Twice as Hot (Tales of an Extraordinary Girl #2)(38)
Author: Gena Showalter

"Hello. Do you recall being in the room when you were relaying Cody’s message to us? Bad stuff happens there all the time. Case in point – we’ll be hunting and fighting Desert Gal." Who was most likely the alter ego of Candace Bright. Or vice versa. Did they know about each other? Was Candace Bright like Clark Kent to Desert Gal’s Superman, one persona used to interact with normal people, the other to fight crime? Only Desert Gall didn’t fight crime, she created it. Okay, so maybe that made her more like Jekyll and Hyde. Why had she shown the prisoners her human side, though? So they’d feel less threatened by her? Trust her more? "She’s the prune with teeth, remember?"

"Of course I remember. Do I look like Rome Masters to you? But got it. Check. We’re going to hunt ourselves a prune. Sounds fun."

Well, crap. "Why do you – " I pressed my lips together. Maybe she should go with me, I mused.

Unstable though my powers were, I would be a better guard than anyone else because I loved her and would place her safety above my own. I’d take a bullet for her if necessary. And hopefully, somehow, someway, I could protect her from whatever doom Lexis thought was headed her way in the form of her greatest wish coming true.

I pushed my hair out of my face, surprised to see my hand was shaking. What the hell? "You can come.

I want you to come."

"Oh." Bit by bit, she relaxed. "Well, good. ‘Cause I am."

I tossed my purse on the side table. "I just want you to reconsider the superpowers thing. Okay? I caught myself on fire yesterday." My knees were shaking, too, I realized as I walked forward. I had to stop and lean against the wall to keep myself upright. Something was wrong with me; I was losing energy fast. "We’re going after a woman who can suck the water straight out of our bodies and we have a friend on an IV because he touched a girl I was interrogating. Simply touched her." Hey, wait. Was I having a delayed reaction to Elaine? Was that why I was weakening so quickly? I hadn’t touched her skin, but I had hugged her.

Sherridan stared down at her sandaled feet. "Yeah, but people admire you, look to you for help." Was that what this was about? "Sherridan, people admire you, too. You’re beautiful, successful and highly intelligent. Proof – who helped me get this beautiful home? And in two days, two men have asked me for your number. Cody, of course, and Reese, a very sexy vampire I’ve been meaning to tell you about."

"Who cares about dating when we’re on the verge of a mission?" She kicked at the carpet. "And yeah, I helped you get this house, but I can’t blow-dry your hair from fifty paces." Again with the blow-drying? "You’re wonderful the way you are. In fact, I want to be you. " Her expression hardened, her narrowed gaze lifting. "No, you don’t, you liar. You can’t. You’re special."

"So are you – "

"Rome really liked the suit," she interjected, clearly done with that line of conversation. She tossed her purse on top of mine and collapsed in the recliner. "I think he was imagining peeling it off you." I sighed, unsure of just how to convince her of her fabulousness. "No, he didn’t and no, he wasn’t. I casually mentioned changing into it before heading home, which I didn’t do, I might add, and he couldn’t get away from me fast enough."

She kicked up her legs. "Because he had a hard-on he didn’t want you to see." A girl could hope. We’d left Rome at headquarters, and he hadn’t cared enough to say goodbye.

Hadn’t tried to follow me, protect me. Monitor me. He was probably with Lexis again. Okay, no probably about it. He was. In a few hours, they were meeting us at a private airstrip, and then we were all flying to Colorado, where Big Rocky headquarters was located.

They were probably making arrangements for their daughter. Sweet little Sunny. My chest constricted as her image filled my head. Petite, dark-haired, with the face of a heartbreaker. When I returned, I was going to visit her. Her dad and I may not be getting along, but I loved that little girl.

Hold me, Belly,she was fond of saying, and I would laugh and scoop her up.

She was five years old and as mischievous as the devil. You couldn’t turn your back on her without severe consequences, but she loved as fiercely as her daddy.

"Speaking of hard-ons, I bet Cody’s screwing the brains out of Little Miss Pruneface and that’s why he’s so determined to go undercover," Sherridan said sulkily, pulling me from my thoughts. "Really undercover."

The man was fond of seducing for information. Poor Sherridan. I could tell she was intrigued by and attracted to Cody. I’d known he would hurt her, though. He’d expressed interest in her one day but might have given himself to the enemy the next. Typical.

If he’d really wanted Sherridan, he wouldn’t have cared about my warning to stay away. He would have fought for her. Women deserved to be fought over, after all. We were a prize to be earned and treasured. At least, we should be, I thought darkly. I couldn’t imagine Rome fighting for me in his current condition.

Hopefully, Cody would return in one piece and I could freeze his ass to the wall for intriguing my friend.

Rome could fry beside him. Fire and ice. A nice contrast.

"Since I am not a liar, I will just say that yeah, you’re probably right."

"Bastard. Think he’ll be okay?" Sherridan asked despite her obvious irritation with him.

"He’ll be fine." I hoped. Cody had power over electricity and could disappear inside a light socket – talk about freaky – but what if Desert Gall drained him of water the way Elaine had drained Tanner of energy before he could get away?

Before leaving PSI, I had tried to talk John into allowing Elaine to go with us to Colorado, but he had firmly refused. Taking a maybe-kinda-sorta enemy into a known enemy camp was not an intelligent strategy, he’d said. Men. Such idiots sometimes.

"All right. Enough of that. We’ve got two hours," I said, forcing myself to push from the wall. My knees almost buckled. "Be ready."

"Yes, ma’am." She saluted me and popped to her feet, then we went our separate ways in the hall.

There were five bedrooms in the house, and Rome and I had the master suite. I lumbered inside, my legs still strangely heavy, and shut myself in. The trek from PSI to the house had left me sweaty, so I hurried through a shower, mentally cataloging everything else I needed to do: dress in something less ridiculous than my previous few outfits had been, pack and weapon up. I should probably grab some food, too. I hadn’t eaten since yesterday, I realized, and I hadn’t gotten any sleep last night. Aaah, no wonder I was shaky. Elaine had nothing to do with it.

When I finished, I wrapped myself in a towel, padded into the bedroom and –