by Jaime Rush
After being an only-child orphan for so long, it was strange to suddenly have a half brother. She wasn’t sure how she felt about Eric being that brother, but it was a hell of a lot better than its being Lucas.
Eric studied the picture, and his tight expression transformed to wonder. “Maybe a little around the eyes.” He looked up at her. “What were his skills?”
“Don’t you want to know what he was like?”
“Sure. But I already know he must have been charming, smart—”
Amy rolled her eyes. “You’ll be happy to know he was one of the best in the program. But Cyrus never got around to telling me what his skills were. Everything was so rushed when he told me about the program, and we…well, we didn’t have time to get to that.”
“Find out. Talk to Cyrus. Better yet, talk to your—our dad.”
“I never considered talking to Dad. I’m not sure what I’d say to him.” The thought of making that connection again made her shiver. “I’m not really comfortable taking a chance of Gladstone being the one who talks to me. But I’ll think about it. Don’t bully me.”
“You bullied me, too. You—” His eyes lit as he must have realized they were bickering like siblings. “Oh, jeez, you are my sister.”
She and Eric laughed as they remembered how they’d butted heads since they met. She said, “Let’s just forget about all that other stuff.” She gave him a meaningful look, which he seemed to understand.
He tilted his head. “Does this mean I have to be nice to you now?”
Amy laughed. “I don’t think you have nice in you.” Except she remembered when he had painted Petra’s toenails once.
“You’re probably right.” He walked over to the bulletin board above the desk. “If it’s all right with you, I’d like to pin this here.” He put the photograph on the board with the ones of the five of them when they were children. “What was he like?”
“From what I’ve heard, a good man. A good dad. He taught me the constellations. At least the basic ones. After he died, I studied the globe he’d gotten me every day, like I was trying to hold on to him.”
Lucas screamed out in pain and fell off the chair.
“Lucas!”
Tremors shook his body as Amy tried to bring him back. His eyes rolled back in their sockets.
Fear washed over her…for what Lucas was going through and for the reason he was getting the storm.
Five minutes passed before he struggled to open bloodshot eyes, much longer than before. He took a halting breath as she and Eric helped him sit up.
“What happened?” Eric asked at the same time that Amy asked, “What did you see?”
Petra hovered, her forehead creased in worry.
Lucas looked at them, disoriented. His voice was slurred when he said, “A bunch of images. Too fast. Faster than before. I saw Rand. Zoe. And I saw Steele.”
Zoe recognized the man holding the gun: the guy who’d chased her down in Key West. Who’d hunted them at hospice. Steele. He still had four faint scratches on his cheek. He stepped inside and closed the door.
She turned to Rand, her anger vanished. He was only half-dressed, his jeans still unbuttoned, no shoes or shirt. Apparently he hadn’t seen Steele yet, because he picked up the shirt on the floor.
“Rand.” The word came out a muffled whisper.
Rand’s face went sheet white. He dropped the shirt and raised his hands. “Whoa, dude, there’s been a mistake. If you’re looking for George—” His eyes widened in recognition.
Steele smiled. “No mistake.” He aimed the gun. “You freaks are making me look bad. I had a perfect record until I was assigned to you.”
She focused on the gun with all of her energy.
His finger tensed. “Say goodbye.”
The gun flew out of his hand, spinning through the air. It hit the coffee table and fell to the floor. Rand was on it. She could tell by his pupils that he’d shot ahead and knew exactly where the gun would land.
Steele reached behind him. A backup weapon?
The gunshot was quiet, a thwump that threw Steele backward against the door. He hit hard and slid down, leaving a bloody smear. His body slumped into a heap, his eyes still open.
Agony over killing another human being etched itself on Rand’s face. “Let’s get out of here.” His voice was thick, his gaze riveted to the man.
He pulled on his shirt, shoes, and grabbed her helmet. She followed him down the stairs and out the back door to where he’d tucked Blue.
