by Leigh, Jena
Then it hit him.
Those voices she’d been hearing… He knew what they were. And if they didn’t act soon, they were going to lose Alex. For good.
They needed to get her out of the city. Now.
“Kenzie,” he said slowly. “I need you to knock her out… And whatever you do, don’t look in her head.”
“Are you insane? You know how risky that is!” she said.
“Don’t argue with me, just do it!”
Kenzie hesitated.
“Do it, Kenzie!” he said again. “If you don’t, she’s as good as dead, anyway.”
She seemed to relent.
“Fine,” she said, climbing into the car. “But I swear to God, Decks, if this goes wrong and she ends up a vegetable, I’m never going to forgive you.”
He’d never forgive himself, either.
Unfortunately, Kenzie’s mental K.O. was the only way Alex was going to survive long enough for him to get her safely out of the city. They didn’t have a choice.
Kenzie crawled into the driver’s seat, careful not to raise up too high, and reached for Alex, grabbing hold of her upper arm. His sister’s stare became vacant.
Next to him, Alex doubled over. Declan caught her in his arms before she could hit the ground.
Kenzie swayed in the seat before pulling herself together.
“Did it work?” asked Nate. He had a death grip on the headrest of the passenger seat and was staring anxiously at Alex.
Declan found himself wondering—not for the first time that day—exactly what was going on between his brother and Alex.
“Won’t know until she wakes up,” Kenzie answered.
As if to remind them all that there was still one more threat to be dealt with, four shots whizzed by in rapid succession.
Nate stood up. The sound of crunching metal and screeching tires filled the air.
Declan risked another glance toward their assailants and raised his eyebrows in surprise. Nate had created a barricade out of the parked cars, piling them on top of each other until the wall of automobiles stretched from one side of the garage to the other.
Sometimes, the things Nate proved to be capable of scared the hell out of him. Flinging two-ton cars around like they were bath toys happened to be one of those things.
Nate sagged heavily against the side of the coupé.
Declan looked down at the unconscious girl in his arms. She wouldn’t be out for long. They were running out of time.
“Help me get her in the car,” he ordered.
Kenzie flipped forward the driver’s seat and assisted Declan in half-carrying, half-dragging Alex into the backseat. He didn’t envy her the scrapes and bruises she was going to wake up with, but at least they’d managed to get her inside.
The driver’s seat slid back into place, confining the two of them to the backseat. The bucket seats made moving around difficult, but Declan eventually managed to position Alex so that she was curled on the seat next to him with her head resting in his lap.
She looked oddly peaceful like that.
Declan, meanwhile, was getting a kink in his neck from being hunched down in the seat at such an odd angle.
A heavy thud reverberated through the garage and the wall of cars shuddered. That barricade wasn’t going to hold them for much longer. And judging from the way Nate was still leaning heavily against the coupé, He-Man over there wouldn’t be tossing around any more cars until he got his strength back.
Time to go.
“Nate,” said Declan. “You drive.”
“And how, exactly, would you like me to accomplish that, Declan?” Nate asked as Kenzie slipped back out of the car and he took her place. Nate grunted as he lifted himself over the center console and settled in behind the wheel. “The pulse disabled any car with electronic equipment in the engine.”
“I’m working on it,” he replied.
Declan felt around for nearby electrical energy, stretching his reach to the farthest periphery of his senses. If he could just tap into one of the still-working streetlamps outside of the garage…
Got it!
He began leeching the energy out of the light and into himself. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.
Declan really wished Alex was awake right now to show him how she did that trick with the spheres.
He would just have to wing it.
What had she been doing when she created a sphere for the first time?
He’d asked her to ground out the charge. She’d been trying to give the current a place to go.
Right. Okay, then.
Here goes nothing, he thought.
Declan raised one hand, palm up, and channeled the energy through his arm and toward his fingers.
It worked. A crackling ball of pale violet light was growing in the palm of his hand. He gave a triumphant laugh.
“What the heck is that?” asked Kenzie. She was twisted around in the passenger seat watching him, her face illuminated by the dancing blue light of the sphere.
“A little something Alex taught me,” Declan replied, smiling.
He placed his other hand on the metal frame of the car door. With a little concentration—and a lot of creativity—he was able to bypass the fried electronics that would have kept him from kick-starting the engine. Sending one last surge of electricity to the still functional fuel injectors, the car roared to life.
Nate looked at the coupé’s dashboard in surprise. “Well, I’ll be damned,” he said. He and Kenzie slammed the car doors shut.
“You’re welcome,” said Declan as he used what was left of the energy he’d gathered to roll down the car’s windows.
As Nate peeled out of the parking space, the wall of cars separating them from the agents exploded outwards.
Aiming for the opening in the barricade, Declan launched the sphere of electricity he’d formed through the open window. Nate sped the coupé around a corner before he could see if his attack had had the desired effect.
They careened out of the parking deck and onto an empty side street before sliding into heavy traffic on the main road.
“We need to get out of the city,” said Declan. “Faster the better.”
