Entranced (A PowerUp! Story) Read Online Free Page A

brow at him before turning back to Ida. “Shall I make some?”
    Ida nodded, and Heather left for the kitchen. Jack kept half his attention on her while the rest of him sized up his host.
    “You’re one of us.” Ida nodded and narrowed her gaze, studying him. “Very powerful. You vibrate with it. Rage, intensity, lust.”
    She raised a brow, and he had to work to cool the heat in his cheeks.
    “Drei-Gewalten was built on such emotions. We are a very old town, one that only the gifted can find. Our council works to keep the rest out.”
    “Oh?”
    “Why are you here, Jack Keiser?”
    He didn’t show any reaction to her knowing his true name. “To find your niece , Heather.”
    She nodded. “Her brother sent you. Owen.” She pursed her lips. “He was told to stay out of this mess. The boy doesn’t listen for shit.”
    He paused, taken aback by her language, then had to grin. “So you’ve met him.”
    “No, but Heather has spoken of him so that I feel I know him.” She sighed. “But this is for Heather to make right. It is not for Owen to interfere.”
    Ida stared at him, and Jack had the uncomfortable sense of her picking and prodding at his shields.
    “But you are not here for Owen, I think. You are here for Heather.”
    One and the same. He shrugged. “Why the story about her being your relative?” He wanted to hear her confirm what Heather had told him.
    “Because this town lives with antiquated conventions. Here, we are the law. Or rather, the Baer family is the law. For too long, they’ve run our town. Heather needed to come, to do what she was tasked. But the Stallbridges haven’t been welcome in over a hundred years, not since Johann discovered the Source.”
    Heather had mentioned that earlier. “The Source?” Jack asked.
    “Of power.”
    Heather returned to the living room. “You’ve felt it. The vibrations under your feet? It’s real. There are places like this all over the world, where the pulse of power sends waves through the earth. In some places, the electromagnetic fields are stronger. In others, it’s just a feeling, a place where senses are heightened and life is much more defined.” She gazed at him with eyes that saw too much. “It’s a vortex. Bend, Oregon is one such place. That’s why Owen settled there.”
    “But not you?” Jack asked her, his gaze intense.
    “Eventually I will. I’ve had other things to keep me busy over the years.”
    She studied him, and he wondered what she saw when she looked at him.
    “Why don’t you tell me who you are and why you’re really here. Ida called you Jack Keiser. That name sounds familiar.”
    “My name is Jack Keiser. Harmon is an alias.”
    “One of many you’ve used,” Ida added.
    He scowled at her. “You a mind reader?”
    “I know things. Not all, just some.”
    “Great. More mystery to add to this secretive town.” Jack kept his inner shields tight and concentrated on Heather. “I’m here because your brother and I work together. We co-own the PowerUp! Gym in town. In Bend.”
    “I’ve been there. I remember your manager, Kitty.”
    Funny, Kitty never mentioned meeting Heather. “I run a team of people who do more than work at the gym. We work private investigations. Our biggest job to date is tracking down the objects stolen from your warehouse.”
    Heather’s eyes widened. “That’s you? You’re the ex-government psychics?” She stared at him with a look he didn’t trust. “Oh. You’re Jack .”
    “What does that mean?”
    “My brother called you an injured wolf more likely to bite first and ask questions later.”
    “Nice.” He scowled.
    “From Owen, that’s a compliment. He likes you.”
    And Jack liked Owen, for what it was worth. It still surprised him to find he’d come to respect the arrogant millionaire. Jack could appreciate that Owen had his own secrets, things even Heather might not know.
    “This is all interesting, but off topic.” Ida pointed to the kitchen. “Heather, dear,