Twice as Hot (42 page)

“Yes.”
He nodded, his shoulders squared, his arms behind his back. “Yes, I’ll trade
you for them.”

Okay,
wow. Easier than I’d anticipated. Maybe Rome hadn’t been wrong to do this,
after all. I, too, squared my shoulders. “What do you want?”

“You.”

Rome
snarled low in his throat, pushing against my arm.

“Stop,”
I told him, and surprisingly he did. “You can’t have me,” I told Jean-Luc, “not
the way you mean. But in exchange for Rome’s memories I will give you…three
dates.” That was Cody’s magic number, not too little, not too much. “Anything
beyond that, you’ll have to earn by proving we’re meant to be together.”

Not
that he could. But as I spoke, I realized I might be setting myself up for failure
with Rome…setting myself up to prove Lexis’s prediction that I’d marry Jean-Luc
true. I paled, but didn’t take back my words. This was too important. “Oh, and
one more thing. You’ll have to do all of this
without
the memories. You
hand them over first, or no dates. If you can’t win me on your own…”

Rome
hissed through his teeth. “What are you doing, Belle?”

Jean-Luc’s
hands fisted, but he said, “Fine. I’ll date you without the memories.”

“Who
knows? Maybe you’ll stop loving me the moment you lose them. You may not even
want to go on
one
date.”

“I’ll
still want you,” Jean-Luc assured me. “I’ll still want the dates.”

I
nodded, though inside I was trembling violently. “Then three dates it is.”

“Are
you still engaged?” he asked, eyes falling to my hand.

“Nope,”
I said, and I couldn’t hide the wistfulness in my tone. The ring was still
there. I needed to take it off soon. “Not officially.”

“Belle.”
It was another warning from Rome.

I
continued, “I lied—there’s still one more thing. Since we’re all a happy family
now, willing to help each other, we’d like your help stopping Desert Bitch.”
Once I’d thought having him at PSI would be a nightmare. No longer. We needed
all the help we could get.

Jean-Luc
didn’t need time to think. “Yes,” he said, nodding. “For you, anything.”

“Keep
the fucking memories,” Rome suddenly shouted. “You’re not dating her. Or
joining our team.”

I
think he meant to shove me aside and leap at Jean-Luc, maybe even rip out his
throat, but I jumped in front of him, eyeing him imploringly. “This has to be
done, Rome. For you. For us.” I only hoped it didn’t prove to be our undoing.

Jean-Luc
wrapped his fingers around my forearms and gently moved me off to the side.
That enraged Rome all the more, animal sounds once again emerging from his throat.
The moment I was out of the way, the two men leaped at each other in a tangle
of limbs. Fists swung, teeth snapped, legs kicked.

I
inched toward the wall, watching as Rome’s skin began to be replaced by black
fur, his animal taking over. I needed fear, needed to freeze them before they
killed each other. Killed each other—yes, good. That image brought a storm of
ice inside me that melted the rage that had been boiling.

But
just as an ice ball formed in my hand, Jean-Luc disappeared.
I
froze in
place, too shocked to move. Rome froze, too, half man, half cat.

“Jean-Luc?”
I called. I knew where he was. I knew what he was doing, but some part of me
was afraid this wouldn’t work.

But
suddenly Jean-Luc stepped from Rome’s body. Rome collapsed onto the ground,
laboring for breath. Jean-Luc, too, was panting. He looked to me, sweat running
from his face.

“It’s
done,” he said. And then he, too, collapsed.

We
placed them
in separate rooms, across the hall from each other, both tied to their beds,
and I divided my time between them, checking on them, waiting. Their vitals
were good, so I wasn’t worried. I was just impatient. Again. My entire life now
seemed to revolve around Rome waking up.

Finally,
about an hour later, Rome regained consciousness.

“Belle!”
His roar nearly shook the entire building. “Belle!”

