Absolute Zero (Touch of Frost)

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Absolute Zero (Touch of Frost) Page 11

by Rush, Lynn


  My stomach plunged.

  Georgia strode through the doorway holding the nightmare little brown bottle and gauze. Oy. I’d seen enough of that crap in my lifetime, and I was only eighteen soon to be nineteen.

  If I lived that long.

  Georgia stopped. I thought I heard the skidding sounds tires made. “What’s wrong?”

  Nate straightened in his chair and glanced at her, then me.

  “Nothing. Nate’s just going to tell us something.”

  “Us?”

  “She’s my sister—er—well, she’s like my sister, so she hears whatever I hear anyway.”

  He nodded and sucked in a deep breath. “Okay, so, I’m eighteen, but this is my third year of college.”

  “Wait, third year? But this is a community college. I—”

  “Yeah, well.” He glanced around and put his hand on the back of his neck. “I whizzed through high school in a couple of years, went to college when I was sixteen. Got into a little trouble. Been bouncing around colleges for a couple years.”

  “Trouble?” I asked.

  “Parents?” Georgia asked.

  “Emancipated. And as for trouble… partying, some minor arrests for vandalism, crap like that.”

  “Holy cow, Nate. Arrested?”

  “I know.” He shook his head. “Anyway, Tim knows my situation and Martin does a little, too. So, they agreed to cover.”

  “But you didn’t do anything wrong.” Georgia resumed the torture treatment on my wounds. I didn’t realize how many times that glass had cut me, and I couldn’t just heal myself. That would be just a little obvious, which totally sucked.

  “I know. But still. When you have a record, you always look guilty.”

  I couldn’t believe I made out with a convict.

  “Ever been in jail?” I leaned forward, resting my chin on my palm. I suddenly felt very tired.

  “Once. Overnight, my folks let them keep me, thinking it’d scare me.”

  “Did it?”

  “No. That’s a load of crap. Scare tactics are statistically proven to not work.”

  Oh great. I was totally crushing on a brainiac. Hope he didn’t go all nerdy on me, spouting stats out all the time.

  “Let me see that arm of yours.”

  I offered my left hand to him, and he grabbed it. He turned it over to see the outer forearm. A long patch of skin, about six inches long and an inch or so wide, had been scraped off as it drug against the base of the window. It was like a massive road rash I got once when I was thirteen and crashed rollerblading.

  Stinging pain zapped my neck. I flinched and saw Georgia doing her nursing impression with the cotton and peroxide.

  I glanced back at my hand in Nate’s. I noticed purple and blue bruising around his wrist that resembled a bracelet. I brushed my forefinger over it. He flicked his gaze up to me. He’d moved forward in his seat, so I got a bird’s eye view of his face.

  Smooth, bronzed skin. One little mole beneath his left eye. Dark brown hair, almost black, straight, but it wisped above his ears, almost like a feather I’d seen on the 80’s classic video channels Scott watched once in a while.

  I pulled his hand closer. The bruising coincided to where I’d gripped him. I’d probably done that.

  “You have wicked grip strength, Mandy.”

  “I was just holding on for dear life. I was scared you’d fall,” I said with a whisper. “I didn’t mean for you to get hurt.”

  “This is nothing. You’re missing quite a bit of skin on your arm. And while at my party while on my balcony.” He shook his head. “You’re probably never going to want to come over again.” The corners of his lips curved downward.

  I glanced at Georgia. “We’ll still come over. Just not on the balcony.”

  Georgia giggled. “Ah, yeah. You’ve got a sweet plasma TV, ours is just an old junky one Gary gave us.”

  “Gary?”

  “That’s her dad. She just turned nineteen and thinks she has to call him by his first name now.”

  She slapped my shoulder. “Hey.”

  “I’m just kidding. Okay, so, yeah. I guess we’ll come by again if we can watch TV it sounds like.” I laughed.

  The microwave clock flashed one thirty. No wonder I was wasted mentally and physically.

  Someone pounded on our door. I almost jolted to my feet, but an overpowering sting encapsulated my arm. I squealed and looked to the side. Georgia had knocked the little brown bottle over and it’d dumped onto my arm.

