Twice as Hot (Tales of an Extraordinary Girl #2)(66)
Author: Gena Showalter

"Nice work. I’ll have someone there within the hour."

"Great. Thanks." I hung up before he could ask me about Rome.

All right. I had about thirty minutes, then, because I didn’t want Jean-Luc around any other agents. They would not be as forgiving as I was. Not that I’d totally forgiven him. Of course, I could lie about his identity, but I’d eventually be found out and that could land me in prison. No, thank you. I had work to do. People to save.

To that end, I needed to find the leader. The one with the freckles. Matthew. I stuffed the cell back into my pocket, strode into the bathroom and grabbed one of the glasses resting on the counter and a rag. I filled the glass with hot water and moved back into the room, pouring it over the frozen faces, melting some of the ice, until I spotted that speckled half-moon. My luck was holding, because they belonged to the brother on the bed. Made things easier.

"Let’s get this interrogation started," I muttered, pouring more hot water over his face and wiping frost away with the rag.

Eight glasses were required to finally melt that last layer around his eyes and jaw. By then, I was straddling his chest and sweating, but my victim was awake.

"Wh-what happened?" His teeth began chattering.

"I happened," I said. "Now, no more questions from you. You kidnapped Rome Masters, and you’re going to tell me where he is or you’re going to die."

"I’m n-not telli-ing you anything-g."

"I don’t have a lot of time," I said, "and the longer it takes you to answer, the angrier I’m gonna get. I don’t know if Desert Gall told you, but I have power over the four elements. That includes fire. When I get mad, things start to burn. So you can remain cold in your ice shell or you can feel the skin melt from your bones. Up to you."

He pressed his lips together, but there was fear in his eyes.

At that moment, Jean-Luc soared inside the room as if he owned it. Who would have thought I’d be so happy to have him with me? Just like yesterday, using my powers had drained me. And with my adrenaline rush crashing, I knew I didn’t have much longer.

"Thank God," I said. He didn’t double over, so I knew I’d successfully switched off whatever had been hurting him.

My victim’s face was mostly blue but laced with hints of red. When he spied Jean-Luc, he flinched.

"I’m s-sorry, man," he said. "H-hated to use you, b-but…"

"But you’re greedy. Give me five minutes," Jean-Luc told me, his attention riveted on the bed. "I’ll have all the information we need."

Those dark eyes darted from me to Jean-Luc, Jean-Luc to me.

"Jean-Luc, ma-man, you know I – "

"Save it. I asked for your help and what did you do?" The betrayal in his voice, the hurt, had my chest aching. "At one time, I would have taken a bullet for you. Now I’m on her side, and what she wants, she gets. No matter what I have to do to obtain it for her." He reached out. When his fingertips brushed The Multiplier’s face, he disappeared as if he’d never been. Only his scent remained behind.

I watched, wide-eyed, knowing that must have been what had happened to Rome.

A few minutes later, Jean-Luc reappeared in the exact spot he’d left, looking as if he’d just read a newspaper.

"I didn’t take anything," he told me as if reading my mind. "I just peeked at the last few days. Rome is in the room next door. They drugged him with his own sedative." Uh, what? "Say that again."

"Next door." Unhappy, he motioned with his chin. "I swear. Drugged but alive." Too easy,my brain screamed.

He read my thoughts on my face. "You’d think it was a trap, but no. Matthew was rushed, scared of being caught by PSI and unsure of what to do. He decided to keep him close." Jean-Luc stared over at the connecting door through narrowed eyes.

"For my peace of mind, keep a gun on him," I told Jean-Luc. I jumped to my feet, my knees almost collapsing, and approached the connecting door. I half expected it to be locked, but the knob turned easily. Shaking, I palmed one of the knives I’d brought.

Nervous as I was, it iced a little.

Gulping, I pushed open the door. Hinges squeaked. I entered the darkened room, stepping only inches inside before pausing and listening. My ears twitched at the sound of deep, even breathing.

I kept the knife raised as I felt the wall. Finally I encountered a light switch and flipped it on. And then Rome came into view. Though my knees threatened to give out again, I managed to lumber to the side of the bed and drop down beside him with a whimper.

His wrists and ankles were bound, as they’d planned to bind mine, so I hurriedly cut the ropes away. He slept through it all. Still, I dropped the knife, my eyes closing as relief washed through me. A tear even slid down my cheek. He was alive. He was alive!

"Thank God," I breathed.

"You still love him," Jean-Luc suddenly said from behind me. Not a question, but a sad statement.

Gradually my eyes opened, but I didn’t look up. My gaze locked on Rome, on his chest lifting, drawing air into his lungs. "Yes." I couldn’t deny it, didn’t want to deny it. I’d almost lost him.

"Why? He’s okay-looking, but he’s arrogant and demanding. You deserve someone who will worship you."

In sleep, Rome’s features were relaxed, his lips soft. Kissable. Earlier, I’d thought about the fact that we had nothing in common but sex. I’d thought our relationship in serious jeopardy. But now, having almost lost him, I couldn’t make those things matter. For whatever reason, we just fit.

If nothing else, the battle with The Multiplier had made me realize how desperately I wanted Rome in my life. I didn’t care that Lexis had had a vision of me marrying someone else. I didn’t care that I might not be the love of his life. He was mine. I would fight to make things work.

"Rome excites me, challenges me. And he might be demanding and arrogant, but he’s also protective and loving."

"I can be protective and loving."

"But my heart will always belong to this man." I traced a fingertip along his jawline, the stubble tickling my skin, and glanced at Jean-Luc. "There’s someone out there for you. I know it. You just have to find her."

He didn’t reply. I looked away, too afraid to watch his expression change from sadness and hope to determination and anger.

"All my life," he finally said, "I’ve wanted the kind of love my fathers had for each other. I was looking for it, too, before I was captured several years ago. Do you have any idea how hard it is to fall in love with a woman when I can find out every damn thing about her? When I know exactly what she wants to hide from me?"