“Interstate should be up ahead,” said Nate. “It’ll be the quickest way to go.”
Something in the side mirror had captured Kenzie’s attention. “Anybody else notice that black Challenger?” she asked. “Because I think it’s following us.”
Declan twisted in his seat. The Challenger was two cars back in the other lane and accelerating, weaving through traffic in an attempt to catch up with them.
“Better find that gas pedal, Nate,” said Declan.
They sped up.
Ahead of them, a traffic light changed from yellow to red.
“Whoa,” said Kenzie, pressing one hand against the dashboard and grabbing desperately for the door handle with the other. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Brake!”
They sailed through the intersection… and only barely missed getting creamed by the cross-traffic.
Nate was smiling. “Did you see that?”
“Yes, Nathaniel.” Kenzie had a white-knuckle grip on the door. “You have a bright future ahead of you as a wheelman for the mob. We’re all so proud. Now focus on the road, please.”
“I wouldn’t celebrate just yet,” said Declan, looking out the rear window. The Challenger had made it through the intersection and was following only a few car-lengths behind them. “We didn’t shake them.”
Nate hit the gas, turning onto the ramp that led to the interstate.
“I don’t think we’re going to be able to lose them,” he said, threading the coupé through the lessening traffic. “Not like this.”
“So what do we do?” asked Kenzie.
Nate caught his gaze in the rear-view mirror. “What’s the biggest thing you’ve ever jumped with, Decks?”
He couldn’t be serious.
“You want me to jump the car?”
“If we jumped without it, w
e’d still be traveling at the same speed we are now, right?” Nate asked. “I’d rather not reappear somewhere going a hundred-and-twenty miles per hour. Something tells me that wouldn’t have a happy ending.”
Declan’s head slammed into the back of the passenger seat as the car pursuing them collided with their rear bumper.
“Son of a…” he mumbled, rubbing his forehead ruefully.
Seatbelts. They were more than just a fashion statement.
He glanced nervously at Alex. The impact hadn’t been enough to wake her. She was still out.
“Hang on, guys,” said Nate.
Declan looked past Nate and through the windshield. Up ahead, traffic was at a standstill. Nate swerved the coupé into the breakdown lane, flying past the stopped cars.
The black Challenger followed suit.
Declan continued to siphon energy from the passing cars and streetlamps, but he wasn’t getting much. They were simply moving too fast for him to get a good fix on anything. At this rate, it was going to take ages before he’d have enough power to jump with all of them and the car in tow. That is, if he managed to jump at all.
Alex stirred in his lap and let out a whimper. Declan gently brushed aside the errant locks of hair that hid her face. She turned her head to look up at him.
She was awake. And from the looks of it, she was still in pain.
They were almost out of the city, but apparently it wasn’t far enough to help Alex.
She turned away, closing her eyes tightly as her face twisted into a grimace.
Alex, look at me, he thought.
She didn’t respond. He cupped the side of her face and turned it toward him. Warm tears spilled over his fingertips where they rested against her cheek.
Lex, he said again. Her gray eyes blinked open.
Focus on my voice, Alex, thought Declan, mentally shouting to be heard over the clamor of the voices in her head. Can you hear me?
She nodded mutely.
“Okay, that could be a problem,” he heard Kenzie say.
He looked up. About half a mile ahead, the breakdown lane ended, branching off instead into an exit lane that continued on for another quarter-mile before curving to bridge the road they were traveling on. Unfortunately for them, it was still under construction.
Declan returned his attention to Alex.
You’ve got to shut out the voices, Lex, he said. Imagine a wall separating you from them. A thick wall. Just like you did earlier when you wanted to keep Kenzie out.
Nate drove the car through an opening between the water-filled plastic barricades and accelerated. As they rounded the curve, he muttered a curse. “Now would be a good time for that jump, Decks.”
“Little busy here, Nate.”
“Well, we’re about to run out of freeway, so unless you want to teach this car to fly in the next ten seconds, I suggest you find the time.”
Declan looked frantically out the windshield. The bridge up ahead was unfinished and they were fast running out of road.
Realizing he’d have to make do with what little energy he’d gathered, he attempted a jump. Nothing happened. He needed more power.
In desperation, Declan drained the car’s battery. The coupé’s engine cut off.
They went over.
As they careened through the air, Declan tightened his hold on the back of the passenger’s seat and wrapped his other arm protectively around Alex. Then, for probably the first time in his life, he prayed…
…and they jumped.
The front end of the car slammed into the blacktop, the undercarriage scraping against the pavement until the rear wheels finally connected. The coupé lurched forward a short ways before Nate hit the brakes and they screeched to a halt.
He’d done it.
“So much for the suspension,” Declan muttered. “Hope Grayson listened to the rental guy about the optional insurance plan.”
“I’m never getting in a car again,” Kenzie said from the front seat. There was a funny waver to her voice. She opened the passenger-side door and tumbled out. “And if I do, so help me, it won’t be with Nate.”
“Hey now, my driving was excellent,” said Nate. “Next time we’re in a life-and-death style car chase you can drive and we’ll see how well you manage.” He peered into the backseat, frowning. “She okay?”
