Twice as Hot (4 page)

Lexis
strode inside. I had to fight past the tightness in my joints to follow her. My
movements were slow, forced.
Something’s happened, but that doesn’t mean
Rome’s hurt. Calm down!

She
stopped in the center of the living room, breathed deeply—to catch Rome’s
lingering wild scent?—and glanced at Sherridan, who was still sitting on the
couch with a blank expression. “Happy Place?” she asked, turning to face me.

I
nodded. There was a hard lump in my throat, and I was having trouble
swallowing.
He’s fine.

Lexis
returned her attention to my friend, shock flashing over her features, there
one moment, gone the next. Then she was shaking her head, a little sad. “Her
greatest wish is going to come true, and she’s going to hate herself for it.”

“What
do you mean?” I asked, finally finding my voice. “What wish?” As I spoke, I
prayed it wasn’t what I’d suspected earlier. Sherridan had a thriving real
estate business, a date with a new, sexy man every weekend and me as a best
bud. She didn’t need anything else.

From
the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of black. Oh, no. Everything else was
forgotten as I focused on Tanner. He stood in the doorway between the kitchen
and the living room. He leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his
chest, his eyes anywhere but Lexis.

Lexis
noticed him, too, and gulped, sadness skating over her expression a second time
only to be replaced by determination. “Tanner,” she acknowledged softly.

He
gave a stiff nod and said, “S’up,” as if he hadn’t a care.

“I
just…I—” Sighing, she turned away from him, giving him her back.

Hurt
flashed over Tanner’s face, and then his jaw hardened, his eyelids narrowed. So
badly I wanted to shake Little Miss Know-It-All until she passed out.

“What’s
wrong with Rome?” I asked. “Tell me and get out.”

“Something’s
wrong with Rome?” Tanner was at my side, his arm around my waist and offering
support within seconds.

Needing
every ounce of strength he could give me, I rested my head on his shoulder.

He
shivered. “Damn, you’re cold,” he said, and I knew he meant it literally. “Deep
breaths, Viper.” Viper,
his
pet name for
me.
“Good, that’s good,
but you’re not calming.”

Lexis
watched us with a hint of longing. Exactly what was she longing for? A
partnership like Tanner and I had? Well, she’d destroyed her chance. More than
that, Team TannaBelle wasn’t accepting new members. Except for Rome. I needed
him, too. Like I’d said, he was my filter. He could take my emotions and cage
them inside his body, removing the edge, the danger.

Was
he okay? Had he been hurt?

A
crystallized raindrop dripped from the ceiling, my fear and sadness too much.
It spilled out of me and would soon consume the entire house if I wasn’t
careful.

“Tell
me what’s going on,” I managed to croak.

That
emerald gaze slid from my face to the hands twisting at my T-shirt—to the
engagement ring glittering on my finger, a flat, fire-retardant titanium band
with diamonds encrusted in the center. It was exactly what I would have picked
for myself. Rome knew my likes, my dislikes and had known that anything similar
to the five-carat rock he’d given Lexis would have irritated me.

Delicate
mist formed in front of Lexis’s face as she breathed. “Something went wrong.
I—He—”

Oh
my God. “What! Just say it!”

Tanner
squeezed my side as another crystallized droplet fell, shattering when it hit
the wooden floor.

In,
out, I breathed. In, out. I was shaking uncontrollably.

“He
and Cody made it into the warehouse and fought the guards posted there. It was
more of a battle than they’d anticipated. Desert Gal, who wasn’t there at the
time, had taken over OASS, as we suspected, and had already fortified all their
defenses, as we did not. Still, they managed to beat the guards and free the
prisoners.” Her voice shook. “Then one of those prisoners…attacked Rome.”

“Is
he okay? Is he—” I still couldn’t bring myself to say it. Tanner began shaking,
too.

“He’s
alive,” Lexis said.

Thank
God. Relief poured through me, palpable, heady. My eyelids closed, and my knees
would have buckled if Tanner hadn’t been holding me up. The ice inside me
started to melt and the ceiling ceased its weeping. “I should kill you for
scaring me like that.”

