The Phoenix Agency: Arctic Blaze (Kindle Worlds Novella) (62 Degrees North)

by Amy Ruttan

  The metallic static in his head let out of a hellish screech, like a banshee, and it caused a shudder to run down his spine. A bolt of lightning raced across the sky, as all sound of the storm faded into the static, and Mason spun around.

  At the far end of the runway stood a figure, but it wasn’t solid. It was transparent and unaffected by the rain.

  It didn’t take Mason long to figure out what was being projected through the rain to him, because even if May was standing next to him, she wouldn’t be able to see the image. This image was just meant for him.

  It was Parker.

  All six-foot-three of him, standing at the end of the runway. His black hair long, his dark eyes burning through the projection as they searched, but Parker couldn’t see him through the rain. It was as if he was projecting himself, searching for Mason.

  Mason wanted to reach out for Parker, to try and get him to come back into the light, but he was frozen, staring at the face of someone he knew, but who had become a puppet for an evil puppet master.

  Parker’s projection melted into the rain and the sound of rain hammering the side of his plane filled his ears again.

  They would have to hurry and dry off and head for the boat as soon as this rain lifted. The tide didn’t affect the river this far downstream, so even if they had to wait out the tidal changes before they could reach York Factory then so be it.

  They weren’t safe here anymore.

  Mason knew that the GKA would be coming for them.

  And soon.

  Chapter Four

  Thankfully the place still had electricity.

  May dug through the cupboard and found an electric heater and plugged it in. Then she found some blankets.

  As she was pulling the blankets from the cupboard, a sense of horror and sadness washed over her. It was coming from Mason.

  She dropped the blankets on one of the beds and ran to the window. Through the sheets of rain she could make out Mason’s figure and he was just standing there, looking toward the end of the runway at nothing.

  No, not nothing. He sees something.

  And even though she shouldn’t, she tapped into his mind and saw what he saw.

  Parker’s projection.

  May broke her connection and began to shiver from fear and the cold. If Parker was projecting himself here, GKA were tracking them somehow and she and Mason had to get out of here.

  The door opened a few minutes later and Mason came in, soaked. He set everything down by the door.

  “This is a well-stocked abandoned bunkhouse,” he mused, but she could hear the tension in his voice.

  “Well, the mine is owned by Lesa. It was her late husband’s and she always keeps this bunkhouse stocked for those who get lost in the bush. It comes in handy in the winter when snowmobiles break down.”

  “Another secret.”

  “Not really, I was going to tell you.” Her teeth began to chatter and she stepped closer to the electric heater.

  “You need to get out of those clothes,” Mason said.

  Her heart skipped a beat. “What?”

  “You’re soaked. The clothes need to dry.” He walked over to the cupboard and pulled out a ball of twine. “I’ll set up a line and we can hang our clothes on it. They need to be dry if we’re going to hike through the woods to Gillam, that is, unless Lesa has a car?”

  “No,” May said through chattering teeth. “Lesa doesn’t have a car.”

  Mason tossed her the ball and held onto the other end. “Tie it down there.”

  May nodded and tied the other end of the twine on the opposite side of the room. It formed a clothes line.

  Mason had already began to peel off his clothes. Warmth flooded her cheeks and she couldn’t help but watch him as he took off his flannel shirt, hanging it carefully on the line before stripping off his T-shirt.

  Under that was his bare chest and she’d forgotten how wide and muscular it was. How she would lie across it and listen to his heartbeat. The only difference was scars that marred his skin. As if sensing her gaze his blue eyes met hers.

  “What?” he asked.

  “The scars?”

  He glanced down. “The GKA broke my ribs and I had to have tubes in my lung to drain fluid.”

  “I knew they almost killed you when I saw flashes of what happened, but I had no idea.”

  Mason nodded and then glanced at her. “Are you going to just stand there in your wet clothes all night?”

  “Toss me a blanket.”

  Mason reached over and tossed her one of the woollen blankets.

  “You’re making a change room?” he teased. “I’ve seen you naked before.”

  “I know and no, I’m just freezing and want to wrap myself in something to get warm.” She pulled off her shirt and hung it over the line. Her jeans were sticking to her though. She should’ve known better. Denim didn’t do well when soaking wet.

  She slipped them off and then glanced over her shoulder to see that Mason was watching her. His eyes on her, full of longing and desire. It fired her blood and an image of his hands on her, running over her body as she rode him, filled her mind.

  It was what he was thinking about.

  Desire coursed through her, because she’d been thinking of that too.

  She looked away and he turned his back to her. May peeked as he pulled his jeans off and then his boxer briefs, giving her a nice view of his round, muscular butt.

  Stop looking at him.

  When she looked again he was finished and had a blanket wrapped around him. May sighed in relief and regret. She took of her bra and then her underwear, grabbing the blanket and quickly wrapping it around herself.

  She wandered over to the empty bunk closest to the electric heater and sat down. Mason took a seat across from her. The tension was so thick she could cut it with a knife and she had to change the mood. She had to get her mind off of what she was thinking about, but that was hard to do when Mason was sitting across from her, naked.

