by Jaime Rush
Lucas asked, “In a gang?”
“Nah, I’m too much of a loner for that.” He obviously had no intention of further explaining himself since he looked at the map. “I’ll return to Braden’s house at four, keep an eye on him until we’re ready.”
Remembering that Rand liked being reckless, Zoe said, “Don’t do anything crazy until the rest of us get there.”
Lucas nodded in agreement. “For now, you are part of a team. Eric went off on his own mission when we rescued you, and look what happened.” His expression darkened. “Anyone who has his own agenda risks our team.”
Rand looked just as fiercely resolute. “Agreed.”
Zoe knew he’d never put anyone in a dangerous situation, at least not on purpose.
Lucas said, “Even when Amy determines that Braden is an Offspring by his glow, we still can’t let down our guard. The enemy could be watching him. They know where he is, too. That’s how we found him.”
“Making plans without me?” Eric’s hard voice came in shards from the stairwell. Petra followed him up, her neck damp with sweat, hair swept up in a knot on her head.
“Just going over the plan again,” Lucas said, not responding to his suspicious tone.
Eric took in the group with a scrutinizing gaze. It dissipated when he accepted that they weren’t plotting without him. “Any images, Lucas?”
He shook his head. “I hated them, but now it’s killing me not knowing.”
“Which reminds me.” Eric nodded at Lucas and Amy. “There’s nothing we can do about you two, but we can’t afford to let this romantic shit tangle us up.” He pointed to Petra. “Not you, Miss Gooey and Dewey.” He shot a look at Zoe, then at Rand. “Or you two. If you get a hard-on, I’ve got some Playboys you can borrow.”
Zoe put her hands to her hips. “And what about us girls?” She glanced at Petra, who put in, “Yeah.”
“Girls don’t get the itch like guys do.”
Zoe started to object but thought better of it. Did she really want to argue about who was hornier?
Zoe turned to Petra. “Guess he told us, huh?”
Petra giggled. “Kinda like having a dad.”
Zoe’s smile faded. “I wouldn’t know.” For some reason, her gaze went to Rand. For a moment, their eyes locked in empathy. He didn’t have a father, either, and according to Ruby, his mother was a drunk. He turned away, his eyebrows furrowing at her sympathy.
Eric walked to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. “Tell you what, Zoe. If you get the itch, I’m glad to oblige. I have a feeling you and I wouldn’t get emotionally involved.”
“Because you’re a bonehead?” Zoe asked.
Petra giggled.
Rand’s eyes narrowed. “That’s out of line, dude.”
Eric lifted his hands. “I was just being a nice guy, offering to take the edge off.”
Rand’s defense of her took her smart-assed retort right out of her mouth.
Lucas stood and faced Eric when he came out of the kitchen. “After what you pulled at the asylum, you don’t get to make rules.”
Eric’s broad shoulders tightened. “I got you out of there, didn’t I, bro? And Rand.”
Amy said, “And nearly got Lucas killed.”
He leaned down in her face. “And you think that’s my fault?”
“Yes, I do.”
Orn’ry must have picked up on the tension, or threat, to his mistress. He started flapping his wings and squawking, “Kill the bird!”
Eric narrowed his eyes at Orn’ry. “Love to.”
Rand held out his hand. “Let’s agree to focus on the mission and only deviate when necessary. I agree that we don’t need to muddy the waters by getting hot and bothered. I may not be a team player, but I do know that we’ve got to sync up before we go out tonight. We go out, make contact with this guy, and return as planned.”
Zoe heard the unspoken: And then I’m outta here.
Eric said, “Let’s get some shooting practice in. The girls need to learn to be comfortable around guns.”
The girls. Zoe tried not to be annoyed at that. She stood. “Where are we going to practice?”
“There’s another level below yours that’s a big open space with more canisters of food. They make for great target practice. You ever shoot a gun before?”
“No.” She took in Amy’s and Petra’s trepidation. “But I’m not afraid of guns.”
Eric nodded toward Amy and Lucas. “We’ve only got four muffs, so you guys can practice after us.”
