Twice as Hot (45 page)

And
there, in the center of it all, was Cody. If I’d had any remaining doubts about
whether I could trust him, the sight of him put them to rest. Lightning
streamed from one of his hands, wrapping around Desert Gal in a supercharged
cage of her own, her hair standing up from her scalp, her eyes bugging out from
the intensity. Clearly, she couldn’t move. But the lines of tension around her
mouth suggested she was trying to do so with every ounce of strength she
possessed.

Cody’s
other hand was pointed at a group of people. Doctors, judging by their lab
coats. Sweat was running down Cody’s face, his shirt already soaked to his
chest. “Can’t hold…them…much longer.” Every word emerged strained, even as they
echoed from the walls.

There
was a weird sort of air pressure in the room that made my ears constantly pop.
It was unnerving.

“No
guns,” Rome said, placing his on the ground and kicking it to the far wall.
Everyone in our little group did the same.

I
stared over at the woman who had supposedly once shared my man’s bed, and my
teeth gnashed together. She was prettier in person than she’d been on Rome’s
small cell-phone screen, even lit up like a Christmas tree as she was. Damn it!
All of Rome’s exes were prettier than me.

“Elaine.”
Rome withdrew a knife. “When Cody’s shield falls away, take out as many of the
doctors as you can.”

She
nodded and marched forward, shoulders squared, expression scared but
determined. Was she recalling the cage she’d occupied for so long? Poor thing.
But what bravery to march ahead anyway.

“Hans,
guard the doors,” I said. “Don’t let anyone escape.”

The
boy looked to Rome, who nodded, and marched off.

“Jean-Luc,
if at all possible, jump into Desert Gal when Cody frees her and take as many
memories as you can,” Rome instructed. “We’ll sort through them later. If you
can’t get to her, wait. Belle will try and give you a chance. Tanner, get our
girls.”

Both
men raced to obey.

That
left me and Rome. He looked at me, mouth firm, unyielding. “Cody’s going to
collapse. I’m going to pull him to safety. If Jean-Luc can’t access her, you’ll
have her all to yourself. Don’t be afraid to use your powers. She won’t.”

“I’ll
win,” I said on a trembling breath. I wondered, though, how he could be so
ruthless when he’d once slept with this woman.

“You
better.” His eyes darkened, the pupils expanding. “Don’t worry about the rest
of us. All right? Don’t think about holding back or caging your emotions.
Unleash them. And…be careful.”

“I
will,” I replied.

“I
love you, Belle. I hope you know that.” He didn’t give me time to reply. He
closed the distance between us and meshed his lips to mine, his tongue plunging
deep for a split second.

Sweet
fire.
I was instantly transported out of the building into Paradise, where angels
sang and ambrosia flowed in golden rivers. In that moment, I knew everything
would be okay, that nothing bad would happen, could happen, that tomorrow I’d
wake up in this man’s arms, and soon I would be his bride. But then he pulled away,
rushing to Cody’s side, and I came down from my euphoric high, unsure about
today, even more unsure about tomorrow.

Still
the passion burned inside me, though. And it was hot, so hot. Blistering me
from the inside out. This was probably what Rome had intended, not a
reassurance of his feelings. Or maybe the new me was just being cynical. I
couldn’t worry about that now.

Fingers
flexing at my sides, I stalked to Desert Gal. I pictured her in Rome’s bed,
naked, straining, biting him, begging him for more, and my passion mutated into
the fury I’d craved. My hands caught fire.

“Now,
Cody,” Rome shouted. “Now!”

The
lightning suddenly stopped. I heard grunting, groaning, heard clothing rustle
as Elaine leaped into motion, touching everyone she could. Heard the shuffle of
feet as Rome dragged an unconscious Cody out of the way.

Desert
Gal dropped to her knees, her pale hair shielding her face, her small shoulders
hunched. Jean-Luc dove for her, but she’d clearly expected it and rolled out of
the way.