  “You saw Parker,” she said finally breaking the silence.

  His eyes widened. “How did you… You read my mind didn’t you?”

  “I sensed something was wrong and so I looked.” She pulled her blanket tighter. “Sorry, but I thought you might be in danger.”

  He cocked an eyebrow. “So it’s okay for you to invade my mind, but not the other way around?”

  “In this case yes. I sensed something wasn’t right and I’m glad I looked, because I don’t think you would’ve told me that you saw Parker. Am I right?”

  Mason’s eyes narrowed. “Fine. You’re right. I wouldn’t have told you.”

  “See.”

  “That’s only because I didn’t want to worry you.” Mason sighed. “His powers are stronger than I remember.”

  “When was the last time you saw him?” she asked gently.

  “A year ago. He went on a mission and never came back. We then got intel that he was captured by General Knight and brainwashed. Parker’s abilities weren’t strong enough to retrieve the artifact from under the permafrost, but Parker had Phoenix Agency intel and General Knight saw that as an advantage.”

  “Artifact?” May asked.

  “Last year General Knight tried to retrieve an alien artifact buried under the permafrost. It was buried north of Resolute, Nunavut, but he needed a strong telekinetic and Lexie, the woman who transferred her powers to me, was that telekinetic. She’s the strongest I had ever seen and her abilities, then, were so hard to control.”

  “What happened to the artifact?”

  “She destroyed it and then defeated General Knight. Now, she has control over her powers, but for so long she was a danger, and sort of kept to herself. Like you,” he said softly, his eyes twinkling in the dark.

  May felt the flush of warmth rise in her cheeks. She loved when he would look at her like that, with such tenderness.

  “And you said she’s married to your friend Bryant?”

  Mason nodded. “They were reunited.
Bryant came to the north to look for her. She burned him badly, as I said her powers were like mine, the fire was hard to tame. She fled, but he didn’t want to lose her, so he came north and looked for her for years. I don’t blame him.”

  Her heart skipped a beat.

  “What do you mean?”

  “When you love someone like that, you don’t give up.”

  Their gaze locked across the small enclosure of the bunkhouse. She could feel the warmth and saw his hands glowing, but they weren’t setting fire to anything. It was just a soft glow.

  “You didn’t come after me,” she whispered.

  “I hurt you. I betrayed your trust and I didn’t think you wanted me to. I was still a member of the Phoenix Agency and I cared for you too much. I didn’t want to hurt you further.”

  She cleared her throat and looked away. “So what’re our plans for tomorrow?”

  “Get up early and start for the river. As I said, I think the GKA is aware of our presence. So we better get some sleep.” Mason got up and turned off the light so it was dark, except for the glow from the electric heater. “I’ll take the first watch. You sleep.”

  He crossed the room and settled on the bunk, but he was propped up, not lying down and she could see the reflection of a pistol on the table next to him.

  “Sounds good.” She curled up on the bunk and pulled the blanket around her tighter, but no matter how she tried, she couldn’t get warm. Her teeth were chattering and she curled up into ball.

  “May?”

  “Yes?” she answered through chattering teeth.

  “You’re freezing still.”

  “I know,” she said.

  Mason got up and before she knew what was happening he was pushing their bunks together. She sat up.

  “What’re you doing?”

  “First rule of basic wilderness survival: use body heat to keep warm.” She could hear the tension in his voice. “I’ll keep my hands away from you.”

  “Why?” she asked confused.

  Mason climbed into the middle of the bunks and then lifted her blanket to spoon her. “I don’t want to burn you and…they…”

  She knew what he was going to say. When he became aroused or angered, basically when he felt any kind of strong emotion, the telekinetic power that this Lexie woman had shared with him caused him to set things on fire.

  “You don’t want to burn me?” she said. His body was hot against her back and she stopped shivering from the cold.

  “I saw the burns on Bryant and I knew how Lexie was tormented by the pain she’d inflicted on him. I can’t do that to you. To any woman.”

  She could feel his cock hard against her bottom. It made her wet with need, and her thoughts drifted back to when he took her in his arms and made love to her. It had been so long since she’d been with him. He’d been her last and, even though she knew she shouldn’t, she wanted him.

  When she glanced over her shoulder, she could see that Mason was holding his arms straight above his head. His hands were burning, but not with angry flames. Instead, they moved like the Aurora Borealis and the fire that licked his skin was blue and green.

  It was mesmerizing.

  “Lexie only gave you part of her powers though. She still has telekinetic abilities, yes?”

  “Yes,” he whispered. Even in the dark, she could see his arms quivering.

  “You can’t hold your arms over your head all night.”

  “Can’t I?” he teased.

  When May turned around, the blanket slipped off her shoulders and she could hear Mason suck in a breath. The glow of his hands illuminated them.

  “May, what’re you doing?”

  “Testing a theory.” She reached toward his hand.

  “No, May. Don’t!”

  “You can’t stop me, because if you do, you’ll prove my theory.” And she reached up and touched his hand, lacing her fingers in his. Although it was warm and sent a sizzle of something like electricity over her skin, it was pleasurable and she wasn’t in pain.

