Power Trip(4)

She stuck her tongue out at him and jammed the glasses back up on his nose. His mental whammy never worked on her and he knew it. “Don’t you want to know if he can do it too?”

He tucked the paper into his pocket. “When?”

“Tomorrow.”

“That’s fast.”

“No, it’s not. You’ve been ignoring my calls and texts. I can’t believe you forced me to come down to your den of iniquity just to talk to you.” She stood up. “I’m meeting him at one for lunch.”

“Where?”

“Bonfire.” She gave him the warehouse district address.

“I’ll be there.”

Gratitude surged through her. She knew next to nothing about the father who had left when they were children, but history was important. Sometimes she wondered if her interest in genetics had sprung from the fact that she had so little information about her own DNA. Since their mother had been institutionalized shortly after their father disappeared, she had grown up in a vacuum, jealous of friends who could say, “I look just like my grandma,” or “I went into medicine because my father’s a doctor.”

Their foster parents had been wonderful, but she was curious about what characteristics she might share with blood relatives. Hair color? Eye color? An explanation for Jake’s talent? She was trying not to get her hopes up, but it was impossible not to wonder if there might be something special about her, too, something that might manifest later. After all, she had the same chromosomal anomaly Jake carried, just no corresponding talent. Would their father know anything about that?

She looked at her watch. Maybe she would stop by the lab on the way home and see if there were any baby mice yet. She glanced at the door.

“I’ll walk you to your car,” Jake said.

“No need for that. No one in this neighborhood gives me a second glance when I’m dressed like this. I fit right in. And if they do…” She shrugged. “I’ll make them sorry.”

“A black belt is no substitute for the ability to—”

She interrupted him. “And you never let me forget it. Seriously, Jake, I got in here just fine. I’ll get back to my car okay too. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She threw her arms around her brother’s massive shoulders and gave him a grateful squeeze. “Thanks, Jake. I owe you.”





Cal watched the woman with the white-blond ponytail hug the owner of the Lair. He’d felt a pleasant jolt when she caught his eye on the way in. Velvet. Her eyes reminded him of black velvet. What’s an all-American girl like that doing in a place like this?

“Any possibilities?” Truman asked, drawing his attention away from the blonde.

Cal sighed. “I don’t have the energy for a new sub tonight.”

“And that’s saying a lot, considering.”

Cal shot him a glare, which only made Tru grin.

“As a public service, I’ll help you sort through the horde.” Truman looked around the crowded room. “Otherwise some lucky lady will miss out on your Super Dom action, and I can’t let that happen. It would be criminal.”

“You know I hate it when you call me that.”

“But the leather fits you so well, my friend.”

Cal took a sip of the Evian in his glass to keep from reaching across the table and setting fire to Truman’s mop of orange hair. With all the styling products he had used to spike it tonight, it would go up like a torch, but rising to the bait would only encourage him. Cal decided to humor him instead. “What on earth are you casting for?” he asked. “You can’t detect synaptic insulation or conductive immunity, can you? Have you been holding out on me?”

“Nope, but I know you like a challenge, so I’m using my built-in lie detector to see who might provide an interesting distraction for you tonight.”

“Don’t bother. You can keep your psychic pimp action to yourself. I’m not in the mood.”

“So you say.” Tru rolled his eyes. “If you were any more in the mood, Jake wouldn’t need to pay his electricity bill. You are glowing, my friend.”

“Shit.” Cal slowed the swirling electrons inside him. “I guess I’ll have to work tonight after all.”

“Not necessarily. Don’t you always have a good session with a fresh sub?”

“I don’t need your help, Tru.”

“Nonsense. If you had to depend on your sparkling personality, you’d never get laid.”

“Keep talking and I will zap you. Right here, right now.”

Truman gave him a long, lazy look. “Anytime you want to walk on my side of the fence, all you have to do is ask.”