Agent E2: Aidan (Superhero Romance) (The D.I.R.E. Agency) (2 page)

Aidan shook his head as he watched the doctor look over the copper and gold armbands on each of his forearms. “I’ll live.”

Tristan stood by Aidan and compared his single armband to the armbands covering both of Aidan’s forearms. “So, his system is based on the same idea but is tied into his central nervous system?”

Robinson nodded his blond head as he studied the display screen on Aidan’s left arm. “The gold in his blood helps the conductivity. The copper disburses the charge evenly.”

“So, what can he do exactly – besides shock people?” Tristan snickered.

Aidan glared at him. “Asshole. I’m beginning to re-think saving your life all those years ago.”

“It was only because you saved my life that I agreed to help with Rachel in the first place.”

“And aren’t you glad I did?”

A contented grin appeared on his face. “Rachel’s everything to me.”

“She’d better be.”

At first, Aidan had had a hard time adjusting to Tristan and his sister. He’d thought no man good enough for Rachel. She had a heart of gold and a giving nature like no one he knew.

However, he’d seen a change in her over the last few days. Finding out her father wasn’t her father at all, and their mother had set her up to marry the biggest asshole on the planet, had changed her.

Thank God Tristan had been there for her through it all. Aidan knew he could never choose a better man for her.

“Tristan,” Robinson said, “Aidan can power up anything that takes an electrical charge, big or small. He can also fry it.” He looked up at Aidan with a knowing grin. “One day, he’ll figure out he can shoot lightning bolts from his gloves, but don’t tell him I said that.”

Aidan gave Tristan a fist bump. “Hell yeah...”

Aidan held up his hands, each finger wrapped in thin, metal rings, the tips covered with titanium diodes. The black, aluminum-titanium covering his hands contained
veins
that fed energy from his solid hydrogen cell through the high-voltage coil, to his fingertips. 

“Monroe.” Mitchell turned around a laptop to face Aidan. “Here’s a photo of Cassandra Naylor. Is that her?”

Aidan stared at a photo of the blonde beauty. Why couldn’t his enemy’s daughter look like Quasimodo? No, Robert Naylor’s daughter had to be a fresh-faced beauty with eyes a vivid shade of violet-blue, and a mole below the corner of her left eye.

Aidan had a thing for women with a beauty mark on their face.

She had long legs like Rachel, her skin pale rather than tanned.

Too bad she was a Naylor. Her name alone destroyed any beauty she possessed.

“That’s her.”

Glancing back at the computer, Robinson turned back to shut a compartment on Aidan’s armband. “Nice.”

Mitchell turned around the laptop. “She’ll be back, but I want her back when and where we choose, not at her leisure.”

Robinson extended Aidan’s arms in front of him. “Flex your fingers and your wrists. Everything feel okay? Frequency too high?”

Aidan shook his head. “Other than the fact that I’m shocking everyone I touch, I’m fine. I knocked Cassandra Naylor to the floor.”

“Not to mention your sister.” Tristan glowered at him. “And me.”

Robinson opened the computer screen on Aidan’s right armband. “You’re not shocking me now, Aidan. You have to learn to control your blood flow during intense situations. I don’t want to lower the frequency. You’ll need the power.”

“Remember that during sex.” Tristan gave him a knowing grin.

Aidan stared at Tristan before shaking his head. Anger bubbled in his veins, teasing him to take it on. “Don’t even tell me that. I don’t want to kill you, after all.”

Laughing, Tristan sidestepped Aidan when Robinson motioned for him to take Aidan’s place on the bed. “Hey, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Donning his shirt again, Aidan plopped down in a chair and sat back on two legs. He wouldn’t mind testing out that theory on Cassandra Naylor. With a spitfire like that, things were bound to get intense in bed.

“Speaking of Cassandra Naylor…”

Mitchell gave him a raised brow. “Were we?”

