaving his way around tables and chairs.
Eyes squeezed shut, the girl curled her fingers into her palm.
Sean reached her just as she snapped her fingers straight.
The building exploded.