They went down the small stairwell to the second level, then walked through yet another doorway and down more steps to the large room Eric had described. He knelt and pulled out three guns and the earmuffs.
Rand had gone to his room on the way down and now came in with his gun. “This one might be better for Zoe to use. It’s got less recoil.”
Eric reached for it. “I’ll show her—”
Rand pulled the gun back. “I’ll handle it, dude. My gun, my…” The way his gaze slid to her, Zoe heard the words girl. “Responsibility.”
Eric paused, seeming to assess Rand’s intentions. He handed out the muffs. “Zoe, some basic rules of handling guns: always treat them like they’re loaded. Never point at anything you don’t want to shoot. Never put your finger to the trigger until you’re ready to shoot.”
Rand added, “And never eyeball the barrel to make sure it’s clear.”
“Well, duh.”
Eric cocked an eyebrow at Rand but said to Zoe, “In a real-life situation, always keep in mind what’s behind what you’re shooting at.”
They faced the stacks of white buckets. Someone had drawn angry faces on them at head level, which made Zoe smile.
Rand stepped up beside her. “Have you ever handled one at all?”
She turned with an ingenuous look, and in a coy voice said, “I’ve touched one once. It was hard and cold and felt very dangerous.”
His mouth twitched. “Yeah, okay.” He cleared his throat. “Put your hands around it like this, hold it steady.” He molded his hands over hers.
She started to put her finger on the trigger but remembered Eric’s admonition and stopped. “This feels comfortable. Lemme shoot at something.”
They put on their muffs, and she faced the buckets. Rand came up behind her, his arms over hers and hands guiding hers. He smelled good, wind and cologne, and he felt even better. Maybe it was best if he did leave soon. She was losing control of her tongue, and worse, her body. Tingles shimmered down her backside where their bodies connected, and she fought the urge to wiggle just a little, to tease, to flirt. She didn’t even need to wiggle. She felt him hardening against her butt, and the knowledge zinged through her veins.
He leaned forward and guided her finger to the trigger. “She’s got a kick, but you should be able to handle it.” His body tensed, ready to brace her.
Damn. It would be better if she could believe what he believed, that he was selfish and didn’t care about anyone but himself.
He pushed her finger into the trigger. The gun did kick, sending her into the brick wall of his body.
“Not bad,” he called out next to her ear. “Try it on your own.”
He remained behind her but slid his hands from hers to rest on her arms. She pulled the trigger. The bullet went into the buckets close to where the first shot had gone. She squeezed off two more shots.
“If you like it, use it tonight.” He moved away. “I’ll use one of the .357 Magnums.”
She tilted the gun in her hand. “Does this mean we’re going steady?” She smiled and added in a singsong voice, “Kidding.”
“Doll, there’s nothing steady about me.”
And nothing about him made her steady, either, but she kept that tidbit to herself and aimed the gun at the buckets. Time to kill your libido, Zoe.
CHAPTER 13
H
omes lined one side of Braden’s street, commercial buildings the other. The area was quiet, with most folks
tucked in their cozy beds in their cozy, narrow houses. The commercial side, which was closed at this hour, gave the Rogues nooks and crannies in which to hide. For the moment they were together, walking down the sidewalk in front of Braden’s house, but soon they would split up. Zoe shivered at what Eric had said about that: Then, if things get really ugly, at least some of us will get away.
Amy was trying to look into Braden’s front window. “I can’t see his glow at all.”
Zoe said, “I thought everyone had a glow.”
“They do, but if someone is very controlled, it’s too close to their body for me to see.” Amy looked at Zoe. “Yours is that way most of the time. When someone is agitated or emotional, their glow expands and sometimes becomes jagged. I see that on Petra and Eric a lot.”
He merely grunted.
“Because we’ve learned to control our emotions, to keep ourselves apart from others, Offspring can have those controlled glows.” Amy looked at Lucas. “We need to go in, talk to him. I’ll be able to tell close-up. If I still can’t see it, I’ll shake my head. We’ll back off for now, set up an appointment to talk to him about our salvage needs.”
