Cryostorm (18 page)

“Hold on. Time out,” I gasped. My lungs burned from sucking in the frigid air so fast.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just want to see what’s past this railing here.” I reached forward and grabbed the metal railing perched atop the short cement wall that ran along forever.

“Yeah, it’s a small canyon.” He came up beside me, chest heaving from our impromptu snowball fight. “Where’s the rest of our travel gang?”

“Stretching their legs a little. Lois is nailing Zach with questions about Gary and things back in Trifle.” I leaned forward. Yep, total pit of blackness just past the rocks and trees that jutted out from the snow. I bet it was pretty when the sun was shining off the snow. “Wonder how far down it goes?”

“Let’s not find out, please.” He tugged at my hood that hung down my back.

I glanced up toward the building. All clear, so I turned and pushed up to my toes to kiss my boyfriend. No witnesses. No exes. No Agents. Just him and me, in the dark, and beneath the moon. Despite the circumstances of why we were there, it was pretty romantic.

Cold, but romantic.

Well, not entirely cold. His lips were warm. So was his tongue. I loved how it mingled with mine so perfectly. His taste, his smell, I loved it all. My heart hammered as I deepened the kiss, drawing him in as far as he could go. We probably only had a few minutes alone, so I planned on enjoying them to the fullest.

His arms around me tightened, and I molded against him best I could through the layers.

“I taste Red Vines,” Nate whispered as he pulled away for a breath.

“And you taste like soda.” I nipped at his lips. “Good combo.” I cupped his cheeks with my hands. “I wish we didn’t have to get back into that car.” Another quick nip. “I kind of like having you to myself.”

“Don’t get much alone time, do we?” He brushed his lips along my neck.

“Mmm, that feels nice. And we
will
have plenty of time together. Once we get GEM’s help.” I wanted that more than anything. “And I call dibs on you for, like, the first seventy-two hours.” I giggled.

“Seventy-two, huh?” He leaned back.

“For starters. You know, then we can come up for air and…mingle.”

“Sounds like a plan. You cold?” He kissed me.

“Your lips are a little, but it’s nice.” He sucked my earlobe into his mouth. “Oh, now
that’s
warm.” And warming
me
up.

His mouth found mine again for a long time. Finally he pulled away from me, but kept his forehead touching mine. We probably looked like the cutest post card ever, if only I’d had a camera.

Couldn’t do pictures, though. Too much of a trail.

That’s all right. I had this moment etched in my brain. I’d never forget it.

He glanced toward the building. “We should get back.”

Up on my tiptoes again, I stole another kiss. “I love you, Nate.”

His eyes widened along with his smile. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then it clamped shut. His arms loosened around me, and his stare went blank.

Completely and totally blank.

But only for a split second, because in the next breath his head ticked to the side with a quick jerk, and a subtle red glow in the upper corner of his left eye pulsed to life.

Oh, God. I’d seen that look before.

Melanie.

I didn’t see it happen, he moved so fast, but his hand was curled around my neck in a grip so tight it should have snapped.

I wasn’t quite sure why it didn’t.

“Nate,” I yelled. My voice cut short, throat closing beneath his grip. His eyes glazed and fixed on me. That damned red tint flared. Pulsed.

I fisted my hand and hit his chest. His eyes flickered to life, and I saw my Nate’s amber-flecks sparkle again, then his hold on me loosened. But just as fast, the glazed look returned and his grip tightened.

“Georgia.” My voice came out squeaky. Nowhere near loud enough to cut through the distance separating us from the front of the building.

I clawed at his hand and wiggled my fingers between a small gap. With every ounce of strength the lack of air to my body allowed me I cranked, peeling his two top fingers back.

Instantly more air made it to my lungs.

“Georgia!” I yelled.

“Run,” he whispered.

My Nate’s eyes returned.

“Run, hurry.” His voice cracked, and his jaw clamped shut. The vein in his temple pulsed, bulging. His grip loosened. “I can’t hold it—”

“Mandy!” Georgia stormed around the corner of the building followed by Tim.

“Oh, God,” Tim said. “Mandy, get back. Get back.”

“Trying.” But that wasn’t working too well at the moment with his ironclad grip around me.

Suddenly he let go of me. But in the next breath, blank-eyed Nate reached for me again, then stopped. “Go! Go! Hurry! Tim. It’s happening—”

“Georgia, flame up. Mandy, ice up,” Tim yelled.

