Guardian

by Heather Burch

  But Raven knew that’s exactly what Mace was saying. It was written all over his face, even when he shrugged. “Just a thought.” Glimmer looked at Raven. “Why do you think Richmond’s basement laboratory experiments have anything to do with Omega?”

  “I don’t know. But they do.”

  Glimmer’s curls shifted in the wind, catching light. She’s pretty if you can get past the razor tongue and steely eyes. “You’re going to have to spend more time with him,” she said, but he sensed a quick moment of recognition in her eyes, where she’d obviously read his mind about the whole thinking-she’s-pretty thing.

  Great.

  Glimmer tipped one shoulder and blinked heavy lashes at him. “You seem easy to talk to—maybe Richmond will confide in you.”

  As if that hadn’t been his plan all along. “Yeah, well, I’m on a boat in the middle of the ocean right now, so that’s going to be difficult.” Raven shot a dark look at Will.

  “You’re where you need to be, Raven.”

  “Whatever,” he mumbled. One thing was certain. As soon as Will backed off this whole let’s go on a cruise thing, he was headed back to Missouri, back to Dr. Richmond, and back to the fight.

  Chapter 6

  Zero was mumbling and hunched over his laptop as Nikki approached. Her movements were slow, the kind she imagined a person would use when trying to capture a wild kitten. “Stop!” he yelled, and raised a hand.

  She froze.

  “Stay right there.” He dropped his arm, crouched his head a little closer to the monitor, and went back to click, click, clicking away at the keys.

  She waited, listening to the almost melodic sound of his fingertips against the keyboard. It would be soothing if she didn’t know he’d eventually open his mouth and ruin the moment. “What am I doing just standing here, Zero?” she asked when the seconds stretched.

  “Obscuring the sun,” he answered without so much as a pause in his typing.

  Nikki nodded. “Wow, I’ve really got to go on a diet, eclipsing the entire sun and all …”

  His silver gaze lifted up for a moment. “You do look a little thick.”

  Nikki shifted her upper body, and the sun slammed him in the face. Silver hardware flashed, he growled, and she returned to standing still as his sun blocker.

  “Women are evil,” Zero muttered, pressing his palms into his eyes.

  “I hear Ocean is going to stop the boat later and everyone is going swimming,” she said cautiously.

  He visibly shuddered.

  “You know, Zero, I could teach you how to swim. I’m a really strong swimmer.”

  He slammed the laptop closed. “What makes you think I can’t swim?”

  Those silvery irises bore into her. But she’d thought about this discussion and wouldn’t back down. “I’m not saying you can’t swim, but you don’t seem to like the water. If you’re afraid of …”

  “I’m not afraid of the water,” he spat. He pointed over the side of the boat, then to the laptop. “Water and electricity, they don’t really get along. I hate the water, I’m not scared of it.”

  “Okay,” she said. “So you know how to swim?”

  His hands closed into fists. “I don’t, and I don’t care to learn.” Each word shot toward her like poisoned arrows. She should walk away, but she couldn’t. She liked Zero. At least she did when she wasn’t busy hating him. Nikki stared over the edge of the boat. Endless blue, above and below. “Well, if you change your mind, we’ll be off having fun.”

  “Tell you what,” he said as she’d started to walk away.

  “Yeah?”

  “You teach me how to swim right after I teach you how to f ly.”

  Suddenly, she didn’t care if he could swim. In fact, she’d like the opportunity to drown him. “You know, you’re not the only one who isn’t happy about being trapped in the middle of the ocean.”

  “I’m not the one complaining about it.” Sharp features and his unsettling gaze stared her down. “Why don’t you just stop playing games and tell me what you want?”

  Count to ten, Nikki. Just count to ten. “You’re a jerk, you know that, Zero? I was just trying to help, and you make it seem like I came over here with some hidden agenda.”

  She spun from him, but he reached up and grabbed her arm. “Didn’t you?” Zero’s grip tightened.

  “No,” she threw back at him.