  “Oh my gosh, Mandy. I’m sorry!”

  The burning stung so bad it felt like my flesh was on fire. “Watch out. Coming through.” I hopped to my feet and made a beeline for my bathroom.

  I heard shuffling through my closed door, then a new voice. It was deep, maybe Tim, Nate’s roommate?

  I clicked my bathroom door closed. Okay, time to try a new trick. I had to cool the burning and the pain a little. Not a total heal, just partial. I zeroed in on the sting. I felt my eyebrows furrow and my face scrunch up as I focused on the glistening wound.

  My fingernails flashed neon blue, and the temperature dropped. Just a little healing. Just a little bit. I kept repeating it, hoping it’d work. No way was I going to be able to explain a complete healing of a wound that size, but I had to get the pain manageable.

  A light layer of frost glistened over the spot I told it to. The energy pulsating through my body was invigorating. The control I’d gained over the summer was really coming through for me now. The pain subsided slightly.

  I drew in a few deep breaths and told the cold, “Back off.” A patch of ice slid down my arm and crackled against the linoleum floor.

  The wound was nice and frozen, so the pain was minimal, but it wasn’t totally healed. Just a little smaller.

  Muffled voices leaked through the walls, and I sucked in a breath to listen. “Mandy, you okay in there?”

  It was Georgia. “Yeah. Come on in.”

  The door opened, and she crept in. “Tim and Nate are talking. Seems like everything went well.”

  “Girl, I just did a partial freeze and heal. Look.” I showed her my arm.

  “Looks less swollen and a little smaller. Sorry about pouring that junk on you. The pounding at the door scared me. He’s lucky I didn’t burn the room down.”

  I laughed. “That would have been bad.”

  Georgia shut the door and stepped in further. She sat on the tub and faced me. I leaned against the vanity.

  “Okay, so Nate’s story. That’s an interesting one, huh?”

  “No doubt. And you thought I was a rebel.” I poked at my arm. Still nice and cool but feeling much better. “He’s got me beat by a ton, huh?”

  “I’d say. My nerves are still firing from seeing you dangling from that window. I need to calm down or I’m going to light something on fire.”

  “Here. Hold my hand. I’ll cool you off. Just suck in a deep breath and calm down.” I let a little wave filter from my fingers into hers.

  Muffled voices leaked in through the closed door. Georgia snapped open her eyes. “I’m feeling better. Let’s get out there and see what’s going on.”

  I faced the mirror. Twenty red dots speckled my chest and arms. “Looks like I have the chickenpox or something.”

  “Bummer you can’t heal them, huh?”

  “Tell me about it. I’m starting to think I shouldn’t leave the apartment. Weird stuff, girl. Getting hit by that stupid car, Agents, falling balconies…”

  “Mandy?” Nate’s voice sounded close.

  I yanked the bathroom door open. “Yeah?”

  “You okay?”

  “Just needed to chill from the Peroxide Demon here.” I thumbed toward Georgia, who stood behind me. She pinched my butt, and I scooted out of the bathroom. “What’s going on?”

  “Everything’s all set. Supe’s going to take care of things tomorrow.” He shifted his weight. “He asked if we could not stay in the apartment tonight, though. With no window, no balcony.”
<
br />   “Makes sense.”

  He nodded toward the doorway, and we followed him into the living room.

  “Hey, Tim. This is Mandy and Georgia.”

  “Sounds like you had quite a night,” Tim said.

  “Hi. Yeah. Wild party.”

  Tim was only a few inches taller than me, but his smile was genuine.

  “Would you mind if we crashed on your couch tonight? Tim’s tiny, he doesn’t take up much room.” Nate laughed.

  I glanced at Georgia. She shrugged, then nodded. I faced Nate again. “Yeah. I guess that’d be fine. Our little 19-inch TV will have to be okay for you, though. No plasmas here.”

  “Thanks. They’ll be done with our window tomorrow,” Tim said, as he eased onto the couch.

  “You guys want something to drink? You hungry?” Georgia said. “I make some mean pancakes.”

  “It’s only a few hours ‘til sunrise anyway. Just call it an early breakfast, right?” Tim hopped up from the couch and scooted toward Georgia. “I’ll help.”

