He handed the phone back to his mom, who sighed. "I
don't know what to do, Sam. I can't protect him from my fears and worries
anymore, and it's eating away at him."
"That's why you have us. We'll find a way together, I
promise."
We said our goodbyes and I pulled out my sketch book to
distract myself while I waited.
Time stretched on and after awhile I couldn't stand being
alone. I checked Ana, who slept soundly, and turned on her baby monitor, then
hooked it to my jeans before leaving my room to roam the house and see who else
might be awake.
In a group this size, someone could almost always be found
in the kitchen, and a cup of tea sounded good, so I headed there first.
It didn't take long for company to arrive. Darren walked in
and yawned. "What are you doing up?"
"Tommy's coming tonight. I can't sleep."
"Oh, right! I forgot. That's cool. You must be excited
to see him again."
"I am." That assignment plagued me more than any
other. If Tommy had been a girl, he would have been his father's prey. Instead,
he had become a different kind of victim of Mr. Beaumont's sick perversions.
I'd done the right thing, turning him in to the FBI, but I'd destroyed their
family in the process. Now I hoped I could help them rebuild their lives.
"Do you mind if I join you? I couldn't sleep
either."
I gestured to the chair next to me and smiled. Darren had
become a good friend in the last few months and I appreciated the company.
Ana cried just as the tea kettle hissed.
Darren walked to the stove. "I'll make us tea if you
want to get her."
I thanked him and went back to my room. Ana fussed and cried
in her crib and I lifted her and rocked her. When she still didn't calm, I
sighed and brought her to the kitchen with me.
Two cups of chamomile sat on the table, steam wafting
through the kitchen. Ana didn't settle down, and I didn't want to risk drinking
hot tea with her squirming in my arms. I looked longingly at the cup while I
rocked her.
Darren laughed. "Why don't you drink, and I'll rock her
for a bit?"
I passed the baby to him. What could it hurt? She instantly
calmed down as he hummed a nonsensical tune and rubbed her back from top to
bottom. He had a gift I coveted.
"How'd you do that?"
"A trick I learned while on assignment once. Babies get
gassy and that's often the cause of their fussiness. Rubbing their backs this
way helps push the gas out and makes them feel better."
My eyes widened as I took in the total Darren package. I
hadn't looked at another guy in that way since Drake left, and I still couldn't
go there entirely, but in that moment I realized it might be possible to move
on. Someday. There were other men in the world—attractive talented men with
good hearts.
I sipped my hot tea and watched Darren. With a nod from me
he took her back to my room and came back to join me.
"That was impressive. You're good with kids."
"Thanks. I like them. I like working with the younger
kids here, teaching them and helping them. I hate that all the little ones and
babies are still trapped. I hope Luke and Lucy are close to freeing them so we
can bring them home."
Home. He and Mrs. Beaumont both used that word, and for the
first time I realized this place really had started to feel like home. We still
had growing pains as we worked out training schedules and class times, not to
mention the cramped living space, but that shift had happened when I wasn't
looking. What had been a safety net to fall back on had turned into something
so much more, and people I'd known all my life at arm's length had suddenly
become family.
The kitchen clock, an old antique Father Patrick had
brought, chimed twice. They should have been here by 1:30 a.m. I checked my
phone, but no one had called, so I reached out and opened myself up to my new
gifts—and a powerful darkness swarmed me. An urgency filled me, images flashing
in my mind. The dream of Serena played itself out in front of me, but instead
of the girl, it was Tommy's hand that reached for me, his voice that pleaded
for me to help him.
I jumped up from my seat in a panic. "Something's
wrong! I just felt Tommy, and he's in trouble. I have to go to him."
"Sam, calm down. Do you even know where they are?"
"They were on their way here from the airport. I'll
follow the route. Will you watch Ana?"
"You shouldn't go alone. Get ready, and I'll find Susie
to help with Ana, okay?"
I nodded and ran to my room. Ana slept peacefully. I kissed
her head and realized this would be the first time I left her with anyone. I
paused and stared down at her beautiful cherub face. Maybe I should take her
with me. No, she'd be safer here.
