Staci peeked out, suddenly smiling. “I knew you, Ingrid and Gene were planning something.”
“We’re in the beginning stages. We’ll talk more tomorrow. I’m sure I don’t need to mention that our lives depend on every one of us keeping quiet about whatever is discussed.” They nodded. Mack reached out for Staci’s hand in apology. She accepted it with a gentle squeeze. “I'll figure something out. She won’t be hurt.”
The troupe was unusually quiet as they headed out the stage door to climb into the luxury shuttle. Alan had made certain that no fans were lined up for autographs tonight, especially since with tomorrow night’s party looming ahead, none of the actors would be their usual personable selves during the encounters.
Mack stayed in the doorway of Ingrid’s dressing room as Gene helped her pack her things, her face a blank mask, her color pale. With anyone else, he should have been surprised that she’d stood up ton the monster the way she had, except this was Ingrid—his Ingrid—her bravery and spirit an inspiration, but also a stab in the heart. When he looked into her eyes, he felt ashamed, ashamed to have allowed The Director to hurt his troupe in this insidious manner. He should have done something, anything, and yet his logical side insisted there was nothing he could have done for any of them.
He’d stay with her tonight, make sure she ate and slept. Tomorrow he’d do everything in his power to change his appointment with the Fae Council. If anyone was going to be beaten by Joseph Herron, it was going to be him, not Ingrid.
In the shuttle, she continued to stare out the window, not speaking. The tight control she held over her emotions worried him.
“Ingrid.” Mack hoped she’d respond.
“I’m fine.”
“You need to vent. Let some of that anger out. That’s the only way you’ll sleep. I’ll let you hit me.” He was hoping a little humor might help.
“I’m with Gene tonight.” Of course, he’d forgotten. “I’m going to bring him over. Loop him.”
“What?”
“Without sex. I’m committed to you, cave man. But we need him, especially after tonight. He’s a master strategist.”
“I know he’s clever, but…”
“I’ve seen his mind, watched him hack into secure sites, disrupt The Director’s plans. Think of what he’ll be able to do with the added power.”
“And what about me?”
“You’ll do what you can to make sure I don’t end up in the hospital tomorrow.”
“I will. I swear it.”
Back at the house, Mack took Gene aside. “Try to get her to talk about what happened or at least cry about it. Make sure she eats. I’ll send Alan up with sandwiches and a soda.” He raked a hand through his hair, pacing back and forth. He felt so helpless, so conflicted about her spending the night with Gene. She’d just blown away an audience full of wolves with a performance that must have almost drained her dry. Then to top it off, she’d had to deal with the cruelty of The Director. He should be the one comforting her, not Gene.
“Are you sure? I mean you should be with her…”
"I'm working tonight, calling in some favors to ensure her safety tomorrow. You both need to reboot anyway. I’ll make sure she's safe from the alpha."
How did he manage to sound so calm when his insides were in a twisted heap?
Gene tried again. “I think it would be better—”
“She needs you tonight, you're her partner." Gene started to say something, but Mack interrupted. "Please, take care of her for me. I trust you with her. I love her." They stared at each other for a few intense moments, coming to an understanding. Gene turned, walking up the stairs with slumping shoulders and a heavy step.
Mack hoped they could help each other. After speaking to Alan about the food order, he walked home, puzzling over the fucking mess and what they could possibly do to keep Ingrid safe. To keep them all safe.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Alan left Ingrid’s room after delivering the sandwiches and a few words of support.
Ingrid was curled up on a cushioned window seat, staring out into the night, the sky dark with clouds except for one lone streak of moonlight casting a pale sheen across the wildflowers and roses beneath her window. Gene sat in the window seat on the right, looking exhausted and worried. He hadn’t spoken for several minutes, probably not sure of what to say, and she appreciated his silence.
After another minute or two he asked, “Are you hungry? We should eat something.”
“I won’t be able to keep it down.” Gene nodded, accepting her decision. Mack would have argued. "You don't have to stay, I mean, after we reboot. I’m capable of taking care of myself.”
"I want to be here. Should I run you a bath?”
She grunted in frustration, drawing his confused gaze. “Aren’t you angry? Tonight it was me, but the next time it could be you he’s ordering to fuck someone.”
He rubbed his face with both hands, fisting them in his lap. “I’ve survived those experiences in the past. I will again, if necessary.”
“So you’ll go along with what he wants like some performing robot?”
“Do you think if I had any choice in the matter I’d agree to be gang raped or whipped or humiliated?” Now he was angry too, and it wasn’t only with The Director.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m pissed off and frustrated and scared and tired and a million other things.
He sighed. “I’ve been working on a few ideas, setting things up in case we do have a chance to cut and run, but right now, I’m exhausted. Way too tired to argue, especially with someone I don’t want to argue with. We need to eat and sleep. Sleep would be wonderful.” He unfolded his long body, stretching his arms over his head, then crossing an arm in front of his body and pulling at the elbow to loosen his shoulder. He repeated the motion with the other arm. “I feel like I’ve been run over by a delivery shuttle.”