  “There you go,” I said to Georgia. “Cook away. I’ll be sitting far from you, evil peroxide lady.”

  “Let’s throw in some movies and pull an all-nighter. It’ll be fun,” Nate said. “Come, sit. You’re majorly injured.”

  “I’m majorly tired. I don’t think I’d last more than five minutes watching a movie.” I eased myself onto the couch.

  “That’s okay if you fall asleep. I’ll hold down the fort. Eat some pancakes for you,” Nate smiled. “Where are your movies?”

  I pointed to the little wooden entertainment center. “CD cases in there.”

  I nestled into the couch, resting my head on the arm as I watched. He messed around opening cabinets, pulling stuff out, opening jewel cases. My lids weighed a ton and kept bobbing until I couldn’t keep them open, even to watch Nate. I mean, he was crawling around on the floor looking at DVD cases. His tight, round butt filled out those jeans very well. It was a nice view.

  I wanted to stay awake to talk and cuddle, but I couldn’t. I vaguely remembered warm breath whispering something to me followed by soft, moist lips pressed against my forehead before the lights went out on me.

  Chapter 18

  “So what’s with the balcony on your balcony?” Jasmine asked as she walked into the apartment.

  “Party gone wild last night upstairs,” I said. I flicked my wet hair back.

  I couldn’t believe I fell asleep within, like, five seconds of Nate looking for a movie. Then, they up and left at first light? That so totally sucked.

  Jasmine whirled around, wide-eyed. “Are you serious?”

  “Sit.” I told her the story.

  “I can’t believe that. How’d you cover?”

  “Ever-proven adrenaline rush story. Extra strength in extraordinary situations.”

  She turned her head from side-to-side. “Tiny apartment, huh?”

  “Nothing like your mansion of solitude out in Timbuktu. I’m just sorry you had to burn it down when the Coats found us.”

  “That’s okay. I got another place. It’s all good.” She sat on the couch and plopped her bag near her side.

  Georgia strolled out from the kitchen holding a plate. “I love warmed up pancakes. Oh, and that Tim, he knows how to cook, too.”

  “Tim?” Jasmine said.

  “Neighbor upstairs. Roomie to Mandy’s new lover.”

  “Lover?” I said with a screech. “Lover?”

  Georgia giggled as she eased onto the chair beside the couch. I slouched to the floor next to her.

  “You and your romance novels.” I shook my head.

  “Dang. You’ve known you two are really sisters for, like, barely three months, yet you seem like you’re going on nineteen years.”

  “True that,” I said. “Okay, Jas, so what toys did you bring us today?”

  She scooted forward and pulled her bag from the couch and plopped it onto the little ottoman. “Before I got up here, I put in a couple cameras around the main floor. You know, main entrance, side entrances, stuff like that. Oh, and near the light above the door facing the back lot. That place is freaking scary in the dark, I bet.”

  “Kinda dark. Only a few cars back there, though.”

  “It faces a little stream and trees. That makes for a good escape route option.”

  “But you picked a place with wimpy balconies.”

  Jasmine laughed. “I brought you a laptop, you’ll use this one just for the security stuff, okay?” She pulled out a sleek silver computer nicer than the one I already have.

  “Girl, where do you get all the money for this crap?”

  “Courtesy of our friends from The Center.”

  “I don’t want to know.”

  “Good, because I wouldn’t tell you.” She flipped open the screen. Four smaller windows appeared. The one on the upper left showed someone walking into the main entrance. Total bed-head. Probably stayed out all night and was just coming home.

  I glanced at my watch. Only ten o’clock. Yep, probably an all-nighter somewhere.

  “The screens will scroll through the cycle. There are seven cameras out there. I’m going to put in a little thing so you can see who’s at your door, too.”

  “Cool,” Georgia said.

  “If you want to switch views manually, just press this button here. I set it up that the right arrow will move the camera views along.”

  “I think even I can figure this thing out,” I said with a wink in Jasmine’s direction.

  Her long brown hair cascaded over her shoulders. I never noticed how green her eyes were. Big, too. She wore a camouflage, of course, tank top with khaki-colored shorts. She was a couple inches taller than me, but the tiny thing commanded presence wherever she went.

