The Protectors Series Bundle (A superhero romance anthology) (19 page)

“It was. Only thing I had that was worth anything.”

Tears pricked at Symone’s lids, and she quickly blinked them away. She remembered what it was like when she’d been on the street and desperate. By the time Peter Reeser had found her, it was only a matter of days before she’d have been desperate enough to do anything to survive.

In the distance, the scream of sirens sliced through night air. Someone had definitely heard the skirmish and played neighborhood watch. She sure as hell wasn’t sticking around to give the cops a statement. She looked at the girl. She couldn’t be more than fifteen. “Do you have anywhere to go?”

The redhead’s chin went up. “I don’t need your charity.”

God save her from stubborn teenagers. Symone reached into her pocket and pulled out a card and a pen. She jotted down her cell phone number and flicked the card over to the girl. “These assholes wake up and come for you, or you get yourself into any kind of trouble at all, you call me. I’ll come get you.” She paused. “My name is Symone. You got a name?”

“Riley.” The girl swiped her hand under her nose. “Why are you helping me?”

Because I know what it’s like to be all alone. “Because you need it.”

Chapter Three

Garrett slammed the rear door of the truck back into place and sprinted around the side in search of Symone. No sign of her, or the kid against the wall. He went to the last spot he’d seen her at to see if he could pick up her trail, and he caught a faint one right up to the stairs of the library, but then nothing. Shit. If she was what he thought she was, and Reaper was looking for her, she was worse off than he was.

As he headed back toward the warehouse district, he knew what he had to do. Garrett didn’t like it, but he needed some answers before he wandered into this minefield. He slid his phone open. Pressing speed dial, he tried to follow her scent. Maybe he’d missed something.

Rex’s voice was terse when he picked up. “Report?”

Garrett kept his voice even and relaxed, trying to keep the growl from seeping through. “Why does Reaper want the girl?”

Rex’s voice was cool with a hint of ice-berg. “What, have you lost your fucking memory? She’s a national security threat. She’s hacked into NSA and CIA systems, attempting to access confidential files. Why are you acting like a moron who’s lost his mind?”

“Is that so? Exactly when were you going to mention that Symone Jackson has supernatural abilities? She’s no techno–terrorist. She’s a Tracker.”

Rex was silent for several heartbeats as if weighing his options between truth and lies. “No. She’s not a Tracker. But she’s very important to Reaper’s long term vision of this group. You need to proceed with caution and bring her in. Better yet, wait for your damn reinforcements. Where is she?”

There was nothing Garrett hated more than a liar. “Where did she get her abilities?”

“That’s need to know, Soldier.”

Rex was hiding something. “I can’t do my job if you’re hiding things.”

Rex expelled a breath. “Need I remind you, Soldier, that as we speak, we’re in the process of evaluating your brother’s blood for the genetic markers of ALS? I would hate for Reaper to get a wild hair that we need to see him in person and run tests that way. Some of those tests could be uncomfortable.”

Michael. Icy dread settled in Garrett’s stomach. His whole life he’d been sure he was doing the right thing. Following the rules. Helping people. But no. He was the bad guy he’d always read about. Somewhere along the noble line, he’d made a wrong turn and hadn’t even seen the marked path. For a moment his head spun as his brain tried to reconcile the people who’d helped cure him with the people who were threatening his family.

So much for being brothers in arms. Rex had been his commanding officer in the Army Rangers. He’d known about Garrett’s medical history. Known it was only a matter of time before symptoms showed up. Garrett submitted to voluntary medical testing every six months.

It was during one of those tests that Rex said he had a solution to his problem. Rex had saved his life on more than one occasion. Garrett had no reason not to trust him. They were like brothers, after all. Next thing Garrett knew, he was burning like someone had lit him up from the inside. When the burning passed, he found out they’d made him into something akin to the damned X-Men. He’d been naïve enough to trust Rex then. He wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

Think dumbass, think. He had to keep Michael away from them. But as long as they thought he was following orders, they wouldn’t hurt his brother. Maybe if he could save Symone’s life, she’d be willing to return the favor. It was a weak plan, but it was all he had to go on with short notice. He’d have to get to her first. If he couldn’t get to her, he’d start with tracking the kid she’d helped tonight.

