Arc Angel (12 page)

“The lab should have it to us soon.”

“Very good.”

John paused, shifting from one foot to the other. The news up to this point had been positive, so his associate must have been saving the bad news for last.

“What is it, John?”

“Sir, I’ve got an update on Ms. James.”

“Yes. What have we learned?”

“Unfortunately, not much yet. I sent men over to search her apartment, but the whole thing is taking longer than anticipated.” A bead of sweat dripped down John’s hairline.

“And why is that?”

“There were other people there.”

Mr. Brown looked up at him sharply. “What other people?”

“From what we could tell, they were there to repair Ms. James’ door, but they also talked about setting up guard outside the building. They seem to be working for Bryce Campion.”

Mr. Brown seemed to relax a notch. “Ah, Mr. Campion. So he’s entered the scene. Interesting.” He flicked his fingers, relegating Bryce Campion to triviality. “And where is the lovely Ms. James?”

“We weren’t able to track her directly, but we think she may have gone to Campion’s house. It’s one of those big brick places out near the lake.”

“I’m familiar with the location.”

“Right. Erm, anyway, we’ve got men watching his place. If she’s there, we’ll find her.”

“Excellent.”

“Any change in your instructions? We’re still purely observing?”

Mr. Brown tented his hands in front of him, elbows resting on his glass desk. “I think it may be time to kick it up a notch, as they say. After all, tomorrow night has to be the night. Keep Ms. James under surveillance, as before. But I also have another job for you.”

He outlined his plan in low tones.

“Do you think you can handle the arrangements for me, John?”

“Of course, Mr. Brown, sir.”

“Then please proceed. I want everything to be perfect for our lovely new friend.”

Chapter 10

Miranda felt better than she had in ages. Not even the text message she’d gotten from Detective O’Hara could throw off her mood. Apparently the good detective had heard about the security system mishap of the previous night and wanted to check on her. Should she feel served and protected or like she was under surveillance? But she’d texted back, saying she’d stayed the night with a friend.

Which was almost true, and part of why she was so happy. She had a full stomach from the yummy oatmeal, she’d finally gotten some sleep and, most of all, she was sitting next to Bryce Campion in the back of a luxury sedan, and he did not think she was crazy.

She still couldn’t quite comprehend that he not only believed her, but planned to help her. Yesterday, he’d been focused completely on what she could potentially do, but he’d been nothing but kind and thoughtful to her this morning. Well, she sucked at reading people. She must have misjudged him.

Miranda glanced over to where he reclined against the plush seat. For a moment, she let herself feel the thrill of excitement that came from sitting next to one of her heroes. Okay, it wasn’t only that he was an idol. She’d be nervous and thrilled to sit next to Stan Lee too, but she didn’t think the octogenarian would make her stomach churn in the surprisingly pleasant way that Bryce did. Her anxiety wasn’t gone; if she thought too much about her situation, she knew she’d go straight back into sweaty hyperventilating mode. But knowing that Bryce knew the most bizarre thing about her and didn’t judge her for it reduced her panic.

Of course it also let her experience crazy sensations she hadn’t thought herself capable of. Her physical symptoms mirrored her usual issues, but this time she enjoyed them. The twists and turns in her stomach were more like riding a rollercoaster than suffering from food poisoning. Bryce had looked at her several times after they’d gotten in the car, and she’d flushed every time, not because she felt like an idiot, but because she wanted him to look at her, to find her pretty.

Matthews swung the car around a corner a little too fast, and Bryce’s knee brushed against hers, startling her out of her daydreams and then sending her right back into them. The touch lasted only an instant, but the friction lingered for several tantalizing minutes and she savored the feeling.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her fingers tangling in the ends for a minute as she snuck another glance at Bryce through her lashes. He looked back at her. She yanked her hand out of her hair and lowered it to her lap, but smiled, knowing that her heart rate had jumped in pleasure, not embarrassment.

She wasn’t naïve enough to think that Bryce had a crush on her too. He’d just met her. And she wasn’t the type of girl guys fell for, instantly or otherwise. Her looks could best be described as low maintenance while her… issues were definitely of the high maintenance variety.

