Frostbite (Touch of Frost) (26 page)

“Jasmine. I see all this electronic stuff around. I’m assuming you have security?” I asked.

She looked up from a file folder she was flipping through. “Yep. Booby traps around the perimeter and tons of cameras. ”

“So, we’re safe to chill until we figure out what’s next. We probably need to find out how many
Coats
are here, right?”

“And, if they’ve contacted the base.” Jasmine nodded.

“Base?” Zach asked.

“They have a mobile unit. Last I heard it was in Iowa. But like I said, it’s mobile.”

“Hey, Zach, you think Jess will help us?” I asked.

“Probably. He’s always up for something crazy. He stuck his neck out for us already. I’ll send him a text.” Zach whipped out his phone and started clicking.

The clock in the kitchen read ten o’clock. This had been one of the longest days ever. Not really, I’d had worse, but this was close. But at least we had refuge for tonight. Maybe even longer.

“Jas, show me the stuff you have on The Center and your equipment.” Scott got up from the table.

Jasmine smiled and hopped to her feet. Her cheeks flushed. She did like my brother, didn’t she? Sure, she lied her brains out to get close to him, but now she seemed genuine enough.

Those two hovered around the tornado-ravaged desk for a while, then went into another room across from the bathroom. I eased out of my chair and gravitated to the oversized couch in the living room behind us.

Georgia followed, and we drooped down. The scent of new leather wafted over me.

She rested her head on my shoulder. “My mom’s been psycho-texting and calling. What should I say?”

“Tell her you found a wicked-cool grad party, and you’ll see her tomorrow. We’ve got so much to figure out, I can’t even think straight right now.”

“She’s going to flip.” Georgia dug out her phone.

“Well, she can’t find you, so we’ll deal with her later. I’d still really love to know how she’s involved with that disc.”

“You and me both. If we make it through all of this, she and I are definitely going to have words,” Georgia said.

“I’d pay money to see you have ‘words’ with your mom, you wuss.”

She elbowed my ribs, which, thankfully, were pain-free.

Voices from the other room filtered in. Probably Scott and Jasmine hashing out some big plan or whatever. Was it okay I didn’t want to know the details? I hoped so, because the only thing I wanted was sleep.

But come tomorrow, I’d be ready to cause some serious frostbite to The Center.

THIRTY-ONE

“M
aybe you should run. Go and hide instead of fighting,” Zach said as he leaned against the porch railing.

After I’d almost gotten him killed, lied to him, and dumped him, he’d really come through for us by helping us escape the school. And then when he’d agreed with me about staying and fighting, I’d thought maybe things could work out with us. That he wanted me to stay. Now he was telling me to run?

Crisp, early morning air refreshed my stale lungs. I hadn’t realized how stuffy the house was. The full moon brightened the darkness like a spotlight, but all I wanted to do was disappear. With Zach here next to me at this super-secret hideout in the middle of nowhere, it only made the not-so-great reality that much more vivid: He was in serious danger because of me.

“This Jasmine seems to be able to stay under the radar. She could help you guys. She’s been doing it for a long time.”

“So have we.”

“But they keep finding you. And she’s got connections. I think it could work.”

“I’m sick of running, Zach. I want to be normal. I want to go to college, like you and Georgia. I want—” The intensity of emotion roaring through me stole my voice, and I gripped the wood railing until I heard it crackling under the pressure.

“What?” He turned me to face him.

“I just want to be with you, Zach.” The burning in my eyes reached epic proportions at the thought of leaving him. “If I run, I’ll never see you again.”

He combed my hair with his fingers and settled his hand on the nape of my neck. He gently turned me to face him more, and his casted hand rested on my hip. “I’ll go with you.”

“You can’t leave your life here. Your folks. College. No way.” I stepped away, but he tightened his hold so I couldn’t move any more. “I can’t be responsible for that, Zach.”

My insides melted at the thought that he’d give everything up for me. He barely even knew me, and what he did know was pretty freaking outrageous.

“We’d figure something out. And as for college…Doesn’t matter. I can go anywhere. Take classes online while we’re moving around. As long as I’m with you, it doesn’t matter.”

I looked away, not able to take the intense sincerity in his slate eyes. He’d do it. Quit everything for me, wouldn’t he? I couldn’t let him do that. I—

He grabbed my chin and lifted my face to his.

“Zach—”

He silenced me with his mouth. My arguments faded away as I melted into him. I curled my arms up beneath his, and hooked my hands on his shoulders, pulling myself closer.

We fit perfectly together, like he was made to hold me. I’d missed him these last few days. Hated I’d missed out on all these kisses. His pouty bottom lip. His spicy-fresh scent.

His good hand slid to the small of my back, then glided over my hip. One quick hoist and I sat on the railing, my legs cinched around his waist. That sparked a whole new level of heat.

One I was entirely okay with.

I yanked him closer, working my hands beneath his shirt to his smooth back. Soft, warm skin. His muscles tensed with each delicious movement against me, and I grabbed on, bringing him impossibly closer. Which brought me even closer to the edge.

I gasped for air, drinking in his breath as if it were my own. His hand explored its way beneath my shirt, massaging up my spine. My already thumping heart broke out into a sprint at the contact. I couldn’t help but whisper a quiet moan as I nibbled on his neck.

Yes, I would make this work. We were meant to be together.

I might even be in love with him.

Zach flinched, then grunted.

Had I hugged him too hard? I was getting a little carried away. “Zach?”

His grip around me loosened, and he slumped to the side. Had I not held him steady, he would have toppled over the railing.

