She elbowed Jake, ignoring his mocking glance at her clothing. She’d known the minute she pulled Cal’s smallest black leather jacket over her jeans and the bio-enhancer that she was going to catch flak from her brother. She was wearing more clothing than most of the girls she’d seen at Jake’s club, but still less than she had ever worn in public in her life. She felt more ridiculous with every minute that passed. She didn’t belong in leather, and it wasn’t a matter of getting used to it. She couldn’t live up to Cal’s vision of her, and as soon as this was over she’d stop trying. The disappointment she had felt waking up alone this morning should have clued her in to how different their needs were.
Jake rang the bell.
The same guard from the other night answered the door. Jake ordered him back to his station while she and Cal headed for the elevator. The door shut behind them and the bottom dropped out of her stomach as the elevator began to move. She was glad it hadn’t taken Jake long to figure out how to override the system because her nerves were already screaming.
Every second felt like an hour as they descended.
Ding. The doors opened.
Silence. Eerie stillness. Cautiously, Audrey stepped out into a bright hallway. There was nothing on the walls. No art. No signs. Nothing to tell her which way to go. She pictured the floors above and decided to go left, toward where the labs would be.
“Hang on—do you know where the stairs are?” Cal asked.
She shook her head, realizing she’d never seen any staircases that led down from the ground floor. Were they keeping him down here without an emergency exit? Horror flooded through her.
Cal shucked his leather coat and rolled it into a ball. He placed it between the elevator doors. The doors shut, bounced, opened. “Better than nothing,” he said. “I’d prefer not to get trapped down here.”
“Let’s go.” It smelled like a hospital, sterile, too clean for a basement, but doubts crowded her mind. In spite of her hunch, he might not be here at all. The files hadn’t divulged the location—Genecorp could be conducting their experiment anywhere.
There was only one door in the short hall and her breath hissed out of her lungs as they reached it. A plaque on the wall matched the name of the file on the flash drive. “He’s in there,” she breathed.
She flipped the switch at the back of her neck and slipped her hand into her pocket, gripping the handle of the bio-enhancer. She raised her other hand and knocked on the door. Dread and anticipation tightened her nerves as she heard movement inside the room.
The door opened.
She gasped, recognizing the mugger from the other night.
Audrey stared at him, mind reeling. He looked like a typical teenager in jeans and a hoodie sweatshirt. Across the room, a huge flat-screen TV showed a martial arts game in freeze-frame, and she could see a controller on the couch.
“Come in,” he said, stepping back from the door.
She ignored the prickling sensation along her scalp. Her limbs felt light, as if she were instinctively preparing for a fight. Or flight. She stepped forward into the room. Cal followed her.
The door shut swiftly behind them.
“Sorry about the arm,” the boy said to Cal. “I didn’t have a choice.” His voice was deeper than she would have expected from someone with such a small frame and he looked at them intently. She believed him.
Cal stepped forward to stand beside her and she glanced to the side. His eyes were glowing, so she put a hand on his arm. “No hard feelings, right?” she said.
Cal’s glance shifted to the right. She followed his gaze and saw Peter step into the doorway of a small, dark kitchen. The silver weapon in his hand was pointing straight at them. Red light arced through the air. Cal shoved her to the side and raised his hands.
Blue surrounded Cal, a nimbus of pure energy that turned purple around the edges when the red light hit it. Cal crumpled to the ground. Audrey started to pull the bio-enhancer out of her pocket, but then hesitated. She couldn’t compete with Cal’s energy and he’d just lost that bout.
Peter pointed the silver rod at her and grinned. “Nice outfit.”
She ignored the heat in her cheeks and considered her options. She didn’t expect a hook kick to work again—Peter would never let her get that close. Could she dive and roll? She couldn’t move faster than a beam of light, but she might make it behind the couch and give herself some time. Her best option was the door behind her, but she wasn’t leaving Cal.
Peter stepped forward, blocking her path to the couch. The silver rod pointed at her chest.
“I’m sorry,” the boy whispered under his breath, edging away from her.