  Mason watched in fascinating as she touched him, touched the flames.

  “May?”

  “You’re not burning me,” she whispered, and then she straddled him.

  “I’m not,” Mason said in awe. “Why?”

  “I’m shielding it, or maybe it’s because I have extrasensory powers too. Who cares. I just want you again, Mason. I’ve missed you.” She leaned forward and kissed him, her tongue entwining with his. His hands slid down her back, cupping her ass.

  She knew that he wanted her too.

  “May,” he murmured against her ear. “I want you so bad, but I don’t want to hurt you again.”

  “You won’t. I want you, Mason. Let’s just have tonight.”

  She didn’t say anything else, just reached between them and wrapped her hand around his hard cock.

  He cursed under his breath. “When you touch me like that I can’t think.”

  “Then don’t.” She guided his cock up inside her. It filled her completely and made her gasp and shudder as pleasure coursed through her veins.

  “Fuck,” he moaned.

  She smiled as she rocked back and forth, riding him. His hands were hot on her body, but the flames that licked her skin just aroused her more. They didn’t burn her.

  It had been far too long. Mason had been her first and her last. He was all she ever knew and all she ever wanted. She’d missed him.

  His hand slipped between her legs and he rubbed her clit. Heady pleasure coursed through her veins, like fire.

  “I want you to come, May,” he panted. “Come for me.”

  May quickened her pace, matching Mason’s. His strokes were urgent and full of need. As if he’d been longing for her all these years too.

  “I have,” he whispered in her mind.

  Mason’s hands gripped her hips, controlling her movements, and she cried out as she came around him. It wasn’t long after that Mason followed her. He slipped out of her and she moved off him, curling up beside him. Her head was on his chest and she was listening to his heartbeat.

  Mason covered them with the blankets.

  “Sleep,” he whispered gently, before kissing the top of her head. “You’re safe.”

  “I know,” she murmured. She closed her eyes and just listened to the familiar sound of his heart. And for the first time in years she fell into a deep, dreamless and welcome sleep.

  Chapter Five

  May got him up at the crack of dawn. His body was sore and tired, but he hadn’t slept so well in a long time. And he wished that they could stay a bit longer, that he could spend all day in bed making up to May for their years apart, but they had to get out of here and head to Gillam and then the river.

  They packed up what they could in rucksacks. May holstered her pistol and Mason picked up his rifle. Even if bears didn’t bother May, they bothered him.

  After they made sure the way was clear they slipped away from the bunkhouse and made their way through the forest, down a hidden trail.

  Thirty minutes into their hike they heard the sounds of a plane landing at the old mine and a cold sense of dread ran down his spine.

  Parker.

  May stopped for a moment.

  “We better keep going,” she said. “Don’t turn back. They won’t be able to find us. The bush is thick. Trust me, when we brought Nash this way they couldn’t find this trail.”

  Mason nodded. “I’m worried if Parker is tapping into my mind and projecting that he’ll find us.”

  “I have us covered. Part of my telepathy is, I’m pretty good at shielding. How do you think I was able to touch you last night.” She grinned at him and his blood heated as he remembered what had happened the previous night.

  He’d been terrified and powerless when she straddled him. The moment her legs came across him and he felt her against him, he wanted to grab her by the hips and take her, but he didn’t want to hurt her.

  Then she touched him and the flames didn’t hurt her.


  And she wanted him again.

  He was thankful for her shielding then.

  There was an explosion and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He turned around and could see a pillar of smoke rising above the trees.

  “Shit,” May said. “There goes the plane and the mine. Sorry.”

  “I figured that would happen.”

  “Let’s pick up the pace. They’ll have to take off and land in Gillam, but we’re almost to town.”

  “And your boat isn’t far?”

  “Nope, not far.”

  They marched through the bush and came out of it just on the edge of town. There was a beat up old truck parked in a small lot near where the trail was.

  “This is my truck,” she said.

  “I thought we were taking a boat?” Mason asked as they put their stuff in the back.

  May hopped in. “We are, but we have to drive down along the river past the dam. That’s where my boat is.”

  Mason climbed in the passenger side and May turned the ignition.

  They headed straight for the grocery store and grabbed what they needed for supplies. They didn’t take much from the bunk house, because there wasn’t much to take. Mason then went to the nearby sporting goods store and got some shells and some other things he thought would come in handy for their wilderness trek.

  After he finished at the sporting goods store, he pulled out his phone and sent a status message to Mike to let him know where he was and who he was with. He knew that May didn’t trust the Phoenix Agency, but if it came down to a fight, Mason needed the backup of the Phoenix Agency to help him.

  Then, maybe, not only could he save Nash, he could save Parker too.

  They were out of town within the hour and headed down the only road out of Gillam, which eventually turned into a twisting and turning gravel road that followed the Nelson River. They crossed over a hydroelectric dam and May turned down a small, bumpy track through the bush that wound its way down to the water.

  They unloaded her truck and she covered it with a tarp. Another short hike through the bush and they came across her boat. It was a small jet boat that had covered sides.