“Zach?”

He looked at me through glazed, heavy-lidded eyes. “Mand—”

His eyelids shut. I hoisted him up into my arms. A dart protruded from his neck.

“No!” Gooseflesh pulled at my skin, raising the hairs on my neck. I opened my mouth to scream for Georgia and Scott, but something pinched my back. Three times. My mouth went arid, and my strength waned. “Sco...” was as far as I got before my world went black.

THIRTY-TWO

“S
he’s coming around,” someone said. Didn’t recognize the woman’s voice.

My eyelids refused to obey my command to open. They felt like lead and scratched like sandpaper. I moved my hand, but metal clanked, and my wrist met something cold.

Reality hit me like a brick across my already aching skull.

The
Coats
got me. Zach, too.

Finally my eyes did what I’d instructed, but the bright light stung, making me regret the order.

“Amanda Hillman?”

“Smith.” Felt like I had a mouth full of dirt. I smacked my lips together but tasted iron. They stung, too. How much time had passed since I was on the patio with Zach?

Shit, where was he?

Finally, my surroundings fell into focus. The creep from Jess’s computer paced in front of me in his squeaky leather shoes and crisp black suit. He flicked his attention to me a few times, but never held my gaze more than a quick second.

What was his name again?

No matter how much I strained against the chair I was pinned to, I couldn’t see Zach. Or anything behind me. What were they doing to him?

“We know it’s Hillman, Amanda,” a slender woman standing before me said.

“Then why’d you ask?”

Her brown hair was pulled into a bun so tight she almost looked bald. Buns must be standard dress code for The Center chicks, because she was identical to the girl I froze in my hotel escape two years ago. Maybe they cloned her.

Was Zach in the room? Maybe I should freeze everything like I did before.

“Where am I?” I coughed.

The woman knelt in front of me and ignored my question. Something tugged at the skin on my temples. Probably little electrodes stuck to them like they were all up my arms.

“Can I have some water?”

Had they gotten the rest of the gang from the house? Maybe Jasmine and Georgia held them off. They’d come for me. They’d save me.

If they can find me.

I kicked my legs. Metal clanked. Despite pushing with all my strength, the metal didn’t budge. I hadn’t found anything I couldn’t bend or break yet.

I couldn’t see behind me, but I heard shuffling. Might be a third person with us. Or Zach was back there.

“Someone answer me,” I shouted. “Where the hell am I?”

“It doesn’t matter, Mandy. You’re where you need to be,” a voice said from behind me. It was soft. Female.

“Show yourself already. Who are you?”

“You know who we are, Mandy. How have you been?”

“Peachy. And it’s
Amanda
. What do you want?”

“What we’ve always wanted. To understand you.”

“Blah, blah. I won’t cooperate.”

“We have ways to make you.”

“You sound like a movie cliché.” I pressed against my restraints again until my wrists ached more than I could take.

The mysterious high-pitched voice laughed. The chick in front of me busied herself scribbling on a clipboard. Typical
Coat
. Always studying, taking notes, being…scientific.

“How do you like the new restraints?” the faceless voice asked.

“Whatever.”

“I had them made especially for you. Couldn’t have you breaking your way out of them again.”

“Where’s Zach?”

“The boy you were cozy with on the porch?” bun-lady asked.

Oh please let him be okay
.

The woman glanced over my shoulder, then nodded. She silently rose from her perch and scurried out the door. Thick-necked-guy watched her, but kept his distance from me.

Did I scare him? Should I try and freeze him? No, I needed to find out where Zach was first.

“You’ve kept us on the run for a long time, Mandy,” the voice said.

“It’s Amanda to you,
loser
.”

“Haven’t lost your attitude, though, I see. Didn’t your parents teach you any respect?”

The words were like a salty knife sliced through my gut.

“Oh, yes, that is a trigger for you, isn’t it. I felt the temperature drop a few degrees.” The voice huffed. “Amazing.”

More shuffling behind me. Clicks, like someone typed at a computer.

“Where’s Scott?” I didn’t dare mention Georgia and Jasmine. No need to spill anything else.

“Have your powers increased since the last time you’ve been home?”

“Home…yeah, right.”

“You are home, Mandy. How you choose to exist here is up to you.”

I clenched my jaw so tight my head ached. I turned on the cold.

“You can live here as a resident who is free to roam around, in exchange for allowing us to study you. Or you can remain under lock and key, drugged most of the time.”

“Like I’d trust you to let me roam free.”
A little cooler
. Let’s see what they do. Until this very moment, I had no idea what they’d been doing to me or how long it’d been. For as loud as my stomach argued for food, it must have been a while.

I glanced down at my clothes. White hospital pants and shirt, of course. They had an obsession with white. Cables attached to the steel chair ran to a white box that flashed a rainbow of colors across the screen. Door to my left.

Faceless voice droned on, “On the contrary, child. You could be happy here. We could teach you things.”

Thick-neck-man stopped pacing. His breath clouded around his mouth. He clasped his hands together. A black glove covered his right hand. Maybe he was expecting it to get chilly? Or he had a thing for Michael Jackson.

“Where’s here?” I cranked up the cold. Ice tugged at my fingers.

“The Center. And you better settle down, or I’ll be forced to sedate you again, Mandy.” The condescending voice grated on my nerves.

“I know I’m at The Center, Nimrod. And I’ll settle down when you tell me
where
we are.” My already dry mouth went even more arid.

“For now, it’s California, up north. Well hidden.”