“This is bullshit,” he said. “I’ll help bring in this Nicholas dude, then I’m outta here. I’m not doing this anymore.”
They tore out of the lot. Despite her earlier anger, the thought of his leaving left her empty inside.
She had faced death again, and she had used her ability to cheat it. But fear tempered her triumph: how many times could they cheat death?
Rand needed the forty minutes it took them to make one stop and return to the tomb to sort through his thoughts. Seeing Zoe get trashed by her mother and the hurt in her eyes had torn right through him. He knew exactly how Lucas felt when he looked at Amy: that rip-your-guts-out-need-to-protect-and-love-your-woman thing.
Scared the hell out of him.
Taking her to his apartment had been about consoling her, giving her private time to vent or cry or whatever. The sex had been all about giving in to something they both had been wanting for a while. He still wasn’t sure why she’d gotten all upset when he’d asked if she felt better. Maybe she wanted a deeper reason for his jumping her bones. Like that he wanted her, that he couldn’t live without burying himself in her, that he’d never felt like this before, and it had him so tripped up that he took a step closer instead of racing off in the opposite direction.
And look what it had gotten him. Nearly killed, for one thing.
They pulled down the alley and into the garage, then made their way through the tunnel. As soon as the door slid open, the other four anxiously took them in.
“Did something happen?” Rand asked.
“That’s what we were wondering,” Amy said. “Lucas had another storm.”
Lucas sat at the dining table, looking like the victim of a tequila hangover.
Rand started to head into the kitchen. “We got everything set up for tomorrow, the boys are in, then we made a quick stop at my apartment, where Steele found us. Zoe tossed his gun with her telekinesis. I shot ahead and saw where it was going to land, grabbed it, and took him out.” He held up the gun. “It’s got a silencer.”
Eric held up his hand. “Whoa, wait a minute. ‘Took him out’? As in killed him?”
Zoe answered for him. “Steele won’t be a problem anymore.”
The four let out whoops of triumph. Zoe looked at Rand, her face as sober as his. Eric walked over and raised his hand in a high five. “Good job, man.”
Rand stared at his palm for a second, then finally gave him a halfhearted slap. “Thanks.”
He wasn’t as bloodthirsty as Eric. Like Lucas, though, he’d kill when necessary. Especially to protect someone else.
His gaze slid to Zoe, but he trained it away from her. “Get out the map and I’ll fine-tune the plan.” He looked at Petra. “Have you heard from Cheveyo yet?”
She nodded. “I gave him the message to give to Nicholas.”
“I told the boys to be ready for tomorrow, but that it might be later.” He grabbed a pen, put a mark on the map, and readied himself for the fight. “Eric, this is where you’re stationed.”
CHAPTER 24
Z
oe and Rand dyed their hair back to their normal colors Saturday morning. She gelled her curls into waves and smiled at her reflection in the mirror. She felt like herself again. She was about to head upstairs when he emerged from his room, his hair dark blond. “No light blond tips?” she asked.
“My hairdresser does that. God knows what it would look like if I tried.”
“Yeah, that’s why I didn’t do my black streaks.” She
tilted her head, taking him in. “You didn’t spike your hair.”
He looked different. More grown-up, less prickly. She resisted the urge to touch it or tell him she liked it.
“Figured I’d go with a different ’do, so I don’t look like they remember.”
She started to head upstairs but paused. “I’m doing the blue eye tattoo on everyone today.”
“You think I’m going to let you near me with a needle after yesterday?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m a professional. I never let my personal pissed-offedness affect my performance.”
“No, thanks.” He turned and went up the stairs.
She spent the afternoon tattooing the blue eye on everyone…everyone except Rand. She had set up a chair in the middle of the living room.
Eric admired the large version on his biceps. “Rand, you’re the only one not getting the eye.”
“I’m not a tattoo person.” Rand watched Zoe finish the eye on the back of Petra’s neck.
Eric propped his feet on the coffee table. “You have piercings, though.”