Garrett forced the next words out of his mouth, fighting with the rein on his anger as he did so. “I’ll bring her in. But then I want some answers. Michael has nothing to do with this. Leave him out of it.”

“We can do that. Just bring in the girl. Where is she now?”

“I last spotted her in the Mylands Warehouse district, near Smith-Collins Road. I followed her for a mile, but then lost her scent completely. Is cloaking one of her abilities?” Garrett wondered if Rex would buy his answer. Rex was no doubt checking his tracking chip location as they spoke.

“Not that I know of. She must have help.”

“Am I allowed to know what her powers are? Or is that need to know too? I need to be able to defend myself.” He also needed to arm himself with as much information about her as possible.

“I already sent reinforcements. You won’t have to engage her on your own. They’ll be there by tomorrow night.”

Garrett needed to find her before the others did. If Rex and Reaper wanted the girl, they’d have to get through him. All he had to do was find her and warn her.

“Understood,” he mumbled.

“You have your orders, Garrett. Reaper wants her. Bring her in. Come back, and you can get your brother taken care of.”

Garrett wrestled with his flare of rage. It was a wonder he’d lasted in the service so long. Taking orders didn’t come natural to him. And veiled threats, meant to remind him who was really in charge, did nothing but fuel his rebellious urges. If he could get to Symone before the rest of the Trackers did, he could convince her to help him get to his aunt’s and get Michael to safety. “I know what I have to do.”

All he had to do was find the un-findable needle in a giant haystack. Good thing, his specialty was tracking ghosts.

***

“I’m pregnant.” Cassie Reeser tipped her head up to look her husband Seth in the eye.

Mincing words wasn’t a strength of hers. She’d never learned how. She’d been holding onto this piece of information for days, trying to figure out how to tell him. For the last year and a half, ever since she’d escaped from her brother and they’d rescued the others from Peter’s experiments, she’d both looked forward to, and lived in fear of this moment.

Her pregnancy was one more step toward the fulfillment of Seth’s vision. If his vision was right, then it meant her brother hadn’t died in that explosion after all. It meant he was coming after them, and she’d be helpless to stop him from killing her and her baby.

But she couldn’t think that way. Seth was rarely wrong, but sometimes his visions didn’t happen exactly as interpreted. Cassie prayed this was one of those times.

The rest of their team was down by the pool and Jacuzzi so the house was empty. It was so rare they got a moment entirely alone anymore.

Seth’s mouth hung open, and he dropped the jar of Jalapeños onto the kitchen floor. Green liquid pooled as shards of glass scattered. “Say what?”

“You heard me. I said I’m pregnant.” She almost laughed as Seth went an unearthly shade of gray, then green.

“It’s impossible.”

He had a point there. Peter had supposedly sterilized her and the other female subjects, but given her rapid healing, anything was possible. She shook her head. Men. “You saw this coming yourself, but you’re telling me it’s impossible.”

He started to shake, and she frowned. He was starting to worry her. What if he didn’t want the baby? After all, who knew what kinds of powers their kid would have. Maybe it was all too soon. After the fireworks of the last eighteen months, they’d only just settled in to their lives.

She’d sold off and disbanded what remained of Gentech Labs. She’d severed all ties to Symcore weapons and had industry watchdogs hunting for any hints of a human weapons program. She’d paid some form of restitution to all the others her brother had hurt. Each of the kids, as she affectionately referred to them, was extremely wealthy and could do whatever they wanted with their money, powers, and newfound freedom. But only two had chosen to leave the compound, or the Lair as they’d taken to calling it—Symone and Jared. All the rest had remained. Cassie finally had the family she’d wanted.

