Seduced by the Storm (19 page)

ONE
MINUTE Faith had been double-checking the motherboard in her satchel, and the
next she’d been thrown into a pile of debris when Wyatt’s punch knocked Sean
into her.

Wyatt
and Sean were going at it, fists flying, legs kicking. They pounded each other,
slamming into equipment, desks, walls. Their faces were masks of rage, teeth
bared, eyes promising no mercy. They could strike with their weapons or their
powers, but this wasn’t a fight over just the weather machine. This was
personal, a fight to cause pain, a fight to the death.

She’d
always thought Sean was beautiful in battle, but Wyatt blew her ex-lover out of
the water. Every motion was clean and efficient, vicious and deadly.

And
Wyatt was going to win. Sean knew it too. His chest heaved with panting
breaths, sweat dripped down his temples and he was foaming at the mouth.

Faith
shoved at the computer monitor pinning her ankle, moving it just enough to
allow her to slide from beneath it.

A
shadow filled the doorway, and a man burst inside, his movements so fast she
could hardly track him. An I-Agent. Excedosapien with a gift for speed. He
wrenched Wyatt’s arm behind his back, forcing Wyatt to turn his attention away
from Sean…a move that cost him. While Wyatt exchanged blows with the excedo, Sean
found the focus he needed to use his gift.

Sean’s
eyes darkened as his power peaked. Ignoring the ache in her side, Faith
clutched her leather satchel and lurched to her feet.

"Wyatt!"

Too
late. Wyatt delivered a fatal, crushing blow to the other man’s throat, but as
he spun to Sean, he stumbled.

"Son
of a—" Staggering, Wyatt reached out, his fingers only brushing Sean’s
shirt. He crumpled to the ground as though his bones had turned to rubber.

Sean
retrieved his Tokorav from where it had fallen to the floor and disarmed Wyatt.
Then he completely dismissed Wyatt as a threat, could afford to, since anyone
falling victim to his energy-drain would be helpless for several minutes. Of
course, the use of his power also left him physically weak for just as long.

Blood
ran in a stream from his nose, and his bottom lip was split. He glanced at the
empty slot in the machine where the motherboard had been housed. "How long
have you been working with him, Faith? From the beginning? Don’t tell me you’re
ACRO."

Keeping
her eyes on Sean, she opened herself to her power. She couldn’t use it on him,
but she sure as hell could send a beam into Wyatt, get him up and running well
before Sean expected.

"I
didn’t even know Wyatt until a couple of days ago."

"You
betrayed me for a man you just met?" The hurt in his eyes shifted to raw
fury. He swung around to Wyatt. "Did she tell you she loved you? Did you
fall for her lies? She seems to throw the love thing around rather freely.
She’s turned into quite the whore since we last were together."

So
like him to strike out when he was hurt. Now wasn’t the time to mention his
childish tendencies, however. Nor could she risk striking back like he’d
expect. Not when he held the pistol pointed at Wyatt, who watched with cool,
unreadable eyes.

"Sean,
I never lied about loving you. I loved who you were. Who you can be. Please,
come with us. Leave Itor behind."

For a
moment, he appeared to consider her offer, and her heart soared. They could
never be together like they once were, not after all that had happened. Not
after how her heart was starting to beat for another man. But she did love
Sean, as a friend. As family. If she could lead him away from the evil that was
Itor—

He
pivoted back to her. "Give me the motherboard, Faith. Give it to me, and
I’ll forget how you betrayed me."

"I
can’t." She doubled the size of the power ray she was sending into Wyatt,
hoping Sean wouldn’t sense it.

"This
isn’t like you. You’ve never cared about money. Or power."

No,
she’d never cared about those things. But Sean always had, and those very
desires had led to his corruption. "Do you hear yourself? Do you know what
you were about to do with this machine?"

"I’m
following orders."

"You
were going to kill thousands of innocent people." She clenched her fists
to keep them from shaking. "People like my parents."