Ingrid rose quickly, scowling. “I won’t be able to sleep a wink. I need…I need to hit something.” Gene held up his hands to ward off any ideas she might have about using him as a punching bag. Narrowing her eyes, she surveyed the very girly room for some kind of weapon, but decorative pillows wouldn’t cut it. “What I’d really like is to rip the fucking Director’s head off his neck and shove it up his ass.”
“I could get on board with that.” Gene was already at the desk, sprawling in a chair, taking a big bite from one of the sandwiches Alan had left.
Fury simmered in her gut as she snatched a hardcover book off the desk and threw it toward the empty fireplace. Unfortunately, her throw went wide and the book hit a ceramic-based lamp, shattering it loudly, scattering sharp pieces across the floor. Instead of running over to clean up the mess, she reached for another book.
Gene jumped up, pulling Ingrid into his arms to keep her from destroying anything else. She started to squirm, pushing at his chest to get away. “Let go, Gene.”
"Shhh. I'm here for you, darlin'."
His sweet words should have been comforting, but she didn’t want to hear it. Pity over what she had to face the next night was useless. She struggled harder, forcing him to hold on even more tightly. Furious, Ingrid dug her nails into his bare arms. He winced as the blood welled, releasing her with anger flashing in his eyes.
Her rage was out of control now. Without taking a moment to think things through, she slapped him hard in the face. Before she could bring her hand back for another whack, Gene grabbed her wrist, his grip hard enough to bruise. Blocked from using violence, tears welled up, spilling over onto her cheeks. A choked sob followed, her rage strangling her grief. The same pain and anger flashed in Gene’s eyes, a young male forced to endure his own kind of torture under The Director.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He was bleeding where she’d dug into his arms.
Beyond reason, he stepped forward, sheltering her in his arms without an angry word. He was on his last legs, drained and exhausted, and yet here he was, rubbing her back and showing h
er more compassion than she deserved. Ingrid thought of his last Ingrid and all that they must have shared. “She was a lucky girl, your other Ingrid.”
He sighed, his whole body rising and falling with the sound of his breath. “I was lucky, too.”
He pushed the hair out of her face with both hands. “She took a huge chunk of my heart with her when she left.”
“She’s safe from him, now.”
“I have to believe that or else I’ll go crazy.”
“Maybe we can find her when we get away. I’ll help you.”
He nodded, but didn’t comment on her idea. “You’ll feel better if you eat something.”
They broke apart, both of them heading to the desk to dig into their sandwiches. After a few minutes, she asked, “Are you ready to have your mind blown?”
Gene’s expression turned skeptical. “How much info do I get before I have to make a decision?”
“Very little.”
“Not my style. I’m an information geek.” He went back to his sandwich.
“Okay, here’s a short synopsis. You remember what it was like when we let down our shields and looped our psycore.
“Uh huh.”
“We’re going to do it again, only we’re creating one loop. Your psycore energy will connect to mine in the usual way, only this time there won’t be any fiddling around with our pleasure centers.”
“You’ve taken away the fun part?”
“Just listen, okay?” He nodded, sipping his soda.
“We loop our axis and connect the two loops.”
“Not possible.”
“Mack and I did it.” She tried not to sound smug.
“During sex, right?”
“Um…well, yes.”
“But that’s not what you’re offering.”
“No. I…I can’t. Mack and I—”
“I get it. But why do you think it’ll work without physical intimacy?”
This was the tricky part to explain. “Mack told me that techs reboot by going directly to the source. I’m pretty sure that’s what happened with Mack and me. I sensed another presence.”
”You took energy from the source during sex? And lived to tell the tale?”
“Obviously.”
“We’re not trained to handle that energy. You’re going to kill us both.”
“The Director’s going to kill us in front of millions of viewers.” She started to pace. “Imagine the sponsors he could get, the ticket prices he could charge. Executing the top theta troupe in the US will make him billions of credits, and at the same time he’ll be getting rid of a thorn in his side, showing the world what a total badass he is.”
“You know he wasn’t thinking about killing us before you showed up,” Gene smiled ruefully.
The truth was hard to hear. “And you’d all be going on for the rest of your lovely lives as slaves of a sadist.”
“What does Mack think about you tapping into the source to reboot us tonight?”
“He doesn’t know. He doesn’t even know for sure I did it when we made love.”
“Not a great way to start a relationship, sugar. He’d tell you it was too dangerous.”
“Probably.” Gene grunted at Ingrid, scowling at her response. “Okay, yes. He would’ve handcuffed me to the bed.”
That brought a smile. “I’m not saying yes, but tell me, oh reckless one, what are the advantages to rebooting with only the one loop?”
“I told you already. We can talk mind to mind, even from a distance.”
“What, from the next room or something?” He didn’t look enthused.
“Mack’s locked his shields down tight for tonight, but if he was open to me, I could speak to him anywhere in the city.
“What?”
“Well, I’m pretty sure. We tried it from his house to here.”
Three heartbeats later, he responded the way she expected he would. “You’re shitting me.”
“It’s the truth.” She couldn’t repress her ear-to-ear grin. “Think of what this skill will do for us during our escape.”
“Anything else I should know?”
“It burns. A lot. I thought I was dying.”
“This keeps getting better.”
