Night Shadow (23 page)

Are you okay?

Her eyes widened, clearly startled by his voice in her head again.
Yes. You?

I’m good.
Amazing. He’d
never
had a telepathic connection with another

living soul besides his sister, Victoria, yet he heard Lexi’s thoughts as if

she were speaking out loud. When it had happened earlier he’d been

startled as hel . With Lexi, it was a far more intimate process than it had

been with Victoria. Victoria had learned to block his intrusion by the time

they were eight. Lexi’s mind was open and intriguingly complex.

Her lips tilted.
Al you need is . . .
“. . . A parrot,” she finished aloud. Her

hair stuck to her damp face and neck and stood up in golden spikes where

she’d obviously run her fingers through it. She looked sexy as hel .

Focused. His heart did a somersault in his chest.

Daklin gave them both an odd look. “A parrot? What—oh. Yeah. What’s

with the patch?”

Alex imagined the patch gone. Checked his vision without it. Clear as

crystal. “I’l explain later.”
Right after I figure it out.
“Any injuries?”

“Negative.” Kiersted holstered his weapons, looking around. He whistled.

The far wall where the students and teachers had been clustered was

littered with kid paraphernalia; book bags, papers, gym equipment, etc.

Alex did a sweep, shimmering everything outside to where authorities

were now interviewing the hostages before sending them to quarantine.

One of them used a bullhorn to reassure the families that their children

were unharmed.

The press and people eagerly waiting for information would be soothed

and given additional details by local T-FLAC personnel. Alex and his team

were done here.

“Debriefing at the safe house in two minutes,” he told them. “Stone. With

me.” The men shimmered, leaving them alone.

“Do you want me to—”

“No.” He combed his fingers through her damp hair. Mental fireworks. A

swirl of heat.

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Night Shadow

Lexi wrapped her arms about his waist, drawing him against her soft, lush

body. She smelled of honey and hard physical labor, a little like gun oil, a

lot like the woman he—A lot like Lexi. The scent of her, the taste of her

turned Alex inside out, making his brain spin and his heart race.

Want me.

I do.

His pulse leapt as he bent his head and touched his mouth to hers. Lexi’s

tongue greeted him. He tasted her hunger and the smile curving her soft

mouth, and welcomed the slick sweep of her tongue tangling with his.

A furnace of heat spiraled through him, making him wish they were

anywhere but where they were.

Her hands fisted the back of his shirt as they kissed. She was panting

slightly as their mouths broke apart. “We have to meet the others back at

the safe house in—” She shot a glance at the large clock on the far wall.

“One point seven minutes, but before we do—” She broke off as he

nibbled the plump lobe of her ear. The rumble he made told her he was

enjoying her shudder of pleasure.

“I want to t—” she tilted her head to give him better access to the curve

of her jaw. “This physicality between us
has
to stop.” She nipped at his

lower lip as he trailed his lips across her cheek and back to her mouth.

“No, I mean it, Alex. First of all, Section whatever of whatever clearly

states—whatever it states about fraternizing.”

He made a noise that sounded like agreement as he continued his

exploration of her neck.

“Second—Stop tha—Okay, just
one
more.” She kissed him back hungrily,

the fingers of one hand somehow entwined in his hair, her other hand,

fingers spread, on the cheek of his ass. It was several seconds before she

pul ed away again. “I have to tel you something important.” She placed

her palm across his marauding mouth to prevent him swooping in for

another drugging kiss. “Internal Affairs sent me to keep an eye on you,”

she finished quickly, waiting for his reaction, knowing it was going to hurt.

He kissed her salty palm. “Ah.”

Her jaw dropped and she leaned away from him. “Ah? That’s it?”

“Lexi. If it has to be anyone, I’m damned glad it’s you.”

That took her aback. Her eyes narrowed. “You are?”

“Hel , yes. I don’t know what’s been going on lately, but if I
am
going

rogue, I trust you to be my moral compass, and to terminate me if

necessary.” He stroked a hand up her slender back, tugging her closer. “I

asked you to do so earlier, and I meant it. I trust you to do the job.”

“I—Wait a minute.” She used both palms to shove at his chest. “What do

you mean
if
you’re going rogue? Don’t you
know
?”

Thirteen

“No. I don’t. And let’s get back with the others. I have to fil them in on

this, and I only want to say it once.” “Wait. I w—Honest to God,” Lexi said

crossly, grabbing his arm for balance as they materialized back at the safe

house. She was almost used to this ridiculous mode of transportation.

Almost. It wasn’t even bad if one discounted the vertigo and slight nausea

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Night Shadow

that traveling in utter defiance of the laws of physics caused. “I should

shoot you for doing that without notice.” Her stomach rol ed.

“No friendly fire while I’m eating,” Lu deadpanned, glancing up at their

entry. He had the remnants of a large steak on the plate floating two feet

off the floor in front of his chair. He materialized a bottle of ketchup and

poured a dol op on top.

Lexi shuddered. “Sacrilege.” Ketchup on a perfectly good steak? Her

stomach reacted to the sight and smel of food by growling loudly. She

shrugged unapologetically as both men looked at her, brows raised.

“The coronavirus arrived safely at the lab,” Daklin informed them as he

passed through the room from the kitchen. He carried an oversized mug

and a plate with several enormous sandwiches on it. The time of day

didn’t matter. Downtime, no matter how short, no matter when, was used

for refueling, both food and sleep.

“Top priority,” he continued, as he crossed the room to find a seat.

“They’re working round the clock to ID the manufacturer of the

components now. Maybe they can get a hit on that while we’re dicking

around.”

