“It’s dangerous,” he said. “You can’t go playing cop when you aren’t one.”
“I applied for the FBI,” she said. “I’m close to getting in. I should have stayed on that path in the first place.” A sudden pain ripped down her spine and then blasted into her neck. “Oh god.” She sat up and held her nape. “Ah. Ouch. Something is biting me, Kel.” She turned around and grabbed her hair, feeling panic rise inside her. “Get it off. Get it off my neck.”
He brushed aside her hair and kissed her neck, then tried to pull her against his body.
“Kel!” she shouted. “Stop. Get it off. What is it?” she demanded, rotating to face him and shoving her hair out of her eyes. She was appalled to discover he was smiling. “You’re smiling at my pain?”
“No, I-”
“You’re grinning now!” She scooted off the bed away from him. “I can’t believe you would laugh at this. It hurts.” Only, the pain was fading and she barely felt anything now. Still – he was smiling. Her gaze found the bathroom and she ran for it, uncaring of her nudity. Kel knew her body. He was about to know her wrath, too.
She used the mirror of the medicine cabinet beside the sink to try and see her neck, but she couldn’t get her hair out of the way. Kel appeared in front of her, looking sexy as sin, and damn him for making her notice. She was furious with him, even though the pain was completely gone.
He framed her body with his and there was no missing returned arousal, but as her gaze lifted she gasped, the now absent pain in her neck, forgotten.
“Your eyes are black. Oh God. So very black. What’s wrong? Were you bitten too?”
His lips curved, those dark eyes dancing with mischief. “It’s part of the GTECH change.”
“Why are you smiling again?”
“I’m not. Okay, maybe I am. I’ll explain after you look at your neck.” He lifted her hair. It took her a moment to tear her gaze from the deep, dark depths of his stare, only to gasp again at what she found in the mirror.
She touched the double circle etched into her skin with a intricate woven design around the edges, as if someone had taken great time and caution to tattoo her. “How is this possible? Was it when I was passed out?”
“No. I wouldn’t let that happen.” He framed her face with his hands. “It’s a lifebond circle. GTECHs are another race, Sonia. We are faster and stronger than humans. We are immune to human illness. We do not age and we heal rapidly. Some of us have other abilities as well. And we can only reproduce with one female, in one season of the year. If the two people are meant to bond, it happens after the first act of sex.”
He was speaking another language, making no sense. Or she was dreaming and kept convincing herself she wasn’t. “This isn’t our first time having sex, though.”
“It’s the first time since I fully transitioned,” he said. “The lifebonding process didn’t develop until we began to evolve as GTECHs. And by the way, I can mask the color of my eyes to anyone but you, my lifebond.”
She was stunned and confused. All this talk of GTECHs felt unreal, but yet he wasn’t. Kel not only felt very real but being with him made her feel complete in a way she’d never thought she would again. “Lifebond,” she repeated, trying to get her mind around the word and the idea it represented.
“A biological mating,” he explained. “Marriage of the bodies. And that’s why I was smiling when your neck hurt, because I knew what it was.” He lowered his head, brushing his lips over hers. “It means you belong to me and I belong to you and nothing but death can take that from us. And now, unless you have a problem with it, I’m going to make love to my lifebond.”
There was something she could understand and embrace and embrace it she would.
A long time later, Sonia collapsed on the mattress beside Kel, sated and happier than she had been in a very long time. He lay on his back beside her and they both stared up at the ceiling in a comfortable, wonderful silence until her thoughts found a voice.
“So do the GTECHs work for the Army?”
“No,” he said. “The Army tried to kill off and destroy their mistake, meaning us.”
She rolled over to look at him and found him staring at her. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I wish I was,” he said. “We’ve made a truce of sorts. We’re all working to stop the Zodius from gaining more power, but they’d slit our throats in a heartbeat.”
“So this operation you have is completely private?”
“It is,” he said. “A couple of the men, Damion included, come from filthy rich families and we have enough private donations to make up what they can’t.”
She rolled back over and thought about that. “This is all so incredible.” She eased to her side again with another thought. “I don’t really understand wind walking or GTECHs or much of anything you’ve told me, just so you know.”
“Neither do I,” he laughed, “and I’ve been living it for years now.”
“So you travel in the wind how?”
“It’s like becoming the wind,” he said. “No physical presence but complete awareness.”
“Can I wind walk with you?”
“Humans can’t wind walk without the risk of death.”
“Oh, well then,” she said. “That doesn’t sound so intriguing anymore. Wind walking sounds impossible.”
“So does someone dreaming about the future.” He ran his hand over her hair. “You should sleep. I’ll take you to see Sunrise City tomorrow and you’ll be able to answer all of your questions there.”
“Sunrise City?”