I
launched a fireball at her. But again, she was quick, and flattened to her
stomach, the ball flying over her. She looked up, her gaze clashing with mine.
She reached toward me, fingers pointed at me. I threw another fireball. Water
rushed from her hands, meeting my fire midway and causing it to dissolve.

Her
action was so unexpected, I wasn’t able to jump out of the way before the water
pummeled me to my back. The name Desert Gal implied she
needed
water,
not that she had it in abundance and could spew it like this.

“Belle
Jamison. I’ve been waiting for this moment for months,” she said. “And now,
here we are. The other woman in my father’s life.”

“Yes.
Here we are.” The spray continued until she made it to her feet. Then she
stopped, grinned at me, free hand shooting out. It was aimed at Jean-Luc,
keeping him back with another spray. “But I have no idea what you’re talking
about. I’ve never met your father.”

“Really?
When he taught us both our tricks?”

Tricks?
Can we say de-lusion-al? “He likes me better than you, right?” Soaking wet, I
glared up at her through spiky lashes, trying to catch my breath. Fury was
still rising inside me, still smoldering. I just needed a moment to bring it to
the surface again. “Care to tell me why?”

“I
wish I knew. You’re weaker than me, ugly and stupid.”

Bitch.
“I’m not your biggest fan, either. So what’s his name?”

“Dr.
Enrich Roberts, of course. As if you have to ask.”

My
jaw dropped, shock momentarily replacing my fury. Dr. Roberts? The man who had
fed me the formula that made me into what I was? The man I had chased for
weeks, unable to find?

How
had we not known he had a daughter?

“I
know what you’re thinking. I could be lying since no one knew.”

Close
enough. “How’d you keep it secret?”

“Do
you know how easy it is to forge documents and make others disappear?”

No,
but I was learning.

“It
was his way of
protecting
me from outside forces, just like his running
away was. But I don’t want to be protected anymore. I want him back. And you’re
going to help me.”

Uh,
what? “I understand missing a parent, but—”

She
laughed cruelly. “I don’t miss him, you stupid bitch. Like you, he made me what
I am, experimenting on me my entire life as if I was an animal. And just when I
finally began to like the results, he vanished. He didn’t like that I had
started working for Vincent, same as him, was afraid that our secrets would be
discovered, that I would be used and hurt in an effort to control him. But now
Vincent is dead, I’m in charge and my father is going to return. For you. And
he’s going to make me stronger.”

Rome
had once warned me about this. People often became drunk on their power,
craving more. But more was never enough. The thirst was never quenched. “I hate
to break it to you, but he won’t come back for me.” I worked my hands behind my
back, as though I was trying to lift myself on my elbows. Meanwhile, I mentally
pushed the fire to my fingertips. “I’m nothing to him. An experiment. Just like
you said.”

From
the corner of my eye, I could see Rome sneaking up on her.

But
she must have sensed it, too, because she threw out her other arm, water
spraying from her fingers and propelling him backward. She laughed, though her
attention never left me. “Wait your turn, Agent Masters. You’re next.”

Agent
Masters. Not exactly former lover-speak.

She
released Jean-Luc, who was turning blue, unable to breathe, and reached for me
once more. I rolled, avoiding impact. She stalked closer, trying again, and
again, but I kept rolling. And when she finally reached me, I kicked her arm
away. She swung to the side, freeing Rome from her watery fury. He remained
crouched, coughing up water.

“He’ll
come back for you,” she said as if our conversation had never stopped. She was
panting. Using her power must exhaust her. “He won’t be able to help himself.
You’re his greatest success. He won’t want me to kill you.”

Yeah,
she was probably right. He had apologized several times for what he’d done to
me. I didn’t think he’d want me to die, either. But how could he have
experimented on his own daughter? “I’m not staying here with you. I’m taking my
friends and going. And oh, yeah. I’m locking your ass up for good.”

She’d
had a crappy life, sure, and I pitied her for it. But Elaine had had a crappy
life, too, and Elaine had not turned to the dark side. Desert Gal, I feared,
was beyond redemption.

Slowly
I rose. “We done talking?”