Currently
I was in the hall, between the two rooms. Hearing him (who hadn’t?), I rushed
forward, my heart drumming erratically. My gaze landed on him the moment I hit
the doorway. His eyes were bright, wild, his lips pulled back from his sharp,
gleaming teeth. He was struggling against his bonds, about to rip free. All the
while he shouted my name.

But
when he spotted me, he stilled. “Belle,” he said, and it was as though his
beast was speaking for him, all guttural and tormented, no longer in a frenzy
but ready to pounce. “Set me free. Now.”

Slowly
I approached the bed. I was trembling. Did he remember me? Did he love me
again? Took me several tries, a spring of blasted tears screwing with my
vision, but I finally loosened the bonds. He jerked me into his arms a second
later, crushing me against him.

“Oh,
God, baby. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry for what I’ve put you through. Can you
ever forgive me? I love you. I love you so much, I would die without you. I
can’t believe I treated you that way. Oh, God, baby. I’m sorry.”

He
did. He remembered. My tears spilled free as I hugged him back with every ounce
of strength I possessed. “I can’t believe you’re back. You’re really back.”

“And
I’m not going anywhere ever again.” He scattered little kisses all over my
face, my neck, then he rolled me over and pinned me to the mattress. He peered
down at me, his expression fierce. “Tell me you forgive me. Or if you can’t,
tell me you’ll give me a chance to make it up to you. I’ll do anything. You
want flowers, candy, lingerie? They’re yours. I hate myself for what I did to
you. I love you more than anything in this damn world and to know that I hurt
you like that…”

My
chin was trembling, so it was hard to work my next words out of my mouth. “You
already bought me lingerie. Though you later decided I’d be better off going
commando. But anyway, all I want, all I’ve ever wanted, is your heart.”
You’re
supposed to make him work for forgiveness, remember?

“Oh,
baby, you have it.” He kissed me, hard and deep. “I love you so much.” Another
kiss. “I’m sorrier than I can ever express for what I put you through.” Another
kiss. “You deserve better than me, but I can’t let you go.” Another kiss. “I
love you so damn much.”

I
tangled my hands in his hair, smiling, giddy, still tearing like a silly
watering pot. I’d wanted this moment so badly and for so long. And now, here it
was. Now, Rome was mine. We were together, in each other’s arms.

“Now
you won’t have to go on those dates with
that man.
” He sneered the
last, even as he gently wiped my tears away with the pad of his thumb. “Don’t
cry, baby. Please don’t cry.”

Some
of my giddiness popped like a balloon, and my grin faded. “I won’t go back on
my word. I’m going to date him, as promised.”

Our
gazes locked, and his was like fire. “Belle.”

“Rome.”
Not even his sexiness could budge me on this. “It’s going to happen, so get
used to the idea.”

He
moved his jaw left and right, his eyes narrowing. “I’m willing to beg.”

I
weakened. Rome begging? So appealing. But…“That wouldn’t change my mind. Not
only will I date him, but I’ll also welcome him to our team. He knows Desert
Skank better than any of us.”

Rome
was so silent, so still, for a long while it was as if he was unconscious
again. His heart kept a steady beat against my chest. His pupils thinned,
revealing just how close his animal was to breaking free.

“You’re
different,” he finally said.

My
brow furrowed in confusion. “Wh-what do you mean?”

“The
old Belle would have told Memory Man to go fuck himself, that you’d lied to him
and he’d gotten what he deserved for his actions in the first place. Now you’re
willing to date him. To hire him. A man who hurt us both.”

He
was right. A tremor moved through me, a new fear suddenly springing to life.
I’d always assumed the success of our relationship hinged on the return of his
memories. But when he’d lost them, I
had
changed. I
was
a
different girl than I’d been a week ago. I was stronger, harder, more jaded. I
was also a dedicated agent who knew loyal allies were few and far between and
needed to be treated with care.

Would
Rome like who I’d become? He’d seemed to be falling for me again, but then,
he’d been a different Rome.

“Does
this mean what I think it means?” a familiar voice suddenly asked.

