Remember Jamie Baker (Jamie Baker #3)(8)

I’d been trying to put the pieces together since I sat down, and the only answer I could come up with was one I hated. Tony lied to me. It was the only explanation. Tony was a computer genius. He told me I could only ever use the computer he’d given me because he put special firewalls on it to keep anyone from hacking it. But now I couldn’t help wondering if he’d actually put special restrictions on it that kept me from discovering any of this.

He kept me so close, so sheltered. I thought he was just paranoid and overprotective. Obviously he was scared of Visticorp finding us—I sincerely believed that—but it had to be more than that. He knew something, and he didn’t want me to figure it out. He was lying to me and using my lack of memory against me. But why? And how could he do that?

The longer I sat there, the more I felt certain I was right, and the stupider I felt for not seeing the signs. Everything he’d ever said and done had been manipulative. I felt betrayed, and I needed answers. I called him, but it went straight to voice mail. Fuming, I hung up. There was no point in leaving him a message. He must have been pretty mad at me to have turned his phone off. This was probably a conversation that needed to be had in person, anyway. Assuming I could accomplish that without killing him.

“You okay?” I jumped, startled by the sound of the voice behind me. I’d forgotten that the motel clerk was still standing there. “You look majorly pissed.”

My phone beeped as my voice mail updated, informing me I had over a dozen messages. I’d turned the stupid thing off when I left the house that morning because I knew the calls would start coming the second Tony realized I was gone. I’d left for my doctor’s appointment without telling him about it, and I’d never taken off like that before. I’d felt guilty about worrying him all day, but now… He probably hadn’t been concerned that I could be in danger; he was probably just afraid I’d go someplace, be recognized, and realize he was keeping secrets from me.

I nearly crushed the phone in my hand, and the electricity in the building blitzed as I lost control of my temper. The lights brightened until they popped, and the computer monitor in front of me exploded. We were plunged into darkness as we both ducked for cover. “Whoa.” Motel Guy whistled. “That was weird. You okay?”

Actually, it wasn’t weird at all. That’s what always happened when I lost control of my temper, and at the moment my emotions were spiraling out of control. “I’m fine.” It wasn’t a total lie. Physically, I was all right. Emotionally… Well, I think the fried motel speaks for itself.

I was angry, frustrated, and confused, but I was equally as hurt. I sat there in the dark with my eyes closed because I knew if I opened them they’d light up the room better than any flashlight, and that effect wouldn’t be one I could write off as colored contacts. If I went all Lite-Brite, Motel Guy would realize I didn’t just look like his dead supergirl.

“Must have been a big power surge,” he muttered, looking out the front window of the building. “It looks like the whole block is out.”

Oops. I definitely needed to cool off a little before I went back and confronted Tony. I took a few deep breaths until I knew I my eyes weren’t glowing anymore and I wasn’t itching to blast someone with a lightning bolt. As I calmed myself, my senses sharpened, as they usually do, and I noticed voices whispering somewhere outside the building. “Confirmed sighting. We’ve found the girl.”

Tony’s extreme paranoia kicked in reflexively, and my head whipped toward the front of the building. Before I could get a look out the window at what I was up against or get Motel Guy to safety, three guys came busting into the building. And I mean they literally busted in. One ripped the door right off its hinges. Another jumped through the big picture window in the front of the building, and the last actually busted right through the wall.

They all came straight for me. I tried to dodge them, but they were too fast. They surrounded me, and one of them grabbed me from behind. I tried to break out of his grip, but for the first time that I could remember, I wasn’t strong enough. I’d never seen anyone move that fast or use that kind of strength before. Well, besides myself. And now these superfreaks had me.

I let my energy rise to the surface of my skin and waited for my captor to let go of me, but nothing happened. My electricity didn’t hurt him at all. He was wearing some sort of protective suit that kept me from frying him. So not cool.

Realizing that I was basically defenseless against the guy, I started thrashing in his arms and kicking at any part of him I could reach. I even tried throwing my head back into the man’s face, but he dodged my blow as easily as I would have ducked his.

I was stuck, locked in the arms of a man just as strong as me, while the other two moved in front of me. One of the men grinned menacingly. “You’re not so tough up against other supers, are you, girlie?”

Sadly, he was right. It had been embarrassingly easy for them to grab me when the playing field was even. But it’s not like having superstrength automatically makes someone a ninja. I’d never been in a battle before.

“Excuse me for not being a trained fighter.”

Laughing, the man reached up with his gloved hand and ran a finger down the side of my face. “Did you miss me, gorgeous? Maybe now that I’m as strong as you, we should have a little fun before I take you back.”

I jerked my face away from his finger.