“But—”

“Do it now!”

I cooled down my hands, not really sure what was going on. It all happened so fast, yet so slow at the same time. “Nate!” I yelled. “What’s wrong with you? It’s me. Mandy.”

His fist rushed my face. Caught so much by surprise, I didn’t have time to duck and his knuckles pummeled my cheek. I’d only cooled my hands readying them for action, no ice protection on my face, so I felt every bone-crunching second of that blow.

I toppled back. My elbow cracked on the hard, snow-packed ground as I landed.

“You will come with me.” Nate grabbed my upper arm and hoisted me into the air.

“Nate. Stop!” I yelled. “What are you doing? It’s me, Mandy.” I flattened my hand to his chest. His heart hammered beneath the surface.

“Freeze him,” Tim yelled.

Nate dropped me and vanished in a blur.

“Shit.”

“What the hell is going on?” Georgia asked, her skin glowing and hands flaming.

A blur approached me, but I froze the already snowy ground as I hopped to my feet. Nate slid, unable to stop, right toward me. I streamed soft snow like a fire hose at him and slowed him down. “Nate! Shake out of it. Nate!”

He rammed into me, shoulder to my gut. Bones cracked, my breath rushed out of me, burning along the way as I screamed.

“Stop. Nate.” I braced for the fall, but with his weight on me, my wrist snapped, and I caved.

His fingers coiled around my neck again. “You will come with me.”

Tears spilled over my cheeks. The blank look in his eyes made him look like…a monster. Where was the caring, tender man I loved? How did this—I’d said the words. The words he couldn’t ever say to me. The words I’d wanted to say for a long time now.
Shit.

I worked my hand between us again and pushed as I rolled. He slid to the side, still holding onto me. Darkness curved my vision. Just like he’d done to Melanie. It’d scared the shit out of me watching it, but now I was at the receiving end of his version of the dart gun to make someone unconscious.

“Nate. I love you. It’s me, Mandy.” I turned on the cold. “Please. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You’re
mine
!” he whispered, his voice low and menacing. “
Mine
.”

I cuffed his wrist and cranked on the cold. He grimaced, but at least his hold loosened. With my free hand, I hammered into his gut then kicked him over my head.

He’d taught me that.

In a flash he was to his feet.

“Freeze his legs!” Tim yelled.

I screamed as I sprayed liquid ice, tears stinging my eyes. I felt their warmth contrast my freezing skin. They may have frozen to my face.

He darted away again before my ice took hold. Georgia turned on the flame, giving us more light, but he was gone. Vanished.

“Nate,” I yelled as I ran to the railing and looked over. He hadn’t gone that way, but I couldn’t tell very well from the blur. I turned around, scanning every direction.

“Nate!” Felt like razors ran along the insides of my throat I’d screamed so loud. Nothing like alerting any Agent in the area to our location, but I didn’t care. I melted to the cold ground. My Nate was gone.

Even worse, my Nate had tried to kill me.

Chapter 25

“O
h my God, what happened? What just happened?” Georgia said as she paced in front of me, still glowing.

“Get her up and back to the car.” Tim flipped on his scan. “We can’t leave Lois and Zach alone.”

I hopped to my feet. “What’s going on, Tim?” I yelled. Anger surged through me so forcefully my hands frosted over. I was on the edge of exploding like an atom bomb of ice.

“Come on,” he said and turned up the path. “Hurry.”

I followed after him. “Talk.”

“Trigger. Something triggered it. He didn’t know what it was—”

“Triggered what? You—” It dawned on me. “Melanie. When she went ape on me. He looked like that. He went limp, ticked, then attacked.”

“Shit,” Tim said.

We neared the corner of the building, but like big, human-sized cockroaches, people dressed in black from head to toe crept out from every surrounding shadow I could have imagined.

My ice encapsulated me so quickly I stumbled. Both hands ignited in sprays so strong, the three people approaching me from both sides stumbled to the ground. Oh, God. Was Nate really an Agent after all?

I almost puked.

“Stand down!” A male voice bellowed.

“Like hell,” I said and took aim at the pack of three creeping in. Funny, though, they didn’t attack, only crept toward us. Usually Agents were all about the attacking. New tactic maybe?

“Georgia, get Lois and Zach. Tim get behind me.”