My
gaze swung to the door.

Tanner
stood in the center, grinning. “The Viper–Cat Man nuptials are back on, I see.
My bad for losing faith and canceling everything. While I’d love to stay and
witness the rest of your reunion, you need to get up. We’ve got scrim ass to
kick and two damsels in distress to save.”

He
hadn’t called Lexis a bitch; that was an improvement. Probably proved how
concerned he was—or how much he now liked Elaine.

“We’ll
finish this conversation later,” Rome said, his tone hard.

I
could only nod, my mouth dry.

“Everyone
know the plan?” Rome asked.

We
were packed inside a black Hummer—me, Rome, Tanner, Elaine, a fully recovered
Jean-Luc and two male PSI agents I’d never met before. They were brothers (I
wasn’t sure how I felt about that, considering my last encounter with
supernatural brothers), young, smooth-faced and a little arrogant. Apparently
one, Christian, could create light, and the other, Hans, could create darkness.
(Yes, their last name was Andersen, and yes, their parents were sadistic.) John
had thought their abilities might come in handy on our journey.

Would
have been nice if John had sent an agent who could swoop into a body and repair
any damage. I could have used that kind of skill a few months back when Rome
was shot. I could use that type of ability on my dad, actually. His ticker
could be strengthened and I could stop worrying about it giving out every time
he decided to buy—and take—a black-market Viagra. And who knew what kind of
state we’d find Sherridan and Lexis in? I might need someone with healing
powers then, too.

I
sighed. I seriously needed to cut some of the worry out of my life. I’d thought
I had. With Rome’s latest recovery, I should have been swinging from stars.
Since his parting comment an hour ago, though, my nerves were once again raw.

And
what the hell was I going to do with the Shadow Boys? They were another worry I
didn’t need, as they’d probably just get in the way.

Night
had fallen—I couldn’t stick to my own timetable, it seemed—providing dark all
on its own, and the moon was high, cascading over the mountains and glistening
off the snowcaps. The beauty of the land seemed out of place, considering we
were headed to a war.

“The
plan,” Rome growled.

“Not
to die,” Tanner piped up helpfully.

“Leave
our personal bullshit in the car and do our jobs,” Elaine added.

“Obey
your every command,” Jean-Luc said, “even though you might be wrong and such
arrogance could get us killed.”

Hearing
his voice, I flashed back to when I’d walked into his recovery room, his dark
eyes peering over at me.

“I
still love you” had been the first words out of his mouth.

“I’m
not going back on my word,” I’d told him, exactly as I’d told Rome. “Soon as we
rid the world of Desert Roach, we’ll go on those dates.”

“I
hope you’re ready to be romanced.”

I
had offered him a smile, but I’m sure it hadn’t reached my eyes.

“You’re
begging to die,” Rome told him now.

“Which
is counter to the plan,” Tanner said.

I
rubbed my temples to ward off the oncoming ache. I sat beside Rome, who was
driving the car. Our relationship might be a jumbled mess right now, but I
reached over and squeezed his hand. If I needed the contact, and I did, he
must, too. His fingers twined with mine, holding me captive.

“Listen
up, kiddies,” I said. “You all know what to do. So do it whether you like each
other or not. Let’s bring our girls home. Alive, as the plan states.”

We
parked about a mile from the compound where our girls were being held—which
meant we were about a mile from the middle of nowhere, mountains all around
us—and hiked to the electric fence that surrounded it. From the photos Cody had
sent, we knew it was two stories, one of them underground. We knew it was
heavily guarded by men with guns, and we knew there were planes ready to whisk
Desert Hussy away if danger was suspected. So we had to get inside silently.

Once,
I’d gotten Rome and Tanner (and myself) over an electric fence by forming wind
under our feet, lifting us higher and higher before lowering us (not so gently)
to the ground. This time, I couldn’t do that. With as many cameras as there
were monitoring the area and the guards pacing back and forth across the
parapet on top of the compound, that would place us directly in the line of
fire.