Twice as Hot (5 page)

“Some
scrims aren’t meant to be saved,” I said.

“That’s
not for you to decide.” There was an edge to his tone, an edge I did not like.

I
stiffened, gave him my full attention. “Who’s to decide, then? John? What gives
him the right? The guy who attacked you and Rome attacked agents who were there
to help him. He lost his right to live.”

The
flickering lights in Cody’s eyes brightened, spreading and deepening, becoming
an electric storm that reminded me of lightning in black velvet. “Lexis told me
the man was crazed. He’d been locked in one cage after another for God knows
how long. Who knows if he’d been fed. Who knows what kind of torture he’d
endured. He wasn’t in his right mind.”

I
popped my jaw, refusing to soften. “I still plan to find him.”

“Just…promise
me you won’t kill him. I ask this for your own good.”

“I
can’t promise that. If Rome…if Rome doesn’t…”
Stop! Just stop.

“He’ll
wake up. He’ll survive this.”

He
would. He had to. I wouldn’t allow anything else. And just like that, the rage
left me and the sadness returned. I wouldn’t allow? I was
powerless.
Another droplet hit me. “We don’t even know exactly what’s been done to him.”

“We’ll
learn. Give it time.”

My
gaze skidded back to Rome. Still unmoving, still unconscious. “No one hurts my
loved ones, Cody. No one. It’s a message the paranormal community needs to
understand. Touch them and suffer.”

His
hands settled atop my shoulders and he shook my attention back to him. One of
his brows was arched in exasperation. “If John hears you talking like this,
he’ll take the Desert Gal case away from you. And if he takes the Desert Gal
case, you can forget getting a chance at this new target. I don’t care what
threats you issue, he’ll toss you in Chateau Villain.”

Ugh.
Chateau Villain. An underground prison where superpowers were neutralized in
whatever way necessary.

Sadly,
he was right. John put the interest of science—and understanding the scrims we
fought—above all else.

I
nodded as if Cody had convinced me to play by the rules. He hadn’t. I’d just be
more careful with my words from now on, I thought as I once again turned back
to Rome. Or rather, the window that allowed me to see him.

Desperation
flooded me, more potent than ever before. I had to touch him, had to feel his
skin against mine. To do so, I had to be able to keep myself under control.
You
can do it.
I just needed a few cheerful thoughts. Like? I wondered with a
bitter laugh.

Well,
your dad is safe in his assisted-living center and dating several of the female
residents.
Excellent.
Rome is still alive.
Even better. The storm inside me finally
began to calm.
My best friends are with me.

Oh,
yeah. My best friends. They were still waiting.

“Will
you give Tanner and Sherridan a progress report?” I asked. Not that there’d
been any. Progress, that is.

“Sherridan
is the rockin’ blonde?”

“Yes.”

“I
tried to talk to her before I found you. She just stared at me blankly, like I
was invisible or something.”

I
waved a hand in dismissal. “She wasn’t doing it to be rude, I swear. She was
just in her Happy Place.”

“Uh,
Happy Place? Can you be more specific? She have the power to transport her
spirit or something?”

Of
course he’d think that. He’d worked for PSI a lot longer than I had, and had
seen countless different abilities. I’d have to choose my descriptions more
carefully. “She had lousy parents and learned to retreat into her head when
things got too rough. Lately, she practically lives there.” Though I still
didn’t know why, exactly.

I
inhaled deeply, having lost some of my cheeriness with the direction of the
conversation. Cheerful thoughts, cheerful thoughts.
You can do it.
Me,
walking down the aisle. A grin lifted the corners of my lips.
Good. Keep
going.
My dad, healthy enough to escort me. Rome, smiling at me from the
altar and glowing with love.

The
ice inside me melted, leaving a cold shell that gradually thawed. Deep breath in,
out. No mist formed. Thank God. I waited several minutes, but still the cold
did not return.

“I’m
going back in the room,” I said. I wrapped my arm around my middle and as I
moved forward, my gaze snagged on Rome’s left hand, where a ring—a symbol of our
union—would one day rest.

His
fingers were twitching.

I
stilled, gasped.

“What?”
Cody asked.

“He
moved!” Eyes widening, I raced around Cody and into the hospital room. I shoved
a nurse out of my way and barreled in front of Lexis. She snapped a curse as
she stumbled backward.

After
righting herself, she quickly made her way to my side. “You’re too dangerous to
be around him. Get out!”

“His
hand moved,” I said, the excitement in my voice ringing like a bell.

“What?”
She grabbed his hand and lifted his fingers into the light.

“He
really moved! I saw it.” I tugged his hand from her grip. He was mine, and I
didn’t share. But as I held him, time ticking away, the muscles remained
relaxed. I tried not to weep with disappointment.

So
clearly I remembered the morning he’d left for this last mission. A morning I’d
taken for granted, thinking countless more like it were on the way. We’d been
in bed, naked, sweating from a wild pleasure-fest.

“I
don’t want to leave you,” he’d said. His fingers had traced the ridges of my
spine.

“I
don’t want you to leave me, either. Maybe I’ll hold you prisoner.”

He’d
chuckled. “God, I love you. I’m even addicted to you. Get twitchy without you.”

“Good,
’cause I tend to get homicidal without you.”

Another
chuckle. “Too bad that happens while I’m gone. You know I love to exhaust you
into calmness. For world safety, and all that, because I’m such a giver.”

“Well,
I feel a hot rush of fury suddenly sweeping through me…”

“Do
you, now? Let’s see what I can do about that.” He’d kissed me then, a hot,
breath-stealing kiss that had rocked me to my soul.

“Come
back to me, baby,” I whispered now. “I need you.”

His
fingers twitched.

I
uttered another of those shocked but happy gasps. “Rome?”

His
eyelids began to flicker open.