Another
laugh. Cold, heartless. “You can’t beat me, Wonder Girl.”

“Wanna
bet,
Candace?
” I launched another fireball at her. This one hit her,
and she yelped.

The
yelp became a screech as she frantically patted herself with her hands. Water
poured from them and did douse the fire, leaving her in tattered clothes, soot
smearing her skin. The scent of burned hair filled the room. Her poor, pretty
golden hair.

Both
Jean-Luc and Rome had regained their bearings and approached her, running
toward her, but she hadn’t lost her reservoir of water and extended her arms,
keeping them both at bay. But that left her vulnerable to me.

I,
too, approached, trying to work up a good jealousy, planning to bury her in a
mound of dirt. Sure, she could turn the dirt to mud, but that would take some
time. Time I could use to grab one of Rome’s night-night syringes and inject
her. Time Jean-Luc could use to jump inside her.

Desert
Gal had other plans.

Just
as I reached her, she dropped her arms from Jean-Luc and Rome, who once again
started gagging up the water they’d swallowed, and latched onto me in a choke
hold. I gasped, instantly feeling her drawing the water from my cells and into
her. It was painful, some of my vessels popping from the strain of her suction.

“It
didn’t have to be this way,” she said through gritted teeth. “We could have
worked together. My father could have given us both more power.”

Think,
Belle, think.

The
men tackled us, throwing us to the ground and trying to separate us. But that
only increased my pain. Her hands were practically glued to me. I couldn’t even
scream. Thankfully, Rome and Jean-Luc realized they weren’t doing any good,
only harming me further, and backed away. I could hear them muttering
frantically in the background, Jean-Luc saying there was some sort of shield
around her, that he couldn’t get inside her. Their voices seemed to fall
farther and farther away.

Was
this it for me? The end? My last day on earth? I wasn’t afraid as I would have
assumed. I was disappointed. I hadn’t gotten to say goodbye. Hadn’t gotten to
make love to Rome one last time. Hadn’t gotten to experience my dream wedding,
Sherridan my maid of honor, my dad walking me down the aisle.

You
can stop her. There’s still time.
I could…what? Ice myself? Why not? Maybe it
would strengthen her as I’d feared earlier, or maybe it would immobilize her.
Either way, it was worth a shot. But even as I played fearful thoughts through
my head, the emotion remained out of my grasp, my disappointment too keen.

Ice,
damn it. I just need a little ice. Come on, come on, come on.
Oh, the irony. I had
to work for it the one time I
wanted
to summon it. Ice, ice, ice.

Finally,
my blood thickened and my veins hardened. My lungs crystallized. Ice! Yes!
Except, I wasn’t afraid. I was simply picturing it and it was forming.

This
hadn’t happened in so long, I was stunned. I didn’t need my emotions, just the
power of them. It was like looking at a sunset and experiencing its beauty, but
being unable to physically touch it. But here the ability was. Mine again.
Well, separate from me. As numb as I was, so quickly fading, there was nothing
left of me. Only the abilities remained.

Desert
Gal frowned, her suction easing. She even tried to pull away, as if drawing the
ice was painful for her. As if her body didn’t welcome it the way mine did. My
eyes widening, I grabbed on to her.
More ice, more ice, more ice,
I
thought, mentally projecting it inside her. Ice might be composed of water, but
it didn’t strengthen her. It slowed her down, actually weakened her, because
she had no way of melting it. Her own source of water began to freeze.

Before
my eyes, her skin turned blue. A glaze of ice smoothed over it, icicles forming
in her hair. Only when she was completely motionless did I let her go. I
crawled out from under her and fell back onto the ground,
my
strength
now depleted. Didn’t matter. I’d won. Won!

I
turned my head, searching for Rome. I saw Lexis instead. Jean-Luc had her
cradled in his arms, and she was sobbing into his chest. I could also see Cody.
He was cradling Sherridan as if she were a precious treasure. Sherridan tried
to pull away, but gave up after a few moments and simply sagged into his arms.