Twice as Hot (Tales of an Extraordinary Girl #2)(75)

He grunted as though he'd been hit with a meaty fist.

My eyelids popped open. He was not on fire. Neither was I. He was pale, lines of tension around his eyes, but he was fine. Thank God. He'd done it. Even without his memory, he'd done it.

"Told you it'd work," he gritted out. He hunched over, drew in a breath. A moment passed, then another. Finally he straightened and jolted back into motion as if we'd never stopped.

I had my filter back.

Before I could reply or laugh or twirl from joy, he stopped in front of an electronics store. A streetlamp glowed above us like a spotlight. Rome didn't ask me to, but I pointed a finger at the bulb -  Desert Gal, my friends hurt, scared, memory loss  - and forced a beam of fire out. That flame slammed into the bulb, causing it to explode. All the while, I could feel Rome's strength surrounding me, keeping the worst of my abilities under wraps.

The world around us darkened.

Rome could see in the dark, a perk of having cat senses. Thankfully, my eyes also adjusted quickly.

Before I could finish saying, "Here's your jacket back," to drape around his hand and protect the skin, he busted the glass above the door lock.

Cuts appeared and blood trickled, but he didn't seem to notice. "Didn't want you cold," he said.

How sweet. And something my Rome, the old Rome, would have done. Was he coming back to me?

Without his memories? I didn't dare hope.

He reached inside the store and swiftly disabled the lock. In the background, I could hear the alarm beeping, preparing to erupt.

"Stay here," he said. "Stand guard." He pressed a quick kiss to my lips, frowned down at me rather than pull away, and shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. Then he leaped into motion, the alarm finally screeching to life.

I stood there, my back to the store, my attention on anyone who might pass, my nerves dousing the fire and leaving a sheen of ice. I was coming to hate the ice more than any other element. Behind me, I could hear the shuffling of feet, scraping, cords dragging.

In the distance, I thought I heard sirens.

"Cat Man," I called, not wanting to use his real name.

He was at my side in the next instant. "Let's go."

He was weighed down with equipment, but raced along the street without any problem. I kept pace beside him, huffing and puffing, determined to start working out as soon as possible. It would be part of my Become A Better Superagent plan.

No one chased us, thank God, and fifteen minutes later we strolled into a motel without incident. Rome got us a room, and when we were finally inside, I collapsed on the bed, completely spent.

What a hellish night.

Using my powers always tired me. Being hit on by eleven men at once, petty theft and the kidnapping of my friend did, too, it seemed. As for Lexis, she wasn't my favorite person, but even her kidnapping upset me.

Rome dumped his contraband on the twin bed beside mine. He didn't look at me, I noticed. "I'm going to review the feed from the room." His voice was strained.

I blinked in surprise, sat up. "You can do that still?"

"Of course. I had everything recording on my phone. I can hook that to the laptop and watch what happened. Now get some sleep. You're going to need it."

"No." I threw my legs over the bed, groaned at the ache in my joints. "I'll help." Finally his gaze landed on me. His pupils were dilated. With anger? Arousal? He studied me, taking my measure. What did he see? What thoughts were drifting through his head? That I could help, see something he didn't? That being near me would only make him want me more? Or was all that wishful thinking on my part? And where was the new and improved me? I wasn't supposed to be pining after a man when there was a rescue operation to plan.

He gave a curt nod. "All right. Let's do this."

The buzzing of my cellwoke me. I glanced around sleepily, but saw no sign of Rome. Damn it. I rubbed at my face, hoping to kick-start my brain into action. I hadn't meant to fall asleep, had actually stayed up and helped him review most of the video he'd shot.

After some heavy-duty fast-forwarding, I'd watched Cody and Desert Gal - a woman younger and prettier and blonder than I'd assumed - enter the hotel and ride up the elevator. The pair had remained silent, not acknowledging each other in any way. Clearly they had an objective, knew exactly where they needed to go, and nothing would deter them from it.

Again I wondered how they had known where to find us. Had we been watched from the moment we'd stepped off the plane? Or, as I'd suspected the day before, did we have a leak at PSI?

The phone's buzzing stopped, the sudden quiet jarring me. Squinting against the light seeping in through the curtains, I patted the nightstand until I found my purse. A quick dig inside, and I had my cell.

Unfortunately, the ID showed "Unavailable" rather than a name or a number.

My stomach tightened, and I fell back against the mattress. What if that had been Rome? Sherridan or Lexis? Cody? Tanner's doctor?

When a red light began flashing in the right-hand corner, I actually smiled. A message! But my smile faded as I pressed the series of buttons and the message played for me. "Belle, I need you. Please call me back." Reese the vampire. Again. What the hell was wrong with him?

I was just about to jab my finger into the call-back button when my phone began another round of buzzing. I pressed Talk, moving faster than I'd ever moved before. "This is Belle." My voice shook, still scratchy from sleep.