“Yeah, but they’re not permanent.” He gestured to the staircase. “I’m going downstairs, burn off some of this nervous energy.”
Amy, perched on the edge of the table, gave Zoe a sympathetic smile once Rand was out of earshot. “He’ll come around.”
No, he wouldn’t, but Zoe wasn’t going to relay what he’d told her the day before. She shrugged, concentrating on her work.
Amy stood. “Lucas, you ready? We’re going to get the ’Cuda.” She’d called Ozzie that morning and found out it was done. “We’ll meet you in a few hours.” She twisted around and tried to look at her tattoo though she couldn’t see it well.
Lucas lifted her shirt and traced around the Saran Wrap that covered the raised, red area on the center of her back. “I like it.”
Zoe smiled, filled with pride and satisfaction. “It feels so good to be doing this again. I can’t believe I forgot the chicken diapers, though.”
“Chicken diapers?” three of them said at once.
“They’re like those little pads they put under the chickens you buy at the store that soak up the blood. We put them on the tattoo right after it’s done.” Even the buzzing sound was comforting. She finished Petra’s tattoo. “Go check it out in the mirror.” She savored the weight of the machine in her hand. “I feel bad, though, taking the shop’s equipment. Even though it’s mine, RJ’s going to be surprised to find my note and my stuff gone. I promised I’d get it right back.”
Petra ran back into the living room. “I love it!”
Zoe smiled. “I’m glad you like it. I’m going to go down and get ready for the mission.”
She did her best to ignore Rand at the gym on the way to her bedroom. She wore black pants and a blue tank top. She touched up her makeup and headed toward the open area.
Rand was draped over one of the bars. “Hey, Zoe. About what happened—”
She held up her hand. “Look, it was a mistake. A mad, dumb mistake, and it won’t happen again. Like you said, it was something brewing between us, and we got it out of our systems, so it’s over.”
She kept on walking, hearing an annoying voice in her head: You should have waited to see what he’d say.
An hour later they gathered around the table, and Rand went through the plan one more time. She had to admit it was pretty ingenious. Taze would take Nicholas on a motorcycle to another location across the city, where two more of the boys would be waiting. Nicholas would transfer to another bike in a dark tunnel, and if anyone was watching, he’d see two bikes emerge with two riders heading off in different directions. Both passengers would be wearing black.
The second relay would wind through the back alleys and deliver Nicholas to Rand, who would take him to an abandoned building. Amy and Lucas would be the lookouts there. Petra would watch the first stop, Eric the second, and Zoe the third stop.
“Let’s roll.” Rand grabbed up his black duffel bag. She knew it now contained his gun and not his spray paints. As everyone else got ready, he said in a soft voice, “You ride with me. We’ll go over your route together. There’s one change that no one but Lucas knows about.”
She raised an eyebrow but said nothing about that intriguing tidbit.
The group walked to the garage, but Rand held Zoe back. “I know you’re pissed at me, but hang on tight. We’re going to be riding into some pretty rough neighborhoods, and I want to feel like you’re secure back there.”
“Fine,” she said in a clipped voice.
He paused. “Thank you for not telling them where I know these guys from. You’re an honorable secret keeper.”
“You wouldn’t tell them about that whole thing with my mom. So we keep each other’s secrets well.” She shrugged, no big deal.
He regarded her thoughtfully. “Zoe, we’ve seen each other naked. And I don’t mean just physically.”
She thought of the raw moments they’d shared, when she’d run down that path at Truxtun Park, when he’d fought to hold in the pain over Sly’s death. “Yeah…I know.” She knew that killing Steele, no matter who he was, had torn Rand apart. She had a feeling he was still haunted over shooting the guy who’d posed as Nicholas Braden, too.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he said in a soft, low voice. He reached out and touched her cheek.
