Sentinel Lost (Mind Sweeper Series Book 5) by AE Jones Read Free Book Online

flipped it on. “No one can hear us now.” He rubbed his hands together and beamed at us like a proud parent. “I was able to pull some strings and bring in someone from the Feds who knows about the supernatural and will help us hide it as best he can. Added bonus is, he used to work for me, so he knows Cleveland, too.”
    Oh, God.
    The door opened behind me, and I turned slowly, knowing, but not wanting to believe, who would be standing there.
    I locked onto his face and my vision narrowed, black closing in until I was staring down a long tunnel. And at the end of the tunnel was Dalton.
    He studied me while I stared right back at him. He was still lean, and his dark brown hair was shorter than I remembered. Maybe it was a regulation Fed haircut.
    And, of course, front and center were his iridescent turquoise eyes. But they were different. They lacked warmth and recognition. They were the eyes of a stranger. The eyes of a cop who was busy assessing who he was dealing with. Eyes that took in every angle so he could accomplish whatever was needed to get the job done.
    I had wanted so much to see him again. But not like this.
    I took a slow, deep breath to stop the tunnel vision from closing in on me completely. Not now. You can’t lose it now.
    After a moment, he turned to the rest of the group and gave them a once-over. Both Misha and Jean Luc pushed their chairs back with loud scrapes and got to their feet. Talia watched their reactions and got up as well, obviously sensing something was wrong, but since she’d never met Dalton, she was clueless about what a cluster this was.
    Morrison clapped Dalton on the shoulder and grinned. Of course he had no idea we all knew Dalton, since I’d also changed Morrison’s memories relating to the Key case. The case that had almost cost Dalton his sanity. And was about to make me lose mine.
    “This is Special Agent Joe Dalton. He used to be my media relations contact for the department and helped keep the press from finding out about some sticky cases involving the supernatural. He’ll be working with you on the case. Joe, let me introduce you to the team.”
    Talia’s eyes widened, and she gaped at me. I looked away from her to keep from crying, laughing—hell, I didn’t know which.
    Morrison gestured. “Jean Luc Delacroix and Misha Sokolov.”
    He shook their hands. “Gentlemen.”
    The sound of his voice sent my memories into overdrive. The deep tones reverberated along my spinal column, waking up my nerve endings.
    “Talia Walker and Kyle McKinley.”
    “We’ve met.”
    I flinched. He remembered me? But he offered his hand to Talia.
    “Sorry about almost flattening you in the hall.”
    She glanced at me before shaking his hand. “No worries. We both should’ve been watching where we were going.”
    He nodded and then turned to me with his hand outstretched. The last thing I wanted to do was touch him. His eyes narrowed on me the longer I paused, so I grasped his hand and then dropped it quickly. Too quickly, as if his touch burned me. But that wasn’t the case. There had been no heat between us.
    Dalton scanned the group. “If the Captain hasn’t already told you, the FBI has jurisdiction in this case now. Because of the supernatural angle, the Captain was right to call me in on it. But I can’t promise to cover up everything. A man died, and the government will be watching closely to make sure I handle things the right way.”
    Jean Luc answered. “Of course.”
    “The Captain has filled me in on the museum incident.” He looked at me again. “You had a run-in with the perp and ended up in the lagoon?”
    “Yeah.” I swallowed. “Wasn’t expecting to deal with telekinetic powers.”
    Dalton frowned. “I wanted to talk to the other witness, but you somehow changed his memory?”
    “I was able to change it with my thrall,” Jean Luc replied.
    I barely stopped my mouth from dropping open at the lie.
    Dalton focused on Jean Luc like he was a specimen under