Renegade Passion (6 page)

“Eraser?” Sonia asked, confused.
 

“That’s what we call Kel since he can erase people’s memories.”
 

Sonia went completely still.
 

“Sonia don’t overreact,” Becca said quickly. “He would have told you. He hasn’t had time.”

“Oh shit,” Chale said. “You didn’t know, did you?”

“No,” Kel said from the door. “She didn’t know because I didn’t have time to tell her, so thank you for that.”

Sonia was on her feet in a heartbeat. “You had time to tell me, you just didn’t. You were going to wipe my memories and send me away again, weren’t you?”

Chapter Eight

You were going to wipe my memories and send me away again, weren’t you?
 

Kel’s heart thundered in his chest as he replayed Sonia’s words and tried to figure out what to say and not say. ”I wasn’t going to erase your memories. Or I was. I thought about it. I was going to give you the choice if you hated Sunrise City or this life. A choice, Sonia.”

“Then why not tell me?” she demanded.
 

“I did at breakfast.”

“You said nothing about wiping my memories.”

“I knew you’d react like this.”

“Are you wiping Carrie’s memories, too?” she demanded.
 

“We have no choice,” he said. “It’s that or a life in Sunrise City.”

Sterling walked into the room and stopped
 
next to Kel. His gaze slid around the room before he muttered one of his famously outlandish statements turning Holy Mother of God into,
 
“Holy M&Ms we’re fighting, aren’t we?”

“Yes,” Sonia said at the same time Kel said, “No.”

“So yes,” Sterling said and glanced at Kel. “Sorry, man. Her face says it all. And I hate to make this worse, but we have a team ready to follow us to Carrie’s new location. We need to get a move on.”

Kel ran his hand through his hair. “I’d planned to talk to you about this before we left for Sunrise today. I had no idea they would find her a location as quickly as they did. Can we talk a minute, Sonia?”

“Go take care of Carrie,” she said, shaking her head. “This isn’t something we’re going to solve while other people wait.”

Damn it, he’d say this with an audience if he had to. He crossed the room, grabbed her and kissed her. “You are everything to me. The thought of going one more second, let alone the rest of my life without you, shreds me to pieces. And yes, I considered wiping your memory, I won’t lie. I admit it. I wanted to protect you and I won’t apologize for that. I love you and I wanted you to have a choice, after you saw the real picture of what you’re involved with. But know this. I believe you’re right about the dreams leading you here and to a purpose. We’re supposed to fight this war together. I’ll be back in two hours tops.”
 

He kissed her again and turned and strode out of the room. The hours away from her were going to be torture.

***

“It’s a soldier and a GTECHs nature to protect people, but their women even more so,” Becca said when she and Sonia were finally alone.

Sonia absorbed her words and tried to calm down, sinking back onto a stool. “I know, but he let me think he was dead.”

“He had a reason,” she said. “If the Army didn’t grab you and call you a witness and turn you into a casualty to protect a secret, Adam would have gotten to you. I was inside Area 51 and I know what they would have done to you just because you’re his woman. Every man in that place would have tried to mate with you and then they would have used drugs and tried it again. He didn’t know if he would have the power to protect you from that back then.”

Sonia inhaled and slowly let out her breath as she confessed, “It hurt.”

“I know,” Becca said. “But he hurt just like you. I see how different he is in just the short time you’ve been here. Give him a chance. He needs you here. He knows that.” She smiled. “We all need you. You have amazing abilities.”

Sonia felt the tension drain from her body. “You’re right. I overreacted.” They talked a while and then played around with mixing their abilities with remarkable success. Becca was picking up on her dreams.
 

Three hours had passed and Sonia felt a gnawing worry in her stomach. She told herself it was simply that she hated fighting with Kel, that she was in emotional knots, but deep down it felt like more. “Shouldn’t they be back?”

“Things can drag out on missions,” she said. “Why don’t we take you on a tour of the building so you know your way around.”

 
Thirty minutes later, Sonia was in her room, promising to take a nap to be alert when Kel returned, but she just couldn’t shake the bad feeling inside. Another half hour and she went in search of answers.

She ended up beside a computer room, when she overheard Sterling saying, “They’ve been out of communication too long.”
 

“I’m the best tracker we have,” Damion said. “I’ll go check things out. If anyone’s down I’ll know.”

She hurried into the room. “You’re talking about Kel and Carrie, aren’t you?” Damion and Sterling exchanged a look and she said, “That’s a ‘yes’. How long have they been out of contact?”

“They’re fine,” Damion said. “They’re traveling through an area with limited cell coverage. We know that. We just like to be cautious.”

“Are you going to check on them?” she asked Damion.

“Yes. I’ll go now.” He walked towards her and paused. “He’ll be fine. He is fine.”

“Please be right.” She’d lost him once. She couldn’t lose him again.
 

“I am,” he said and headed towards the door she now knew was a tunnel to a warehouse they used to wind walk out of sight.
 

“I’ll come and get you when I know something,” Sterling offered. “Or I can send Becca down to keep you company?”

