Okay, I'm going to trust him. But if she ever found him near her thoughts again without her permission ... It definitely wouldn't pay to be in his boots.
"Don't do it again," she warned.
"Trust me, I won't. At least not on purpose. Like I said, I can't always control it, but I do most of the time, and I will definitely be more on guard around you, especially any time you're going near the more tender parts of my body."
She didn't want to be amused by that last bit at all. Unfortunately, she was.
Even so, it didn't mean she had to let him know it.
Forcing herself to stay stern, she nodded. "Good. Now what other evil powers do you have that I should know about?"
"I can roll my tongue," he said proudly.
Gah, he was such a goofball sometimes. Hard to believe a man with such a fierce, lethal reputation who'd been wanted and hunted voraciously by every branch of law enforcement in the Old West, could be so irreverent and playful. She wondered what those enemies would have thought of him had they ever seen this side of his personality. They certainly wouldn't have been so scared of him.
Which made her wonder if he'd been like this as a human. Or had he developed his humor as a Dark-Hunter?
In the grand scheme, it didn't matter. Right now, she needed to know who and what, exactly, she was dealing with. "I'm serious, Jess."
"So am I. Not everyone can do it. It's a genetic thing, you know."
Abigail let out a tired sigh as she fought down the need to choke him.
He gave her a teasing grin, then finally took mercy on her and answered the question. "I have some telekinesis, which you already discovered. Premonitions. Can see auras and ... I make a killer omelette."
That was an impressive list-including the omelette tidbit. But what made her sick to her stomach was that she'd stupidly gone up against him without knowing any of that.
Thanks, Jonah, for the extensive research you didn't do. It was a wonder Jess hadn't killed her.
Maybe that had been Jonah's intent all along. "Believe me, Abigail. I've found every bit of detail on Sundown that's ever been documented or thought. There's nothing about him I don't know. We have all we need and then some to kill him.
A clue about his powers would have been a nice addition to their arsenal.
Jess leaned forward and kissed her bare shoulder. "Am I forgiven yet?"
Dragging a slow gaze down his lush body, she hesitated. One because she basically lost her train of thought to how much she'd like to take another bite out of him. No man should be so sexy. Even naked, he exuded such power and confidence that it raised a chill on her skin. And two, she did have to think about the possibility of forgiving him. She still wasn't sure she should.
But really, what choice did she have? Could she really hold mind-reading against him when it was something he hadn't asked for?
She made him wait a few seconds more before she answered. "Fine. But only because you look good naked."
His grin turned evil. "I'll take that."
"Good. Now, let's get dressed before we do get discovered by some nosy clerk."
He tsked as he pulled his pants up and fastened them. "Remind me to kill Coyote for rushing this when I'd rather lay naked with you than fight wasps and coyotes and all the other crap he's throwing at us."
"Don't worry. I think we have many reasons to kill him." Abigail finished buttoning her shirt, then looked outside. The wasps were still everywhere. It was a sickening sight, and she was getting tired of listening to them buzz. "What are we going to do about our friends out there?"
Jess had no idea. But before he could respond, his phone rang. He fished it out of his pocket and answered it.
"Where are you?"
He arched a brow at Ren's angry tone. "We got trapped by the wasps. Where are you?"
"At your house with Choo Co La Tah. He was trying to chant the wasps into submission when something happened."
That can't be good. Dread ripped through Jess. They couldn't afford to lose him at this point. He was the only guide they had who actually had a clue about what was going on and how to correct it. The only other Guardian around was Snake ... and he was on Coyote's side.
"What happened?" he asked Ren.
"I don't know. He's in some form of coma. I've never seen anything like this."
Jess winced. If Ren was panicked over this, then there was a good reason to be panicked over it. The man had ice water for blood and wasn't prone to any form of overreaction.
"Can we wake him out of it?"
Ren lost his patience. "Well, you know, cowboy, that's a really good idea. Damn shame I didn't think of it, huh?"
"Cut the sarcasm. Are you're sure it's not a vision quest?"
"For the sake of our long-term friendship, I'm not even going to dignify that with the response it deserves."
Because it, too, was a stupid question. Jess had known that before he asked it.
Still ...
He ran his hand over his face as he tried to think of some kind of plan or action to save Choo Co La Tah and get rid of their current pest problem. "We need someone else who can control the weather. You know anyone?"
"I do." Jess heard Sasha in the background. "Give me a few, and I'll be back with help."
Ren said something muffled to Sasha, then uncovered the receiver so that Jess could hear again. "I have to say, Sister Fortune has ridden out of town on us, and I don't like it."
"Gotta say, I don't blame you. I'm not exactly sending roses to her either." He let out an aggravated breath. "So do we have any intel or insight as to what we need to do for Choo Co La Tah and to stop Coyote?"
"Not really. I don't know what else Coyote will come up with. He's unpredictable at best. A bastard at worst. And when cornered, he's lethal beyond measure and will do whatever he must to win. His heart lives in a place best left untrodden. All I know is we have to get to the Valley by sunrise."
"I know."
"No, Jess. You don't. We have to beat Coyote to Old Bear's magic. If we do, we might be able to keep him from unlocking the next set of plagues."
That would be good. But it wouldn't be easy. "What exactly is his magic? Other than the Grizzly?"
Ren sighed. "You should have listened more to your mother's stories, boy. Your lack of education offends me."
He glanced over to Abigail, who watched him with a penetrating stare that said she was dying to know what they were talking about. He was grateful she didn't interrupt them. That was something he'd always found rude and extremely annoying.
Jess returned his attention to Ren. "My mother didn't talk that much about her beliefs or tell me many stories." She'd been too sick for too long. For the last three years of her life, every breath had been a precious struggle for her. So she'd conserved them for living and not for talking. "And when she did, it was in a hushed tone." Because she'd been terrified of anyone hurting him over their heritage.
Better to blend in than stand out, penyo. The one who flies against the flock is always flying into opposition. No matter how strong the beast, sooner or later, he tires from his ragged journey.