Twice as Hot (Tales of an Extraordinary Girl #2)(33)
Author: Gena Showalter

Uh, not just no but hell, no. "I’m afraid not." I shook my head to emphasize my refusal. "Sometimes I can’t stop it once it starts."

"Then you’re a danger and need to be neutralized."

For a moment, her comment returned me to the good old days. Rome might have been trying to kill me back then, but at least he’d known exactly who I was. "Same could be said of you."

"Yes, and that’s why I’m tied down."

I sighed. For her to trust me, I had to be willing to trust her. So I said, "Would you feel better if I told you pollutants are my downfall? I can’t work my magic around them. I become too weak." OASS

already knew my weakness, so I wasn’t revealing so much John would have an aneurysm.

Her eyes locked on me and for a moment I thought I’d reached her. Then she shrugged. "Nope, I wouldn’t feel better. You could be lying about that, too."

"True. You don’t know us. But think about what we’re asking from you, what we’re not. How we’re treating you, how we’re not." Tanner and I hadn’t hurt her in any way. We hadn’t degraded her, or demanded world-crumbling secrets.

There was a long pause. Then, "So what happened to you? After you drank the formula?" There was a twinge in her voice, as if she were finally softening.

"Well, I got sick. So sick I almost died. And for several weeks, my new powers were unstable. More unstable than they are now. Remember the freak ice that covered several buildings?"

"When?"

"About a month ago." Or was it two months ago? I really was bad with time.

"I was in those cells your agents ‘rescued’ me from, so no." Poor thing. "Well, that was me." I gave her a moment to digest that. "So what about you? Were you born with your ability or was it thrust upon you?"

She shifted in the chair again, grimaced when the cuffs pushed into her bones, and glanced between me and Tanner. Little angel couldn’t get comfortable. "The information isn’t going to do you any good."

"Tell us anyway. We’re curious about you."

"Why?"

Still so distrustful. Had the situation been reversed, I wasn’t sure I would have believed anything my captors said, either. She was alone, vulnerable, helpless, her wits her only weapon. "Because I see a lot of myself in you."

Elaine snorted. "You look like a hooker and I look like a nun. I doubt we’re similar." Sherridan and her damn outfit choice! "I didn’t mean in appearance, smart-ass." Tanner laughed. "Well, I can see the similarities now."

I punched him in the shoulder. "Funny."

Elaine watched the byplay with something akin to longing. "Just forget it," she said. "None of it matters, anyway. You can’t help me, and I can’t help you."

"Give us a chance," Tanner said, expression growing serious.

"Look," I added. "We’re all you’ve got right now. We know that. And you know we need to pick your brain. So what will it take to get some answers? You want a lobster dinner brought to your cell? Done.

You want an iPod? Done. Anything you want is yours. Except freedom."

"What about a pony?" she asked sarcastically, but the pessimism didn’t quite reach her eyes, and she was having trouble controlling her breathing.

"If you’re willing to clean up after it, why not?"

She licked her lips, and then words were suddenly tumbling from them without pause. "I want a meat loaf. With mashed potatoes and gravy. White. Homemade rolls and dressing. And broccoli and rice casserole. Do you know what that is? I also want a chocolate cake. Do not scrimp on the icing. And I do want that iPod. I’ll make you a playlist."

She paused to inhale and Tanner whipped out a tiny notebook from his back pocket to write everything down.

"We’ll get it to you as fast as we can," I said. If John complained – or flat-out refused – to meet these demands, I’d see to them myself. Again with Rome’s credit card. He owed us all. "That it?" There was another round of silence before her shoulders slumped. "You asked how I came to be in that warehouse. Well, a bastard named Gordon Jones read a newspaper article about a mother and father who weakened every time they held their little girl. Parents who were looking to give said girl up for adoption because they couldn’t deal with her." Her chin rose defiantly, probably in an attempt to hide its trembling. "He bought me from them, experimented on me, and suddenly I didn’t just weaken people, I killed them. Gordon used me to keep his agents in line. ‘Refuse me, and watch Draino work her way through your family,’ that kind of thing."

"Truth," Tanner whispered, and the single word possessed an edge of…fury? Affront?

My hand fluttered over my heart. "I’m so sorry, Elaine. Truly sorry." Gordon Jones. Father to Vincent Jones, no doubt.

Surprise filled those beautiful brown eyes. But that surprise soon morphed into anger. "Yeah, I’m sure you’re real sorry. Here I am, another agent to recruit, huh? Another subject for your agency to experiment on. Maybe you’ll even control me the way he did, huh? Promise to fix me if I just do one more thing for you."

"I don’t want to recruit you," I said, "and I sure as hell don’t want to experiment on you. And I know beyond any doubt that I’ll never be able to fix you."

Outside the room, someone rapped on the window.

All three of us turned, but we couldn’t see who it was. Probably John, issuing a warning, I thought. With him, it was always business first, the people that business affected second. I flipped him off and turned back to Elaine.

"Like I was saying, I don’t want to recruit you," I assured her. "Other people might, but I don’t. If you don’t want to be an agent, no one should force you to be one." Once again surprise lit her eyes, turning the dark brown to a bright amber.

"Look," Tanner said. "You deserve to be free. No one can deny that." Another knock.

"Stop that," I shouted. "We’re not going to lie to her or tell her only what you want us to. You left me in charge of interviews, so I’m doing this my way."

Bang, bang, bang.

Well, this was getting us nowhere. "Since you’re here, uncuff her," I called without looking back at the window. "I want her to finish the interview unfettered."

Now her mouth fell open.

"Do it!" I shouted. "Or I’ll walk out of here and – "

"Me, too," Tanner interjected.

"And we can guarantee she won’t talk to anyone else. Right?"

"R-right," she said, clearly confused. Most likely, no one had ever trusted her not to use her superior abilities and attack. Because all it would take was a single brush of her hand to send us to our knees.