There
was a long silence. A softening in his expression. "I’m sorry, muffin. I
didn’t think. I shouldn’t have allowed Itor to bring you in on this job."

"What
about the people you planned to kill? Are you sorry about that?"

"My
job is to execute the plan. Not to care about the people who die. Now give me
the motherboard."

Behind
Sean, Wyatt stirred, slowly, like an uncoiling serpent, his eyes conveying a
message.
Keep him busy.

She
hugged the satchel closer to her body and glared at Sean. "I don’t think
so."

Sean
raised the Tokorav, held it casually across his chest, reminding her he had it.
"I’m losing my patience with you, muffin. I understand the trauma you went
through, really I do. But it was a long time ago. Your parents are long dead.
And your sister—"

"Liberty
is why I’m doing this. Someone is holding her for ransom. They want the machine
in exchange for her life."

His
eyes widened. "Liberty? Why didn’t you tell me? We could have used Itor’s
resources to handle the situation." He held out his hand. "We still
can, if you’ll just give over that satchel."

"How
stupid do you think I am? The weather station is destroyed. The machine along
with it. Itor is going to blame you for letting it happen. Do you really think
you’ll be in a position to help me after this? You’ll be lucky if you’re
assigned to a remote office in Siberia."

They
wouldn’t kill him; someone with his experience and level of ability was too
valuable to kill. They would, however, make his life unpleasant.

"Give
me the fucking motherboard!" he shouted. "I don’t want to have to
kill you. Don’t make me, Faith."

He
was at the end of his rope, the gun shaking in his hand. She’d never seen him
so rattled. So unstable. Shit. He had a hair trigger on a good day, but now,
like this…

Wyatt
came to his feet, smoothly, silently, the aura around him shooting off sparks.
A stapler came out of nowhere, slammed into the side of Sean’s head. Sean
rocked backward and grabbed his temple with one hand, even as he aimed at Wyatt
with the other.

The
gun flew out of Sean’s hand. It discharged, and the dull thud of a bullet
lodging in the ceiling sounded like a bullet hitting a body. A body that could
have been Wyatt’s.

From
the pile of debris near the door, a computer arced into the air, catching Sean
full-force in the chest.

Faith
dove for the pistol as Wyatt lunged, his shoulder connecting with Sean’s gut.

Sean
and Wyatt slammed to the floor, crushing a rubbish bin and sending a chair
crashing into Faith’s thigh. Biting down on a curse, she raised the pistol
before Wyatt could kill Sean.

"Stop!
Both of you!" She unloaded two shots into the smashed weather machine, and
the men froze mid-punch. Though Wyatt slipped in one more to Sean’s jaw a
heartbeat later.

Wyatt
bared his teeth at Sean, a clear warning, but he stood, wiped his bloodied
mouth with the back of his hand.

Sean
shoved to his feet, shot Wyatt a triumphant sneer. "I knew you’d come
around, muffin."

"Shut
up." She hefted the satchel firmly over her shoulder and leveled the
pistol at Sean’s chest. Wyatt’s expression turned cocky. "Here’s the deal.
You’re going to provide safe passage, walk us to the helo. Then you’re going to
order the pilot to take us wherever we want to go."

"I
can fly," Wyatt offered. "So go ahead and off him."

"You
bitch," Sean snarled, and she knew he was gathering his power. "I’ll
drain Wyatt dead. You’ve got three seconds,
muffin.
Hand me the gun and
the motherboard, or he dies."

Draining
a human completely would leave Sean weak and vulnerable for hours, the reason
he rarely did it. But this time, she knew he would. Then again, all around them
equipment rose into the air, giant machines, shards of metal…all aimed at Sean.
He and Wyatt would end up killing each other.

"Fuck.
You." She raised the pistol an inch, aiming directly at his heart.

"You
won’t kill me. You don’t have it in you."

"I’m
sorry, Sean." Her voice cracked, but her resolve didn’t.

