Frostbite (Touch of Frost) (29 page)

I’d only wanted to feel…peace. Love.

“Have you ever been in love? Like
real
love?” I asked.

“No.” She grinned and picked at her blueberry muffin. “You love him, don’t you?”

I nodded, then pulled my knee to my chest. “But I didn’t say it yet. I’m scared. Part of me thinks we should leave Trifle to keep him safe. But another part of me is begging to stay so I can be with him.”

“You’ll protect him. Hell, you healed him in like two minutes yesterday. I couldn’t believe it. You’ve only done that once, right?”

“Twice if you count the little piece of flying car that stabbed me.” I picked at a faded rip in the knee of my jeans. “I’m worried they did something to me at the hotel-from-hell. I feel stronger. I mean, not strength-wise, but power-wise. More control.”

“Good. Because if we’re going to do this—I mean
really
—do this, stronger is better.”

My gut dropped.
More killing
.

“Jasmine and Scott are headed out there right now, getting an idea of how this will go down.”

“Do you trust Jasmine?” I nibbled on my nails.

“I do. You should have seen her taking care of Scott and me while you were gone. She went all mother protector on us both and never left Scott’s side.” Georgia nodded as if willing me to feel the trusting vibe. “She’s for real. Knows her army shit, too. I’m just glad she’s on
our
side.”

“It just seems weird that we were at
her
super secret hide-out but it gets crashed by
Coats
.” I shook my head. “Tell me what happened at the house.”

“I saw you and Zach sneaking outside but fell right back to sleep. Jasmine shook me awake, whispering for me to follow her and Scott.”

I cringed. “I was probably out cold on the porch already, huh?”

“I told them you were out there, but Jasmine said it was too late. You were already down, and the creeps were making their way into the house. Said there were too many for her to handle and keep Scott and me safe. She pressed a few buttons, and her computers erupted in smoke. And that desk, you know the one that was all messy, burst into flames.”

“Holy crap.”

“She got us out through some tunnels hidden behind the house, but she lingered around to try and find out where they were taking you and to watch over Zach. She heard they were taking you to California, so that’s where she and Jess started searching.”

A knock at the door sent Georgia jumping up from our roller-cart table. She hustled to the door and peered through the eyehole, then unlatched the chain and pulled open the door.

“Hey, Zach!” she said, stepping to the side to let him in.

Zach sent a killer smile in my direction, and had I been an ice cube, I would have melted. Heat burned my cheeks. They must have been beet red.

Georgia latched the door again and followed Zach in.

His yumminess strode toward me, looking fit in his tight t-shirt and cargo shorts. His toned biceps flexed against the fabric. But something was different.

“Hey, wait. Your cast is gone.” I shot to my feet. “How’d that happen?”

Zach kissed my cheek. “You healed it.”

Hmmm. I loved that spicy scent that was all Zach. This time it was mixed with a fresh scented soap. “I remember you saying I’d healed your wrist, but where’s the cast?”

“Jasmine and Scott helped me cut it off before they left to scope out the situation.” He sat at the edge of the bed. “So what are you guys doing?”

“Georgia’s filling me in on what happened at the house the night I was taken.” Although only two feet separated us, I wanted to be closer. Jump back into his strong arms and forget what Georgia, Jasmine and I were going to go do.

“We were just getting to your part, Zach.” Georgia’s voice dragged me out of my stare. “So go for it.”

“One minute you and I were on the porch. Then the next I wake up, it’s light out, there’s smoke spewing from the windows, and you’re gone. Some guys were standing around me. One was our friend Andrey.”

“Thick-neck? What’d he say?”

Zach nodded. “He acted all concerned about me because I looked pretty beaten up. Like he’d found me this way on the porch.”

“They beat you up?”

“No idea. I woke up on the porch with the aching ribs and throbbing cheek.”

“If you don’t remember, they probably drugged you. But I don’t understand why they didn’t take you.”

“I acted as if I was partying, confused, and clueless. Claimed I didn’t know anything about anything.”

“Must have been an Academy Award winning performance because they had to have known we were together.
Coats
shot out your bike tire the night we crashed, Zach. They’d said you were to be taken, too.”

He planted his elbows on his knees. “Andrey was all evasive, saying something about how lucky I was not to have been hurt more.”

“Total warning.” Georgia shook her head.

“Yeah, that sounds like a Center threat to me.” I pressed his hand between mine and kissed his fingertips. “I’m really sorry you got hurt, Zach.”

“I can’t believe they left us alone, especially if they knew about me,” Georgia said.

“I’m not a hundred percent sure they know about you in the sense that you have powers, G. They didn’t ask about you once. I’m sure they would have eventually gotten you if I didn’t start cooperating.” I shrugged. “Kidnapping three teenagers—even if we are all over eighteen—probably isn’t easy to cover up, even for The Center.”

“What happened in there?” Anger flashed over Zach’s eyes, and his jaw clenched. “They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

Finally the pink elephant in the middle of the room was acknowledged. Georgia had danced around asking me earlier, but Zach flat out asked it. His jaw was tense, and his nostrils flared. But what I loved was the protectiveness edging his voice.

I’d always had Scott around to protect me. But I had to admit to myself, it was nice having someone else do it, too. Someone I was totally falling for.

“I’m not going to lie. It wasn’t a party, that’s for sure.” I stood and shuffled to the window. The sun hung high and bright. Not a cloud in the sky. I bet it was nice and warm outside, too. Maybe a little breeze if the swaying trees were any indication. “Lots of needles. Probes. Little pads stuck to my skin.”