“Me too,” she said, making her decision. She grabbed him, holding him securely in front of her as she reached into her pocket.
Peter chuckled. “Perfect.”
Then red light hit them and her world froze.
Cal struggled to breathe. As consciousness returned, fury energized him. He lifted his head.
“Ah, you’re awake.” Peter Woodrow stepped away from Audrey, tied on the floor next to him. Cal felt like he was coated in cement but with effort, he managed to move his fingers enough to explore the knot at his wrists. Woodrow might have high-tech weaponry but he clearly knew nothing about bondage. He hoped the knots at his ankles were as elementary.
“I’ve been doing research on you,” Woodrow informed him. The kid who had mugged them the other night sat on the couch, facing the television, but Cal could see from the reflection in the glass entertainment center that he was watching them.
Cal looked at Audrey. Her eyes were shut. Fear made his electrons riot, slowly burning through the thick red haze in his brain. Could he get some energy into her?
“An electrical talent, huh? We don’t have one of those yet. Did my proton weapon short you out?”
Understanding bloomed in his sluggish brain. No wonder that thing had such an effect on him. The positive charge was opposite to his very nature. Clearly, in this case opposites did not attract. Cal pretended to struggle, being careful not to tighten the knots, as he inched closer to Audrey. He got his hand on her bare skin and sent a short blast into her before Woodrow kicked him away.
Her eyelids fluttered but stayed shut.
Woodrow stood over him. “Aw, that’s sweet. Did you give her a little energy shot?”
“Not like the one I’m going to give you.”
“Keep dreaming, Sparky,” Woodrow jeered. “The Imp’s going to keep an eye on you while I get your room ready. Gotta remove all the fire hazards, you know.”
“The Imp?” Cal asked.
Woodrow jerked a thumb at the kid. “It’s a nickname. He’s impervious to physical harm, just like Audrey is immune to talent. He’s also freakishly strong. Their gene combination will be invincible.”
Cal’s vision blued. “Over my dead body.”
“Probably.” Woodrow gave him a cold smile and left the room.
The Imp turned away from the television.
“This is your chance to redeem yourself,” Cal said. “There’s a big wide world out there. You can have a better life than this if you help us.”
The boy watched him wrestle with the simple knots at his wrists. “How do I know you aren’t worse than them?”
“Faith.” Cal slipped out of the ropes and pulled himself toward Audrey. The boy might not help them, but it didn’t seem like he was going to hinder them, either. He grabbed Audrey’s fingers and let his electrons fly.
Slowly, her eyes opened. “Cal, what the hell? I can barely move.”
He squeezed her hand and felt the faint pressure of her fingers in return. “Listen—Woodrow is coming back,” he whispered urgently. “Get the conductor ready and lie still. Be ready to squeeze the trigger. If I get your hands untied, can you raise your arm?”
“Maybe.”
Cal reached for her ropes. A sound outside the door made him abandon his plan of undoing the knots with his fingers. “Sorry,” he said and torched th
em. She didn’t flinch.
He saw her grit her teeth as she reached into her pocket for the conductor. There wasn’t time to untie their feet, so he put his hands behind him again, as if he were still restrained. Maybe that would buy her another few seconds to recover.
The door opened. The Imp turned back to the television.
Woodrow was talking on his cell phone as he entered the room, and Cal was glad for the distraction. How long would she wait? He held his breath, knowing Audrey would only have one shot.
She raised her arm. A line of blue fire shot from the tip of the conductor. It arced toward Woodrow but curved to the floor before it reached him. The carpet at his feet caught fire.
“Impressive,” he taunted, stamping out the flames. He dropped the phone on a chair and pulled the silver rod out of his back pocket.
Cal cursed. With their feet tied, neither one of them would be able to incapacitate him before he fired on them again. Audrey’s arm dipped, the line of blue flame intensified, then stuttered out. After filling the battery in the lab, she didn’t have enough power to use nichrome as a conductor.
But he did.
Cal reached for her hand. She’d handled fifty thousand amps and been just fine. Two million hadn’t fazed her either. They wouldn’t need that much power to stop Woodrow. He poured energy into her and the bio-enhancer responded. Blue flame met red as Woodrow fired too.
