Twice as Hot (Tales of an Extraordinary Girl #2)(90)

Rome rolled to his back and flipped his cell phone open, holding it up so I could see. On the screen were Desert Whore and Cody, as well as four others I didn't recognize. OASS agents, presumably.

"I placed a camera in the ceiling of our room," Rome explained.

Ah. That's what he'd done while I'd been searching for an unsuspecting civilian to frighten. "Why couldn't we have just gone out our own window?"

"They might have been watching it."

Ah, again.

The four agents were digging through our stuff, not that we had much. They ripped what little clothing we had, then threw open the dresser drawers, looking for more.

With the downward angle, I had a perfect view of Desert Shithead's hair. I hated to say it, but damn, those tresses were gorgeous. Golden-blond and silky. This had to be her DG persona, since Candace Bright was the redhead.

"You dragged me out at this ungodly hour for nothing! You told me they'd be here and they clearly aren't," she said to Cody. Well, not said. Her voice was husky, rich, more a purr than anything. Knowing how pretty she was, when you added the voice into the mix the girl was walking sex. Men probably drooled for her. And then she probably mopped that drool up like a sponge, the water-sucker.

"They must have spotted us." Cody looked left, right, and sighed heavily. "I told you Rome's security would be a problem. Good thing is, they packed in a hurry, only taking the essentials, so we were close.

Next time we'll nail them."

"Do we still trust him?" I asked Rome, genuinely curious. What if Desert Gall was the one woman who'd inspired Cody to break his three-date min-max rule, and he truly was on her side now? On the bright side, if that was the case, at least I wouldn't have to worry about him dating Sherridan.

"Yes," was the only response.

"I want her." Desert Whore dug her nails into her thighs. "I need her." I blinked. She needed me? Why? Jean-Luc had told me she hated me because her dad liked me. That didn't necessitate a "need."

"I know," Cody said gently. "I know. We'll get her. I swear." Desert Turd whipped away from him. "Get out," she said softly.

The men working around her froze, realized what she'd ordered, then hightailed out of the room as though their feet were on fire.

Cody remained in place. He closed the distance between himself and my greatest enemy and wound his arms around her waist. She stiffened. He didn't pull back, though. Instead, he rested his chin on the top of her head. "Having her doesn't mean your father will come back, though." Rome tossed me a confused look.

I shrugged.

"I know." She sniffed and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. A frustrated growl left her, and she raised her head, eyeing the ceiling, a harsh mask pasted on her features.

Something inside me recognized that mask for what it was: fake. She was crumbling inside but wanted to show the world how tough she was. Or, hell, maybe I was deluded. Maybe I wanted to see vulnerabilities in my enemy because that would mean I wasn't up against an impenetrable force.

Cody tugged her tighter against him, glancing up at the camera as though he'd known it was there the entire time. I gasped, feeling pierced all the way to the soul. He reached up and extended two fingers, his thumb pressed in the middle of them. It was a sign. I knew it was, and suddenly trusted him as completely as Rome had assured me I could.

Desert Gall couldn't see him, and he quickly dropped his arm and escorted her from the room, promising her he'd find and deliver me.

My brow wrinkled in confusion. "What does that mean? He'll meet with us in two nights? He's going to act against her in two minutes?"

Rome jacked to his feet. "We've got to get Tanner." Dread dripped from his tone. "I'll explain on the way."

Apparently, two fingerswith a thumb in the middle was a code between Cody and Rome. Not for peace, as I'd kind of hoped, but for something terrible about to go down. His fingers had formed a K for Catastrophe, even though the word started with a C (as I'd pointed out). That was the beauty of the code, Rome said, as if I lacked the sense to tie my own shoes.

I figured that's why Cody had helped Desert Gall track us. To warn us of this impending Katastrophe - or paraster (paranormal disaster), as I liked to say - as well as stay in her good graces and prove his worth, his trustworthiness.

What was about to go down, though, Rome didn't know.

All I knew was that I'd never seen him this frightened. Yes, frightened. Whereas for once, I, Little Miss Icebox, had my fear under control. Don't get me wrong; I was scared. Scared out of my freaking mind, but I wasn't letting it rule me this time. Or maybe I had more control because Rome was filtering for me again. Either way, Sherridan and my team needed me, and I would not fail them.

"How you doing?" Rome asked me as we exited the bus we'd just spent half an hour bumping around on. We'd had to wait for it for several hours, hiding all the while, but finally morning had arrived, followed quickly by the bus. Things no longer seemed at a standstill.

I luxuriated in the chilled, fresh air, the cloying scent of mingling perfumes fading, and yawned. God, I was tired. Wait. Didn't I owe Rome a response? How was I doing, he'd wanted to know. "Good." Rome yawned, too. "Let me know if that changes."

"You better believe I will."