Temptress (10 page)

The guys gaped. I shrugged and took a barstool, aware that the position did naughty things to my bustier. Then they really gaped. Typical. “Tank was taken by a villain named Drake. I don’t know why, but I know where he’s being held.”

“Drake?” Ruin’s eyes narrowed. “Never heard of him.”

“No one has.” Except maybe me, but I only had one memory that hinted at our connection, and I wasn’t about to share. “That’s why he’s so dangerous. His power’s some kind of cloaking ability.”

“He’s invisible?” Panther pulled at his cheek, insecure without his whiskers. “We’ve taken them down before.”

“More than that.” I leaned forward, anchoring my heels on the stool to stop my knees from shaking. Keeping their powers down was making me sweat. “He can hide memories, and I’m pretty sure none of the authorities know he’s running a crime syndicate out of Midtown.”

“He’s in New York?” Ruin’s fists bunched. “He can’t—”

“He is. Trust me.”

Thunder raised his hand. “We’re all about trust, but it works two ways…ah…Temptress. We’re going to need our powers back if we’re doing this together.”

“Call me Jenny.” I let loose a deep breath, releasing Tank’s energy. Quiet noises of relief spread through the room as the heroes’ abilities returned. “But you guys come after me, I won’t be gentle.”

“Why bring us in at all?” Little bolts of red lightning jumped between Ruin’s fingers. “I thought you had every power in the book.”

“That’s not entirely true.” I hopped from the stool. “And I don’t do so well against guerilla forces with automated weapons. Plus twenty, maybe thirty supers. Figured you guys could use some exercise.”

“Hell yeah!” Cyclone whooped. I’d been waiting for him to jump in, classy guy that he was.

“Don’t suppose any of you can teleport?” We needed to get to New York fast, and short of bending time or space, I didn’t see how we could make it.

“No. But we can take the G6.” Ruin pulled out his cell and started punching numbers.

“You guys have a private jet?”

“You don’t?” Cyclone cocked his head to the side.

I was clearly living my life the wrong way. We took a helicopter to the airport and were in the air so fast it had to be illegal. Turned out Thunder was ex-Air Force, and the old top gun had some pull.

We all sank into the leather seats, and the guys were glued to SportsCenter on the flat-screen before takeoff. I drummed my fingers against the chair arm. We’d get there, but I hadn’t thought to sneak my Sudoku along in the bustier. All I had to do was worry.

Tank was captive and helpless because of me. I wasn’t sure what was between us, but that was more reason to get him back. We needed to talk it out and then have some crazy, amazing sex. Though I almost trembled at the thought of his body, that wasn’t his most attractive point. It was Tank himself. Supportive, but not smothering. Strong, but reasonable. Even though I’d taken his powers, he’d stood by my side. We’d only begun to explore where we fit into each other’s lives.

“What’s in this for you?” Ruin had taken the seat facing me. “Why rescue Tank? You already took his powers.”

I wanted to tell him it wasn’t his business, but unfortunately it was. “Bacon. That boy can cook.”

“He cooked for you?” Ruin face-palmed his forehead. “Damn.”

“What?”

“You sleeping with him?” Ruin asked.

My jaw fell a little, but I snapped it closed. Play the part, right? I
was
Temptress. Might as well have fun with my loose reputation. I folded my arms under the bustier. “Use your imagination.”

“Five hundred!” Cyclone pulled away from the TV long enough to whoop. “You owe me five hundred, Ruin!”

“Yeah?” Ruin scowled. “You still owe me a grand from the bachelor party.”

Oh God. These were Tank’s friends? “Where did he find you guys?”

“Here and there,” Ruin said. “If you screw with him—”

“You don’t get to talk about who I’m screwing.” I fixed Ruin with my best glare. “But I’m not playing. I’m serious about Tank.”

“Good.” Ruin twisted his chair to face the TV. “He’s the best of us.”

I was going to say
obviously
, but I let it slide. Ruin meant well.