  He squeezed harder. She could wrench away—she knew how to break a grip—but Zero was a Halfling. It was unnerving being trapped by him, his eyes calculating every thought inside her soul. “No,” she said again, feeling a distinct need to defend her actions.

  He continued his scrutiny.

  “I didn’t have a hidden agenda … did I?” Then it occurred to her. She was hoping to ask Zero if he could check back home and see if there was any new information on her parents’ case. Was she really that conniving? To think that she’d offer to do something nice for him in return for information about her mom and dad. “Maybe you’re right,” she murmured, and pulled ever so gently out of his grasp.

  Zero’s voice echoed behind her as she walked away. “Come back. I was just jerking your chain.” He laughed, but Nikki kept going. “Nikki!”

  Who am I becoming? She’d never been manipulative before. Then again, maybe she had, but no one ever noticed—including her. Now, surrounded by half-angel beings, her true colors were easily visible. When long, bony fingers clamped on her arm, she jumped.

  Zero spun her to face him. “You know, you really kill the fun of hacking your data when you’re so busy beating yourself up.”

  “I’m sorry, Zero. But you guys see right through me. It’s creepy and way too revealing.”

  His top lip curled up as his brows tipped down. “It was a joke, Nikki. You were trying to be nice, and I didn’t let you. Man, you need to lighten up.”

  “I’ll try,” she offered, but it was weak at best.

  “Come on,” he said, and led her back to his laptop. They sat in the nearby deck chairs. “There’s no new information on your folks.”

  Her heart sunk a little. “How’d you know?”

  “Vegan asked me to check things out for you. I just had to finish updating Ocean’s navigational systems first.”

  “Thank you.” No news, but the fact that the Halflings were concerned warmed her heart. “I really apprecia—”

  “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Look, don’t go getting all mushy on me or I’ll have to go back to ignoring you.”

  She nodded.

  Zero clicked a few keys then turned the laptop toward her. “Here ya go.”

  She looked down at the screen, but had to adjust it to see. No wonder Zero wanted her to block the light. “What is it?”

  “Math assignment. You can scroll through. I’ve got all your classwork on this laptop. Can’t promise how long the battery will last, so save often when you aren’t plugged in.”

  “I don’t understand, Zero.”

  “I tapped into your school’s files and lifted your assignments.”

  “Lifted?”

  “Yeah, I liberated them.”

  She shook her head, confused.

  “I appropriated them. Filched? Embezzled?”

  She had to wonder if these were terms Zero often used to describe his work. “You mean you stole them?”

  “If you want to put it that way.” He tilted his head, causing him to resemble a huge, white, curious bird. “Hardly a crime to steal homework. Answers maybe, but stealing questions? My conscience is clear.”

  Her finger trailed the edge of the monitor. “Why?”

  “When this is all over, you’ll want to go home, right? So I asked Vegan what she thought, and she said it’d be good to get your homework for you so you don’t get behind. Good job on the straight As last semester.”

  His words were blurring into one massive realization. Home. A tiny slice of home rested inside the laptop. And Zero and Vegan were responsible for giving it to her. Her nose tingled. Oh, she detested
that. Normally she’d hate for anyone to see her eyes get misty, but right now it just didn’t matter. Other things, important things, were happening around her. “Thank you, Zero.”

  He shrugged. “No big deal.” But Zero was fighting back a smile about as successfully as she was fighting back tears. A giant wave slammed the side of the boat, and tiny droplets of water stung Nikki’s face. She protectively cupped her arms around the laptop.

  “See what I mean?” Zero said. “Water equals evil.”

  Nikki laughed. “And Zero equals not such a bad guy.”

  Jumping off the side of a boat into the water … what else could feel so good? The heat from the sun, the whoosh of wind past his ears, then the cool sting of the sea. Rather than surface, Mace stayed under until his lungs began to ache. Down here, there was no need to keep constant watch over things. Or at least that’s what he chose to believe.