Reluctantly, I left her side and slipped shoes and a jacket
on, then grabbed my purse.
Susie stood by my door when I looked up. "Darren said
you needed help?"
I filled her in on what I'd seen, and she nodded and took
the baby monitor. "I'll take care of her, and I'll let Father Patrick and
Bernard know what's going on. You two get going and keep us informed. I have my
cell phone on."
She hugged me and her calm filled me even as the panic
fought to hold on. "If anything happened to him, I'll never forgive
myself."
She stroked my face in much the same way I had just done to
Ana. "Whatever happens, it's not your fault, and you're not alone in
this."
Darren arrived, and I squeezed Susie's hand, then followed
Darren out of the mansion and into the night.
More walking through the jungle. How fun.
At least now Lucy had something more interesting than bug
bites and Luke's mopey attitude to distract her. Hunter walked a few feet ahead
of the group, his long muscular legs never tiring. Hers felt like gelatin
molds, but from all the walking or from the sexy agent, she couldn't tell.
Agent Simmons joined Lucy as they walked. "Well, how'd
it go with Hunter last night?"
Are we seriously having girl talk?
"It went
okay. It was short. We had to get some rest for today. He seemed... nice."
Nice. Such a lame word.
She didn't really know if he was nice—only that he was nice
looking. She refused to be one of those girls who fell for a pretty face that
just white-washed a total jack-ass underneath. She could ogle, but she would not
fall until she knew he deserved her.
The bright sun beat down on them, and Lucy once again
thanked her genetic pool that she hadn't been born as pale as Sam. She'd be a
lobster by now.
Simmons nodded with understanding then called out to Hunter.
"Agent Riley, scout ahead with Lucy. Make sure we don't run into anything
unexpected."
Hunter nodded, and Lucy smiled and mouthed 'thank you' to
Simmons before taking her place by Hunter. It seemed so long ago that Lucy sat
with her coconut and gun and considered whether she was capable of shooting
Simmons. Beleth had been wrong. That wasn't the only way to save the kids, and
Simmons didn't deserve to die.
Lucy walked with Hunter and tried to match his long
footsteps, but her shorter legs couldn't keep up without going into splits.
He noticed her dilemma and slowed down slightly, allowing
her to catch up. "Sorry. I walk too fast for most."
She didn't want him to cater to her; she could walk just as
fast as he could. To prove it, she picked up the pace and moved faster to make
up for the difference.
He laughed, but in a friendly way, and shifted his pack to
sit more centered on his back. What looked like the hilt of a sword stuck out
of the unzipped corner.
"Do you have a sword in your backpack?" Because
that's what all the girls used for pick-up lines these days. At least the sword
wasn't in his pants. That would have been a much more awkward conversation for
sure!
He grinned. "Yes, I do. They can be useful in certain
situations."
Lucy's heart skipped a beat at his charming grin. Then
another image broke through, one that made her heart race for all the wrong
reasons: Beleth's hand turning into a sword, slicing the hand off Agent
Morrison. Lucy was all too familiar with the advantages of a sword, especially
if it grew from your body.
Hunter stopped. "You okay? You look pale. Don't like
swords?"
"Not that. Just, how Agent Morrison's hand...."
"Right, sorry. I forgot. I know that sounds horrible
but...."
"Not at all. It's not burned into your memory the same
way as mine. But no, actually I love swords. I'm trained in them myself. I had
a really cool one, back at my old dorm. Not sure what happened to it after we
left." She assumed they would get a chance to recover some of their
belongings after escaping Rent-A-Kid, but IPI had confiscated everything for an
unspecified period of time.
"Would you like to hold my sword?" He asked the
question with a gleam in his eyes.
Lucy burst out laughing. At least she didn't giggle again.
"You did
not
just say that. But, um, yeah, I'd like to hold your
sword, Agent Riley."
Hunter grinned and unzipped his backpack, pulling out
something surprisingly small. He held it out to her, and noticed the
disappointed look on her face. "Expecting something bigger?"