As worry wore at me, I fell into a fitful sleep. I shouldn’t have opened myself up to the guys like that, but they were heroes and we were on mission. Plus, I was exhausted. My arms were still raw and achy, and though the Bellagio seemed ages ago, I’d used plenty of powers since waking, and the G6 didn’t have onboard Vicodin.

The restless catnap didn’t do much good. When we finally touched down, we split into air and ground forces. I wanted air considering I was the only one of the bunch who could fly, but most of the supers were stationed near the bottom of the building, and I needed to suppress powers to give our smaller team the advantage.

Our helicopter dropped us on the roof of a nearby skyscraper, and I ferried Ruin, Thunder and Annihilator down to the street. Cyclone, Jet and Panther would make their way to the other building from above and we’d rendezvous around Tank.

It was a good plan. Assholery aside, the guys knew what they were doing, which made me feel a little less like something was going to claw its way out of my stomach. I did stealth missions, and the occasional smash and grab, but I’d never gone up against so many enemies in such a calculated way. For one night, at least, I was going to have to play hero.

“Ready?” I asked as our group approached the curb.

The heroes nodded. I blanketed the four of us in invisibility and we jogged across the street. Traffic was light at this time of night, but none of the guards had gone home. I zapped the automatic door, and it swung open. Motion sensors triggered the lights, and half a dozen rifles pointed toward us.

“Breach in the lobby,” one of the guards spoke into his headpiece. “Can’t get a visual—”

Red lightning seared across the marble, and the guard went down hard. The other guys didn’t have a chance to get their rifles pointed before Annihilator took them out. He moved like every action movie star I’d ever seen pieced together and pumped full of steroids. I was glad they were on my side.

The elevator pinged like a death knell. Supers spilled into the lobby, radiating powers and slinging fireballs. I managed to throw myself behind a column, but I couldn’t keep my grip on the invisibility. All four of us flashed into sight.

My heart hammered. It was show time. We’d get Tank back, but how much of me would be left after the smoke cleared?

Chapter Ten

I took a deep breath and slipped into Tank’s powers. Fifteen supers had come to play. They ran the spectrum from shape-shifters to super-muscle and psionic blasters. I reached to stop their powers before they could fire, but the pillar’s shadow twisted, gripping me like an inky tentacle as it wrenched me into the air.

A boom echoed as Thunder jumped into the fray, while Ruin’s red lightning crashed and anything Annihilator touched evaporated. They could handle themselves.

Me? Not so much.

The shadow’s touch stung my ankle through my boot. The scent of burning leather curled around me, and I writhed as I tried to shake free. No dice.

I reached with Tank’s powers but couldn’t find the mind to stop. Fire shot through the thing, and ice didn’t slow it down. A force field should’ve worked, but the shadow reached through my wall. It lifted me higher and started to twine around my legs, cocooning me in burning shadow.

Panic pulled at the edges of my tough girl façade. I wasn’t playing that game. I needed firepower and force.

I took a deep breath and let out a supersonic scream.

The air blurred with pressure that pricked my ears in a high-pitched whine. The column snapped, and the shadow dropped me as it rebounded. I landed in a crouch, cutting the noise and I rubbed my raw throat. Hopefully I wouldn’t need to give any speeches for a while.

Dazed, a dark-skinned man stumbled from the column’s rubble. I caught him by the shoulders and met his lips before he knew what was happening. His kiss stung, but the pain faded as new power rushed into me. That felt better.

Crashes and booms echoed as the other supers went at it, stilling for a moment as a massive explosion above shook the building. The air team had arrived, but we were behind schedule.

Annihilator kicked one of the enemy supers in the chest, and he spun over to me. I grabbed a kiss before letting him fall. He tasted like sour Jack Daniels, but I sampled his power, and I could feel the grin that spread on my face.

A teleporter. About damn time.

“Ruin!” I dodged a plasma blast, and red lightning found the shooter. “I’m going after him. Catch up!”

“Je—” he began, but I teleported before he could finish.

I stumbled into a desk, tipping a pencil jar and a stack of office supplies. The secretary at the monitor screamed. After the octaves downstairs, it was enough to make my ears bleed. I made a grab for her, but teleportation screwed with my center of balance. The swipe carried me in a circle and I tumbled to the ground. The secretary threw her stapler, and it connected with my forehead like the chick was an NFL quarterback.