Lucas’s hand slid to Amy’s and locked around it. “We’ll keep the cell phone connection on between her phone and yours, Eric, so you’ll know what’s going on.”
Petra said, “I’ll be able to hear it, too.”
They reached the corner of the street, and Eric faced the group. “We know where our lookout points are. If any of us sees something suspicious, we send out the alert.”
Each of them had the number of another Rogue at the ready. Two presses of a button and the phone would vibrate. That person would then call their link on the chain.
Rand pulled out his phone and checked it. “We retreat if possible. Shoot at close range if necessary. We don’t want to risk taking out one of our own.” He looked at Eric specifically. “Right, dude?”
“Yeah…right.”
They moved into their spots as Amy and Lucas approached the house. Zoe tucked herself between a trailered boat and a steel building. Her getaway plan was to run to the boatyard around the back. This was crazy. She was holding a gun. A freaking gun. Like the cops she’d seen on television, she held it down and aimed away from her feet. Rand was in front of the adjacent building, behind the hedges that ran along the sidewalk. He and the others blended into the shadows, and for a moment she felt very alone.
They’re there. A scream away.
She raised her binoculars and watched Amy and Lucas walk up the steps to the front porch and knock. The man inside answered. They talked. Being able to see whether the man had an Offspring glow or not would really help. Zoe stared so hard, her eyes blurred. Did Amy shake her head?
Yes, there it was. She couldn’t see his glow.
Damn. Zoe tucked the gun into the waistband of her pants as she’d seen Rand do, pulled out her shirt to cover it, and walked toward the front door. Braden needed to be agitated. She would agitate him. As she neared, she heard Lucas keeping the conversation neutral, giving Amy time to discern his glow. “My boss has a particularly sensitive job, and he doesn’t want anyone else involved.”
“Nicholas Braden!” Zoe startled them with her harsh voice. “You don’t remember me, do you?”
Lucas’s and Amy’s expressions froze.
Braden, medium height with a shock of brown hair, shook his head.
Zoe injected emotion into her voice. “You sleep with me, tell me you love me, then I never hear from you again. And now…you don’t even remember me!”
“Look, I’ve never seen you before, and—”
“Sure you have.” Zoe stepped right up to him. “Maggie Bagbaum. You called me Magpie.” She punched him in the arm, realizing she’d used Rand’s neighbor’s name. “How could you forget that?”
He was thrown off, too, rubbing his arm. “You’ve got the wrong—”
“You told me I was the prettiest girl you ever knew, that if I slept with you, you’d love me forever, that you’d take me home to meet your mother!” She started beating on him, giving Amy a pointed look.
“Stop!” Braden deflected her blows.
“And that night, that beautiful night, you were telling me to come!”
Amy nodded for Zoe to keep it up.
Braden was trying to grab hold of her flailing wrists. “Get out of here.”
Zoe shot a look at Amy. “Is this your new girlfriend? He’ll use you like he used me. I’m warning you now.”
Amy’s eyes lit with fear. “We have to go.”
No Offspring glow.
As she and Lucas backed up, a hand grabbed Zoe’s arm and twisted her around so that her back was against Braden’s chest. His arm came up around her throat from behind and something hard jabbed her in the side. “You’re not going anywhere. Get inside, now, or I take her out.”
Lucas and Amy froze, indecision flashing in their eyes.
Go, get out of here!
Please, don’t leave me!
Defeat shadowed their faces, and both stepped inside. Braden, or rather the guy pretending to be Braden, patted Zoe down and found the gun. He tossed it onto the table and patted down Amy and Lucas, too, finding their guns as well.
“Where’s the firestarter?”
Lucas narrowed one eye. “Who?”
“Eric Aruda, the son of a bitch who torched my partner.” He nodded toward the door. “He’s out there, isn’t he?” When Lucas said nothing, Braden punched him in the face. Lucas’s head snapped back, and blood spurted out of his lip, but he still said nothing.
Amy let out a whimper, her green eyes filled with terror. Fear spiraled through Zoe’s body. She could see Lucas calculating, though, looking for an opportunity.