Tristan and Robinson grinned as he replaced the Tesla coil in Tristan’s armband.

Aidan glared at them. “We have Dar’s belongings, right?”

Mitchell nodded. “We’ve gone through his phone. He doesn’t save his calls or text messages.”

“Why don’t we send her a text from his phone asking her to meet him somewhere?”

“The trick would be sounding like him,” Tristan said. “If she thought someone else had his phone, all bets would be off.” He looked down at the open compartment on his armband. “I’m sure she’s already suspicious that he hasn’t contacted her.”

Sighing, Aidan let all four chair legs hit the floor. “I majored in asshole in high school. Where’s that phone, Mitchell?”

Tristan smiled at him. “I thought that was a natural talent.”

Aidan pressed the power button on the smartphone. “For a quiet man, you sure have been zinging out one-liners since you got engaged.”

Tristan raised his brows. “Intense situations, remember?”

Aidan lowered the phone to glare at Tristan. “I swear, Jacobs…”

“Bring it, man.” Tristan watched Robinson work. “It would take you and every army on earth to keep me away from Rachel.”

Aidan couldn’t find fault in Tristan, knowing how much he loved her. The fact that he worked for D.I.R.E. gnawed at his gut, but considering who her father was, Aidan felt comfortable knowing Tristan would be around to look after her.

Mitchell came to study Robinson’s work. “Tristan, I take it Rachel’s finally resting?”

Tristan nodded. “Yeah, she finally accepted a sleeping pill from one of the doctors. She’s sleeping in the room next door. I offered to take her home for a while, but she knew I needed to stay close by.”

Pressing the voice-texting app, Aidan held up Dar’s phone to his mouth. “Meet me at Willie’s Bar at two o’clock. Alone.”

Aidan stared at the phone, waiting for a response. When none came after three minutes, he stared at Mitchell, then Tristan. “She’s suspicious.”

Mitchell crossed his arms over his chest. “If she’s smart, she would be.”

Ding.
Call me
.

Aidan spoke into the phone. “I can’t. Not safe.”

Mitchell and Tristan stared at him.

Ding.
Wear the shirt I bought you for your birthday.

Aidan winced.

Tristan hopped down from the bed. “What did she say?”

“Wear the shirt I bought you for your birthday.”

Mitchell gave a cocked brow. “She’s definitely Robert’s daughter.”

Aidan held up the phone to his mouth again. “I didn’t bring it.”

“Okay, Tristan,” Robinson said, “I want you to cloak and teleport separately.”

While Tristan tested his powers, Aidan waited for Cassandra to respond. What if the shirt was one of Dar’s favorites? What if she didn’t even buy him a shirt for his birthday?

Dammit. This was a bad idea.

Ding.
C u there. Luv u
.

Aidan pulled back his head. Luv u? For some reason, he never pictured the Naylor family using that word. Didn’t they walk around with loaded guns and cigarettes hanging out of their mouths, like in the movies?

Her use of those words made Aidan see Cassandra Naylor in a different light. She was a woman that loved her brother. Just like Rachel loved him. Hell, she was Rachel’s
sister
. They had to be alike to some extent.

He shook his head as if to clear it. Hell, what was he saying? She was an experienced agent. Had been sired by
the
Robert Naylor, for gripes sake.

The Naylors were the enemy.

Aidan needed to keep her on that side of the line.

Aidan sat in the shadows of the windowless, neighborhood bar, half hidden behind the old jukebox and big John Walters sitting across the table. A country song about a sexy tractor played low in the background, the usual, elderly retirees scattered around him, talking sports and politics.

Wearing one of Dar’s striped, polo shirts, Tristan sat at a table by himself in the far corner, his back to the door. With his hair tucked into the shirt collar, he could pull off Dar Naylor pretty well in a dark room.

