Kristi Helvig - Burn Out

I grabbed another case and dumped the guns inside, but I had a choice to make. I rubbed my fingers over Trigger—she’d been my constant companion over the years. A loyal and reliable weapon, and I’d never forget how she’d saved me from Markus several weeks ago. But I needed something with more power. “Good-bye for now, Trigger.” I placed Trigger into the crate, ignoring James’ stare, and tucked Boulder-Killer into my waistband.

I wiped my damp forehead with the back of my arm and went to the island in the center. “Just one more.”

James walked over to my side. He tucked a sweaty lock of my hair behind my ear. “We’ve both lost people we loved, Tora.”

I shivered at his touch and tried to remain calm. I turned and looked into his eyes. “Yeah, so?”

His eyes didn’t let go of mine. “So maybe we can trust each other is all.”

We stood just a foot apart from each other. The green flecks in his eyes seemed to shift, merging with the brown and then changing again. His eyes were almost as impressive as his abs. The silence grew and the ghost of a smile curved on his lips. The charged feelings running through my body were way beyond my comfort zone. I broke eye contact, my thudding heart reminding me that I wasn’t in control. “We, um, really should finish up here,” I mumbled.

James nodded. We faced the clear rectangular case, and I tried to ignore the heat I felt coming from his body. He needed to stay a good five feet away at all times in order for me to concentrate.

He ran his hand over the case, staring down into the empty space within it. “Were you and Markus together?” he asked.

That was not the question I expected. I laughed. “Give me a little more credit than that.”

“Okay, but weren’t you the one asking me about dating Britta?”

“Good point.” I waved my hand over the top of the compartment. When I reached a special spot on the lower left corner, a panel lock appeared.

“Whoa, cool,” said James. “I’m guessing it’s not empty.”

“Hardly.” When the case unlocked, a small square panel in the top center of it opened toward us. I reached in and as my hand approached the center of the case, the object glowed.

James gasped. “It’s invisible.”

“Yeah, unless I’m touching it.” I grasped it firmly and pulled it out.

James’ eyes were wide. I couldn’t help feeling a small surge of satisfaction. He didn’t seem surprised by much, but he sure looked it now. “What the hell is it? It doesn’t look like a gun.”

I reached up through the center of it and touched the trigger of the spherical object. “I’m sure my dad once told me its technical name but I don’t remember, because I’ve always called it The Obliterator, aka T.O.”

“That sounds worse than a gun. It looks more like a bomb.”

Damn he was smart, which only made him cuter . I nodded. “A bomb that fires like a gun. If I powered up and pressed the trigger, everything within a twenty-mile radius of me would be wiped out.”

James whistled. “Everything except you, right? Because it’s keyed to your …”

“Vibration,” I finished. “Right. Only something vibrating at my exact same speed would survive.” I removed my hand from the weapon’s center and rubbed the smooth, polished surface. “He designed it as a last-resort weapon. I don’t even aim it, just press the button.”

“Pretty cool,” said James. “You could take down a whole fleet by yourself.”

“Yeah, and all of you.” I tried to say it like I was joking, but James didn’t look amused.

I shifted The Obliterator to my other hand and pulled B.K. out of my waistband. “Don’t worry. B.K. here will take care of that ship outside. I just need one good shot.”

“You have nicknames for all your guns?”

“Of course—guns are the closest thing to pets I’ve had. I was ten when I had to learn how to use them so naming them made it more fun. Here, can you hold Boulder-Killer a sec while I figure out how to hide T.O. under my clothes?”

James slowly looked up and down my body, which made my cheeks burn, yet he looked all business as he took the gun. “Absolutely.”

“Oh, please. It’s nothing you haven’t seen before,” I said, my face blushing hotter.

James’ eyes burned as he looked at me, into me. I turned away and lifted my shirt. T.O. wasn’t huge but it wasn’t minuscule either—big enough to accommodate my finger in its center. Its shape was even more problematic. Ball-shaped items did not make for easy hiding. My drawstring pants and T-shirt were loose, but not loose enough. The weapon stuck out too much from my back pocket, making it look like I had a tumor on my ass. Plus, I didn’t want to accidentally sit on something that lethal. I tried the front pocket, but it was too big to even fit inside.

“Everything okay?” he asked, giving an exaggerated yawn.

I called over my shoulder. “Sorry if I’m boring you but I’m having issues here.”

James laughed. “I see that. I’d be happy to help.”

I scowled at him, which only made him laugh louder. “Don’t worry, I promise I won’t look.” His own gun was tucked in his waistband, and he waved B.K. around as he walked toward me. “Have no fear,” he said, striking a mock pose with my gun and aiming at the wall, “Boulder-Killer is here.” He put his finger on the trigger panel.

I don’t know which one of us was more surprised when the gun went off.

THE LASER HIT THE FIRST CASE ON THE WALL, SHATTERING IT to bits.

“What the—?” James dropped the gun, as if it were on fire.

Footsteps pounded down the hallway outside, and I hesitated a second before shoving The Obliterator into my bra. I scrambled toward B.K. but didn’t get there in time.

Kale burst into the room, gun drawn, swearing up and down about having to run down the hall on a bum leg. Markus and Britta followed him. At least they hadn’t given her a gun too. She would have shot first and asked questions later. Kale looked from James to me, appearing confused that neither of us had a gun in hand. I stood about a foot from James, with B.K. on the ground between us.

“What in the holy hell is going on in here?” he asked.

“I accidentally fired the gun when I got it out of the case,” I said, bending to pick it up while keeping a hand over my chest, so my lethal right boob didn’t roll out onto the floor.

Kale looked around the room, frowning. His eyes rested on the center case right behind me, then fell on James. “Is that what happened?”

James still looked shaken. “Yes, sir. She scared the crap out of me.”

“We better get moving,” I said. Markus’ eyes met mine with a steely gray stare. He didn’t believe me. He couldn’t have known what happened, but he sure didn’t believe my version of the story. His gaze traveled down to my chest and my larger right breast. Only Markus would notice that, the perv.

I ignored him and pushed my way through the group and into the hallway. What did happen? There’s no way James could have fired the gun, unless he was vibrating at the exact speed as me—an almost statistical impossibility.

Kale hadn’t been able to activate the guns when he had tried, and I had no doubt that Markus and Britta had given it a shot while we were back here. Which means the fact that James fired it was no fluke. I stopped in my room and grabbed a brown satchel, then removed T.O. from my bra. I placed it into the smaller inner compartment of the bag. As soon as I zipped the pocket closed, the seam disappeared and became invisible. No one would know it was there. I slung it over my head, with the strap diagonal across my body so that my injured ribs were on the opposite side. The others might be suspicious that I’d taken to wearing a bag, but I couldn’t help that. This weapon needed to stay safe.