“But another advantage is that your senses are boosted.”
“In what way?”
Ingrid closed her eyes. “Diane is arguing with Dave about his snoring.”
“You can’t possibly hear her from here.”
“Dave told her she snores loud enough to shake the foundations of the house.” Gene and Ingrid heard the door slam, then Diane’s voice screaming at Dave that he’d better learn how to be a gentleman if he ever wanted back in her bed.
Gene glared at Ingrid. “You don’t have to look so smug. What if I don’t want to hear what they’re saying? You might’ve convinced me not to try the single loop.”
“Ha. Mr. I-Want-More-Information is going to turn his back on the ability to spy on his enemies from a distance? C’mon.”
“But listening to Diane and Dave all day…” Gene had a pained expression.
“Relax. You can block everything you don’t want to hear.”
He finished his sandwich and wiped his hands on a napkin. “You present a good case, Watson, only you forget one point.”
“Yes, Sherlock?”
“It might not work between actors. Mack and you are opposites in so many ways. Yin-yang. Axis-psycore. You balance each other.”
“I disagree. I use axis and psycore. So do you. Mack uses his psycore every time he reboots himself. We’ve been trained to strengthen one over the other, but that doesn’t mean we don’t use both in combination. With training, we might be able to strengthen our weaker attributes.” He still looked wary. “Gene, we need you to be at our level for this to work. The Hudson River Troupe may not survive for much longer.”
“Are you going to bat your eyes now?” Gene arched an eyebrow.
“If it works.”
“How can I resist the sweet plea of a beautiful woman?” He opened his arms in acceptance.
“You’re going to hate me in a few minutes, but this will give all of us a better chance to survive. Now take off your shirt.”
“If you insist, Miss Ingrid.” He winked, beginning to unbutton his shirt.
Still in her sleeveless summer dress, Ingrid crawled into bed. Gene joined her a minute later. “So far I give this new experiment five stars,” he teased.
“Hold on to your hat, cowboy.”
He was nibbling on her shoulder. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Gene.” She pushed on his chest.
“Okay, okay. I’ll behave, although you’re taking away my fun.”
She covered his hand with hers, twisting so they were spooning, her back to his front, his hand held against her belly. “I’m hoping a little skin to skin will center us. Hold me tight. I’m lowering my shields. You do the same.”
Done.”
“Connect your axis to your psycore.”
“Done.” He was panting a little now.
She squeezed his hand. “When I say go, push your psycore toward me. I’ll send axis to you at the same time. We’ve already created the pathways, so it might not be quite as intense as it was with Mack and me. Ready?”
“Ready.”
“Go.”
“Oh, god.” Gene ground his hips against her body as she pushed their combined energy into a continuous loop, elegant and earth shattering at the same time. As she’d imagined, the pain was not as acute as it had been the first time, but Gene was clutching her shoulder, breathing hard. She twisted and faced him, hoping her gaze would help to ground him.
He seemed to calm slightly, so she reached down, into the earth, into the center of all life and found that familiar presence she’d searched for. A sliver of power was offered, along with a warning, as if the presence knew what she and Gene could handle. She absorbed the magic, sharp and vital, and shared it with Gene.
His eyes widened with the su
rge, shocked by the intensity of the physical changes taking place in his mind and body. When Ingrid felt him arch away, perhaps feeling the same fear that she’d experienced, she dug her nails into his shoulders to force his attention back to ground zero, hissing, "No. Stay with me.” Ingrid sent another wash of magic from the source. “This is like Mack’s calming energy. He may not even realize he gets it from there.”
Gene had relaxed beneath her hands. “What is it?”
“The source. It’s benevolent.”
"Un - fuckin'- real."
"Almost there," she sent back, hoping the dramatic change would give him the strength to keep going. Ingrid watched his face as the reboot took hold, actually seeing the moment his eyes changed color, turning the same iridescent blues and greens as hers. Breathing hard and shallow, their bodies slick with perspiration, she inhaled a lungful of his citrusy scent, comforted by his closeness and the quick pounding of his heart.
Gene stared at her with droopy eyes, while Ingrid managed to find the strength to grin, even though he’d come to rest practically on top of her. She shoved him to the side, a soft groan his only response, probably a victim of the same killer headache she’d experienced. With a twist of her body, Ingrid opened the drawer in the bedside table, extracting an extra pair of sunglasses, holding them ready for when he opened his eyes fully.
“Tell me how you feel. In your head. Just think it. And don't open your eyes or get up yet, because you'll barf.”
Gene scrunched up his forehead, obviously in pain, but kept his eyes closed. “Ow. Ow. Fucking, Ow. Dr. Frankenstein, you owe me an aspirin.”
“I already promised you dinner and drinks. And don't forget, I gave you phenomenal cosmic powers, so stop complaining.”
“Oh, I'm not complaining. I’m in the arms of a beautiful woman who rebooted me into the next century.” He grinned between deep breaths as he tried to get his body back to its normal rhythms.
Ingrid kissed his cheek. “All I wanted to do was break stuff or beat you up. You got me thinking about rebooting with the source.”
Playing with Passion Theta Series Book 1 Page 21
