Twice as Hot (Tales of an Extraordinary Girl #2)(10)
Author: Gena Showalter

"Best seat in the house." Sherridan grinned and plopped herself on Tanner’s lap. "Someone catch me up."

I did, and her expression of sympathy nearly undid me, thereby completely obliterating my claim to John that she calmed me down. Somehow, I maintained a neutral facade, my tears drying. I’ll do whatever it takes to remind Rome of our love. This is just a minor setback.

"Here’s the game plan," John said, taking over. "There are twelve victims of Pretty Boy and Desert Gal’s cruelty currently in lockup. Divide them up, interview them and compare notes. And be careful.

The guy who hurt Rome may not be the only scrim found in those cages. It was wrong of us to assume they were all innocent. No telling who the bastard had in there."

"I’ll interview Rome," I said firmly. He wasn’t in lockup, but he was a victim of cruelty.

"I will interview Rome," Lexis countered, her determination clear.

Uh, what now?

"I will," she repeated. "He’d want me to, I know it."

Oh, no, no, no. Hell, no. She still loved him, the truth was there in her emerald eyes, and she hoped to win him back – which was the real reason she’d dumped Tanner, I realized.

Ho. Ly. Shit.

The truth slammed into me, and I sputtered for air. God, I was stupid. I should have seen this. I wasn’t a psychic, but I damn well should have seen this. All along, she’d known this would happen. Not because she’d dreamed it; she hadn’t. Despite her earlier assertion, she couldn’t see the past. She only saw the future. She’d simply wanted to cover her tracks. She’d known this would happen and she hadn’t warned me. She hadn’t warned Rome. She’d let him walk into that warehouse completely unaware. Just to win him back.

That…that…There wasn’t a name vile enough for what she was. How was that for love?

I opened my mouth to scream at her, maybe shoot a little fire.

"He remembers me," she said, cutting off any tirade I’d planned. Her chin lifted a notch. "He’s more likely to tell me what he knows."

True. And the knowledge destroyed me. Well, more than I already was. "You’re not going near him.

You knew this would happen, you bitch, and you did nothing to stop it."

"No," she said, violently shaking her head. "That’s not true. John, you have to believe me." A muscle ticked below his eye, but he remained silent. He needed both of us, couldn’t afford to anger either of us, so he was taking the coward’s way out.

Not me. To help Lexis understand the depths of my determination to keep her away from Rome, I braced my legs apart and spread my fingers at my sides. Unleashing the hot tongues of my fury just then was not a problem. They swam in my blood and licked down my arms, catching fire at my fingernails.

My eyes narrowed on her, red spots forming. "Just try to keep me away from him and see what happens."

She was shaking a little, but she jumped to her feet in challenge. We faced off.

"Viper," Tanner said. A warning. "You’re edging too close to total meltdown. Not that I mind your target, but still."

Lexis’s expression hardened.

"Calm down, Belle," Cody said. "Please."

The "please" didn’t faze me this time.

"Kick her ass!" Sherridan whooped. "Send her back to hell." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cody focus on my friend, who was looking anywhere but at him.

Why? Whatever was going on in her head, I’d find out later.

I blocked all of them from my mind, focusing on Lexis even though my next words were not for her.

"John. What’s it going to be? I talk to Rome, and everyone walks out of this room alive. Or she does, and everyone says hello to third-degree burns."

"Or," Lexis gritted out, "Belle, who has worked for you for only a few months, goes to lockup, where she belongs for threatening us. I’ve been with you for years. I’ve proved myself and my capabilities over and over again, and I’ve never questioned your leadership. More than that, Rome now responds to me.

Me. "

One more word, and she would be eating fire. I wasn’t even going to try to control myself. Even now, steam curled from my mouth, wafting toward the ceiling.

There was a long, protracted silence. Heavy, tension-filled. Lexis and I never turned away from each other, not even to face John. Our gazes were linked by invisible chains. We were panting. Ready to leap at each other.

"Belle," John said with resolve, "you’re up. I’m putting you in charge. Of the case, of our new prisoners.

Maybe your lack of objectivity will actually help. I’ve never seen you so determined. Just don’t let me down."

Maybe he wasn’t a coward, after all.

Lexis gasped.

"I won’t," I said, and now it was my turn to be smug. "You have my word."

"Good. But for the record, you need to go in there, forget this love nonsense and be professional. Do your job. Be the agent I know you’re capable of being."

Forget this love "nonsense"? I knew John was married because Cody had once made a reference to his wife, but wow. The poor woman, to be saddled with a husband who eschewed love.

"But if you fail," John added, "I’m sending Lexis in and placing her in charge. That means she’ll be your boss."

"Not gonna happen," I said with a confidence I didn’t feel. Still. There was a chance I’d say something to strike a memory match in Rome’s brain, and he would tell Lexis to go f**k herself.

I left the room smiling.

Rome was prowling the length of the small interrogation room when I stepped inside. Immediately I smelled the earthy fragrance that always emanated from him. Immediately I reacted, my legs trembling, my blood heating.

Part of me expected him to stride to me and mesh his lips against mine, his tongue plundering deep, his hands all over me. That’s how it would have been if he’d remembered me. But he spotted me, stopped and scowled.

"You," he said, and I could have sworn there was disgust in his voice.

Don’t be hurt, don’t be hurt, don’t you freaking be hurt.He couldn’t help it, I assured myself. As John had said, his memories had most likely been wiped. This in no way meant Lexis’s former prediction that I might not be Rome’s true love was coming to fruition.

Oh, ouch. I hadn’t considered that angle until now.

"Yeah. It’s me." I was surprised at how calm and assured I sounded. Maybe it was because Rome was on his feet, looking healthy and as strong as ever. Big and muscled, tanned and breathtakingly sexy.

The walls were plain gray, and yet, for Rome, they were a complementary backdrop. Even in his anger – what the hell had I done to make him mad? – his black-framed eyes glowed like magical sapphires and promised untold sexual delight. His teeth were sharp and white, ready to sink into me, to nip and nibble.