She and Seth had gotten married six months ago, and they had barely had a chance to get used to living together. No wonder he was going into full freak out mode.

“Maybe I should get Lisa.”

Seth shook his head as if to clear it. “Leave Lisa be. She only gets to come out here once a month or so. Let her enjoy herself with the kids.”

After they’d watched her brother presumably die, Seth had been concerned about his longtime friend, so they’d gone back to check on the doctor. Lisa had been irritated that they risked exposure just for her, but once they were sure the danger was gone, she’d been coming out to the cabin more often. If it could be called a cabin. The high ceilings, modern furnishings, and surrounding guest cabins really qualified it as a resort, but that was semantics.

“What am I supposed to do? You’re scaring me. You already saw us having the baby, so I thought you’d be happy.”

Seth jerked his head. “Oh shit, sorry. For a mind reader, you sure suck at discerning my feelings. I’m thrilled. I’m just shocked and worried. In my vision, you looked older. I—um, didn’t expect anything like this. I just don’t know what to do.”

“How about we start with you holding me? And don’t you worry about my brother. We’re stronger than he is. No one is going to hurt me or this baby. Your visions have been off before.”

He frowned. “Rarely.”

“We can’t spend our whole lives worried about if he’s going to come for us. I’m not going to have him overshadow what should be a happy time. Until I met you, I didn’t think this was even possible, given everything he’d done to me. You were my miracle. This baby is a miracle.”

Seth set his jaw, but the look in his eyes softened to something tender and a little mischievous. “I am happy. In fact, I want to show you exactly how ha—” His body went still as stone.

Cassie placed a palm on his cheek. “Seth, what’s the matter? What do you see?”

“It’s Symone. Turn on the TV. She’s been exposed.”

Without even a second for the thought, Cassie’s cell phone flew into her hand and the remote into the other. Telekinesis sure was handy for some things. She dialed Symone’s number by memory and checked the satellite television for news of Symone while she waited for her friend to pick up. Just their luck, one of the Miami stations was running the story of a baffling robbery gone awry.

“Hi, Cassie.”

Cassie tried not to smile at the resignation in Symone’s voice. It had been too long since they’d spoken. Cassie missed her friend. Wished she’d come home. “Just what part about lying low did you not understand?”

“Chill, I’m in no mood for an ass chewing. Besides, I’m laying low. Sorta.”

“It’s all over the news, Symone. Three male assailants stopped mid-robbery. One thrown through the window of one of the store fronts. Do you want to explain?”

Symone let out a long breath. “I promise, I wasn’t seen. Cassie, what’s the point of my powers if I’m not allowed to use them to help anybody?”

Cassie sucked in a deep breath, trying to stave off a sudden bout of nausea and the strange urge for Oreo cookies. “Symone, look. I’m not saying you shouldn’t help anybody, but you could have been hurt. It’s dangerous out there. There could still be some people trying to continue Peter’s work, we have to be careful and stay hidden. Can you imagine if someone got the drop on you? What would happen if you landed in the hospital? One look at your genetic makeup, and it would be another lab. There are still scary things out there.”

“You seem to forget I’m one of the things that goes bump in the night. Besides, what was I supposed to let them do, hurt that girl?”

“What girl?” Cassie didn’t like the sounds of this. Given Symone’s past history of being on the streets, she was always trying to bring in strays. Some worthy of her help. Several not. But Cassie couldn’t tell her not to help someone. It was what she would do herself. “Let me guess she needs some help.”

“The Miami Street Kings had her rob a lawyer’s office for some files. They threatened to kill her if she didn’t. They’re not just going to leave her alone now. She’s got no one looking out for her on the street.  I need to get her somewhere safe.”

Cassie knew there was no point arguing with Symone. When her friend wanted something, she got it. “I’ll make some calls. I might be able to get her placement in Atlanta. That girl—can she identify you? Do I need to come down there?”