One D.I.R.E. agent sat behind the bar with Aidan’s old high school buddy, David Saldana, and his dog, Loki. Another stood at the dartboard, throwing darts. The old, Veterans of Foreign Wars crowd had been excited to play a part in Aidan’s attempt to nab one of the bad guys that had brought danger to their little town.

Of course, Aidan did promise a round of beers on him.

Although his text had told Cassandra to come alone, Aidan knew she would bring company. He also knew that Dar wouldn’t expect her to arrive alone, either.

Under normal circumstances, public places ensured virtual safety. However, in this case, Cassandra didn’t know that the old men that frequented Willie’s had really kicked some ass in past wars.

The door opened, rushing extreme heat into the otherwise chilly room. A tall, thin man wearing a blazer and jeans walked in and looked around.

He had to be Naylor Interests. No one from these parts wore a blazer in the summer. Besides, Aidan knew just about everyone else in town. The man sat down at the bar and ordered a beer.

Aidan figured if he remained inside, Cassandra knew the coast was clear.

Tristan had fooled him.

A few minutes later, Cassandra Naylor walked in like she owned the place, smiling at David like they were old friends. She wore denim shorts that made her legs look a kilometer long, a low-cut, white t-shirt that hugged her full breasts like a koozie, and high-heel tennis shoes.

Damn, the woman was hot.

Based on David’s slow perusal of her body, he thought so, too.

She’s a Naylor, remember?

Pushing up her sunglasses on top of her head, Cassandra looked around the dark bar. Aidan sunk down in his chair, pulling his baseball cap lower on his forehead with his gloved hand.

A small smile lit her face when she spotted Tristan. Once she headed his way, Aidan sat up, ready to run.

Another Naylor agent walked in and stood just inside the door.

Damn. He’d hoped this would be easy.

“It’s about to get interesting boys.”

The men at his table nodded without ceasing conversation.

Cassandra walked over to Tristan’s table with long-legged strides. When she came parallel to him, she looked at Tristan’s profile.

He turned. Her eyes widened. She whipped around, blonde waves flying behind her. Tristan clamp down on her forearm.

Swinging around, she head-butted him once, twice. Releasing her arm, Tristan stood, his look incredulous.

One of the Naylor agents fired his gun at Tristan. He dove under the table, along with everyone else in the place. Loki barked from behind the bar. D.I.R.E. Agent Gonzales pulled his gun on the Naylor men just as D.I.R.E. Agent Young pointed his gun at them, too.

Cassandra ran for the back door, knocking down David when he blocked her path. Tristan took chase, Aidan following. Hitting the bright sunlight, she paused a second before running around the side of the building. Tristan and Aidan split up, chasing her to the front parking lot. The woman could run, even in heels.

He and Tristan met in the front just as she jumped into the driver’s seat of a dark sedan. Starting it up, she gunned it just as Aidan reached the car. Slamming down his hands on the hood, he unleashed electricity through his gloves, the veins glowing bright copper. Bolts of lightning streaked through the hood and the surrounding air, arcing and zapping around him. Cassandra pushed back in the seat, her eyes wide like saucers.

The car died in seconds, smoke billowing from under the hood. Rushing around the side, he opened the driver’s door.

“Hurry, in case the car catches fire.” He held out his hand.

She stared up at him, bug-eyed, her mouth agape. When she made no move to get out, he grabbed her hand. Electricity backfired in his body, shooting another round of lightning. Cassandra scrambled away from him to the passenger door.

Tristan opened it behind her. Whipping around, she stared at the hand he had extended.

“I don’t shock.”

When Cassandra placed her hand in Tristan’s big palm, a strange wave of anger washed over Aidan. She looked genuinely scared, her beautiful blue eyes pale rather than dark, her face white as her shirt.

Dammit, why had that happened? He’d made a conscious effort not to shock her. It had felt different, as though he’d been shocked rather than the other way around.

With a low growl, he went around and clasped her other arm in a tight fist. She started, staring down at his gloved hand before glancing up into his face.

“You got this?” Tristan said.