A dart of orange flame sped to the car, shooting balls of fire at the seven figures coming up behind the car.

“GEM. We’re GEM. You contacted us.” Another voice yelled out. “Dustin Parks. Dustin Parks.”

The guy in front of me, well, several feet away, but in front of me, raised his hands in surrender. Gun tossed to the ground.

“What’d you do with Nate? Where is he?” I yelled. Still iced down, my jaw throbbed. I wasn’t in my healing ice, more my protective shell, but my jaw throbbed like a Banshee. Nate had done that to me. He’d hit me harder than I’d ever been hit in my life. Even harder than Andrey.

“One sped through. Is that your Nate?”

“Shut up. You’re lying. What’d you do with him? You can’t have him. You—what’d you do to?” I pointed at the dark figure. He had his hands up still.

“Wait. I’m going to move very slowly here. I’m going to take off my mask. Just call off your sister. I don’t want to lose any of my men. We came as observers, not to engage. Please, we’re GEM. You’re Amanda Hillman. Fell off the grid five years ago with your brother. Parents dead, suicide, but suspicious.”

Tim stepped beside me. “How do you know that?”

“Traced your call. Nice job encoding. Took a while.” The guy raised his hand to his face. “Just removing the mask.”

“Slow,” I said. “Georgia. Hold up.”

I glanced at the car. Lois and Zach were safe in the back.

Ten more army dudes formed out of the darkness like they’d come from a mist. Tears still welling in my eyes distorted my vision so I didn’t trust what I saw. Maybe it was twenty. I tensed.
Stay focused
. They could be Agents.

The guy removed his mask, revealing dark skin and dark hair. He stood tall, and I could tell he was muscular beneath all that black Gore-Tex the way it pressed against him. He drew in a breath. “I’m not much for combat, but Dad sent me to check out the claims.”

“Claims?” Tim said.

“Excuse me?” The guy leaned forward.

“What claims?” Tim said a little louder.

“To check out Fire and Ice.” He shook his head. “I’ve seen a lot, but never fire and ice and because of an experiment.”

“You know a lot.
Too much
. You have to be one of them,” I said.

“You guys do a good job, hide well.” He smiled, his white teeth contrasting his dark skin and catching the moonlight. “But not
that
well.”

Tim huffed behind me.

“It’s a good thing you called my dad. We can help.”

“Where’s Nate?” My voice was mostly air. My heart cracked and my head throbbed. Now that I thought about it, my wrist hurt, my eye pulsed, and my back stung.

“Georgia, come here,” Tim said. He put his hand on me. “Mandy. Heal yourself. Go on.”

“No.” Not in front of them. Too vulnerable. Not safe.

Georgia’s warming flame came near me, but she kept a distance around the guys, like a skittish cat.

“I’ll watch over you. I think these guys are on the up and up, Mandy.”

Oh yeah, my sister’s
feelings
. Probably a gift I didn’t get. But the truth in her words must have triggered my body’s desire to faint, fall down, collapse, whatever. The adrenaline rush was over, and I crashed hard.

Tim guided me to the ground.

Mr. Commando moved forward.

“Stay back,” Georgia said, her flames brightening.

I cast one last look to the car. No one was moving on it. Georgia would protect us. I had to heal, everything hurt. Mostly my heart, but I didn’t think my ice could fix that.

I slumped against Tim’s body. He knelt behind me, supporting my back and let me ease to the ground. Crackling started. “Better let go.”

Tim acted too quickly, and I thumped to the ground the last couple of inches.

“Tim,” Georgia said.

“What’s she doing?” Mr. Commando asked.

I kept my eyes trained on the stranger since it seemed he was in charge. I’d bust out of my healing ice if he flinched wrong, though.

“Healing. Stay back,” Georgia said. “I’m a little trigger-happy with my flame right now. You didn’t get the guy running out of here.”

“Someone else was here with speed? That makes sense. We saw something blur past us as we approached. Couldn’t track it though.”

“Thought you’d know all of us,” Georgia said.

I relaxed against my healing ice and let it take me.

“Tim Cohen made the call, or at least someone from his phone. But his voice sounds like that of the person who left the message. Georgia Hillman, twin to Amanda Hillman, both sisters to Scott Hillman. No genetic alterations. Someone named Jasmine helps guard Scott, but oddly enough, we couldn’t track down her last name.”