She shook her head. “No, thanks. I’m fine.” But she wasn’t. She headed back down the hallway when something about the words triggered a sudden flash of images in her mind. Kel and several other Renegades being attacked on the highway. The images blurred together but she saw Kel grab Carrie and throw her on the ground, just in time to take a blast of bullets. She gasped and started running for the door.
 

She was down the ramp and screaming after Damion, a vague memory of dream in her mind, of Kel needing her.“He’s down,” she yelled. “He’s hurt. They’re all hurt.”

Damion turned and met her halfway. “How do you know?”

“I saw it. I can see things I can’t explain. Not now. I’m going with you. I can read the landmarks from my vision.“

Damion held up his hands. “Oh no. That’s not happening. You can’t wind walk unless you’ve lifebonded.”

“I have,” she said, wondering why Kel hadn’t told her that but not caring. Not right now. ”We did. You can check my neck.”

 
“Sonia, then you can relax,” he said. “Once you do the blood bond, and convert to GTECH, if he dies, you die. If he’s mortally hurt it would bring you to your knees. Let him focus on keeping you both alive. Let me go so I can come back and tell you he’s safe. And he’s darn sure going to want to be the first one to take you on a wind walk.”
 

“Blood bond?” she asked, feeling sick. Kel hadn’t completed the lifebond process with her. He had been going to wipe her memory. She drew in a breath and forced it out. It didn’t matter. He was dying. She knew it and she had to save him. Even if they said goodbye later. She buried her face in her hands like she was crying and rushed at Damion, pretending to hug him but took his gun instead.
 

She backed up and pointed it at him. “I’m going with you.”

“Oh, well hell,” he grumbled, running his hand through his light brown hair, a scowl on his too handsome face. “You really know how to wound a guy’s pride. Can we make a deal and not tell anyone about this?”

“Just take me with you.”

“Shoot me, Sonia. I don’t care. But I’m not taking you on a walk that could kill you.”

“You have to!” She shouted, she didn’t know why, but she felt it in her core, that she was the difference in Kel living or dying. “Please. Trust me on this. He needs me right now.”

“He needs you,” he agreed softly, his hazel eyes filled with understanding. “That’s my point, Sonia. I can’t let anything happen to you. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

There were shouts down the tunnel and Sonia couldn’t believe her eyes. Chale was running with Kel thrown over his shoulder.
 

“Call the doc,” Chale shouted. “They had Green Hornets.”

“What are Green Hornets?” Sonia asked, rushing towards them.

Damion was already reaching for his phone even as he asked Chale, “Where’s Carrie?”

Chale glanced at Sonia. “He’ll be okay. We heal quickly and then to Damion, “She’s underground and we have a team getting her to Sunrise.”

The rest was a blur for Sonia. She barely remembered how she ended up in a hospital-like room, standing back as several people she didn’t know and Becca ripped open some kind of special second skin bulletproof vest that Kel wore and she surmised that Green Hornets were bullets. There was blood. So much blood. Too much blood. Tears streamed down her face, fear and helplessness welling inside her. Then they were operating, right there, without any special tools, just pulling out bullet after bullet.
 

“Oh God,” she whispered. “This is going to kill him.”
 

“Come here, Sonia,” Becca called out from the bedside, holding a towel over one of the bleeding wounds. Oh God. There were so many holes. Becca pointed to a monitor where a pretty blonde female was displayed on the screen.
 

“Sonia, I’m Kelly,” she said. “I’m the Chief of Medical Staff for the Renegades. Listen, honey, we don’t have long here. I understand you’re his lifebond.”

“Yes,” Sonia managed.

“Okay, good. But you haven’t done the blood exchange?”
 

She shook her head. “No.”

“Okay. GTECHs can survive most injuries but there is something called a healing sickness. It’s caused by the vitamin C deficiency. When the injuries are too extreme, it’s intense. The more advance the GTECH in his special abilities, the more it seems to affect him. There’s something I’ve been experimenting with to try to combat it. The bullets are out so he has the ability to heal if we can trigger the reaction. I need you to do the blood exchange now. If my initial testing is right, it will overcome the vitamin C deficiency.”

A dream took vivid form in Sonia’s mind, a dream of this moment, and she now knew why she’d been so irrationally desperate to get Damion to take her with him. “Yes, okay. Anything to save him.”

“Sonia,” Kelly said. “Once you do this-”

“I die if he dies,” she supplied, “and that means now, today. I understand. I’ll do it. Of course, I’ll do it. Just save him. Please. Save him.”

***

Kel woke in his bed, the scent of her around him, the soft strands of her honey-colored hair caressing his skin while her soft fingers traced the angel wing on his arm. The last thing he remembered were the bullets, the pain, and the darkness, but now, the wounds were gone.
 

“Since I’m naked and you’re not,” he murmured, “I’m assuming I didn’t miss anything I didn’t want to.”

She laughed. “No, but your clothes were bloody and every time I tried to dress you, you rolled over.”
 

“My own personal angel caring for me,” he said. “I’m really dead this time and you’re the dream, aren’t I?” he asked softly, capturing her hand with his and sucking in a breath when their gazes locked. “Your eyes-”

“Are black,” she supplied. “Yes. They are. Because you see, us GTECH women only have one man and-”

He pulled her to him and kissed her, happier than he thought he’d ever been. “We did the blood exchange?”