The Protectors Series Bundle (A superhero romance anthology) (17 page)

Cassie laughed and pointed at the tall blond boy, the one who looked about sixteen. “That’s Jeremy. Annabelle’s son. He's got an amazing set of gifts.”

The moment their feet hit the ground, Cassie shouted to the group standing near their van. “Everyone get back to the van.” They sprinted away from the building when the first blast rocketed them airborne.

Seth expected a hard landing in the gravel, but again, he landed lightly on his feet. He glanced over at Jeremy. The kid’s lips were flattened thin and his brow furrowed. Seth could only imagine the kind of energy he spent giving them all a safe landing. The other eleven kids looked tired and world weary.

Cassie stared back at the burning warehouse and sagged against Seth, tears welling in her eyes “Peter’s dead. I actually killed him.”

Seth wrapped an arm around her. “We have to go, Cassie. We’re in the open and the cops are coming. Let’s get the other safely back to the cabin and we can worry about Peter later.”

She sniffed and wiped at her eyes as she ushered everyone into the van. “It’s finally over.”

Epilogue

“I never thought of myself as the motherly type,” Cassie said as she descended the stairs in the cabin.

Seth glanced up from the couch. “I think you’re doing a decent job.”

She joined him and nuzzled into his chest.

He kissed her hair. “Are they all asleep?”

“Symone and Jeremy are still having a hard time trusting that this is all real and we’re not sending them back to Gentech.”

“Understandable.” He stroked her hair and she instantly relaxed. “Any luck reaching their parents?

“We’ve located about half. But after looking at the Gentech records, I found some parents signed away their rights to Peter.”

Seth muttered a low curse. “So, what happens now?”

“For years my whole life has been about escape. I never gave any thought to what my life would actually be like when I got out.”

“The good news is you have the resources and time to figure it all out.”

What the hell was he talking about? Peter had taken everything from her. “What resources?”

A slow smile spread across his face. “Honey, I guess none of it has crossed your mind yet. With Peter gone, you’re the head of Gentech. You own everything now.”

She shook her head. “I don’t—.”

He shrugged. “Sell it, carve it up, and dismantle it. You can use the money to help everyone Peter hurt. It’s up to you.”

Cassie cast a glance in the direction of the stairs. The worry was unavoidable. “I don’t know if they’ll ever recover. But I want to do something for them.”

“Gentech did some good work in the past. Work your father started. The company’s not all evil.”

Love and admiration bloomed through her chest when she thought of her father and how he’d wanted to help people. A cold chill chased away the warmth as she thought of the damage Peter had done and the lives he’d stolen. “It would take a lot of work to fix the problems. I want nothing to do with that place. Maybe I can start something new. Mostly I want to help people. Those kids, in particular. I want to give back what’s been taken.”

“We’ll do everything we can to help them. But remember, these aren’t your sins to atone for. You risked your life to save theirs. We’ll help them together, but because we want to, not because you have to make up for something.”

She nodded, but she couldn’t stem the guilt. Because of her, Peter started other experiments in his search for the perfect soldier. The news about the explosion flashed on the screen again. “It’s been three days and the explosion is still all over the news. If we want to protect the kids, we have to hide them. Symcore knows about the experiments and they will want the research. Those kids don’t need to be exposed to that. They’ve been through enough.”

“Symcore won’t get their hands on you or any of those kids, you have my word,” he growled.

A wash of purpose rolled over her like cool rain on a summer’s day. She could do something to counteract the damage her brother had done. “Maybe I can use the money to develop a cure for what I did to you.”

He shook his head. “I've got my cure. I got it the night you woke up and smiled at me. I thought I’d lost you, and when you came back, I realized I’d never have been able to save you or get out of that mess if I didn't have my powers.” He kissed her neck and her pulse quickened. “I love you. I want to be here with you. Or anywhere for that matter.”

For several moments, Cassie couldn’t breathe. He loved her. Someone loved her? She turned in his arms. “Even though I’m not quite human?”

“You’re superhuman.” He said, kissing her on the nose. “Besides, I'm dying to see what kind of practical applications this will mean for the bedroom.”

It had taken him a while to get there. She'd never met anyone like him. And probably never would. She laid her head on his chest. “What about the others?”

He nodded toward the quest quarters and wooded acreage behind it. “Way I figure it, we have a ton of space here as long as Lisa agrees. For the love of God, this place has four guest cabins. Those that want to can stay as long as they like. We can show them how to use their powers. How to control and focus them.  It really could be our lair.”

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. “As for what happens now, I think that’s up to you. I, for one, will need some help figuring how to use my new powers to get women naked. I’ve always wanted to be a super villain.” He winked and waggled his eyebrows.

She laughed even as tears pricked her eyes. “You really are extraordinary.”

“No, you're the extraordinary one.”

He kissed her long and deep. Sparks of heat danced over her skin. Seth suddenly pulled back, but his hands tightened on her arms.

“Seth, what’s the matter? Are you getting a vision?”