His
eyes shot wide with realization and terror. She squeezed the trigger. He
crumpled to the floor, but she wouldn’t allow herself the chance to feel
anything. Wyatt gave her a look she couldn’t read, but like the professional he
was, he didn’t waste time asking her questions. Quickly, he tucked the pistol
Sean had taken from him into his waistband and stripped the dead excedo of his
Glock. Once he checked the ammo, he and Faith slipped out of the lab.

Slipped
out, and in the evening shadows ran right into Marco.

Wyatt
raised his weapon.

"No!"
she snarled. "He’s mine." He was going to pay for what he’d done to
her in Paris, and what he’d intended to do to her before she’d found Wyatt in
the Florida bar. Her throat throbbed beneath her choker, as if it sensed
revenge.

Marco
was fast, a blur when he fought, so fast she didn’t feel his blows until the
next one landed. She barely blocked half of them, and she certainly didn’t have
time to concentrate on finding a weak spot in his aura with her power.

Good
thing she’d found it two days ago.

She
was taking a brutal beating, could hear Wyatt in the background cursing.
Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore, made a sweep with one of his legs that
cut Marco’s out from under him.

The
break gave her just enough time to punch through Marco’s aura and focus all her
hatred on him. Marco made a nasty, hissing sound and drew a dagger from his
boot.

"I’m
going to skin you alive, you English cunt." He grinned. "Finish the
job I started in Paris—" He cut off with a gasp, his eyes bulging.

Rage
poured from her in a wave of heat, which found its way to his vital organs, his
bloodstream. His skin turned red, blistered, and he fell over, a victim of the
world’s worst fever.

"That’s
a scary power you have," Wyatt muttered, grabbing her hand. They ran,
ducking behind equipment when they could.

The
path to the helo was clear…Sean obviously hadn’t had time to tell his goons
that he’d found her and Wyatt in the lab. But as they neared the stairs to the
helipad, all hell broke loose.

Guards
at the base of the stairs shouted, started firing.

"Shit!"
Wyatt took aim at the nearest guard as they ducked behind a steel container.

Return
fire exploded in the air around them, the bullets pinging off the metal grating
and thunking into the container.

"More
guys will be coming." She peered down at the main deck, where workers were
scrambling for cover. "We have to get to that helicopter before we’re
surrounded."

Wyatt
nodded grimly. "Just keep firing. Distract them."

She
did, keeping the half-dozen armed guards busy, hissing when a bullet grazed her
arm. A mild abrasion. She’d live.

Wyatt
went still, his gaze fixed on the activity below. Men with AKs swarmed, but
their guns were ripped from their hands by an unseen force, sent spinning over
the railing. A row of pipes on the lower deck began to rattle. Faith couldn’t
watch for long, her attention focused on the goons in front of them who still
had weapons, but she gasped when a giant pipe shot upward. She watched in awe
as it swung like a baseball bat, taking out every guard blocking their way.

"Brilliant,"
she breathed. "Absolutely brilliant!"

The
pipe tipped over the far railing, plunging toward the ocean below. Wyatt
grabbed her hand, led her at a run up the stairs.

A man
burst from the helicopter, his MP5 trained on Wyatt. Before she could blink,
Wyatt slammed her to the ground, rolled with her as rounds sparked on the deck
all around them. Abruptly, the gunfire stopped. Mainly because the butt of the
rifle was lodged in the guy’s chest in a creative use of Wyatt’s power. And
he’d said
her
power was scary.

"Asshole,"
Wyatt muttered.

He
grabbed Faith’s hand again and pulled her to her feet. They hauled ass to the
helo.

"Good
show," she said.

"Save
the praise until after we make it off this platform. We’ll need a small
miracle."

"I
thought you said you could fly a helo!"

A
bullet pinged off the door as he held it open to shove her inside. "This
bird is a little more advanced than what I’m used to."

"You
could have warned me."

"No
fun in that," he said as he climbed into the cockpit. "This is way
more exciting. Hold on."