Lexi gazed longingly at his cup and plate.

“Lu’s coffee’s strong enough to strip paint, but it’s hot.” Daklin slouched in

the chair Lark had perched on earlier, setting the mug on its wide arm. He

rested the plate on his flat bel y, and picked up one of his sandwiches.

Lexi’s stomach rumbled again.

“And they’re sorting through baggies of evil tango dust as we speak.” He

took a bite, chewing methodically. Cold cuts, Lexi saw. Slabs of dark

bread. Mustard. Like Daklin, she was on her own as far as food went. No

magical room service for her. She was too tired to go and forage, but her

salivary glands were urging her to get off her butt and go find something

to eat.

Before Daklin finished the ham slices.

Across the room at the dining table, Kiersted typed on a holographic

keyboard with one hand, and drank from his glass. Milk, Lexi noticed. Her

stomach gurgled. Did she have time before the briefing to make herself

something—

What kind of sandwich would you like?
Alex’s lips twitched slightly.

Had she really been irritated with him and his magical self ?

Gril ed cheese. American. Two, on white. And Campbell’s tomato soup. Are

you going to make it for m—
“Oh.”
Six,
not two, hot, greasy, angle-cut

sandwiches and a steaming blue mug, all on a large Spode plate,

materialized in his hand. Lexi shot him a grateful smile as she took her

meal from him.

“Thanks.” Talk about fast food. Her mouth watered as she weaved her

way between the furniture to the far end of the sofa.

“They’ve already identified some aspects of the dustlike substance,”

Kiersted tapped on a second screen, pul ing up the report as Daklin

inhaled his meal. “There’s definitely human DNA in all of it. But these

things don’t appear to have blood per se. Powdered blood? Clear liquid,

plasma? They should have a more extensive report back to us shortly.

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Night Shadow

“As for the coronavirus, it’s a completely new strain of LZ17 but still has

the same basic viral signature, it’s just more virulent, lasting longer so

that it can infect more people via casual contact. We compared the base

viral signature against components gathered from various European

locations. But there’s no doubt that the viruses released in Africa, London,

Moscow, and Taipei, and the one found here are all from the same

manufacturer.”

“What about the kids who sustained bul et wounds?” Alex asked, coming

to sit on the arm of the sofa behind Lexi. He reached over her shoulder,

snagged half a sandwich, and dipped it into her soup.

“One wil be released later today,” Lu told him. “Released into quarantine

with the others, but out of ICU. The second kid’s in surgery. Prognosis

good.”

“Anything else?” Alex asked. Lexi felt the heat of his body as he sat

directly behind her.

“Not right now.” Lu gestured to Alex with his fork. “Want to tel us what

that was about earlier?”

Good question. Lexi leaned in a little as Alex’s legs brushed against her

arm when she shifted, reaching for another deliciously greasy triangle.

Fortunately, stress had never affected her ability to eat. A good thing,

because this whole business with Alex—all of it—was enough to turn a

lesser woman off her feed.

How could she regret having sex with him? She couldn’t. She didn’t. The

experience had profoundly shaken her.

Her feelings for this man went far beyond what she’d thought was a crush

coupled with some serious hero worship. How could she have such strong

feelings when she was halfway to reporting his actions to IA?

“As I told you, three weeks ago I started intermittently losing my powers,”

Alex told them. His voice, deep and steady, did something strange to

Lexi’s entire body. His voice seemed to stroke her skin almost physical y.

She vigorously wiped her hands on the paper towel he’d given her when

he’d handed her the plate.

Do not fall in love with him.

She froze, paper towel in hand.

Oh, shit. Too late.

Lexi turned to see if he’d somehow read her mind again. It was one thing

to take a meal order, and a whole other thing to telepathically hear her

newest, most intimate freaking secret.

He didn’t appear to have heard her girlish heart going pitter-patter. He

just sat there, looking grim and focused. “Up until a few days ago I

thought it might be some kind of cold or flu, but now I don’t think so.”

“What do you think it is?” Daklin asked, biting down on a pickle.

“Wish to hel I knew.” Alex absently rested his hand on Lexi’s shoulder,

and the heat of his palm seemed like a brand burning through her

clothing. “First, my powers. Then this thing with Lexi and Ruben Ginsberg

at the Opera House—”

Lu glanced at Lexi. “You and Ginsberg got into a thing?”

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Night Shadow

Since Alex was the one laying things out on the table, Lexi felt a

tremendous sense of relief that she wasn’t the one who had to blow the

whistle. “No. In #8212;”

“I believe some form of mind control was used on both of them,” Alex said

flatly. “Both behaved contrary to the way they normally conduct

themselves. Yet there they were, middle of an op, with blood in their eyes

and doing a damned fine job of attempting to kil each other.”

Lexi spun around to stare up at Alex incredulously. The soup sloshed in

the mug, and one of the sandwiches shot off the plate to land on the

carpet at her feet. Her mouth was dry as she stared up at him, stunned

that he’d tel a bald-faced lie to them, while she was right there to dispute

it. Her personal feelings for him had nothing to do with the job she’d been

sent to do.

“That is not what happened at al ,” Lexi said quietly, but implacably.

One brow went up. “Honey, you were so out of it, you don’t remember

clearly.”

Oh, my God. Why was he making this up? Lexi’s heart twisted painfully,

then started a hard, uncomfortable beat in her chest. “That’s not true,

Alex.”

“I’m afraid it is.” When she shook her head, he indicated the others. “Ask

them, they were there.”

Lexi looked at each man in turn.

Lu shrugged. Kiersted nodded, and Daklin shot her a sympathetic look.