Zach’s hands wove around my waist. Palms down, they rested on my abdomen. He kissed my neck, then propped his chin on my shoulder.

I wish I could say I felt all warm and fuzzy. Zach touching my abdomen did stir a little tingle, but thinking about what happened these past few days triggered a knot in my gut that could hold a fifty-ton anchor.

I did love him and want to be with him, but the
Coats
were still out there. Zach was human, could get really hurt. Killed even. Maybe that was why I hadn’t said the three magical words, because I knew deep down inside it could never work with us. That the
Coats
would always be in my life.

The thought of needles—being studied—sent a shiver down my spine. Hopefully, Jasmine and Scott found something helpful out there today, because I’d rather die than end up in that god-forsaken building again.

But, I’d really like to know what was so freaking important about me and my abilities.

THIRTY-SIX

M
y phone shrilled, ripping through my nice, peaceful dream so violently I nearly fell off the bed. I caught myself by grabbing the comforter and tensed. Sweat dripped down my face as I swung my gaze over the room. Dim. I was on the bed, and the TV flickered, but no sound came from it.

My heart hammered until my chest ached as I sucked in a breath and looked to my side. Zach lay on his back, arm resting on his chest and his head tilted to the side.

Another ring shattered the thick silence. Still Zach didn’t move.

I snatched the phone from the night table and pressed the answer button right below my brother’s face as I swung my legs over the side. “Yeah.” I glanced at the clock on the nightstand. Holy cow. Nearly eight o’clock. No wonder it was dark. “Where are you?”

“Some dinky gas station outside of town,” Scott said.

“What’d you find out?” I stood and stepped to the window, scrubbing my face trying to get myself in the moment. Dreamed of damn needles and white.
Everything
was white.

Outside, lights speckled the skyline. Fluffy, pink clouds decorated a violet sky.

“Let me put Jasmine on.”

“Girl, the complex is hopping since you bolted. I think the head honchos are there now. Two people are ordering everyone around. A male and female. Didn’t get any names, but they’re up in arms about your disappearing act.”

“Why? What’s so great about me?”

“It’s you
and
Georgia, now. Just put it together that you guys are twins. We need to get this place taken down, and now.”

Zach sat up in bed, rubbing his face. I held the phone away from my mouth and asked him, “Zach, can you text Georgia to come in here?”

He nodded and went to typing.

“So. I was right. They didn’t know about her when they took me.”

“Well they do now, and they know she’s fire.”

“Wonder if they got me talking and I didn’t even know it.”
Shit.
What else had I told them? Could that even be possible?

Zach hopped off the bed and let Georgia into the room. “Scott and Jasmine,” I whispered as I pointed to the phone.

“Mandy?” Scott asked. “We’re on our way back. Meet us down front, we’re coming to get you.” Scott paused. “And leave Zach at the hotel. It could get ugly.”

“Then you need to stay here, too,” I said, inching toward Georgia.

Silence.

“You two are the only ones without powers, it’s not going to be safe for either of you.”

Zach crossed his arms over his chest, and his jaw clenched as he stood beside Georgia.

“Just meet us downstairs. We’ll call you when we’re close,” Scott said.

“And you can jump out of the car.” I glanced at Zach. “Right, Scott?”

“Sure, sure. Keep your phone close, it won’t be long until we’re there.”

“We’ll be ready.”

I tapped
end call
. The rumblings of a volcano anxious to explode radiated from Zach as he stood there. I flipped my phone onto the nightstand, then inched toward him, showing him my palms.

He shook his head. “No, I’m not staying back again. No. Especially now that I’m healed.”

I looked at Georgia, hoping my stare portrayed what I wanted to scream: “Please help me with this.”

Either I didn’t give her the right look or she completely missed the mark, because she just shrugged. And she was my twin?

“No. Mandy, don’t ask me to stay. I can help. I—”

“Scott’s not going either. It’s not safe for you guys.”

“Like it’s safe for you. You just busted out of that place. They did horrible things to you, and you’re going back?”

“This is different. I’m going back on my terms.”

Georgia nodded. “Our terms. We’re going to end things, here and now.”

He stepped toward the door but stopped when Georgia said, “Mandy’s right. You’d get hurt and that’d kill her.”

Finally she’d caught on.

He turned around.

I moved to him. He looked to the side, then at the floor. Anywhere but me. A light shade of pink colored his cheeks.

I ducked so I could see his face. “I don’t want to lose you, Zach.”

“I feel so useless. I want to help. But I can’t, and that totally pisses me off.”

“You’re not useless.”

“Yes, I am. What good am I to you? I’m just a human. You’re so strong and—” He shook his head.

“You’re what makes me so strong. Before I met you, I was a scared little punk running away from everything and everyone. Hell, I even tried to brush you off, remember? A couple of times.” I cleared my throat and glanced at Georgia. She walked to the table by the TV. “But since I’ve been with you, I’m so much stronger. Confident.”

He pinched my chin between his thumb and forefinger and held me steady as he stared into my eyes.

“I envision it was like that with my mom and dad. He didn’t have any powers. But I picture him as Mom’s rock.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “And he was strong, too. Maybe not in the physical sense, but he took care of my mom. He whisked her away and hid her until Georgia and I were born. No one even knew about Georgia until now.”

He nodded.

“You’re my rock, Zach. I don’t know how it’s possible after such a short time, but you are.”

He gently rested his hand on the nape of my neck, beneath my hair and guided me closer to him. His stare was so intense, my face flushed. For a second, I forgot what I was about to leave him to do.

“Just be careful, Mandy.” Zach pulled me into an embrace. “I’m no good without you.”