Cal fought to become the focus of their link, but the enhancer gave her the advantage, taking his energy and multiplying it by ten, then a thousand, in an endless circuit of synergistic power. He felt himself getting pulled into the vortex, no longer giving energy but having it taken from him. Audrey’s eyes began to glow blue and her skin, wet with sweat, began to spark.
Cal felt his nerves fry. He fought, controlled a surge, lost, doubled his efforts, lost again. Thunder shook the room and the smell of ozone filled the air.
Something flickered in his periphery. Through the smoky blue haze, Cal saw the Imp move toward them. Audrey howled and pulled more energy from Cal, pouring it through the circuit. This was his power, yet not his to command. He couldn’t let go of her hand.
Woodrow crumpled to the floor, but Audrey didn’t stop. The muscles of her hand had contracted—she was unable to release the trigger. The conductor showered the room with fire. The walls burned. The ceiling dropped huge chunks of flaming plaster. Cal knew his hair was on fire, felt his skin blister from the heat.
He was locked into place, incinerating.
And so was Audrey.
Waking up was not a slow thing. One second Cal was dreaming in the dark, the next he was shouting.
“Don’t move,” a low voice warned.
He tried and found he couldn’t. He saw heels and floor and realized he was being carried. He turned his head to the side and saw Audrey, also upside-down, unconscious. The Imp kicked Cal’s leather jacket inside the elevator and Cal felt it with every blackened pain synapse in his body. His world went dark again.
When he woke, he was flat on his back. He opened his eyes. Audrey lay next to him on the tile, unmoving.
“Holy fuck, what happened?” Cal heard Truman ask.
“Nothing good,” Jake answered. “You brought the girls?”
“You need more than the girls. You need the fire department.”
“On its way.” Jake’s voice sounded thick, distorted.
“Why didn’t you wait for me?” He’d never heard Tru sound so furious.
You didn’t answer your cell. Cal tried to find the energy to speak.
The Doc crouched down next to them. “Get her into the car,” she said to Sam, who gently lifted Audrey and carried her away.
The Doc bent over him. “You’re a mess.”
“I’m fine. Go with Audrey. Help her,” Cal whispered. He wasn’t fine, but he didn’t care. He was good enough and the Doc could fix him up later. Sirens wailed in the background.
“Jake, you got the boy?” the Doc called.
“Yeah, I’ve got him.”
The sirens got louder. “Get everybody out of here. The floor is collapsing and my squad will be here any second,” Truman said.
The Doc stood up. “We can’t move Cal like this, and I don’t have enough time to heal him.”
“Gotcha.” Jake appeared above him.
Cal’s vision blurred. “I’m fine. Where’s Woodrow? Is he still downstairs? He tried to kill us.”
“Feel no pain,” Jake said kindly. “And go to sleep.”
Chapter Fourteen
Audrey’s world was black and blazing blue. She couldn’t move her arms or legs and her mind was simply there, but not processing thoughts. Her brain was full of static, jagged lines and noisy sparks. There was something important she needed to remember.
“The Doc can’t do anything for her.” She knew that voice, had heard it before, although it sounded different.
“I know, buddy. I’m sorry.” This voice was unfamiliar, and very sad.
“I thought…I had hoped, well, you were able to read her at the Lair the other night, so I thought maybe the Doc’s powers would work on her too.”
A deep sigh. “I couldn’t read her, Cal. I was just fucking with you. I’m so sorry.” He really did sound sorry.
Audrey heard nothing more until a choked sob broke the silence. She hoped the man would comfort his friend.
“Jake said it was a hell of a blast. Do you remember what happened?”
Jake.
She remembered now. Incandescent blue light. Power. Heat searing her lungs. The smell of gunpowder. Fire. Calvin. She opened her eyes.