Oh, she knew Bryce was interested. But he wasn’t interested in
her
; he was interested in how she’d become Arc Angel. She also knew Bryce was hiding something, though she couldn’t read him well enough to identify it specifically. Behind his natural curiosity over what had happened to her lurked something else, something strangely manic. Did he want to use her for publicity? He certainly didn’t need it. But why else would he be so… intense about her?

She consciously pushed her worries aside. Today constituted the most contact she’d had with a guy in years. Maybe ever. She could talk to Bryce. She could trust him. And here they were, driving along together, like two normal people, as if they were out on a social outing. Driven by a large man with a gun.

Oh yes, she’d seen Matthews’ gun. His jacket had flapped open to reveal his shoulder holster when he’d held the car door open for them. It sent a shiver down her spine, but didn’t bother her as much as it probably would have a few days ago, a fact that did bother her.

She looked at Matthews in the rearview mirror, his face hidden by large mirrored glasses and a bristly mustache. His bulk filled the front seat like a rock-solid human shield. Even Miranda could read the “don’t mess with me” vibe that surrounded him.

I could take him.

The ridiculous thought made the corner of Miranda’s mouth twitch up in a partial smile.

“Sir?”

Miranda instantly looked away, her cheeks hot. Had he caught her looking at him? Was he going to tattle to Bryce?

“Yes, Matthews?”

“I think we have a tail.”

A what?

“Are you sure, Matthews?”

“Yes, sir. They’ve been with us for a few miles now. Big black SUV.”

Black SUV. It was as if someone had doused her with a bucket of ice water. All her previous warmth—pleasant and unpleasant—was extinguished in an instant.

“Miranda?”

She forced herself to look at Bryce, trying to keep her expression as blank as possible.

“Do you know anything about this? You mentioned something about having an… incident in your cab yesterday. Did you think you were being followed?”

Miranda gave a small nod.

“And you said that when that happened…
she
took over?”

Miranda gave an even smaller nod.

“Do you think maybe you could try to do something? Or we could… invite her?”

And she’d thought she’d been cold before.

She flashed back to the exploding light fixture. She couldn’t use her powers on her own, not without risking serious damage to everyone around her. But invite Arc Angel in deliberately? A mild tremor ran through her. She wanted her alter ego to go away, not get comfortable in her new home.

Bryce watched her intently. “If you aren’t comfortable, you don’t have to do it. Matthews can get rid of these clowns.”

He leaned over and rested his hand on her knee.

It was the first time in five years that she’d allowed another human being to touch her. Warmth seeped from his hand through her whole body, chasing away the icy fear gripping her.

She gathered up the courage to look into his blue eyes, so clear and kind. He didn’t push her. He would help her, protect her. He understood.

“I… I can try.”

“That’s my girl.” His hand patted her knee and then pulled back. The intensity of her sense of loss startled her.

“So what are you going to do?” he asked.

She pulled her eyes away from his and looked at Matthews, who watched them in the mirror, his face its usual mask of neutrality.

“It’s okay,” Bryce assured her. “He knows… most of what’s going on.”

A flicker of betrayal danced over her nerves, but she chased it away. She didn’t mind that he’d told Matthews, really. The man was clearly devoted to Bryce, and therefore not likely to run off and chatter about what he’d learned to all and sundry. But it did hurt a little that it wasn’t the two of them against the world anymore. Now it was the three of them.

She shook off her mood and refocused on the issue at hand. And then regretted it. Sweat broke out across her forehead at the thought of what she’d agreed to do.

“I can’t… do it on my own.”

Bryce glanced at her questioningly, but stayed silent.

“So I’ll have to… invite her.” Which she’d never done. And she wasn’t sure she wanted to do. Her powers, with or without Arc Angel’s consciousness pushing through, continued to freak her out more than a little. And the process drained and exhausted her. But then again, Arc Angel was pretty damn cool. Maybe her alter ego could impress Bryce in a way Miranda would never have the courage to attempt. Miranda pictured Bryce’s admiration after she’d saved the day in a super awesome way and decided the risks were worth the potential reward.

