Whitney Forbes
Whitney appears to be a normal teenager living in the Washington, DC suburbs. With hazel eyes and long brown hair, she enjoys a life of friends, sports and school and has done a good job of keeping her extrasensory perception a secret. She has to–it’s classified.
As a non-active member of an elite CIA program called Clarion, she will eventually be expected to report to CIA headquarters to help the government achieve its objective: to use psychics to spy on rival military installations and weaponry.
Self-assured and self-reliant, Whitney has been trained in survival skills to complement her psychic abilities. Her father, the director of the Clarion Program, has trained her since she was a child should she ever find herself “in the field.”
She is often on her own since her father travels for the government and her mother mysteriously died in London when Whitney was five. It has been whispered that her mother’s CIA operative cover was blown and her death was not an accident. Whitney keeps the clairvoyant visions she has seen about her mother’s death to herself–her father can’t bear to talk about it and it is easier for Whitney to stay silent about a past she cannot change.
It is not until she meets Reid Wallace, does her carefully crafted and staged world start to turn upside down. Not only is he amazingly attractive but also he keeps causing her to pass out. It is not surprising when she learns he is psychically different –she suspected as much–but it is a jolt when she learns they share the same martial arts instructor, Mr. Parks.
Whitney has been trained as a Shaolin panther stylist in the martial art of kung fu. Panthers are known for being unpredictable strategists who use cunning, not brute strength, to fight. They are masters of timing and this style suits Whitney well. The greatest nemesis of a Shaolin panther stylist is a Shaolin crane stylist although Mr. Parks claims that in tandem they are said to be unstoppable.
Reid Wallace is a crane stylist and a champion in competition. He hasn’t beaten Whitney in a match…yet.
Whitney prides herself on her adaptability and situational awareness. She sees complex and dangerous situations with crystal clarity and has been trained to anticipate obstacles. Incredibly, and for the first time in her life, she takes her hardest tumble in what she thought was a safe environment–her own kitchen. A bite of a seemingly harmless cookie turns into a mistake she will never make twice.
Reid Wallace
It appears there’s nothing this affluent teenager can’t do well. Reid is smart, athletic and attractive. His tall, chiseled physique is complimented with wavy brown hair and warm cognac eyes. Whitney finds herself addicted to the dimpled smirk that only appears when he is truly pleased.
The first time Reid touches Whitney, her intuition that he is different goes into overdrive. After she realizes he is an empath, it puts new meaning as to why he was always running into her–literally–since every touch let him read her mind.
Reid has been trained through the Poseidon Program–a junior division of the Navy SEALs because of his swimming skills and unusual physicality that give him the stats of a super-athlete. He has been assigned to protect Whitney Forbes as a government asset but getting close to Whitney proved to be an unexpected challenge. His boat, BMW or gleaming image of popularity didn’t convince her to go out with him. Reid learned with Whitney, he has to put himself on the line–an enticing and unexpected challenge he has not had before.
Reid has strong communication skills and is a polyglot. He can speak almost any language and it frustrates Whitney when he chooses to speak Chinese to their martial arts teacher, Mr. Parks, in front of her. Not only because it is rude, but also because it shuts her out. Reid is not afraid of Whitney’s wrath if he believes he is protecting her. It may cost him a claw swipe across his back but that wouldn’t be the first time.
Through his empath ability, he has forged a deep understanding of Whitney. He knows she wants to depends on him but that he will have to earn her trust.
As a trained Shaolin crane, he has the heart of a phoenix and in an emergency he will do whatever it takes to make sure the person he loves will survive–even at his own expense.
Fortunately for Reid, he also has unique blood abnormalities that increase his chances for survival–as long as he does not eat peanuts (he is allergic to them). Reid doesn’t advertise his food allergy because he believes it’s like wearing a target on your back in high school but not telling Whitney puts their relationship in jeopardy.
Reid has an indomitable spirit and he will need tenacity to survive the obstacles ahead.
