They raised their hands and she felt the displacement of air as their combined power rushed toward her. Unlike her clear wave, theirs was definitely visible. Curious. Spreading her arms palms out, Harper met their energy head-on with her own. A moment of forces colliding, creasing the space between them in nearly invisible wrinkles-then hers ripped through theirs, decimating the two men in an instant.
Blinking the stinging sweat out of her eyes, she tried to take a deep breath of the light evening breeze into her heaving lungs. Looking up, she saw the sun had set and the clear sky behind the trees was daubed in brilliant pink hues.
Her strength drained and she bent over, resting her arms on her thighs. The fierce exertion had finally caught up with her.
A slight pain in her shoulder claimed her attention. She peered at the spot, seeing a small bloodstained hole in the gray sweatshirt.
Harper tugged at the neck of the shirt, exposing the wound, wincing at the pinching sensation that crawled over her shoulder. Her bloodied skin started to itch something fierce. As she scratched it, a tiny object spurted out and dropped on the concrete with a light clink.
It was the bullet. The shell was stained with a rusty liquid. Her blood.
Harper took a closer look at where she’d been shot. Though a tiny red spot marked her skin, the entry hole was very shallow. Poking at it with her index finger, she felt the tingling under her flesh seep away. After a moment, the tissue wasn’t even tender and the skin was almost whole again.
She shook her head, lacking the energy to even try to process this newest development.
Rome lay on the ground. Blood ran from his nose and a mean cut across his forehead. “Thanks,” he rasped, splaying his hand across his right ribs as he tried to roll over. “Again.”
She gave him a crooked smile in answer, relieved not to see any censure in his eyes. Though fully exhausted, a curious sensation of exhilaration coursed through her, prickling her muscles. Their attackers had the same kind of powers she had, but hers were somehow stronger. And purer. Dominant. She felt empowered. Invincible. And she liked it.
Rome grunted and leaned on his side in an attempt to get up. Harper straightened and took the last couple of steps to his side. She bent down, placing her hands under his arms to help scoop him upright. His grunt turned into a deep groan as he stood, a bit wobbly. She leaned close, allowing him to slide his left arm across her broad shoulders to steady himself. Their glances brushed over the bodies that scattered the warehouse site like driftwood on the beach.
He reached over to touch the red splotch on her sweatshirt. She watched him stare at the fabric, examining it from every angle with a frown.
“This shot wasn’t meant to kill,” he said, shaking his head. “That’s not good.”
That wasn’t a good thing? They weren’t trying to kill her anymore?
Wait, she knew what that meant now. They didn’t want her dead because they wanted to do more experiments on her.
“I think you’re right,” she agreed. Big bullies. Well, it wouldn’t be long before she turned the tables. She had Bobby’s data now. Soon she’d have the information she needed to take down her enemies. And with Rome’s help, they’d be darn near unstoppable.
“Let’s get these guys taken care of,” Rome said with a sigh, and broke away from her, walking to the nearest body. “Then we need to see what’s on that flash drive.”
“Good idea,” Harper agreed, walking toward the two slumped forms by the warehouse entrance.
She and Rome needed those answers now more than ever. Obviously she wasn’t alone in her powers. But she was finding out she really was different from the others and needed to find out why in order to command the power and get her revenge.
And the more she was able to control it, the more that revenge was becoming a reality. A smile broke out across her face. Harper couldn’t wait.
CHAPTER TEN
It was almost ten o’clock when Harper set down her mug of foamy hot chocolate, her gaze fixated on the bright screen of the laptop.
After taking care of their attackers’ bodies, they had collected a few necessities, laptop and flash drive included, and hit the road. They drove a few hours away from the bright lights of Portland, then circled back near the city’s suburbs to cover their tracks.
She and Rome had taken turns in getting some muchneeded sleep. They made a quick stop at a rest station for some food and to clean up a bit. But most of the drive had been silent, save for the rattling of her fingertips on the keyboard. Eventually, the battery started to run low, and they pulled over at a quaint café where she could plug it in.
Knowing how well Bobby understood her hacking capabilities, she had to be careful and meticulous when collapsing each level of convoluted code. Most likely, he had created frequent fail-safes along the way in case anyone else attempted to unravel the data. She imagined that it would automatically corrupt everything if there was any tampering other than the precise decoding executed by her own hands.
She stopped for a moment when the figures on the screen started to blur. Rubbing her eyes, she glanced away from the screen to peer around the friendly café.
The café wasn’t too crowded, being just near ten at night. A few patrons sat at their own laptops, taking advantage of the free wireless Internet while having steaming cups of coffee and home-style food.
Two other tables were pushed together, surrounded by a group of teenage girls who seemed to be gossiping their young hearts out. She overheard that Emily was going to break up with Josh because she saw him kissing Felicia.
A wistful smile broke across Harper’s face at their simple problems. No doubt the girls thought it was the most complicated thing ever. She’d trade for Emily’s boy troubles in less than a heartbeat.
Speaking of kissing boys, her tired gaze wandered over to Rome, who was standing patiently at the marbled counter while he waited for the matronly server to make another iced tea. He appeared to be mindlessly studying the chalkboard menu, but she knew he was hair-triggered for danger. She was beginning to recognize that he always had an aura of tension surrounding him.
But you wouldn’t know it unless you were looking for it. His fingers were in a half fist. Knees slightly bent. Shoulders hunched slightly. Clear eyes that saw everything.
He turned his head and locked that clear gaze with hers. The blue in his eyes sparkled as he turned one corner of his captivating mouth up in a half smile. She swore she could almost feel a current of desire radiate from him and reach out to her.
Or maybe it was her wishful thinking slapping her upside the head.
He shifted to pick up the full tray that held his glass of iced tea along with two heaping plates and a glass of ice water. It was difficult to decide which looked more appetizing: Rome’s muscular bulk or the plates of delicious-smelling food.
As he set the plates down on the table with a small clattering thud, Harper noticed the conversation at the gossip table had stopped. All the teens, gaping, were watching Rome’s every movement.
Yep, she knew exactly what they were thinking, because she was thinking it, too. Only she would bet all her gold medals that her thoughts were well past the Rrated version.
“What have we here?” she asked, shifting her glance back to their table as the clanking and shuffling sounds of the café receded with his presence.
“Club sandwiches,” he answered as he removed a plate from the tray and set it down in front of her beside the laptop.
Her stomach growled at the mouthwatering smell of toast and turkey. She pushed away the laptop and pulled the plate closer, picking up half of the sandwich. Biting into it, she closed her eyes and moaned at the luscious burst of taste filling her mouth. Swallowing, she grabbed a napkin and wiped her lips.