Twice as Hot (Tales of an Extraordinary Girl #2)(13)
Author: Gena Showalter

That’s when I’d punched her.

She might be a powerful psychic, but she’d never been able to predict the things that would happen to her. As I now planned to do with all my enemies, I had used her weaknesses against her and I wasn’t sorry.

"And anyway, why are you here? Why aren’t you interviewing one of the prisoners like you were told?" I already knew the answer. She’d been waiting for me. Or rather, for a chance to pounce on Rome, to see if he’d remembered me.

Sweat dripped from her chest, past her vivid red sports bra and down the planes of her flat belly. "Had no luck with him, I take it?" she asked in that smug tone I so hated.

Bingo. I’d been right. "No thanks to you."

Guilt flashed, quickly gone. "You’re not right for him. It’s time you both realized it."

"Is that so?" Before his last mission, Rome had been teaching me to fight. And fight dirty. Without warning, I kicked out my leg and nailed her in the stomach. Breath whooshed from her mouth as she skidded backward, instinctively hunching over. Other agents were in the room, and I heard them muttering:

"Hundred on Lexis. Girl has skill!"

"Dude, you haven’t seen The Mighty Water Hose in a temper. You’re on."

"Is anyone else as turned-on by this as I am?"

"You don’t want to do this," Lexis repeated, straightening. Even sweaty and winded, she was a beautiful sight. The shiny length of her black hair was pulled back in a ponytail, her green eyes flashed brightly and pink flushed the exotic slope of her cheeks.

"What you’ve done to me, Rome and Tanner is underhanded and wrong, and you know it. Someone needs to punish you, and I happily volunteer."

"I don’t care if it’s wrong. I don’t care if it hurts you. I can’t!" Righteous fervor poured from her, a deluge that only strengthened my anger. "I love him."

I sputtered for a moment, dumbfounded by her logic. "And that makes your behavior okay? If you truly loved him, you would have warned him about the danger he faced. Had the situation been reversed, had I known I would lose him, I still would have warned him to save him. That’s real love. But guess what?

None of that matters. You had your chance with him. You blew it, cut him loose and he moved on. He wants me now."

Her chin lifted, and hell, she’d never appeared more superior. "Wanted you. He wanted you. As of two days ago, he wants me. He wants to be a family for Sunny, the kind of family we were before." I ran my tongue over my teeth, fire inside my mouth, burning, blistering. Surely there was something I could say to make her understand the depths of her betrayal. Surely there was something I could do.

Surely… please . "Once you said you knew he wasn’t the man for you, that he would love another.

What’s changed?"

"Everything," she shouted, tossing up her arms. "The world offered me a second chance and I took it. I won’t make the same mistake twice. He and I can – will – make things work this time." Oh, that burned. In more ways than one. "Let’s forget about Rome for a minute. How could you do this to Tanner? He treated you like a queen. Worshipped you, would have done anything for you." Again guilt curtained her expression, but as before, she quickly masked it. "He’s young, and I’m not the girl for him."

Damn her! "Again, that doesn’t excuse your cruelty. He’s a good guy, and you broke his heart as if he meant nothing to you. As if he was nothing."

"Trust me, he’ll get over it. Sooner than you think, too."

What did that mean? That Tanner was about to meet the love of his life? I’d wondered that very thing a few days ago and had even felt sorry for Lexis. Not an ounce of my pity remained. "Knowing that doesn’t make what you’ve done okay, either. You’re ruining people’s lives."

"No," she insisted. "I’m making things right. Finally."

Clearly, I’d made her understand nothing. I braced my feet apart, my hands at my sides, preparing for the battle soon to come. "Just so you know, Miss Know-It-All, you’re not the girl for Rome, either."

"I will be. Just watch and see."

I swung my arm and, though I’d been aiming for her nose, I nailed her in the cheek again. She gasped, straightened, another trickle of blood joining the first. "That’s for what you’ve done to Rome." My other arm whipped out, connecting with her other cheek. "That’s for Tanner." Now, for me. I clasped both hands together, ready to slam my joined knuckles into her nose.

She sucker punched me in the face before I could move an inch. In fact, her arm flew up so quickly, I had no idea she was moving until my brain slammed into my skull.

Several seconds passed during which I saw nothing but stars. But when I realized what had happened, my anger ratcheted yet another degree, a flame sparking from my eye and catching on my eyelash.

Control. No fire. If I burned her to a crisp, I’d be incarcerated, considered a scrim even though she was the criminal here.

"I warned you," she said. "Rome taught me to play dirty, too." I blew out the flame, though my attention never left her. "That’s all right. I’ve learned a few tricks on my own."

She waved her hand at me. "Bring it."

So I did. Silent as a cat –  my cat – I launched at her. Amid the chorus of male laughter and insincere pleas to stop, we slammed together and tumbled backward. Lexis hit the floor, and my weight smacked into her. Any air she’d managed to suck in previously was expelled in a gust.

While she struggled to breathe, I straddled her, my knees pinning her shoulders. There would be no hair-pulling and scratching in this fight. We’d settle this like men. Superstrong, paranormally-enhanced men, but whatever. With my left fist – oops, a flame – I popped her in the nose. She yelped. With my right – what do you know, another flame – I nailed her in the jaw. Snarling, she wiggled for freedom.

Blood dribbled down her lip and chin, and black soot smudged her too-perfect face.

The laughter faded, the muttered "Stops" becoming real, concerned. No one dared approach us, though, fearing for their lives.

As I reached back to introduce her eye socket to my knuckles, one of her legs worked between us and kicked. Next thing I knew, I was flying backward. I landed on my ass but swiftly jumped up. She was already on her feet. Both of us were panting, glaring.

"What’s the matter? Can’t stand a little competition?" she taunted.

"Can’t win a man without cheating?" My fingers caught fire completely. Several of the men decided to brave our ire and approached. I threw a fireball, causing a wall of flames to form in front of them, keeping them away. While they scrambled for an extinguisher, I said, "You knew this would happen to him, and yet you did nothing. He’s suffering because of you. His life is a mess because of you." She shook her head viciously, as though she could block my words with the back-and-forth flap of her ponytail. "I’m making things right. But you know what? If he really loves you, he’ll pick you this go-round, too." Her legs widened and her hands fisted in a classic ready-for-war pose. The same one I’d adopted twice already. "Now, enough talking. Let’s finish this." Hardly willing to obey her, I held my ground. Smoke billowed toward the ceiling, curling, stretching fingers out to me. I coughed until the sudden tickle in my throat eased. "If you touch him, I’ll forget killing a fellow PSI agent is a no-no." Truth and determination dripped from my every word. "And then, when Rome’s memory returns, he’ll hate you for what you’ve done and ask me to kill you all over again." Her cheeks leached of color, and a tremor worked through her. "Maybe his memory is forever lost.