“It’s the Renegades’ underground headquarters,” he said. “And when I say city, I mean city. We have restaurants and stores, and about anything a normal city would have. Our population is nearly a thousand now. Only a few hundred of those are GTECHs. The rest are humans helping to fight the Zodius or women rescued from Adam’s testing facilities.”
Her brows furrowed. “Why would you take them there?”
“There are GTECHs that we call ‘trackers’ who can locate certain people if they aren’t beneath the ground.”
“Certain people as in who?”
“A GTECH who doesn’t have his mental shield up. That only happens when we’re injured. Or,” he hesitated, “this is where the grim part of this war comes into play.”
“Tell me,” she urged.
“Any women who has had sex with a GTECH can be tracked by another GTECH. It creates a different kind of energy. It’s impossible to explain.”
Her eye went wide. “Meaning me?”
“No,” he said. “I’d never put you in danger like that. You are my lifebond and I have the ability to shield you. Again, it’s hard to explain, but I can shield you just as I do myself.”
“You didn’t know I was your lifebond.”
“Yes,” he said with absoluteness, pulling her close and kissing her. “I did.”
“You said it’s rare.”
“So are we.” He brushed his lips over hers. “There are things you need to know, about me, and about our bond. But you need rest. We have a good two-hour drive tomorrow.” He kissed her forehead. “So sleep before I don’t let you.”
She smiled and caressed his cheek. “What about you?”
“GTECHs don’t need much sleep, but I’ll be right here with you. I’m not going anywhere.”
She wanted to believe that more than she’d ever wanted to believe anything, but she sensed there was something he wasn’t telling her. Something she feared but she wasn’t going to think about it now. She curled up to him, letting the warmth of his body seep into hers and she let herself dream that this would be the first night of the rest of their lives together.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Sonia woke the next morning to the sound of Kel humming nearby and the smell of coffee and this time it was her turn to smile. She stretched and sat up, holding the sheet to her chest.
“Morning,” he said, from over at
the bar, a spoon in his hand. “Hungry?”
“Starving,” she said eagerly.
“Becca brought you some of her clothes,” he said. “And a robe. It’s there on the end of the bed.”
Sonia reached for the pink silk garment and shoved her arms in it. A quick trip to the bathroom and she was at the kitchen table, being rewarded with a kiss from a sexy, bare-chested super soldier, and being ordered to sit at the table.
“Fine.” She laughed. “But for the record, a girl could get used to being waited on hand and spatula by a hot soldier.”
“As long as that soldier is me,” he said with a grin. “I don’t have a problem with that. Give me about one minute and my famous omelet will be served up.”
“I can’t wait she said, watching him fill her plate before returning and setting it in front of her.
“Brunch is served,” he said. “I haven’t made one since I, well, died, so I don’t promise it’s as good as the past.”
Since he died. That was a bad memory she could do without. “I’m sure it’s great. Thank you.” She was just about to take a bite when he returned with two more plates. “Is someone joining us?”
He sat down with her. “Nope. GTECHs eat a lot. It’s our metabolism.” He poured orange juice into his glass. “And we have a vitamin C deficiency. Our scientific teams are trying to figure it out.” He poured her some juice as well.
“So you mentioned special abilities that certain GTECHs have?” she asked, tearing into her omelet. “What exactly does that mean?”
“Caleb can sense emotions and I’m not sure he can’t read minds. He hasn’t said as much, but I’ve got my suspicions. Michael, who I don’t think you have met, can control and communicate with the wind in some freaky way none of us understand.”
“But you travel in the wind.”
“He commands the wind. I’m talking throw a wind ball or use it as a wall. Crazy stuff.” He considered a moment. “Sterling doesn’t have anything unique, but his wife Becca is one of the most powerful people among us. She was given a synthetic dose of the GTECH serum in one of Adam’s fertility camps. She’s telepathic and she sees the past of the person she touches. Oh yeah, and she can command a GTECH to sleep and they go lights out better than with a switch. She’s a weapon, times ten.”
She gaped, not sure which part shocked her the most. “Becca was captured by Adam?”
He nodded. “So were a lot of the women at Sunrise City. They operate a task force to track down areas where women are being abducted and stop it. But only Becca has those skills. Caleb said, like you, she had some natural-born skills that came out with the serum. As for the other GTECHs, over time, different skills emerge. We seem to be evolving.”
“Wow,” she said, sitting back in her chair. “Just wow.”
“It’s a lot to take in,” he said. “Sometimes I feel like I’m dreaming. But as you can see, feeling awkward about your dreaming and visions isn’t an issue here. In fact, I have a feeling that between Becca and Caleb, you can learn to harness your ability even more than you have on your own. Caleb did a lot to help Becca.”