“I
think…I think he’s waking up,” Lexis said excitedly.

My
heart nearly burst from my chest when his eyelids finally remained open. Thank
God. Thank God, thank God, thank God. Rome really was awake. He was going to be
okay. I twined our fingers so we were holding hands like we did every night
after making love. His skin was callused and hot, so amazingly hot. So
wonderfully familiar.

I
breathed deeply, taking in his warmth, his deliciously feral scent. My heart
kicked back into gear and fluttered wildly. I was so energized—and had been so
upset—I could feel a wind swirling inside my head, a blend of the negative and
positive. Maybe that wind blustered even outside my body, since my hair was
dancing around my shoulders. I didn’t care, though. One of my tornados could
gust through the room, and I wouldn’t have budged from Rome’s side.

I
wanted to be the first person he noticed, truly noticed. In my mind, I could
already visualize him smiling warmly, love and lust gleaming at me.

Then,
finally, blessedly, his eyes lost their glaze of sleep, gradually becoming
alert. He glanced around the room and frowned in confusion.

“Hey,
Cat Man,” I said softly. “You were out in the field and got hurt, but you’re
going to be fine. You’re back with PSI now.”
You’re back with me.
“You’re safe.”

His
gaze locked on me. His frown deepened and his brow furrowed. “Who are you?”

“Okay
, what the hell
is going on?” I shouted, trying to tamp down the flames already leaping inside
me.

“Keep
your voice down,” John, my boss, said, shaking his head in exasperation.

“Your
walls are soundproof so there’s no need for quiet.” We were inside his office
at PSI headquarters, Lexis, Cody and Tanner with us. Everyone was seated.
Except me. I was pounding from one wall to another, too agitated to stay still.
“If I don’t get some answers, I’ll do more than shout!” And they all knew it
was true.

So
far, I’d managed to keep a tight leash on my super-reactions. Maybe because I
was numb. A numbness that was due to shattering disbelief. I was a freaking
stranger to my own fiancé.

I
kept replaying his rejection through my mind, trying to make sense of things.

“Stop
kidding and give me a hug,” I’d said to him after his “Who are you?” crack.
Lexis had already taken off to find John, so it was just the two of us. We
should have been making out by then.

“I
don’t want to hurt you, lady, but if you don’t move away from me I’m going to
snap you in half.” He’d ripped free of my grip and gritted out, “John.” He
looked past me to the door, searching for any sign of our commander.

“Rome,”
I’d said shakily.

He
ignored me. “John! Get in here. What’s going on?”

“Rome,
you’re scaring me.” Even when he’d planned to neutralize me, he hadn’t spoken
so coldly.

His
irritated gaze swung back to me. “Is this a joke? Who the hell
are
you?”

“I’m
Belle.” My chin quivered, the words emerging as a horrified whisper. “Your
Belle.”

“You
aren’t
my
anything.”

He
meant it. More than his voice, there was a coldness in his eyes I’d never seen
before. Well, not directed at me. Scrims, yes, but never me.

Icy
tears ran down my face. “How can you not know who I am? We’re getting married!”

He
stared over at me, the coldness finally melting—only to spark into anger. “The
joke is now officially old. You can leave.”

At
last, John entered the room, an annoyingly triumphant Lexis beside him. “You
rang?” he asked drily. “Must say, I’m glad to see you’re awake, but your timing
stinks. I was in the middle of an interrogation.”

“Why
is this—” When Rome noticed Lexis, he smiled slowly, happily, his question
clearly forgotten. It was the kind of smile
I’d
dreamed of receiving.
“There you are,” he said. He even held out his arm for her, and she rushed over
to twine their fingers. “I’ve been worried about you.”

Nausea
churned in my stomach as they cooed at each other, doing all the things Rome
and I should be doing. What was happening? I almost couldn’t process it.

“You
were worried about Lexis?” John asked, as confused as I was.

“Of
course.” Rome’s gaze never left his ex as they continued to coo.

John
cleared his throat. “Okay, you two. That’s enough. Do you know who you are,
Rome?”

“Telling
him his name kind of defeats the question,” I muttered. I wasn’t in a good
mood.

“Of
course I do.” He cast a pointed make-her-leave glance at me. “And I’d like to
talk to you. Privately.”

Me,
leave? I wanted to die.

“She’s
one of us.” John pursed his lips. “She stays. Now tell us who you think you
are.”

“It’s
okay, darling,” Lexis said, petting his bare shoulder. “You can speak freely.”

I
wanted to kill.

Rome
nodded stiffly. “Who am I, you asked. I’m Agent Rome Masters, PSI elite.”

“Excellent.”
John clasped his hands behind his back. “And you remember Lexis.”

That
earned another earth-shattering, “Of course,” which caused Lexis to exhale with
relief. And smug satisfaction, if I wasn’t mistaken.

“But
you don’t remember Belle?”

“Who?”

Oh,
God, oh, God, oh, God.

“I’ll
explain later. First tell me if you remember Tanner Bradshaw,” John said.

Again,
“Who?”

Clearly
not.

As
John continued to question Rome, it became all too apparent that the only
things he’d forgotten were me and all things pertaining to me. It was as if I’d
never entered his life. As if he’d never loved me.

Why?
It made no sense.

John
propped his elbows on his desk, the ensuing
thud
jolting me from my
terrible thoughts. He rested his chin in his flattened palms. He had thinning
gray hair, wore thick bifocals when he forgot to apply his contacts and had a
slightly rotund belly. Despite all of that, he managed to radiate intense
power.

He
probably had a superpower, but I didn’t know what it was. And yeah, I’d
pestered him for the info about a million times, but he was the most secretive
man I’d ever met. Which was smart, I guess. If you didn’t know what he could
do, you couldn’t guard yourself against it.