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And we’d be right there waiting for them.
Everyone’s attention went to the centre of the room, where Alex was clambering onto one of the crates that made up our mock Salt Lake Eden. I smiled as I watched him, my tensions easing. I seriously didn’t think I’d ever seen anything quite as sexy as the sight of Alex wearing camouflage trousers and a black T-shirt. Unless it was the sight of him not wearing them.
He jumped on top of the crate; as he faced the team, he looked relaxed and confident, his dark hair tousled. “Okay, listen up!” he shouted. “That was excellent work, everyone. I’ve just got a couple of things to say—”
A chorus of good-natured groans. Alex grinned and swung himself down to a sitting position, legs dangling. I could see the toned outline of his chest against the T-shirt.
“Yeah, I know; I’m never satisfied, right? So, first of all – everyone still needs to work on disguising their auras. I saw a lot of you forgetting as the simulation went on. ” Alex’s eyes met mine – Seb and I taught the classes for the energy work – and I nodded. The team was trying hard, but it just didn’t come easily to most humans.
“They’ll get there,” I said for us both.
“Good. And in terms of everyone’s shooting…” Alex paused, scanning the crowd before he smiled. “Guys, that was awesome. Your time was eight minutes twelve; that’s better than it’s ever been. ” He scratched the back of his neck as he added casually, “Oh, and by the way – the program was set for two-fifty. ”
Excitement rustled through the room; there were scattered cheers. Sam, Liz and I exchanged a jubilant glance. Two hundred and fifty angels. And we only needed to kill about half that many.
“So even with the aura work, we’re not in bad shape already – you can all be damn proud of yourselves,” Alex said firmly. “But what you cannot do is start getting cocky. Like I’ve said, shooting real angels is different. You’ve got to be aware of what the simulation can’t mimic. ”
There were grim nods from around the room as he talked about angel burn, describing the ease with which an angel could link minds with you – how you’d only have seconds to break away before they started feeding from your life force, and then you’d be theirs for ever, worshipping and damaged. My fingers tightened on my rifle as I thought of my mother, sitting lost in her dreams.
“I don’t want to lose any of you, okay?” Alex’s voice was low, but it carried to every corner of the room. “Not a single one – and if we do this thing the way we’ve been planning, then I won’t. ”
Emotion gripped me, recalling the dozens of nights Alex had lain awake beside me, going over the plan. They trust me, he’d said once, rubbing his forehead tiredly when I’d urged him to get some sleep. I’ve got to make sure they’re right to.
On top of the crate, Alex gave a sudden grin. “Okay, enough of that,” he said. His gaze picked out a tall guy with brown hair. “Paul, dude – you do realize that if these weren’t laser rifles, you’d have taken Chloe’s head off, right? You want to explain what happened?”
And as Paul winced and attempted a response, I smiled dryly – because I wasn’t the only one who’d been affected by Alex’s grin lighting up his strong, regular features. I could sense the fluttering pulses around me like a flock of hummingbirds. Even if I’d had no psychic skills whatsoever, I’d have known that half the girls down here had a crush on my boyfriend – it wasn’t hard to figure out, if blushes and admiring sideways glances were anything to go by.
The other half all had a thing for Seb.
I held back a sigh; covertly, I found myself studying Seb’s face as he stood across the room. You wouldn’t have guessed he was Mexican from looking at him; his mother’s family had been European immigrants. From Italy, Seb always claimed – and he looked it, with his hazel eyes and loose chestnut curls. Though I always thought what he really looked like was a rock star, with the light stubble that usually coated his jaw.
Next to Alex, Seb was the best-looking boy I’d ever seen. I could understand why so many of the girls were attracted to him, even without the fact that he was half-angel – which only seemed to make him that much more intriguing to them.
I just wished he could feel intrigued by one of them in return.
In a sudden flash, I realized that Seb was aware I was thinking about him. From across the room, he gave me a quick, almost irritated glance, eyebrows raised; I felt a shutter slam down over his thoughts, blocking me out.
I crossed my arms tightly and looked away. I hated the distance between us, in every sense of the word. There was a time when Seb and I would have gravitated to stand next to each other as naturally as two magnets.
“Looks like we got another member of the CCC,” Sam muttered in my ear.
The Carrera Crush Club. Reluctantly, I glanced back and saw who Sam meant: a tall, leggy girl named Meghan was standing near Seb. She was eighteen, with auburn hair that spilled past her shoulders and a sort of girl-next-door face, so that I could never decide whether she was simply pretty or completely beautiful. But whenever I sensed her energy, it felt like bouncing rays of sunshine.
“No, they’ve been friends for a while; she’s part of that group he hangs out with,” I murmured back. Paul was still explaining, protesting that his rifle wasn’t working. Alex, looking like he seriously doubted it, had jumped down to go take a look.
“Yeah, but check out the way she’s looking at him. ” Sam’s blue eyes narrowed. “I’m telling you, she’s got it bad. ” Across the room, Meghan said something to Seb. His reply looked teasing; her cheeks tinged pink as she smiled.
Sam shook his head – half jealous, half admiring. “Man, that guy’s the biggest flirt on the planet. Wonder if he’s keeping track? He could be going for a world record of crushees here. ”
I made a face and looked away. It was true that Seb didn’t seem to mind being the base’s most eligible bachelor. He wasn’t vain, but there was no way he could be unaware of the effect he had on girls – and I guess he wouldn’t even have been half human if he didn’t enjoy the attention.
But when Seb and I had first met, our minds had touched and explored each other effortlessly, our half-angel connection transcending normal things like getting to know each other. I’d seen then how much of an extrovert he could seem with his teasing charm – when really, he was anything but that.
He’d told me once that I was the only person who’d ever really known him.
The problem was, no matter how many “crushees” Seb had, I knew that our time down here had done nothing to lessen his feelings for me. In fact, as the months had passed, the only change had been in his growing reluctance to be around me. And, okay, it wasn’t like I didn’t understand it – but I hated that things had come to this. I hated not being close to him any more.
I missed my friend.
“I’m not sure,” I said, fingering a flowing pink sleeve. It was later that afternoon, and I was standing on Liz’s bed in my bare feet, straining to see all of myself in the mirror over her dresser drawers.
“It looks great,” Liz said in surprise.
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