“You
didn’t let me finish,” was the hard reply.

My
eyelids popped open, and the ice immediately returned. “Finish, then! Tell me
everything. Right. Now! I’m fighting for control here, and you’re only making
it worse.”

She
nodded, grim, and that quick acquiescence made me all the more uneasy. “During
the fight, his opponent disappeared. Inside him,” she added grimly. “The man
disappeared
inside him.
It did something to him, something bad.”

I
shook my head, hair slapping my cheeks but not managing to abate my confusion.
“How is that possible? That’s not—”

She
laughed bitterly, cutting me off. “Anything is possible. You should know that
by now.”

I
did. Oh, God, I did. “Is the man still…” And if so, what did that mean? I’d
only known about this supernatural side of life a few months. I’d been thrust
into it unexpectedly, utterly unprepared and, at first, disbelieving. In so
many ways, I was still a baby.

“No.
He only stayed inside of Rome a few minutes, and then he exited Rome’s body as
if nothing strange had happened. Cody tried to capture him, but the man stepped
inside of him, too, before escaping. Both Cody and Rome collapsed, but Cody was
the first to awaken. He gathered Rome and the remaining experiment victims and
returned to PSI headquarters. They arrived this morning. Rome is still
unconscious.”

Shock
was once again beating through me. I should have been there. I could have
helped him, could have erected an air shield while he worked and kept him safe.
But I hadn’t gone; I’d been too preoccupied with planning my wedding. Guilt
joined the shock, followed quickly by shame.

“John
should have told me,” I said softly. Why hadn’t he? He’d had the opportunity.
Knowing him, though, he’d probably wanted concrete answers—how, why, lasting
effects—before freaking me out.

“He
didn’t even call me. I only know because I saw it…last night in my…dreams.”

Why
the hesitation? “You see the future, not the past.” Hope filled me. “Maybe it
hasn’t happened yet. Maybe we can stop—”

She
was shaking her head, grimmer than I’d ever seen her, dashing every bit of my
hope. “I know my visions. This has already happened.”

That
struck me as odd, but I was too crazed at the moment to reason it out.

Tanner
gave me a little shove toward the hallway. “He’s going to be fine. Change out
of your pj’s and get your stuff. I’ll take you up there.”

An
hour later , I found myself standing outside of Rome’s recovery room in PSI
headquarters. I’d been beside his bed, but my grief had gotten the better of me
and ice tears had once again begun falling from the ceiling, so I’d been asked
to leave. Now I was looking at the love of my life through a glass partition.

He
lay motionless, his dark hair in disarray. His features were smooth, as if he
were merely sleeping, at peace and healthy and dreaming of love and
heart-pounding sex. Perhaps the last was wishful thinking. Long black lashes
feathered over his sharp cheekbones. I wanted to trace the shadows they cast,
the slope of his nose. His lips were soft and parted. I’d kissed those lips.
Those lips had kissed every inch of me.

He
hadn’t lost any weight. His body was still tanned, primed and roped. Pure
strength, total vitality. The only evidence that something was wrong was the
electrodes scattered all over his torso. On the monitor, his heartbeat appeared
steady and sure.

Lexis
stood beside the bed, clasping his hand. Tears were sliding down her cheeks and
dripping onto his bare chest. They should have been
my
tears.
I
should have been the one holding his hand.

Right
then, I hated my powers.

Tanner
was in the waiting room with Sherridan, who had yet to exit her Happy Place.
How I envied her. Rome was my Happy Place, but I couldn’t get to him. And I
couldn’t leave to give them an update. Approaching Rome was too dangerous, but
I refused to move from this spot. When he awoke, he would need me. By then, I
would be calm.

Really?
Several ice crystals
splattered atop my head. Hand shaky, I brushed them off. Stupid fear. Several
more instantly took their place, but I didn’t bother with them. Until I did
that pesky calming thing, they wouldn’t stop falling.

“Belle.”

