Power Trip(21)

“Your helpless sister kept getting in my way. Then the asshole pulled some sort of energy weapon. I kind of lost my focus when my arm broke in half.”

“That’s because you’re a pussy.”

Cal ignored the gibe. “It wasn’t a gun or a Taser. I don’t know what it was—that’s the weird part.”

“Yeah, well, why don’t you get busy trying to figure out that mystery weapon and stay away from my sister?”

“No chance.”

Jake sighed. “Cal, I let her go home with you because she was going to do it anyway. You can’t stop Audrey once she gets curious about something, but I don’t want her getting involved with a talent. Nothing personal. She thinks she’s found our father, which is bad enough, but her getting attacked in the street makes me nervous, especially if the guy had an unusual weapon. I want her as far away from our world as possible.”

“Why are you trying to insulate her from what she is? Why not bring her in? Introduce her to some other neutrals?”

“There aren’t that many of them, and from what I’ve heard, their talents don’t work the same way as ours. Neutrals operate on instinct. They don’t know how they do what they do, they just do it. There’s no way to measure neutrality. I won’t risk her. She’s safer living as a normal.”

“Safer from what?”

“It’s not your business, Cal. Pick another sub. You never keep them long, anyway. Leave Audrey alone.”

“She’s different, Jake. I can touch her. Don’t pretend you don’t know what that means.” Cal couldn’t touch a woman safely, but Jake couldn’t even look one in the eyes. “I can’t leave her alone, but I won’t harm her, and I won’t let anyone else harm her, either.”

“You don’t know what you’re getting into, Cal.”

“Then tell me. No—tell her.”

“I’ll think about it.” Jake ended the call.

Cal rolled out of bed. That had gone better than he’d dared to hope. Audrey was a neutral. Electrons leapt inside him. He went into the bathroom and turned on the water. As he stepped into the spray, he hoped she would call him sooner rather than later. Cool water sizzled on his skin as he remembered the touch of her tongue against his.

It was a good thing he had a weapon to research while he was waiting for the phone to ring. Otherwise he might be tempted to call her first, using the cell number from her text message. He’d definitely lose coolness points for that. His instincts told him not to crowd her, but the energy swirling inside him was hard to ignore. He turned the cold water on full blast. Steam filled the room.

It was going to be a long day.





Audrey slept in Sunday morning, then showered and headed for Genecorp. If she hurried, she’d be able to get a couple hours of work done before she met Jake and…their father at the restaurant.

When she reached the Genecorp security desk, she fumbled in the side pocket of her purse for her lab ID but couldn’t find anything except Cal’s business card. A faint melody played in her head. Sensation rushed through her body like a current in her veins.

She had texted him last night home safely. He had replied thank you. She hadn’t quite known how to respond to that—thank you for the hot sex or thank you for texting him? So she hadn’t responded at all. Really, what was a guy like him doing with a lab rat like her? She’d seen the other women in the Lair last night. She bet a guy like Cal had his pick of them.

The guard cleared his throat.

“Hang on,” she said, flustered. “It’s got to be here somewhere.”

Damn, she hoped her ID wasn’t lying on the pavement outside Jake’s bar. She should have taken a more careful inventory of her purse last night. She began to pull items out of her bag and stack them on the counter.

The guard sighed. “You want to do this the easy way?”

Audrey nodded and held out her hand. He swiped her finger over the print scanner.

“Step over here, please.” He motioned her behind the counter. “And try not to blink.”

She ducked to rest her forehead against the bar of the retinal scanner, forcing herself to hold still. The flashing lights always made her want to hit someone. Decking the guard wouldn’t get her into the lab.

“Just one last thing.” The guard pulled a box of sterile lancets out of a drawer and opened it. He selected one, laid it aside and stripped the foil from an alcohol wipe.

“You need blood?” she asked, perplexed. “That’s new.”

He shifted closer to her, reaching for her hand.

Audrey stepped back into a more easily defended position. “I don’t like needles.”