My vision swirled. More superpowers than God, and I was going to get brought down by a Swingline. Was this really my life?

“There you are, Jenny.” Drake sauntered from his office and crouched next to me. He tipped my chin upward with a finger. “I’ve missed you.”

“You—” I grabbed, but he dodged easily. I tried to focus some kind of power on him, but his fuzzy barrier had returned and my gaze wanted to slide around him. I couldn’t focus. “Where’s Tank?”

“I shouldn’t be disappointed.” Drake ran his fingers through his frosted tips. “I’m the one who made you forget. Still, I hoped you’d remember me a little.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I managed to climb to my knees.

“Love the outfit, darling.” Drake glanced to the secretary, who cowered next to her filing cabinet. “You go home. I’ve got business to take care of.”

As soon as she scampered away, Drake slung me over his shoulders. Everything spun and dove, and his aura shot my skin with pins and needles. He walked us into the connecting office and flopped me onto the leather sofa next to his desk.

Tank’s chair wobbled. He was throwing himself at the ropes, face flushed with anger but lips covered in duct tape. The sight nearly broke my heart.

How could Drake do this to us?

“Who are you?” I tried to stand but pitched onto the floor again.

“You’ll hurt yourself if you keep that up.” Drake plopped in front of his monitors. “But don’t ask me. Ask yourself. Who are you?”

“What?” Was my mind that scrambled, or was he not making sense?

“Every hero—heroine—has an origin story. What’s yours?”

“I…” My past had always been vague. I liked it that way, but maybe I’d never appreciated how vague it really was.

“It’s a thrilling story. The cruel world spat you onto my doorstep, and I formed you into a legend like so much lumpy clay. I’m having it made into a graphic novel.” Drake leaned forward, gazing up and down my body so lecherously that I wanted a shower. “Ah, memories. What a sweet little virgin you were.”

A flash of anger cleared my head, and flames jumped from my fingertips. Smoke curled from the carpet. I didn’t believe him, but either way I wanted to get my stilettos better acquainted with his groin. “You bastard.”

“Language, Jenny. What would your mother say?” Drake smirked. “Well, what would she say if you hadn’t killed her?”

I froze. Seconds ticked as I tried to process Drake’s words.

Mom died of a stroke right before I dropped out of college. It had nothing to do with Drake.

Right?

“Don’t strain yourself, darling.” Drake bent back to his screens. “I’ll have you forget soon enough. Looks like the Rogue Alliance is walking away with your hero for a cool five-hundred million. A bargain, don’t you think?” He addressed the last to Tank, but his cell rang before he could really gloat. “Sammy?” Drake frowned as the call continued, finally jabbing it off. “You two had better say your goodbyes now. I have to take care of your posse before they tear down my building. Don’t worry, I’ll only take a moment.” Haze enveloped him and he was gone.

I crawled to Tank. The room spun so hard I could barely move myself forward. I was nauseous and dizzy, with a killer migraine, but I levered myself up and fell into Tank’s lap. My fingers shook as I tore away the duct tape. He didn’t look hurt. I sighed with relief.

“I’m sorry.” I pressed my forehead to his, inhaling his scent and his breath. “This is my fault.”

“No. It’s that asshole’s.” Tank rumbled with suppressed tension. “You okay? What did you do to yourself?”

“I teleported. Ruin and your boys are on the way.” I grabbed his shoulders to steady myself and tried to channel fire to weaken the ropes. The ability slipped from my grasp. Nothing. Steel’s strength still rested inside me, but I couldn’t pull it into my hands. All I could do was tear at the knots with shaky fingers. “I can’t…”

“Jenny.” Tank’s soft voice drew my gaze. His eyes were open and honest. “You’ve done enough. Don’t kill yourself for me.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.” I buried my face in his neck as warmth spread through my body. If I clutched him tight enough, maybe the pain would go away. My hurt transcended the physical. I couldn’t do anything to save him. Powers wouldn’t come when I couldn’t even stand.