Twice as Hot (Tales of an Extraordinary Girl #2)(6)
Author: Gena Showalter

Right then, I hated my powers.

Tanner was in the waiting room with Sherridan, who had yet to exit her Happy Place. How I envied her.

Rome was my Happy Place, but I couldn’t get to him. And I couldn’t leave to give them an update.

Approaching Rome was too dangerous, but I refused to move from this spot. When he awoke, he would need me. By then, I would be calm.

Really?Several ice crystals splattered atop my head. Hand shaky, I brushed them off. Stupid fear.

Several more instantly took their place, but I didn’t bother with them. Until I did that pesky calming thing, they wouldn’t stop falling.

"Belle."

I felt the heat and zap of Cody’s body as he approached me, and then I caught the scent of a wild storm. Familiar, but not as comforting as it should have been. I didn’t turn. My gaze was still locked on Rome. My Rome. Lying there, so helpless. Even with all my powers, there was nothing I could do to help him right now. None of the doctors knew what was wrong or why they couldn’t rouse him.

"What happened?" I asked Cody softly. He and Rome were friends. They worked together, trusted each other. He would tell me the truth – no matter how much it hurt.

"I honestly don’t know."

Or maybe not. "If you’re saying that because you think the truth will cause me to break down – "

"Nothing like that, believe me." He laughed, but there was a hard edge to the sound. "If I knew, I’d tell you. But it’s like a piece of my brain is missing, my memories of the event gone. All I know is that I saw Rome open one of the cages and then he was unconscious on the ground. Next thing I knew, I was on the ground myself and crawling to get to him. Had Lexis not told me about the man entering our bodies, I would have no knowledge of it whatsoever."

"He’s going to be okay," I said, more for my benefit than his.

"Yes. He’s strong. A fighter. Remember when our old friend Pretty Boy plugged him full of poisoned bullets? He lived through that, thanks to you, and even helped end the son of a bitch, so he can live through anything."

My hands fisted at my sides, tongues of fire suddenly licking at my skin and melting the ice. "I’m going to capture the bastard who hurt him."

"It will be my pleasure to help you."

"Thank you." I’d take any help I could get. "I doubt John will balk. The guy who attacked you and Rome is linked to Desert Gal, since she’s the one who rounded up all of Pretty Boy’s experiments, so technically his case should be mine, anyway." God. This might not have happened if I’d taken care of her already. She wouldn’t have gathered those people, that horrible body-entering man, and Rome wouldn’t have gone to that warehouse. "As soon as Rome wakes up, I’m hunting them both." No longer would I be lax in my duties.

"I’ll be ready," Cody said. "From what I hear, Desert Gall is worse than Pretty Boy. More coldhearted, hungrier for power, with no perceivable weakness."

Didn’t matter. I would not fail. Not again. "I’m going to request Tanner and Lexis as backup." The two might not get along, and Lexis might not be my favorite person right now, but they were amazing agents.

If anyone could help me find and destroy my fiance’s tormentors, they could.

"The bastard is going to suffer," I said with determination.

"Belle," Cody said gently.

"Yes?"

"Look at me."

And away from Rome? "No, I – "

"Please."

When a strong, dominant man said please, it was best to give in unless you wanted six-foot-four of solid muscle breathing down your neck. Something I knew firsthand from Rome. I’d delighted in refusing him, and he’d delighted in changing my mind.

Eyes welling, I slowly turned to face Cody. He was almost as beautiful as Pretty Boy had been. Like a fallen angel or a glamorized devil. He had silvery-blond hair and silver eyes with a hint of violet that actually sparked with the electricity he contained inside himself, allowing him to shift into nothing but energy particles.

But he wasn’t Rome, wasn’t my Cat Man, and he’d never made my heart pound or my skin tighten with anticipation. I wiped at the droplets splattering my cheeks and arms.

He stepped away from me, clearly not wanting any of that water to hit, and perhaps electrocute, him.

"Don’t do anything rash, okay," he said, gaze sharp. "Rome would have my ass if something happened to you."

Yes, he would. Rome was wonderfully protective, one of the many things I loved about him. "He’d have mine, too."

Softening, Cody covered his fingers with his shirt and skimmed his hand over my brow, mopping up the moisture. "John doesn’t want the man who did this killed. He wants him brought in for testing." I should have known, I thought, looking back at Rome. John had wanted me for the same reason.

Testing. Like an animal. Rome was supposed to be the one to bring me in; instead, he’d been the one to shelter me, teach me how to use my powers, how to love. He’d helped me escape. In the end, though, I’d turned myself in to save him, and I’ve never regretted it.

"Some scrims aren’t meant to be saved," I said.

"That’s not for you to decide." There was an edge to his tone, an edge I did not like.

I stiffened, gave him my full attention. "Who’s to decide, then? John? What gives him the right? The guy who attacked you and Rome attacked agents who were there to help him. He lost his right to live." The flickering lights in Cody’s eyes brightened, spreading and deepening, becoming an electric storm that reminded me of lightning in black velvet. "Lexis told me the man was crazed. He’d been locked in one cage after another for God knows how long. Who knows if he’d been fed. Who knows what kind of torture he’d endured. He wasn’t in his right mind."

I popped my jaw, refusing to soften. "I still plan to find him."

"Just…promise me you won’t kill him. I ask this for your own good."

"I can’t promise that. If Rome…if Rome doesn’t…" Stop! Just stop.

"He’ll wake up. He’ll survive this."

He would. He had to. I wouldn’t allow anything else. And just like that, the rage left me and the sadness returned. I wouldn’t allow? I was powerless. Another droplet hit me. "We don’t even know exactly what’s been done to him."

"We’ll learn. Give it time."

My gaze skidded back to Rome. Still unmoving, still unconscious. "No one hurts my loved ones, Cody.

No one. It’s a message the paranormal community needs to understand. Touch them and suffer." His hands settled atop my shoulders and he shook my attention back to him. One of his brows was arched in exasperation. "If John hears you talking like this, he’ll take the Desert Gall case away from you.