Gena Showalter - Playing With Fire (tales of an extra ordinary girl)

“I tried to tell her Janet forced me to kiss her,” my dad said, breaking into my thoughts. “But Mary doesn’t believe me.”

“Janet forced you, huh?” I twirled the cord around my finger and felt my eyelids sink shut, too heavy to hold up. Knowing my dad, he’d probably grabbed Janet by the shoulders and planted a big one on her before she knew what was going on.

“Okay, okay,” he said. “Maybe I asked Janet for a kiss. It’s not my fault she looked like she needed one. What kind of man would I be to ignore a woman in need?”

I chuckled. “You are an incurable flirt.”

“Mary tossed her breakfast bowl at me yesterday morning, and I’ve been washing oatmeal out of my hair ever since.”

Such an exaggerator, I thought with a smile. The man had lost his hair years ago. “Other than the oatmeal incident, how are you feeling? How’s your health? Are you taking all your medication? Are you popping Viagra again?”

“Good. Fine. Yes. No. Lord have mercy, my own daughter is questioning me as if I’m a criminal.”

Yawning-it was unstoppable at this point-I released the cord. I couldn’t pry my eyelids apart to watch it bounce and twist free. “Don’t try that wounded routine on me. You know it doesn’t work.”

“You sound tired, girl,” he said. “How are things with my baby?”

“Good,” I lied. Today was the day for lies, it seemed.

“I don’t mind telling you that I’m a little upset with you, young lady. You didn’t tell me you were dating someone.” Exasperation and happiness layered his voice. “ Rome seems like a nice guy.”

“We only… dated-” any second I’d be hit with a lightning bolt for that whopper “-for a little while, but he wasn’t right for me. I dumped him.” Hard core. “Listen, Daddy,” I said, quickly changing the subject. God, I was tired. “I’ve decided to take a vacation. You know, get some R and R. So don’t worry about me if you call the apartment and I don’t answer.”

“Like I’d worry.” He snorted.

Oh, he’d worry. He loved me as much as I loved him, and he was always looking out for me. I yawned again, this one longer, deeper. My limbs were beginning to shake, my mind forming more mush than thought. “I’m… going… ”

“Get some rest, angel, and call me when you get back from your vacation.”

“I love you, Daddy.”

“Love you, too, doll.”

We hung up. I rolled to my side and blindly replaced the receiver in its cradle. My arm flopped on the mattress and I stayed exactly where I was, too exhausted to move anymore. In the span of one day, I’d kissed a (supposed) government agent, developed superpowers, propositioned a teenage virgin and lied to my dad.

“Anything else you want to make me do?” I muttered to the heavens, pulling my knees to my stomach.

Don’t fall asleep yet, Jamison. I had a lot to sort through, beginning with whom to trust. Not Pretty Boy, the bogus CIA agent who had tried to pump me full of darts. What a bastard. He tortured people. Killed them. I didn’t doubt the truth of that. When Rome spoke of Vincent and his experiments, I could practically hear people screaming.

More than that, I remembered the deadness in Vincent’s eyes.

Should I go to the police?

If I did, would they just hand me over to the government? To Rome? Hell, would they believe me? I almost didn’t believe myself. Para-agencies, for God’s sake. What about Rome? I was out of my league with him. He knew it and I knew it. Still, the question remained: could I trust him?

Rome had promised to help me find Dr. Roberts (and maybe an antidote) and make Vincent leave me alone. All I had to do in return was help him hide his daughter. Sounded like a great trade-off. Too good, actually. I guess what bothered me about the situation was that I was just, well, me. No training for this sort of thing. Unpredictable. I didn’t know how to hide people, so what help could I ultimately give him?

Obviously, there was something he wasn’t telling me. And if he wasn’t telling me about it, it couldn’t bode well for me.

“Shit.” I had no clothes, hardly any money. Maybe I would call Tanner in the morning, have him take me shopping, and forget, if only for a little while, all of my troubles. I could give him more date tips and feel normal again.

And you can put him in more danger.

A sense of dejection filled me. I’d never felt more alone. More helpless. More tired. I moaned and covered my eyes with my arm, blocking out any hint of light. The hypnotic sound of the air conditioner wafted to my ears.

Lord, the stress of the day had zapped all my energy. Besides that, I hadn’t yet fully rebuilt my strength from the effects of the formula. It was clear I wouldn’t be making a decision on what to do anytime soon, so there was no reason to force myself to stay awake any longer.

When I woke up, everything would seem clearer.

Yeah, who did I think I was fooling?

“DID YOU REALLY THINK you could escape me?” a husky, familiar voice breathed into my ear. “You may be the Periodic Table Chick, but I’m a damn good tracker.”

I came awake instantly. A ball of fear slammed into me and quickly sprouted cold, treacherous wings as I became aware of several startling facts. One, Rome ’s heavy weight pinned my body to the bed. Two, my hands were tied above my head. No, not tied, I realized. Manacled by him. Three, a steely palm covered my mouth, preventing me from screaming. And four, the most startling fact of all, Rome had an erection that pressed against my belly-and I liked it.

Did I forget to mention I was naked beneath the sheet?

“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “You know I won’t hurt you.”

That should not have eased my worry, but it did. His voice was soothing, gentle. Warming.

Moonlight slithered through the crack in the curtains and bathed his face. His crystalline eyes seemed to glow, all the more vivid in contrast to the shadow beard that dusted his jaw. My tormentor. My rescuer. My… puzzle.

“Are you going to give me to him?” I asked the moment he freed my mouth. I didn’t have to specify who “him” was. Rome knew. “He told you it was the only way to get rid of him.”

He drew in a sharp breath. “No. That’s something you don’t have to worry about. I’ll never give you to that disgusting scrim. I gave you my word, remember?”

He said it with such force, I believed him. As my fear abated, though, I encountered sparks of anger and dug my nails into my palms. My blood began to heat. How dare he sneak into my room. How dare he lie on top of me. How dare he look so freaking good. How dare he-

Wait. Calm down. Calm down, Belle Jamison. I couldn’t let myself become upset or I’d start a fire. I just-damn it! He’d found me so quickly. I hadn’t had time to decide if I trusted him or not.

Slowly I drew in a breath through my nose; slowly I released it. In the dim light of the room, I stared up at Rome ’s harshly sexy face. He looked stern, grim, nothing like his tender voice.

He looked wonderful. I must have looked ready to scream, though, because he covered my mouth again.

While I was upset he’d found me, a small part of me was suddenly glad to see him, all else be damned. It meant I wasn’t in this alone, that I had someone to lean on, if only for a little while.

“You left me with a hell of a mess to clean up, Belle. As you well know, the general public doesn’t know people with superpowers exist. I had to tell everyone a movie was being shot. Thanks.”

“Mmm, mmm mmm mmm-” I narrowed my eyes at him. With his hand over my mouth, my words emerged garbled. I wanted to tell him to stop poking me in the belly with his penis! They should have been the first words out of my mouth, but I couldn’t think straight with it close to me.