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

“Should I start a fire?” I whispered. If I could. I wasn’t sure I had the energy.

The man, Cody, uttered a short laugh devoid of humor. “If you want a fire, sugar, I can start one.”

“Sit,” Rome told me. “Do nothing.”

I eased reluctantly onto the couch beside Tanner. The boy squeezed against my side and gripped my hand. “I’m sorry about earlier,” I whispered.

He nodded in acknowledgment. “Do you know this loser?” he asked me quietly.

I shook my head.

“ Rome and I work together,” Cody supplied, as if Tanner had asked the question of him.

Oh. Oh. Shit! Not good, not good at all. Most likely, Cody was here to apprehend me and take me to John. A hard lump formed in my throat (how many of those things had I swallowed lately?). I released Tanner’s hand and buried my own between my knees, covertly stretching my fingers. Drawing on my emotions would be difficult. I was tapped out, so to speak. But I wasn’t leaving this cabin. Not without a fight. Rome ’s orders be damned.

Cody eased to his feet, squaring off with Rome. The two men stood nose to nose. “John wants to see you. My job was to find you, then the girl. But I see you saved me some trouble.” He motioned to me with his chin, then turned back to Rome. “You haven’t phoned in a while. We were worried, but now I see there was no need.” Accusation laced his tone.

“I won’t allow her to be taken,” Rome said with deadly calm.

Cody arched a black brow, the harsh color a surprising contrast to his pale hair. “So it’s like that, is it?”

Rome nodded. “It’s like that. I don’t want her recruited.”

“You know the rules. You know how things work. You took the assignment. Now you have to finish it or it will be finished for you.”

“She didn’t volunteer like we did, Cody.”

“That doesn’t change the strictures of your assignment.”

“She stays.”

“They won’t do anything to her that they didn’t do to us,” Cody said, exasperated.

“I told you. We volunteered. She didn’t.”

“Doesn’t matter. Word is, she’s dangerous. She can start fires.”

“So can anyone with a lighter,” Rome countered.

“Lighters can’t cause thunderstorms,” Cody replied. “Nor can they freeze buildings.”

“You want her to freeze your ass, keep talking,” Tanner piped up.

The men ignored him.

I shifted nervously on the couch, wavering between attack and patience. They were discussing me as if I weren’t in the room, and I didn’t like it.

“ Rome, don’t give me shit about this,” Cody said. “I’ve been ordered to bring the two of you in and that’s that. If she’s not taken to John and trained it will only be a matter of time before Vincent and his men find her. All John wants to do is test her and put her in the field. She’ll be doing the world a public service, taking down the bad guys.”

Should I maybe try to freeze him? Give Rome time to decide what we should do with him? I mean, it wasn’t like the icebox would kill him. “ Rome,” I interrupted.

He knew what I was asking. “No,” he said. “Do nothing.”

“She may not be able to help herself,” Tanner muttered. I elbowed him in the stomach and he hmphed.

Cody grinned. “I’m an electrophile, sweetheart, and Rome ’s afraid I’ll hurt you.” I must have worn a blank look because he added, “I have an affinity for electricity. I wield it, control it, and if you attempted to use your powers against me, I’d have to give you the shock of a lifetime.”

“You know that Taser you used on me?” Rome asked without turning to face me. “Cody can send a thousand more volts than that through your body.”

Cody’s grin widened. “She took you down?”

Rome gave one jerky nod.

“Good for you, sweetheart,” the gorgeous (traitorous) man said to me.

“You won’t think so when I do it to you.” I gave him a confident smile-a smile I wished I actually felt.

Cody laughed. “I see why you want to keep her, Rome. Not many are so brave and foolish at the same time. She’s perfect for PSI.”

Rome gave no reply.

“Right now, John doesn’t realize you’ve decided to walk. He just wants you and the girl delivered safely.”

“What will happen if Rome refuses?” I asked.

Cody shrugged, lifting his big, wide shoulders. “That’s assuming I’ll let him.”

“I’ll be hunted,” Rome told me, “as will you.”

“The government can’t afford to have people like us running loose with no one to pull our strings,” Cody added.

“We either work for them or against them. And working for them isn’t a bad deal. I once got to neutralize a woman who sucked the soul right out of a man during orgasm. Literally.”

“You killed her?” I gasped.

He frowned. “No, I put her to sleep and she was locked in Château Villain with the other scrims. Anyway, if you’re a good girl and do grunt work for a while, like chasing down the fake psychics and crap, you’ll eventually get to handle gems like the little sex fiend. Best assignment of my life. If you continue running, well… ” He shrugged again. “It’s the whole can’t-let-anyone-else-have-you thing.”

Rome would be hunted if I didn’t cooperate. I didn’t care about myself. Well, I did, but not as much as I cared about Rome. If he was at risk, that would put Sunny in even more danger. Rome must have expected that. Accepted it, even. But…

Maybe the best way for me to help him with his ultimate goal was to turn myself in so he wouldn’t be blamed for my escape. That would take some of the heat off him. I closed my eyes for the briefest of seconds, unable to believe what I was about to do. But I forced the words out. “I’ll go in,” I said.

Rome whipped around, facing me, finally taking his attention off Cody. His eyes glowed with fury. “Don’t say another word,” he snapped.

“I’ll go in.” I stood, squared my shoulders, all the while eyeing Cody. “Do you have to handcuff me or anything?”

His silver eyes gleamed wickedly. “I will if you ask sweetly.”

“You don’t have to do this, Belle,” Rome said. “And for fuck’s sake, Cody, quit flirting with her!”

“Yeah,” Tanner reiterated, standing beside me. “What he said.”

“I want to do this,” I said softly. These men had done so much for me already. Rome had chosen me over his job. He’d helped me break into Dr. Roberts’s house. He needed me now, and I wouldn’t let him down. “Cody said it wouldn’t be very bad for me,” I offered, trying to soothe him.

Rome sighed. “Then I’ll go with you.”

“Me, too.” Tanner assumed battle position, arms locked behind his back, feet spread.

“Excellent.” Cody’s tone sounded gleeful, but his expression was one of surprise and confusion. “We can have a celebration on the way.”

“You’re not taking us to headquarters,” Rome said, turning back to Cody. “I don’t want her anywhere near the lab.”

The blond angel lost his smile. “I know what you’re trying to do-”

“Just shut the hell up and call John. Unless you want a fight, those are my terms.”

There was a long pause; a heavy tension. Then Cody shrugged. “Fine.”

“Tell him we’ll meet him at the park near his house in two hours. And no agents. Got it?”

“No one knows where he lives,” Cody said, brows arched.

“I do.”

Admiration sparked in Cody’s expression. He nodded. “I’ll make the call.”

WE DROVE FOR AN HOUR. Tanner and I sat in the back seat of a very comfortable sedan. The interior was leather, the standard black that seemed to be preferred by all types of agents. Overall, pretty nice. As far as prison vehicles went, that is.