  Was it possible for someone under twenty to have high blood pressure? ’Cause he’d fit the bill for sure. It was like he was fueled on stress these days. And as Mace rolled onto his back to look up at the round, glittering sun, mottled through twenty-some feet of water, he had to wonder if the stress would also ruin him.

  The rays hitting the sea’s surface were too intense to look at, forcing Mace to close his eyes. A gentle swish of his arms kept him in place as, slowly, his body lifted toward the surface. There were probably fish below, a rainbow of colors and designs, but he didn’t care. Maybe he’d inspect the sea life later; now, all he wanted was the soothing silence and the press of liquid salt against his skin.

  Something caused him to open his eyes. Through a distorted, floating wall of seawater, Nikki watched him from the railing of the ship. Even from his position beneath the waves, he read the concern on her face. It caused him to smile. When he did, water flooded his mouth. A swoop of his arms and he was topside, tossing hair from his face, spitting seawater, and gazing up at her, because, let’s face it, looks like that were scarce.

  Her fingers had dug into the railing, and when he finally reached the surface she released a huge breath. Her chin dropped a degree, and she rested her forearms on the rail as if settling in to watch a movie or something. The faintest of smiles was on her face. Man, that hit him in the gut. Nikki was content. And that was rare.

  Without warning, an urgent desire to get to her overwhelmed him. But this wasn’t a safety thing, or a rescue thing, just a … seize-the-moment thing. Like time was running out on them.

  Time was one commodity Mace couldn’t control, master, or lead. It was rebellious and not inclined to listen to his suggestions. But he’d learned a thing or two about time, the biggest of which was don’t waste it. Once on the ocean surface, Mace snapped his wings open, introducing each feather to the cool water. A second later he was airborne, rising to meet Nikki at the edge of the boat, wings heavy laden but heart riding high.

  He paused in flight and faced her, water running in trails down his chest and back. Droplets from his wings showered her with every gentle beat. Each time, she closed her eyes and tilted her head back as if inviting more. “Aren’t you going to get in?”

  “I was,” she said. “Until I saw you drowning.”

  “You thought I was drowning?”

  “Yes. Don’t scare me like that.”

  Reach out and grab her. The thought surprised Mace so much, he tried to shake it off, but it persisted. His hands responded first. And …

  “Don’t scare you like that? How about if I scare you like this, then?”

  She squealed as he lifted her from behind the railing and into his arms. Her hands clamped around his neck. Slick as he was with water, she couldn’t get a good grip. The loose hold caused her to press against him. Very nice. Why hadn’t he done this before?

  “Uh-oh, not sure I can hold on.” He loosened his grip marginally, causing her to squeal again and sort of climb a few steps up his legs. Even better. The motion left her partially on one side of him so that her arm could drape around his neck for a perfect grip.

  “Stop it,” she said, but it was mostly a throaty laugh.

  “Sorry. Did you want me to let go?” For an instant, he dropped his hands from her.

  Her arms tightened around his neck again, pulling their faces close. “No!” She glanced down at the water some twenty feet below.

  There was no danger, of course. This was a game—and she seemed happy to play it. That fact alone sent Mace’s heart into a tailspin. Homecoming night she’d told him she didn’t love him. Clearly, Nikki was a liar, only trying to protect him. Admirable. But futile. He carried her a little higher as the sea air worked its magic to adhere their touch. What was slick became glue. Mace concentrated on pumping his wings softly to raise her above the tallest point of the ship. He was giving her a bird’s-eye view, but her eyes never left his profile, as if it were completely different this near. Her gaze, like hot coals, scorched his skin. He didn’t make eye contact for fear of breaking the spell, but in his mind he pictured her sharp concentration, studying every line and angle and curve that encompassed him above the throat, dissecting each with her artist’s eyes.

  “I wish I could draw you right now,” she said on a long, slow exhale. “Will made me promise not to draw anything without his supervision.”

  He couldn’t stop his eyes from trailing to her.

  But she didn’t notice. Her attention was on his jawline; eyes slightly narrowed, mouth barely open, head tilted.