Cal scrubbed his hands over his buzz cut. “I touched her. I never should have touched her. I was only going to give her enough energy to stop Woodrow, but I couldn’t let go. Neither could she.” His voice was anguished. “If my powers don’t affect her, why the hell is she unconscious? The Imp carried us out of there before the fire got out of control. There’s hardly a mark on her. Why won’t she wake up?”
“I’m awake.” Her voice was a wisp of sound.
“Audrey!” Cal reached for her hand then froze.
“Touch me, please. It’s okay.” He took her hand. The buzzing in her head stopped and her brain came back online. “Ahh, thank you,” she breathed, then coughed. Her chest hurt.
The other man handed her a cup of water and she took a sip.
“Smoke inhalation,” he said. “You all had it, but the Doc couldn’t cure yours. I’m Truman Smith, by the way. I kind of introduced you guys, in a roundabout way.”
“So I heard. You’ll have to go into detail about that sometime.”
Truman grimaced. “I’ll leave the two of you alone. Welcome back, Audrey.” He clapped a hand on Cal’s back and left the room.
Cal held onto her hand, creating a pleasant blaze throughout her body, completely unlike the punishing heat of the fire last night. He squeezed her fingers. “I thought I’d lost you.”
She sat up in bed, remembering. “Oh my God. You touched me last night.”
He let go of her hand and hung his head. “I’m so sorry, Audrey. I lost control. God knows what would have happened if the boy hadn’t dragged me away from you. You blinked out like a light. I thought you were dead.”
“Nope, not dead. In fact, I feel pretty good.” She got out of bed and stretched, looking around the room. Light poured through the window. His bedroom was spare, masculine and expensively furnished with well-chosen antiques. “Did you sleep with me?” she asked, surprised.
“I slept in the chair. I didn’t want you out of my sight.” His gaze drifted down her body and she realized she was naked.
“Pervert.” She stripped the sheet from the bed and wrapped it around herself.
“Your clothes were toast,” he said, jerking his gaze back to her face. “The ones Jake brought are on the dresser. Are you feeling well enough to get dressed and come out to the kitchen? Your brother and the rest of the gang are here having breakfast. We need to talk.”
&
nbsp; His tone was ominous and the hair stood up on the back of her neck. She looked at him, trying to guess what he was thinking from his expression. Did he blame himself for what had happened last night? Because it had been his power fueling the bio-enhancer? Just before she’d begun hosing the room with blue fire, she remembered thinking now? Now he decides it’s okay to touch me? But what else could they have done? Let Peter kidnap or kill them?
“I feel fine, Cal. Really.”
Cal nodded, looking unconvinced. He walked out of the bedroom and closed the door behind him.
She sat on the bed. If Cal decided he was dangerous to her, where would that leave them? Exactly where they’d been before, she realized, with her begging for every touch and him imprisoned by his goddamn gloves. Nope, not going to happen. She’d almost given up on a relationship with him because she didn’t feel comfortable wearing black leather in public, a total cop-out that made her as big of a control freak as he was. She could put up with being uncomfortable for him. Her comfort zone was widening every day, and she refused to be held in a prison of her own making.
She wasn’t going to let Cal wall himself off from her, either. In order for them to be together, Cal needed to trust her talent. He’d pumped God knew how much energy into her last night, and she’d survived. Clearly, he could touch her without hurting her. Cal was a scientist—he couldn’t ignore the data. However, it was difficult to reason with emotions. How could she convince him it was safe to lose control for her?
Control. That was the key. It was time to reverse their power exchange.
Anticipation made her tingle, deep inside, and she wondered if Cal felt this way when he was thinking of kinky ways to drive her wild. With a house full of people, she’d have to wait to suggest their next experiment. But as soon as she got Master Calvin Davis alone, they were going to reopen negotiations.
Audrey carried her clothes into his bathroom. When she caught sight of herself in the mirror, she sucked in a harsh breath. Her hair was mostly gone. That must be why there was a pair of clippers lying on the sink and Cal was sporting a new military cut. There wasn’t even enough hair left on her head for a cute little pixie hairdo. She made a face in the mirror and picked up the clippers. It was only hair; it would grow.
Power Trip: Double Helix, Book 1 Page 13