She smirked at his continued play on words. She had a
lifetime of training in verbal and physical sparring; he was no match for her.
"They say size doesn't matter, but I disagree."
Hunter, who apparently hadn't expected her response, choked
on his own comeback and unsheathed the sword, then placed it in her hand.
"You have to stroke it a certain way to make it bigger."
Oh my God.
She wrapped her hands around the black
hilt and admired the gleam of silver that reflected the sun. Strange
hieroglyphics or symbols of some kind were carved into the blade. She'd never
seen any metal like this. It looked incredibly sharp, and the tip wasn't
diamond-shaped like many swords. It was more like a katana, but with a straight
edge instead of curved. And it was surprisingly light.
Hunter wrapped his large hands around hers, and twisted them
to the right and up. The sword extended to full length.
Lucy gasped. He'd been right; the sword grew, but she
couldn't figure out how. "Who made this? I've never seen anything like
it."
She pulled away from Hunter and took a fighting stance,
doing a series of movements she'd learned from her weapons instructor. The
sword seemed to pulse with power, enhanced by the pulsing of the sphere in her
pocket. She became one with it, moving in the fluid, graceful way of a deadly but
beautiful hunter.
Hunter spoke, breaking her focus. "You're amazing. No
one's ever handled my sword with such skill."
Neither laughed at the clear sexual innuendo, because this
time he wasn't joking. She could see the awe in his eyes.
It almost pained her to return the sword to travel size and
give it back.
Hunter noticed her look of despair. He draped his arm over
her shoulders and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Something tells me
that's not the last time you'll get to dance with my sword. Cheer up."
A flush of heat rose up from Lucy's stomach. She ducked out
from Hunter's arms and wagged her finger at him as she started walking down the
path again. "Do all the girls fall for that line?"
A smirk played across his lips. "Most of them,
yes."
"I'm not most girls. It takes more than a shiny sword
to impress me. Don't get me wrong, it was very impressive." She flashed
her own smirk. "You never answered my question. Who made it and what's the
metal it's made of?"
Hunter sighed as if her questions were such burdens.
"You're right, I didn't answer your question. That information is
classified top secret, and you, Miss Rivera, don't have the clearance."
Lucy would have argued with him, if he'd been lying. The
sword clearly had some kick-ass technology behind it. That only made her
desperate to know more.
Damn Sam for not being here, she'd just pry the knowledge
out of his mind.
The thought of Sam connecting so intimately with Hunter
made her a bit jealous, and she chastised herself for being so silly. First,
Sam would never make a play for a guy Lucy liked, and second, Lucy had no claim
to Hunter.
She did want to get to know him better, though. "What
brought you to IPI?"
"Why not? I get cool toys and get to kill monsters.
Plus I get to meet beautiful women with kick-ass super powers."
"More deflection, I see. So I take it there are a lot
of beautiful women with kick-ass super powers at IPI?"
He winked at her. "Well, only one. And she's not
actually at IPI—yet."
"Cute. What makes you think I'd ever join IPI, or that
they'd even want me. I tend to be a bit of a rebel."
"Really? I hadn't noticed."
Liar.
"How long have you worked with Agent
Simmons? You two seem close."
"She trained me. She's almost like a mother to me, but
don't tell her that. She'd freak. Basically, I wanted to serve the best, and
she's the best."
As they walked, Hunter told stories about his training with
IPI and Simmons. He painted a picture of a tough but fair woman who was strong
and wise, and definitely not a pushover. "Once, in training, this other
recruit boasted that he could kick her ass because she was just a girl. She
challenged him to hand-to-hand combat, took him out in ten seconds flat, and
had him scrubbing the bathrooms with his toothbrush for a month."
"Wow, a bit harsh, don't you think?"
"Maybe. But he never insulted another female agent or
instructor again, and neither did anyone else in that group."
Lucy found herself liking and respecting Simmons even more.
"How long have you been an agent? You look young."
He smirked. "I get that a lot. I haven't made many
friends, with such a rapid advancement. Really, it's because of Agent Simmons'
training, and of course, because I'm so incredibly talented, naturally."