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She hesitated when she heard a child’s shriek of laughter and the accohter fro the blond-haired little iolden retriever puppy while the wo smiles on their faces

They didn’t look like woh, even though she knew differently PJ had been a part of each ht these woed And they’d all endured their own version of hell They were survivors They were fierce And shit, it killed her to admit it, but they intimidated her because she didn’t feel like she ht

She continued to watch fro moment Of the four women, PJ knew the least about Sarah She was quieter and rin that Garrett stayed in trouble with her over his pottyup when she wasn’t around

Cole had told her that she’d been raped before she and Garrett had met and that Sarah’s brother had killed the man responsible PJ had silently cheered him on, even back then before her own attack had happened

Ato take out thehis sister

PJ hter Even fivefor her life, she’d kicked some pretty serious ass Hell, she’d even shot her own father That took some balls

But Rachel was also a resilient, kick-ass survivor in her own quiet way Of all of theest A year in hell One PJ couldn’t even begin to iine or fathom What Rachel had suffered nificant in comparison PJ had worried that Rachel may not ever fully recover PJ had been there when Ethan had carried her out of the jungle She’d seen Rachel at her lowest point But she’d cohtened, powerless victireat strides thanks to the support network around her

PJ was envious of that if she was honest with herself Every single Kelly would lay down his life for her or any of the other Kelly worets

She was so absorbed in her analysis of the wo her way until the other woman was directly in front of her

"Hi, PJ," Sophie said with a s over I’m very happy you did"

PJ’s pale to wipe the s uys to put your day on hold"

Sophie waved her hand "Come on over The only part of the day we put on hold was the opening of the wine Now that you’re here, we’re going to reenuine, warm smile that ut

She limped behind Sophie and found herself the object of scrutiny of the other three woh, as Sophie had said, there was a wine bottle and glasses on the patio table

It reeked of a girly social All that waswas a teapot, some cute little mini sandwiches with the crusts cut off and some funky dip that looked like a cat puked in the bowl

PJ was more used to beer, bad music and even worse company It surprised the hell out of her that she was actually starting to think this wasn’t going to be such a bad afternoon It ht even befun

"Here’s PJ, finally ho out with us today while she’s recovering I figure she needs a break from Cole by now" She turned back to PJ "We’ve all been so worried about you"

PJ started to defend Cole, but she realized the other wo reluctance and offered a hesitant but genuine smile in the other women’s directions They’d worried about her? They’d actually known she was gone? PJ couldn’t i their women to knohole lot about ent on with KGI She wouldn’t have iined that they would have known she’d left, much less worried over that fact

"Hi, PJ," Shea offered, a broad s?" Rachel asked in a soft voice "Ethan said you were shot"

PJ looked doith a rueful sh Could have been much worse I’ll be back in action soon"

Sarah shuddered "I don’t see how you can live with the constant danger And you’re so casual about being shot!"

"Just part of the job," PJ said easily "It’s soet used to"

"Well, co You need to have your feet up Letto do and for the men not to bother us today They’re probably so"

PJ allowed herself to be ushered into one of the chairs, and then Shea dragged another over so she could put her leg up

A sudden thought occurred to PJ, one that alarlanced up at Shea, her brow furrowed "You aren’t going to do any of that , are you? I kno much that hurts you, so don’t even think about it"

Shea blinked for a"Mind meld That’s a neord for it And to answer your question, no I’ift is random I can’t connect to people at will My sister can, but I can’t"

PJ felt e it out like that, but the last thing she wanted was for Shea to take on her pain It would piss Nathan off and cause a big fuss Not toit caused Shea when she helped others with her extraordinary gift It was her injury and she could deal with it

Shea and her sister, Grace, ith Rio, the other team leader, had unique abilities that defied scientific explanation There was a whole bizarre story behind it, involving experi certain couples with supernatural abilities together to see what offspring they produced Shea and Grace had been two such experied to escape and break free from the people anted to harness and use their abilities for their own purposes

The whole thing was beyond PJ’s scope of understanding She wouldn’t have believed any of it if she hadn’t seen for herself the results of one of thosesessions

It re and the whole idea of faith healing None of it made any sense to her

"How is Grace?" PJ asked, directing her question at Shea "And Elizabeth? How is she adjusting? Do you get to see them often?"