She felt a rush of so much at that tender touch, need and affection and, crazy as it was, love. Before she could kill it, he kissed her, a soft kiss that quickly deepened. Had he felt it, too? His hand came up to brace her face, fingers grazing her skin. Gawd, what he could do to her! Just a kiss, a stupid, simple kiss, and her heart was hammering and hurting and wanting and aching all at once.
She moved away. “It’s a lot easier to be pissed at you, Rand. We’d better go.”
An hour and a half later they reached an area of town she normally wouldn’t be caught dead in. Graffiti was everywhere. Before Rand, she probably wouldn’t have given it much notice. Now she did, and even recognized Taze’s name on a piece depicting a beautiful array of tropical fish. Rand rode past the relay points, giving a thumbs-up to his boys as they waited in position. These guys thought a lot of Rand. As much as he wanted to deny it, he thought a lot of them, too.
He showed her where she would park and where her target was. A guy named Pith waved at them. She would follow Pith to where Rand would pick up Nicholas, then she would follow them to the old building, where they would have their meeting. Her heart pounded as she thought of the other times they’d tried to contact a new Offspring.
He tucked the bike behind the Dumpster next to a building that was about to get demolished. Lucas and Amy were to lurk one floor above where Rand and Zoe would talk to Nicholas.
Never would she have thought she’d go into a building that looked like one good sneeze would bring it down. Mice scurried as they stepped into the vestibule. She tried to hide her shudder.
The building smelled of things she didn’t want to take the time to identify, all disgusting. Bugs—she couldn’t bear to think they were roaches—scattered, hiding beneath the debris. She and Rand moved aside some of the broken furniture that littered the floor to make a pathway should they need to escape quickly.
Lucas and Amy stepped out from the first apartment. “Everything in place?”
“Yep. Everyone’s ready. Now we wait.”
Zoe could see why Amy had fallen for Lucas. With his intense eyes and thick, wavy hair, he was gorgeous. And he loved Amy in a way that was painfully obvious and passionately deep. The way she thought she’d never love anyone. She found her gaze drifting to Rand, who was talking to Lucas. He’d taught her something, though: to let go. The problem was, who would she ever get to let go with besides him?
The cell phone rang, and Rand answered. “Yeah? Cool.” He hung up. “The game is on.”
Zoe and Rand walked out, he to the bike, she to the ’Cuda. The four original Rogues sighed sadly every time they looked at the
brown, tricked-out car.
Zoe watched the second relay trade-off, then followed to see Nicholas get off Pith’s bike and on Rand’s. She followed at a short distance. As they approached the building, Amy gave a thumbs-up sign from the upstairs window. Nicholas was an Offspring. But that didn’t mean they were safe.
Rand parked Blue, and both men got off the bike. Nicholas wore black, as instructed, so that he’d match the decoy rider. Zoe bet Rand’s grandmother would think he looked a bit like Matt Dillon. He had a thick shock of dark brown hair, brown eyes, and pale skin. His body, though, had the long, lean look of a swimmer. Zoe took a deep breath and walked over to join them.
Nicholas looked around. “Is all this really necessary?”
“Afraid so.” Rand stepped closer. “The last time we tried to contact you, we nearly got our heads blown off. Call us a little paranoid, but it keeps us alive.”
They were keeping their guns out of sight, though.
Nicholas’s thick brows furrowed. “The shoot-out at my house. That was the second thing that got me thinking. Made me suspicious. Darkwell, Director for Science and Technology at CIA, is my temporary boss. He told me to tell the police I had no idea why someone used my house, which is true. He said you guys—the Rogues, he calls you—were going to kill me. But he never gave me a good reason why.”
“Because he wants you to fear us. And he sure as hell doesn’t want us to tell you what’s really going on or get you suspicious.”
“What’s really going on?”
Rand said, “You wanted to meet with us. Tell us what you know.”
He looked as though he were about to argue but decided against it. “A month ago I was contracted to use my skills in a classified program called DARK MATTER. I’ve got an uncanny ability to find things.”