“She will be,” said Declan.
Nathaniel nodded and climbed out of the car.
Declan felt a hand grip his arm. He glanced down to find Alex staring up at him.
“Hey,” he said. “Feeling better?”
“A little,” she replied, her voice small. “It’s quiet again.”
“Quiet sounds good,” he said.
“Yeah,” she agreed. “Quiet is good.”
Alex gave a weak smile.
Declan stared down at the girl in his lap. She looked so frail. So easily broken. If he hadn’t gotten her out of the city… Gotten her away from all those people…
She’d be gone right now. Everything that Alex was would have vanished in a sea of other people’s thoughts.
That was twice today he’d almost lost her. They really needed to call it a night before she went for a trifecta. The girl was turning out to be more than a little jeopardy friendly.
“Where are we?” she asked, closing her eyes as if the words hurt. Then again, between Kenzie’s knock-out and the psychic onslaught giving her the mother of all migraines, they probably did.
Declan took her hand in his before he realized what he was doing. She didn’t pull away.
“Home,” he said. “I teleported us back to the cabin.”
“How?” she asked.
“I improvised.”
“No, I mean… What happened while I was out?”
“Nothing much,” he said. His thumb traced a lazy circle on the back of her hand. “We got shot at for a while, Nate tossed some cars around… Oh, and I managed to make one of those spheres of lightning you love so much. We ended the night with a high-speed chase and a long drive off a short bridge. Had some good times. You should have been awake, you would have loved it.”
“I’m sorry I missed it.”
The passenger seat flipped forward and Kenzie stuck her head in. “How’s our girl?” she asked.
Declan let go of her hand.
Alex struggled to sit up.
“She’ll be fine,” said Declan, exiting the car. He turned around to offer Alex a hand in getting out.
He told himself he was just being polite. That it had nothing to do with the way he’d started to crave the electric sensation of her soft skin brushing against his.
Nope.
It had nothing to do with that, at all.
Alex took his outstretched hand and climbed carefully from the backseat. She managed to take only a few steps before her knees buckled.
Before Declan could move to catch her, Alex’s body froze in place, leaning suspended in mid-air.
An invisible force gently pushed her upright. Kenzie rushed to help support Alex, wrapping her arm around the other girl’s waist and draping Alex’s arm over her shoulder.
“Nice catch, Nate,” said Kenzie.
Their brother was leaning against the stone wall that lined the driveway, watching them with interest.
Nate pushed off the wall and approached them, shaking his head. “That wasn’t me.”
“What are you talking about?” asked Kenzie.
“I didn’t do it. I’m still drained from moving around those cars in the garage.”
Kenzie raised an eyebrow. “Well, who else could it have been?”
“I think…” Alex’s voice was barely above a whisper. Her head was bowed and her gaze remained fixed on the ground. “I think it was me.”
“Wait…” said Kenzie. “So Alex has two abilities?”
“Three,” Declan corrected.
“What?” asked Kenzie.
“Alex has three abilities. She can jump, she’s telekinetic… And she’s a telepath. That breakd
own she had in the parking garage? It was the telepathy manifesting.”
Alex raised her head, two loose brown curls framing her face. Her eyes were filled with questions he wasn’t sure how to answer.
“In the middle of a city? My god, no wonder she was in so much pain,” Kenzie said quietly. “But three powers? Decks, you know that’s not possible.”
Alex’s legs gave out again. Her full weight proved to be too much for Kenzie to support.
Declan moved to help, but Nathaniel reached them first. His brother scooped Alex wordlessly into his arms and carried her toward the staircase that led down to the patio.
He watched them go until they were out of sight.
“Three abilities,” Kenzie repeated. “I don’t understand it, Decks. Variants never have more than two abilities. It just doesn’t happen.”
“You know that’s not true. It’s happened once before.”
Kenzie stared at him. “Once. And he wasn’t born that way. The Agency made him that way.”
“I’m just saying… It’s happened before.”
“Are you honestly suggesting that the Agency did this to her?”
“I don’t know,” he said, making for the stairs. “But we really need to find Grayson.”
— 17 —
“How’s your head?” asked a loud voice.
Alex lay sprawled on the couch in the exact same place Nathaniel had set her down ten minutes earlier, her feet resting in Kenzie’s lap and an arm slung across her eyes; a futile attempt to block out the low light shining down from above.
She attempted a reply, but the sound that escaped her throat was something between a grunt and a whimper.
“That good, huh?”
Alex heard Declan settle onto the coffee table across from her. She lifted her arm and squinted in his general direction. The pounding in her head had caused her vision to dissolve into an indistinguishable mix of light and color.
Even without a clear view of him, she knew that he was smirking down at her. She could hear it in his voice.
It was nice to see he found her situation so amusing.
Three abilities. According to Kenzie, it was impossible. Variants could only ever have, at most, two abilities—inheriting one from either parent. And even that was incredibly rare.
To have three abilities made Alex a freak amongst freaks.