of divine intervention or clairvoyance, Griff had said, I’m not sure how we pierce that veil of secrecy. And in response, the old man had denied any special pull with the Divinity and had suggested they contact this woman.
Both he and Griff had missed the significance of the thing Gardner hadn’t denied knowledge of. Clairvoyance. Raine McAllister was a clairvoyant.
Ethan knew very little about the CIA’s experimentation with parapsychology—other than the fact that it had occurred in response to the Soviet Union’s psychic research. And the time frame in which it had taken place fit into the era when Gardner had been the head of the agency, he realized.
It even made sense of the picture in the old man’s file. It was obvious Raine had been a little girl when she’d taken part in those experiments.
There was something about the exploitation of a child, despite the genuine concerns about national security during those years, that troubled him. It must have bothered Gardner, as well. Why else would he have kept in touch with this woman all this time?
“You were part of the CIA’s psychic research program.”
He had thought the old man must be onto something, especially in view of what had happened after his and Griff’s visit. Now it seemed that must have occurred, not because Gardner had any information to share, but simply because they’d asked him if he did.
“Something which, judging from your tone, has apparently fallen out of favor,” she suggested.
“A long time ago,” he said. “Probably because it didn’t prove to be as valuable as they’d hoped. I never realized the project involved children.”
His discomfort with that scenario undoubtedly showed. She smiled as if amused at his naiveté.
“I take it Mr. Gardner also failed to mention what I was doing before they brought me to Langley.”
There was an almost challenging tilt to Raine’s chin. Ethan wasn’t sure where she was headed with the question, but since Gardner had given him no clue about her, either before or after she’d been involved with the CIA, he told her the truth.
“He said nothing about you beyond his hope that you could help with the matter I mentioned. Information about The Covenant.”
“Maybe he was trying to spare me embarrassment.”
“Embarrassment?” Where the hell was this going?
“I told fortunes. Read palms and auras. I even read the cards.”
“Tarot?”
Despite the polite tone of his question, Ethan was furious at how much time he’d wasted coming down here. What she was saying now was only what he’d expected when he had finally realized her connection with the agency. Carnival sideshow quackery.
“Occasionally I’d see something about the person I was reading that was…tragic. The first beating I ever got was for telling someone they were going to die,” she said with a laugh. “I didn’t know any better. I didn’t understand the concept of entertaining the customer.”
The word beating had tightened the muscles in his stomach, although it had been uttered without any inflection. Maybe she’d used the term in jest. An exaggeration of the spankings that were fairly typical methods of discipline when they’d both been children. Something in her eyes belied that comforting thought.
“So you see, I liked playing Mr. Gardner’s little games,” she said. “They were undemanding. And they were safe.”
“Then perhaps you’d be willing to play another.”
Despite his anger and skepticism, Ethan found he was holding his breath as he waited for her answer. He must be even more desperate than he’d thought.
“For you?”
“For your country.”
Her mouth was a little wide in proportion to the rest of her features. The corners ticked up quickly before she looked down at her hands, intertwined in her lap. Slim and tanned, they seemed as delicate as her face. When she looked up again, the smile had disappeared.
“Like performing a parlor trick, you mean? Reading the cards perhaps.”
Although the tone was again almost free of inflection, the wording clearly mocked what he’d just asked of her.
“You seem amused by the idea of helping your country.”
He sounded like some bureaucratic jerk. Maybe he was, but there was nothing in the least bit funny to him about what The Covenant was trying to do.
Respect for the old man had caused him to seek this woman out. And it had kept him here, even after he’d learned the truth. Under no other circumstance would he have approached some so-called psychic for help. After what had happened to Gardner, however…
“I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to be flippant. Exactly what do you believe I can do for my country?” The tone of the last was clearly sarcastic, despite her apology.
“I’d ask that what I’m about to tell you remain in strictest confidence.”
She lifted one hand as if to indicate their surroundings. “Just who do you think I might tell?”
“I’d like your word that you won’t tell anyone.”
Again the corners of her mouth quirked and were then controlled. She was openly making fun of him. And since Ethan wasn’t accustomed to being a source of amusement, it made him uncomfortable.
Granted, he had always taken his responsibilities, both with the agency and then later with the Phoenix, very seriously. Maybe too seriously. That didn’t ease the spurt of anger he felt at her unspoken ridicule.
He wondered if he were overreacting because she was a woman. A woman who in any other circumstances he would have been attracted to.
The admission was surprising, but once he’d made it, he realized how accurate it was. Physically, everything about her appealed to him. It was only the other that made him uncomfortable.
“Then you have it, of course.” She folded her hands together in her lap again and leaned forward as if eager to hear what he had to say.
The pose didn’t fool him. Nor did it mitigate his anger. He hadn’t come here to be mocked. Not about something that was an integral part of who and what he was—
The realization was sudden. And stunning.
As soon as he had realized what she’d done at the CIA, he had expected to be amused at any claims she would make about her abilities. She had very neatly turned the tables on him instead. Deliberately giving him a dose of his own medicine? he wondered.
He’d been careful not to reveal his skepticism that her “gifts” could prove useful. Careful neither by word nor tone to indicate that he would have walked out immediately after learning about them except for the old man’s confidence in her and what had happened two nights ago. So unless she was prescient—
Again, the natural conclusion of that train
