Twice as Hot (Tales of an Extraordinary Girl #2)(34)
Author: Gena Showalter

Finally, the door swung open. I expected John’s short, stocky legs to stomp inside. Expected John’s dark eyes to bore into me. Instead, it was Rome. He strode to Elaine, bent down and carefully unlatched the metal bands. They fell to the floor with a clank.

She drew her arms into her lap and rubbed at her wrists.

Rome straightened, looked me up and down and said, "That is not appropriate," in a tight voice.

Whether he meant freeing Elaine or my outrageous clothes, I didn’t know.

"If you hurt them," he told Elaine, "I will personally kill you." He left then, slamming the door shut behind him – but his gaze remained on me until the last possible second. I could only stare at the door in wonder.

He’d been watching me…protecting me? My heart began an erratic drum in my chest. Or was this part of his monitoring duties? My heart now slowed.

"Your boyfriend?" Elaine asked. No longer was there even a hint of disdain or unhappiness. Perhaps I’d finally earned her trust.

"No," I said for Rome’s benefit. Let him take that as he would: that I no longer wanted him, that we were over forever, or that we were over right now but there was hope for the future. Whatever. Right now, it didn’t matter. It couldn’t. But later…"Maybe once." Tanner patted my shoulder, forcing my attention from the door, from Rome. "How long had you been locked in this last prison?" he asked Elaine.

Once more, her gaze dropped to her feet, and she shrugged. "I realize you’re being nice to get the information you want, but I don’t like it. We already came to terms. So you can stop the act. Okay? All right?" She didn’t give us time to reply. "I was in that particular prison for a few months."

"Months!" Tanner shouted, clearly outraged on her behalf. "That’s barbaric. And just so you know, we aren’t just being nice to get what we want. Time will prove that." She gave another of those falsely negligent shrugs, though there was a spark of hope in her eyes. "I’d started resisting Vincent’s commands – he’s the guy who took over after his dad died. I knew he would never help me, so I even tried to escape. Again. He’d warned me what would happen." I eased into the chair across from her. "You were incarcerated with a man named Tobin McAldrin. Do you know who I’m talking about?"

"Yes," she said with a nod. "The meathead."

That was the guy. "He told me he had a friend, someone who wanted to talk with me."

"That would be Candace Bright."

Tanner wrote the name in his notebook. If Elaine was telling the truth – and I thought that she was, since Tanner hadn’t called her a liar – we now had a lead. I wanted to grin.

"Tell me about her," I said.

"She’s pretty, a redhead, but the color isn’t natural. It’s just too red. She brought us food and water, made sure our cages were cleaned. For the most part, she wasn’t bad, as far as jailers go. I don’t know a lot about her, just her name really. And I only know that because she used to work for Vincent."

"Maybe she worked for him because her family was being threatened, too," Tanner speculated.

Elaine shook her head. "I doubt that. She talked about Desert Gall like the woman was God. And trust me, that kind of affection has nothing to do with force. Anyway, Tobin, a.k.a. Brick, and a prisoner called Memory Man were her favorites and the only ones she spoke to. Me, she stayed away from. I think she was afraid of me."

Memory Man. Or M-Squared. This was the first time one of our interviewees had brought him up.

Now, he was verified. Rather than excitement, I experienced a wave of anger. Enough to cause little tendrils of steam to waft from my nostrils. He had been one of Desert Gal’s favorites? Did that mean he had willingly aided her and hadn’t been forced as we’d begun to think? Oops. There went more steam.

It would probably be best for everyone to keep him out of the conversation for now.

"Where did Vincent – who we not-so-affectionately call ‘Pretty Boy,’ by the way – keep you?" Tanner asked. "Before the escape attempt? And did you do any jobs with Ms. Bright? Can you tell us her fighting style?"

If Elaine was fazed by the barrage of questions, she didn’t show it. "He has – had – a house in every corner of the world, it seemed. He moved me around a lot. I didn’t even know I was in Georgia until I arrived at PSI. But no, I didn’t work directly with Candace."

"What about Desert Gal? Have you ever met her?" I asked.

"No. Sorry. My social life as an OASS agent was…limited."

Limited. Sadly, the description was probably generous. I felt so bad for this girl, wanted to take her under my wing, protect her. Maybe she and Tanner could – no, I thought sadly. They couldn’t. One touch of her skin, and she’d kill the boy. That, I couldn’t allow.

I couldn’t even give her a hug unless we both wore full-body condoms.

"Tell us about the jobs he had you work." Tanner plopped into the chair next to mine.

"I was his killer, just as I was his father’s." Shame dripped from her. Shame and regret and horror. "It was easy for me. Quick. No one ever suspected, never realized they’d welcomed death, until it was too late. All I had to do was walk past them, brush my hand against theirs. And I know what you’re thinking.

I should have touched Vincent and killed him. I would have loved to do that, but he made sure he was never in striking distance."

My chest constricted, and I wondered again if that’s what had happened with M-Squared. Which caused me to soften. Again. Pretty Boy had issued commands from a remote location, so there had never been anything M-Squared could do to stop the man. Except, he’d been Desert Gal’s favorite. Why would he have been her favorite if he hadn’t helped her? Oops again. There was more steam.

Apparently, I was a yo-yo when it came to that man.

"Who did he want you to kill?"

"People who disagreed with his business practices, PSI employees who wouldn’t join him, no matter the incentive. Innocents who had something he wanted."

And that had clearly torn her up inside. Even after everything she’d already endured. Okay. I didn’t care if she could drain me. I didn’t care if one touch of her skin could destroy me. I stood to shaky legs and strode forward, closing the distance between us. There was another rap on the window, but I didn’t slow. I knelt in front of her and placed my palms on her gloved arms. There was no buzz of sensation, no zap of my strength.

She stiffened.

That didn’t deter me, either. This lonely girl had not known the kindness or love of even a single parent, as I had. Hers had sold her, as if she were a car or a boat. They hadn’t contacted her afterward, I’m sure. Hadn’t visited her on her birthdays or called her when she was sick. No one should have to endure such a travesty.