I
felt the heat and zap of Cody’s body as he approached me, and then I caught the
scent of a wild storm. Familiar, but not as comforting as it should have been.
I didn’t turn. My gaze was still locked on Rome. My Rome. Lying there, so
helpless. Even with all my powers, there was nothing I could do to help him
right now. None of the doctors knew what was wrong or why they couldn’t rouse
him.

“What
happened?” I asked Cody softly. He and Rome were friends. They worked together,
trusted each other. He would tell me the truth—no matter how much it hurt.

“I
honestly don’t know.”

Or
maybe not. “If you’re saying that because you think the truth will cause me to
break down—”

“Nothing
like that, believe me.” He laughed, but there was a hard edge to the sound. “If
I knew, I’d tell you. But it’s like a piece of my brain is missing, my memories
of the event gone. All I know is that I saw Rome open one of the cages and then
he was unconscious on the ground. Next thing I knew, I was on the ground myself
and crawling to get to him. Had Lexis not told me about the man entering our
bodies, I would have no knowledge of it whatsoever.”

“He’s
going to be okay,” I said, more for my benefit than his.

“Yes.
He’s strong. A fighter. Remember when our old friend Pretty Boy plugged him
full of poisoned bullets? He lived through that, thanks to you, and even helped
end the son of a bitch, so he can live through anything.”

My
hands fisted at my sides, tongues of fire suddenly licking at my skin and
melting the ice. “I’m going to capture the bastard who hurt him.”

“It
will be my pleasure to help you.”

“Thank
you.” I’d take any help I could get. “I doubt John will balk. The guy who
attacked you and Rome is linked to Desert Gal, since she’s the one who rounded
up all of Pretty Boy’s experiments, so technically his case should be mine,
anyway.” God. This might not have happened if I’d taken care of her already.
She wouldn’t have gathered those people, that horrible body-entering man, and
Rome wouldn’t have gone to that warehouse. “As soon as Rome wakes up, I’m
hunting them both.” No longer would I be lax in my duties.

“I’ll
be ready,” Cody said. “From what I hear, Desert Gal is worse than Pretty Boy.
More coldhearted, hungrier for power, with no perceivable weakness.”

Didn’t
matter. I would not fail. Not again. “I’m going to request Tanner and Lexis as
backup.” The two might not get along, and Lexis might not be my favorite person
right now, but they were amazing agents. If anyone could help me find and
destroy my fiancé’s tormentors, they could.

“The
bastard is going to suffer,” I said with determination.

“Belle,”
Cody said gently.

“Yes?”

“Look
at me.”

And
away from Rome? “No, I—”

“Please.”

When
a strong, dominant man said please, it was best to give in unless you wanted
six-foot-four of solid muscle breathing down your neck. Something I knew
firsthand from Rome. I’d delighted in refusing him, and he’d delighted in
changing my mind.

Eyes
welling, I slowly turned to face Cody. He was almost as beautiful as Pretty Boy
had been. Like a fallen angel or a glamorized devil. He had silvery-blond hair
and silver eyes with a hint of violet that actually sparked with the
electricity he contained inside himself, allowing him to shift into nothing but
energy particles.

But
he wasn’t Rome, wasn’t my Cat Man, and he’d never made my heart pound or my
skin tighten with anticipation. I wiped at the droplets splattering my cheeks
and arms.

He
stepped away from me, clearly not wanting any of that water to hit, and perhaps
electrocute, him. “Don’t do anything rash, okay,” he said, gaze sharp. “Rome
would have my ass if something happened to you.”

Yes,
he would. Rome was wonderfully protective, one of the many things I loved about
him. “He’d have mine, too.”

Softening,
Cody covered his fingers with his shirt and skimmed his hand over my brow,
mopping up the moisture. “John doesn’t want the man who did this killed. He
wants him brought in for testing.”

I
should have known, I thought, looking back at Rome. John had wanted me for the
same reason. Testing. Like an animal. Rome was supposed to be the one to bring
me in; instead, he’d been the one to shelter me, teach me how to use my powers,
how to love. He’d helped me escape. In the end, though, I’d turned myself in to
save him, and I’ve never regretted it.