For several heart-beats, he was silent. When he finally spoke, his voice was a tight growl. “I just had an image of Peter standing over our bodies, his hands dripping with blood.”

She shook her head. “No. He’s dead. We watched the building explode. That image has to be from the past. A future that didn’t come to pass or something. Maybe you can have false visions.”

His face was bleak. “No, Cassie. It’s not from the past. In the image, you were pregnant.”

An icicle settled in her gut. Pregnant? Her thoughts churned. Peter was coming for them. But as Seth tightened his arms around her, a calm washed through her body. Her voice was even and cool. “Let him come. I’m not afraid of Peter. I
know
our power. He can’t touch us.”

Forsaken Protector

Copyright 2012 by Nana Malone

The Protectors Series

Book Two

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

Forsaken Protector

COPYRIGHT © 2012 by Nana Malone

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Cover Art by Kimberly Killion

Edited by Val Hatfield

Published in the United States of America

Chapter One

Icy wind whipped around Garrett Hunter’s body as he watched his quarry leave the Mylands Youth Center. Tonight, the moonlight made Symone Jackson’s skin look like luminescent cinnamon. In the two weeks he’d been watching her, she’d never varied her routine. She showed up for her shift at six and left at ten. She took the same route every time. By now, her lithe movements were as familiar to him as his own. Her strides were efficient and strong, yet somehow balletic. She looked more like a dancer than the terrorist she was.

He’d been lucky to even find her in the first place. Her photo had been in the newspaper for her volunteer work. Just her profile, but it was enough. Sloppy on her part. Fortuitous on his. His mission was to observe, identify any known associates, then bring her in. Observing her at work was easy. He’d been able to plant bugs inside the Youth Center, in particular her office. She counseled young teens trying to help them stay off the street.

Observing her at home was more complicated. He still had no idea where she lived. Every night he followed her, and every night she gave him the slip. Not like she knew she was being followed. But more like it was a habit. Not the act of an innocent person.

Garrett had only ever been able to track her to the Mylands Library, then she’d go all Houdini on his ass. He’d tried everything. Dogged every one of her steps, planted cameras from different vantage points to watch the library. He’d even attempted to plant a tracking chip on her once, in the form of a letter from one of her troubled teens. He’d been sure she’d take the bait and take the letter home with her, but no dice. Symone was beyond cautious. She was a ghost.

Tapping into his empathic ability, he tried to read her emotional grid. All he got from her was satisfaction, exhaustion and—loneliness. He hadn’t had much luck with her friends either. Other than the teens she counseled, he’d never seen her with anyone. She was always alone.

As he watched his mark, the voice in his earpiece cut through his concentration.

“Do you have the target?” Rex, his commanding officer, asked.

“Affirmative.” Garrett kept his voice low.

“Any contact?”

“Still none. And still no luck on her abode. Orders were to get her at home, but access is better here. What’s your call?”

“Negative. Do not engage until I send you back up. ETA forty-eight hours. In the meantime, find her home by any means necessary.”

What the fuck? With every target he’d ever acquired, the directive was always to be as quiet as possible. Sometimes drugging his target, sometimes knocking them out, but it was always clean and quiet. He’d never been asked to risk exposure. What was so special about this girl? “Acknowledged.”

In the shadows of the abandoned warehouses, he tracked her, never letting her out of his sight. Tonight, she followed the same path she always did, from the center, down past the auto repair shop, cutting through the back alleys, heading towards the center of town.

Crossing Wilkins Avenue, he frowned. This wasn’t the most direct or the safest route if she was headed back to the library. It was the path with the least amount of people to run into. He quickly stifled his annoyance. He always kept his empathic ability under a tight rein. On rare occasion it slipped through. From a distance, he could catch the thread of what his tail was feeling. There was always a danger he would sympathize with his mark. But he liked to think that the empathy was a gift rather than a hindrance. That it made him a better soldier.

Except in moments like this when he was following Symone and her emotions were mirrored back at him. Her hurry to get home, her worry over the teenagers. Even though he tried to shut it down, she filtered in. And it pissed him off. She was being careless. If she had something to hide, she should be taking better care to stay safe.

Rex’s voice was stern. “Reaper won’t be happy if you can’t pull this off. Are your abilities getting in the way of your orders?”

Reaper, my ass. Garrett tried not to roll his eyes. He couldn’t get used to calling their head mother fucker in charge by his call sign. His name was Peter Reeser. He wasn’t even being clever with the call sign.

“Negative,” Garrett murmured. If there was one thing he could do, it was follow orders.

“Then get it done.”

When he’d been approached by his commanding officer to be part of an elite Black Ops team, he’d jumped at the chance. With his genetic marker for Lou Gehrig’s disease, he knew his military career would be limited. It was a chance to make a difference before he got sick and was so feeble someone would have to feed him. The Symcore Weapons Super Soldier pilot program had saved his life. Nothing would stop him on his follow-through. Especially not a stunningly beautiful terrorist.