Seeing Is Believing Read Online Free Page A

very least, disdained them. Typical Neanderthal male, she thought, her own anger rising. How dare he. Her tears, her feelings, were genuine, and he had no right to deliver verbal assaults.
    Diana had to remind herself she’d never been around a mercenary—had no idea what one might be like. Her ex-husband had been in the army, so she’d had a taste of the military, all right. A very bad taste that had left her bitter. Ruth’s story haunted her, though, so she put her own feelings aside.
    “Tell me more about Ruth.”
    “There’s nothing more to tell—except this: she married at the age of thirty and divorced at thirty-seven. Recently, she went on a two-week vacation to Sedona, Arizona. The lab had her hotel room number in case they needed her for an emergency. When they had one and called her, she was gone.”
    “Gone?”
    “Yes, disappeared.”
    “As in kidnapped?”
    “We don’t know.” Wes heard himself say “we.” It was a term he’d used often in Delta Force, where everything was approached as a team. Now he was automatically including this woman—who hadn’t even agreed to accept the mission! Disgruntled at his slip, he muttered, “That’s why they want you on this assignment. They need a psychometrist, someone who can pick up her whereabouts. The police have already checked the room and pursued the usual routes of investigation. They’ve found nothing. We were hoping you could give us something—anything—to go on.”
    She nodded. “I see. And you don’t believe in this method of investigation?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “You don’t believe people can have psychic gifts?”
    “That’s right.”
    Again, Diana felt herself up against that brutal interior wall of his. It was a defense, and she knew there were always reasons for that. Despite the anger and fear he aroused in her, she felt strangely drawn to understand the man behind the violent job. But instinctively, she realized he’d be the last person to open up and confide anything to her.
    “What are your responsibilities in all of this?” she asked briskly.
    “I’m basically a big guard dog, that’s all. I’ll interface with the local police and any other federal authorities, as necessary.”
    “Meaning this is dangerous?”
    “No, it’s a low-risk mission. The Psi-Lab suspects Ruth’s been kidnapped. They used their own people to try and find her, but they had no success. They’ve already contacted other governmental agencies to start looking for her, through local as well as federal intervention. All they want from you is for you to pick up any vibrations—to try to get a feel for what might have happened.”
    She heard the derision, the disbelief in his voice that she might actually be capable of such a thing. She sighed. It would not be enjoyable working with this man.
    “Perseus is offering you a large sum of money for your services,” Wes admitted. He took a check from his briefcase and handed it to her.
    Diana slowly held out her hand and took the crisp check. Ten thousand dollars! She gulped. To her, it was a tremendous amount of money—money that could be used to help her mother, who was always destitute because she gave everything away to those less fortunate than herself.
    “This—this is a lot of money….”
    Wes saw her wrestling with surprise and shock over the amount. “I guess they think you’re pretty good.” Damn! He’d insulted her again. Where was all this anger coming from? And why was he focusing it on her? Angry with himself, he glanced up to see how much damage he’d done with that comment.
    “Look,” he growled, getting up and stuffing the information file back into the briefcase, “this is probably going to be, at the most, a two-day mission.” You won’t have to work with me very long. Ten thousand bucks for two days’ work isn’t a bad trade-off for having to work with a bastard like me, is it?”
    She glared at him. “I was going to do this for nothing, Mr. McDonald, because