Croc

Ryder lifts his eyebrows. He hadn’t known about anything like this, and hadn’t been prepared for this kind of an answer. It sounded unbelievable. A form of telepathy? And being able to manipulate things? He didn’t quite understand. It sounded crazy.

But Katie’s tone proved otherwise. Ryder had known her for barely twenty-four hours, and one thing he knew for certain – she wouldn’t lie. And if that were true, then what she said now had to be the truth. He believed her.

Seeing her start to walk away, Ryder knew for certain he’d made her feel foolish. Though he wouldn’t have changed his opinion, he knew he could have handled things differently. This whole mission had disrupted his mood, and he needed to be more careful. It hadn’t been just Carson that had set him off – spying on the Agency building had made him think of Brian again too. And what he thought of Katie had just compounded the whole thing, irritating the tar out of him.

Rolling his eyes, Ryder steps forward, putting a hand on Katie’s shoulder to stop her. “So now you just walk away, is that it?”

He forces her to turn around to face him again. “I thought you had more guts than that.” He sighs and reaches out to wipe a stream of sweat off the side of Katie’s face. “I’d like to see you and Jason in action if what you say is true. But I can’t, if we’re gonna be enemies. So… how about a truce… third time’s the charm, right?”

Ryder, gives her a wary grin. “If I get taken down by a croc at the river, I need somebody to tell the guys I’m gone.”


Kyle sets a tote down by the stage and wanders back out to the pickup to grab some more equipment. Axel was there early to help out, but things just seemed to be dragging. His mood was off, and he didn't feel like performing at all. But he didn't have much of a choice.

Jen sits on the sidelines, having already spent too much energy. She throws a bottle of Mountain Dew at her brother. Kyle almost misses, but catches it, giving her a look of question. "You usually don't let me have sugar," he manages to tease.

Jen shrugs. "Thought you looked like you needed a pick-me-up."

Kyle takes a swig of the pop. Maybe he did. But this time, he didn't think the sugar would do the trick.