Now she needed to figure out how this would work. Too bad she couldn’t just text her or send her an e-mail.
Hey, Arc Angel, want to take over my body for a little bit? That’d be great, thanks.

Okay, maybe she could sort of do what she did yesterday, when she reached out and found the electricity. Maybe this time she needed to reach in and find her inner superhero. It was worth a shot.

Miranda closed her eyes and focused on her body’s cues. She recognized her usual symptoms of nervousness and discomfort instantly and quickly discarded them, peeling back a layer of awareness, going deeper. She found the first twitch of the hair on her arms and head, feeling it barely starting to rise up. She found the prickle of awareness on the back of her neck, the sensation that told her that someone watched her. And another layer down, she found the tingle of power that flowed through her whole body. And with that power, ready to rise up when called, she found Arc Angel.

Instinctively, Miranda tried to clamp down, to close herself off from the power and Arc Angel. But she knew by now how futile that attempt would be. She could sense them, but she wasn’t anywhere close to being able to control them. Besides, she needed Arc Angel now, needed her strength, confidence and control. So she took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and let Arc Angel float up into her consciousness.

I AM HERE.

Miranda’s eyes snapped open.

“Turn left,” she ordered Matthews. She lowered her window and twisted in her seat. She peered out the rear window and braced her right arm on the window frame. Her hair began to fan up and swirl around her head. She waited until the car swung left, and she could clearly see the SUV two cars behind them, and then moved her arm so her hand stuck outside of the frame, palm upright.

“Slow down. Now.”

She focused a thin stream of energy through her palm and into the SUV’s engine, locating the EFI unit and overloading it. She lowered her arm and twisted back around to face front again. She didn’t bother looking back. She knew the vehicle would stop in a few seconds. She calmly rolled up the window.

“They’re taken care of. You can resume your regular route now.”

We’re done here.

Miranda’s head dipped down as she pushed her way back up to full consciousness and then pulled back up with a jerk as Arc Angel retreated and Miranda regained full control. A chaotic mix of adrenaline and exhaustion ran through her body. She remembered Bryce, and adrenaline won hands down. Automatically, she reached up to push down her wayward hair.

“Well, that went pretty well,” she said.

She turned to look at Bryce, eager for his reaction.

Bryce pressed back into the corner of the seat, his face pale, his eyes wide. Okay, so maybe it hadn’t gone that well.

***

They rode the rest of the way to Dr. Harris’ office in silence. Every few minutes, Miranda considered saying something, but then pictured the look she’d seen on Bryce’s face and decided not to. All the adrenaline from being Arc Angel had drained away, as had all the feelings of comfort she’d felt that morning after confiding in Bryce. That left only her usual feelings: discomfort, self-consciousness, and embarrassment. She surreptitiously wiped away a bead of sweat that threatened to roll down her hot cheek.

When Matthews finally pulled up behind the red brick private clinic, Miranda practically leapt out of the vehicle. Being free from the confines of the car helped relax her a little, but she still felt like an idiot.

This was why she didn’t talk to people, confide in them. Because it always ended up biting her in the ass. She finally reached out to someone—for the first time in literally years—and look what happened. She’d been worried Bryce thought she was a freak, but she’d told him the truth anyway. And lo and behold: he thought she was a freak.

She’d gone out on a limb, trying something scary and a little dangerous just to please the man, and he couldn’t even take two seconds to ask her how she was doing? After he’d pressured her into it? Okay, he hadn’t really pressured her; she’d jumped at the chance to show off for him. But it still hurt that the experience had been all about her giving him what he wanted and getting nothing—no sympathy, no concern, no gratitude—in return.

She should go back to being on her own. If you didn’t rely on anyone, no one could let you down.

But before she could be on her own, she needed to go see this doctor. Every fiber in her being rebelled against talking to some stranger about her problems, but she knew she needed to go through with it. It was her best, maybe her only, hope of finding out what had happened to her and making it go away so she could go back to her normal life. What did it matter if her normal life was a little sad and lonely? The important thing was that once her powers were gone, everyone—Bryce, the police, that reporter, everyone—would leave her alone.