Twice as Hot (Tales of an Extraordinary Girl #2)(19)
Author: Gena Showalter

That was true. When I first acquired my powers, Pretty Boy had used my family to try and force me to work for him. Cody had been sent in as protection. But now that PB was dead and my dad in an undisclosed location, no longer in need of round-the-clock security, Cody had come back to PSI.

Thinking of those dark days had me wondering if Pretty Boy had done something similar to Memory Man, held his family over his head like the sword of Damocles. And if Desert Gall had done – or would do – the same in PB’s place. Could that be the reason M-Squared had taken Rome’s memories of me?

At her behest, to save someone he loved? Had she just wanted to torture me?

Maybe. But Cody had said M-Squared hadn’t done what PB or DG had wanted most of the time, which was why they’d kept him locked up for so long. So why would he suddenly start obeying them?

More than that, I doubted DG knew about me. We’d never encountered each other, and I was new to this game. Unless she’d somehow heard that I was working her case.

God, this was confusing. I didn’t know what to believe. And really, when had I become such a text-happy teenybopper? With all these acronyms, I was going to need that Who’s Who reference guide Sherridan had mentioned.

"Are you listening to me?" Sherridan asked. "Cody was romancing silver foxes, Belle. Silver foxes. That clearly shows that as long as a woman is breathing, he’s interested. So when I saw him checking me out in John’s office, well…I decided to push him away before anything could get started. I know I date a lot of men, but I’m looking for Mr. Right. He is not that person." Maybe I hadn’t needed to warn Cody away, after all. I’d never seen Sherridan so strong; she could have sent him away on her own, no problem. And had. Still. I was grateful Cody was on his way out of town and her newfound strength wouldn’t be tested daily. "I’m proud of you." She beamed over at me, curls bouncing. "Thanks."

"And hey. Life’s gonna be nothing but roses for you. Lexis – "

"Bitch," Sherridan said at the same time as Tanner scowled.

"Yes, well, that bitch said you’re going to get your greatest desire soon." Sherridan’s eyes widened slowly, her mouth falling open in sync. Strangest expression change I’d ever seen. "She’s never wrong about these things."

"I know," I grumbled. "And I hate that that man-stealing tramp knows your greatest desire but I don’t." She didn’t take the hint. She placed her hands over her heart and twirled. "It’s going to happen for me.

It’s really going to happen."

"What is?" I asked outright. So much for subtlety.

Sherridan stopped and grinned over at me. "I’m going to develop a superpower!"

Chapter Six

Sherridan’s words haunted meall night. She knew how careful I had to be not to fry the entire world.

She knew my name was at the top of many agency hit lists. She knew I had to undergo twice-weekly – sometimes daily – mandatory blood tests. She knew there was nothing I could do about any of it unless I abandoned everyone I loved, ran off and spent the rest of my life in hiding.

Having powers was more a burden than a blessing. Why would she want that for herself? And how could I stop it from happening?

Simple fact was, I couldn’t. Never wrong, bitchy Lexis had assured us Sherridan would acquire them and I’d never been able to stop Lexis’s visions from coming true before. If I tried this time, I might destroy Sherridan’s newfound sense of happiness and thereby her strength, dash her "greatest desire" and ruin our friendship forever.

What a freaking mess.

WasLexis right this time, though? Maybe her future-seeing ability was on the fritz. I mean, I still couldn’t picture another man winning my heart. Or me marrying said man.

Those thoughts led to the flowers. Did the sender truly admire me or was it some kind of joke? Maybe even a Trojan horse. Like maybe there was a camera in the vase, so the bad guys would know when to attack.

See! This was what being a superhero did to a person. Made them question everything. Even flowers.

And Sherridan wanted that?

Muttering under my breath, I stumbled into the kitchen, grabbed the vase, stumbled outside and chucked it, flowers and all, into the garbage. I went back to bed but once again, my mind was too active to allow me to sleep.

Finally sunlight pushed its way into my room. I lumbered from the cocoon of covers, showered and dressed in Rome’s second-favorite outfit of mine: a pair of stone-washed jeans and an emerald-green cotton shirt that buttoned all the way to the hem. He liked to undo the buttons, one at a time. Sometimes at different times throughout the day, as though it was a prolonged peep show.

I couldn’t wear his number-one favorite: skin and a smile. Not to work, at least. So I made do with second string. I only hoped he’d appreciate it.

Once I was dressed, I anchored my hair into a ponytail and went in search of Tanner and Sherridan.

Before I found them, my cell phone rang and I rushed back into my room to swipe it off the dresser, where I’d thrown it last night. Hoping…

"Hello," I said, huffing for oxygen.

"Belle Jamison, please," a pleasant feminine voice said.

My heart sank. "This is she. Her. Me." I could never remember what was correct. "I’m Belle."

"Oh, good. I’m Martha Hobbs from Let’s Get Together and I’m calling about your upcoming wedding.

We’ve got you scheduled to come in today at noon to look over our invitation selection, and I just wanted to confirm with you."

I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples with my free hand. "I’m sorry. I forgot, and something’s come up."

"All right. Twenty-four hours’ notice would have been appreciated, but we can work with this." Professional that she obviously was, there was only the slightest hint of irritation in her voice. "Would you like to reschedule?"

I wish. "I’ll have to call you back. I really am sorry. My fiance, he’s – well, things are up in the air right now."

"Oh. I’m sorry. I do understand." And she did, it seemed. Her tone had gentled. "I hope you’ll call us if things…work out."

"Sure. Yes." I gulped, hung up, threw the cell on my bed and jumped back into my search for my friends before I burst into tears. This was the first time I’d voiced out loud that the wedding might not happen, and well, it hurt. Like that damn knife was back in my chest, twisting.

I found Tanner in the living room, lounging on the couch. There was no sign of Sherridan. Most likely, she still lazed in bed, avoiding me. She knew I wanted to talk to her about the power thing. Last night I’d tried to find out what kind of ability she wanted, what she thought she’d gain from it and if she was willing to be chased by bad guys for the rest of her life, but she’d made her announcement and then popped open a celebratory bottle of champagne. Only, she had the bottle pressed to her mouth before Tanner could grab a glass. Always a quick and easy drunk, she’d been a goner five minutes later, none of my questions answered.