  She shifted and then her fingertip ran the plane of his jaw. The tiniest frown creased her forehead as her finger tracked his features.

  Did she have any idea what that did to him? Probably not. She was too busy analyzing her subject matter. That was the thing about Nikki: she was fully devoted to whatever drew her attention as if it was the only thing on earth. She was a 100 percent kind of girl. Except where he and Raven were concerned. And eternal punishment aside, that reason alone told Mace she didn’t belong with Raven. Sure, he piqued her interest. And on some levels, Nikki might be a little like Raven right now. But that was due to circumstances, not due to who she was on the inside. Nikki was a warrior, not a rebel. She was a leader, not a dissenter.

  Her palm flattened against his throat. Mace’s body responded by tilting his head to give her more access. “I can feel your pulse.”

  Ya think? Nothing more came to mind, so he swallowed instead.

  “It’s racing,” she said.

  Are you trying to kill me? “Yeah, um, exertion, I guess.”

  “Exertion? What, am I getting fat or something?”

  He gripped her small waist, drawing her even closer to his side. “No, Nikki. You’re not fat.”

  “Zero says I’m a little thick.”

  “What? Nikki, if anything you’re too skinny. If it wasn’t for the muscle you’ve built doing karate, you’d blow away in a strong wind. And why would you listen to Zero about anything? Other than the best antivirus software.” He tilted his head side to side. “And maybe the best juice boxes.”

  She laughed. “I think all this girl time is having an ill effect on me.”

  He nodded and hoped she’d keep her hand against his throat. “Uh, yeah. If you’re starting to worry about your weight and clothes, I’d have to agree. Those females are trouble.”

  Her hand remained, but its pressure changed. What had been an exploration became a caress. “And what about you boys? Are you safe?”

  Mace’s wings stopped for a moment. “No,” he said, and even he could hear the sadness in his voice. “I wouldn’t say that.”

  Her fingers slipped away slowly. But instead of closing him off, she settled in by laying her head against his shoulder, her ear against the throbbing pulse in his throat. “I would. I’d say I’m safe with you, Mace. You’re my guardian.” She drew a deep breath, lungs filling with air, filling with him. On the exhales she whispered, “My guardian angel.”

  Chapter 7

  New scientists, shipments of wingcuffs, and Omega’s warehouse a buzz of acti
vity back in Missouri. Mace’s attention needed to be on the new information instead of on this, but he couldn’t help himself. He had a present for Nikki. He’d intended to tell her about it when the others were swimming, but he’d been completely leveled by her guardian angel comment. Now, three hours later, he wasn’t sure why he was pacing in his cabin, why his palms were sweaty, why his stomach felt like he’d eaten bait for dinner. Enough! He snatched the box and went in search of her.

  She sat tucked in one of the galley’s booths, head resting on her palm, so engrossed she didn’t notice him enter until his shadow blocked the sunlight streaming over her through a porthole.

  She looked up, and that warm smile spread across her face. “Hi.”

  His insides became molten. “Hi.” One hand was behind his back, and with the other he pointed to the novel she was holding. “Is it good?”

  “Yeah. It’s a steam punk, but not as much adventure as I’d like. It’s funny at least.” She placed the well-worn book on the table and wrinkled her nose. “I read it about a year ago, and it seemed like nonstop action then.”

  “Well, the excitement level in your own life has kicked up a few notches.”

  “A few? How about I’m not even on the chart anymore?”

  “In a league of your own.”

  “It’s lonely at the top.”

  “So they say.”

  She laughed softly and pointed to his bent elbow. “What’s behind your back?”

  “A present for you.”

  She perked up. “Really?”

  “Mm-hmm.” Mace bit his cheek to stop the grin that threatened to take over. His hands were sweaty again. I’ll wind up handing her a sweat-drenched box she’ll have to wring out before opening.

  “Is it an action-packed novel?”

  “Nope. Even better.”

  Her little hands reached out. “Gimme, gimme, gimme.”

  He set it on the table by her book and tried not to hold his breath.