Braden grabbed a walkie-talkie on an old trunk that served as the coffee table, keeping the gun trained at them. “It’s Samuels. I got three of them: Shane and Stoker.” He looked at Zoe. “I didn’t recognize you at first.” He pressed the TALK button again. “And the guy must be Brandenburg ’cause he’s not Aruda.”
Zoe remembered that they thought Lucas was dead from the last Booster shot he was supposed to have been given.
The man spoke into the walkie-talkie. “I’m sure both Arudas are out there. They’ll be charging in for the rescue any minute now. Take out the sister but bring Eric here. I want to put a bullet right in his forehead.”
A voice crackled on the other end. “Darkwell has plans for Aruda.”
“He didn’t watch his friend go up in flames. He didn’t smell the burning flesh. Aruda’s mine.” Hatred rolled off him in waves.
The voice crackled again. “Don’t go off. That’s how you ended up working this detail.”
Samuels tossed the walkie-talkie on the table.
“Where’s Braden?” Lucas asked.
“That’s none of your concern.” He smiled at the three of them. “Finally, we get rid of you.” He pointed at Amy. “You were there, too. You go first.”
Lucas’s body tightened, and Zoe knew he was going to throw himself between Amy and that bullet, just as Rand had described. To be loved like that…
Movement on the wall caught her eye. She looked at the myriad items mounted in diagonal patterns, including a porthole and a piece of old wood with the word Astonia painted on it. A blue glass globe with old ropes wrapped around it hung from the ceiling. It vibrated. She concentrated, and it fell to the floor. Samuels twisted and shot at it with a muffled whump, putting a hole in the wall.
Lucas leapt at him, and screamed, “Amy, get out!”
Samuels spun around and cuffed Lucas in the head with the butt of the gun. He fell to the floor with a groan.
Amy and Zoe were halfway to the door when Samuels aimed the gun at them. “Stop. Sit down over there. We’ll wait for your friends.”
Zoe’s heart pounded so hard it hurt her chest. She grabbed Amy’s hand and pulled her toward the beige leather couch Samuels indicated. Amy’s gaze was on Lucas.
“He’s okay,�
� Zoe whispered.
Blood trickled from a cut on his temple, but she prayed he was only knocked unconscious.
Amy faced Samuels. “We had nothing to do with torching your friend. We didn’t even know Eric could do that.”
“Save your breath, sweetie. Either way, you’re all dying.”
Zoe concentrated on the gun.
Samuels felt it quiver and thrust it toward them. “Whatever tricks you’re playing, stop it, or I’ll take you out right now.” He pulled a chair from the kitchen table, spun it around, and sat. He kept his dark eyes on all three of them. “I don’t know how Aruda set that fire or how you just made my gun move. What are you, Satan worshippers or something?” When they didn’t answer, he pointed his gun at them. “If I sense anything weird, I’ll just shoot you.”
Lucas stirred, his hand slowly moving toward the wound on his head. Samuels watched him, gun at the ready.
It hit her then, that Eric and Rand would come rushing in, having no doubt seen what happened. Rand might be shot. He might be killed. She might be killed.
An old green bottle, covered in barnacles, quivered on the coffee table. Zoe’s gaze shot to Samuels, who hadn’t seen it. If only she could use her skills better, she could fling that heavy bottle right at him. It would probably just fall off the table, then he’d shoot her.
The walkie-talkie crackled. “I’ve got one of them in my sight. I’m moving in.”
Rand watched Lucas and Amy walk up to Braden’s door. Through the front window he could see the man moving around in the kitchen, making dinner. Alone.
There was something sad about that, guy by himself, eating alone…
Hell, that was him most of the time. And that was how he liked it.
He kept scanning the area and checking ten seconds ahead. No sign of anything suspicious. He understood Lucas’s trepidation at having the girls join the mission. He’d had this odd desire for Zoe to hurt her foot or something so she couldn’t go. Lucas’s love for Amy amazed Rand. The fierce, protective look on Lucas’s face dug right into his chest. To love someone like that meant that losing them would rip out his insides.