  “All right. I’m going to get that little peep hole installed, then I’ll be on my way.” Jasmine stood, grabbed her bag, then navigated around the ottoman toward the door. She plopped the bag down and knelt beside it and dug in.

  “Hey, Jas?” I asked.

  She looked back. “Yeah.”

  “The two nimrods from the store didn’t know Andrey?”

  She went back to what she was doing. “They’d never heard of him.” She pulled out what looked like a little gun, but it had a drill on it.

  “How can that be possible? He was at The Center when I was there. He’s part of all that.”

  “It’s a big organization. Maybe these guys we grabbed are in a different part. I’m not surprised they don’t know him.”

  The drill buzzed to life, putting a hole in the wall, to the right of where the chain link fastened. I hopped up and walked over to her.

  “Who were the dudes at the shop then?”

  “They were sent to try and retrieve that book your mom mentioned. Someone at the Agency knows about it. Figured maybe you guys had it or something.”

  I glanced at Georgia. She sat on the chair, watching.

  “Where’s this damn book then?”

  “Good question.” Jasmine knelt again, digging in her bag of tricks.

  “Don’t you think we should disappear? You know, leave? Change names, crap like that?”

  “You’re safe here. I mean, according to anyone that matters, you’re Reta and Gertrude Annapolis from Jersey.” She laughed. “Sorry. Had to find some funky names to register you for the apartment.”

  “Do I look like a Reta to you?” I said.

  “And me a Gertrude?” Georgia said.

  “Who cares? The managers didn’t. They’re so busy with all their tenants, they don’t care about anything other than you have near perfect credit and you paid twelve months rent in advance. So, chill. I’ve done this before, little ones.”

  “Oh, don’t go all Jedi Master on me, Jas.” I hated it when she called me little one. Made me want to kick her ass. And I could, too. I was stronger than her.

  She laughed. “Sorry. Got to have a little fun. You know?”

  Georgia chuckled.

  “Okay, Miss Smarty Pants.
But everyone and their grandma knows about our smoothie shop. Scott’s a sitting duck there.”

  “No he’s not. I’m with him almost 24/7. I’ll take care of him.”

  “Promise?” I said.

  She stopped messing with the door and looked at me. “I know I joke a lot, goof around, and can be really annoying.”

  “True.”

  She stood up and squeezed my shoulder. “I’ve been on my own for so long. Never felt like I belonged anywhere, or to anyone. I’ve just been trying to survive, like you and Scott.” She removed her hand from my shoulder. “But now, that’s all different.”

  “Yeah?”

  She nodded at me, then glanced at Georgia. She returned her focus to me and said, “I really love Scott. I’ll protect him, Mandy. With my life.”

  The depth of her sincerity tugged at my heart. She was tough, too. And besides the super-strength, she knew about all the army-type stuff involved with protecting someone. She could hear most anything for up to a half-mile away and with her super-speed, she could whisk Scott from danger if it found them.

  It’d always just been me and Scott, floundering around not really knowing what to do to stay safe. But now, Jasmine had found us. I found out I had a twin sister, so all felt normal. Well, as normal as our freaky little family could be.

  I’m not one to just give out hugs to any ole girl. I mean, I show the love to Georgia, because she’s my girl, but Jasmine’s sentiment demanded a hug. I yanked her close and squeezed her tight.

  “Thanks, Jas.”

  Georgia scurried up from her chair and joined in.

  “Okay. Okay. Don’t go all Kelvin and Blaze on me. I’m not invincible, you know.” Jasmine shrugged out of our grasp.

  She must have been as uncomfortable with hugging as I used to be. I stepped away and slid my hand beneath my eyes, which had suddenly turned into faucets.

  “Oh. And before school starts, get out and learn this area. I want you familiar with everything within a mile radius. I already have an escape route planned, so I need to show you that. If you’re stuck in the dark, in those trees out back, you need to know exactly where you’re going.” Jasmine tilted her head toward me. “Got it?”

  “Yes, Mother.”

  “Maybe Nate and Tim can take us out strolling around,” Georgia said.

 

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