“That would be remarkable,” she said. “To have people who understand and help me rather than call me crazy. It’s almost too good to be true.”
He studied her a long moment before shoving his plate aside and going down on his knees beside her. He turned her chair so that he braced both hands on the arm. “This world exists because we are in a war. I need you to know that. And I need you to understand that Adam is hunting you. You can’t go back to your old life. It kills me to think of you wrapped up in this hell almost as badly as it kills me to think of you not being here.”
Emotion tightened in her chest, and her hand covered his. She was remarkably calm, and a sense of rightness filled her. “I let my dreams scare me away from my purpose, which I believe is to protect and help people. You can’t scare me away any more than they can now. I’m going to put my dreams to use, and it seems to me that dreaming of the women being kidnapped means I belong in this war.”
He considered her another long moment. “I’ll be overly protective.”
“I’ll make you get over it.”
“Adam Rain is hunting you.”
“You’ve already made that clear.”
“You can’t go back to your life. You can’t even go home and get your things. I’ll get them for you.”
That was hard to swallow but she wasn’t foolish enough to take risks. She’d seen too much in her dreams to not believe in real life nightmares. ”I understand.”
His lips thinned. “No. You don’t. Not this world or this war. Not yet. But you will and when you do I need you to know that you aren’t stuck here with me. We can move you somewhere, get you a new identity-”
She leaned down and kissed him. “I belong in this war, fighting by your side.”
He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her off the chair, his head pressed to her stomach, holding her a long moment before he looked up at her. “I want you by my side and I feel like such a selfish bastard for that.”
Her fingers traced the soft strands of his light brown hair. “Say you’re sorry when you eat the last piece of chocolate in the box,” she teased, remembering their mutual love of candy. “Don’t be sorry for wanting me by your side.” And with that, he pulled her down onto the ground and they forgot about breakfast until well after lunch.
A few hours later, Sonia sat in the lab with Becca, who Sonia liked more every second she was with her. A safe location for Carrie, the waitress from the bar, had been found and the trip to Sunrise had to be put off a day to get her settled. Sonia felt such satisfaction to know that she’d saved Carrie, though she hated that Kel felt Carrie was now a target for Adam. Carrie, like herself, had to move and leave her life behind.
Sonia indicated the pink tee she wore with Becca’s dark blue jeans that luckily fit fairly well, and laughed, “‘Astrobiologists have more fun’?”
Becca grinned. “And you thought it was blondes.”
Sonia laughed. “Sterling is blonde.”
“And I bought him a shirt that says ‘Blondes have more fun’ and he said he’d only wear it if he could add ‘in bed’.”
Sonia almost choked on the soda she was sipping. “Oh my God. That’s too funny.” She set her drink aside, deciding it was dangerous for now. “I don’t think I’ve ever known an astrobiologist or anyone else who has.”
“It’s an interest in space and other forms of life that got many in my field killed or kidnapped by Adam. It’s a long story.” Her brows furrowed. “I wonder...I can see a person’s past when I touch them. So if I touch you, I’m curious if your dreams would read like your past. Because if they do, then maybe we can harness that to better hone in on female targets and save would be victims.”
Excitement rose inside Sonia. “Oh, let’s try!”
The door to the lab opened and a tall, extremely good-looking man with longish brown hair, wearing a whole lot of leather, sauntered in. “Where’s the Eraser? Calling the Eraser.” He stopped dead when he saw Sonia. “Oh, sorry about that. You must be Sonia.” He offered her his hand and she took it, before he added. “I’m Chale, Kel’s friend, and Damion’s frenemey.”
“Frenemey?” she asked, finding she was smiling far more than one would expect having just been thrown into the Twilight Zone.
“He hates me so much he likes me. So where is the Eraser?” He eyed Sonia. “Our team is a few miles from Carrie’s new location and they need Kel to wind walk over and work his magic on arrival.”
“Eraser?” Sonia asked, confused.
“That’s what we call Kel since he can erase people’s memories.”
Sonia went completely still.
“Sonia don’t overreact,” Becca said quickly. “He would have told you. He hasn’t had time.”
“Oh shit,” Chale said. “You didn’t know, did you?”
“No,” Kel said from the door. “She
didn’t know because I didn’t have time to tell her, so thank you for that.”
Sonia was on her feet in a heartbeat. “You had time to tell me, you just didn’t. You were going to wipe my memories and send me away again, weren’t you?”
CHAPTER EIGHT
You were going to wipe my memories and send me away again, weren’t you?
Kel’s heart thundered in his chest as he replayed Sonia’s words and tried to figure out what to say and not say. “I wasn’t going to erase your memories. Or I was. I thought about it. I was going to give you the choice if you hated Sunrise City or this life. A choice, Sonia.”
“Then why not tell me?” she demanded.
“I did at breakfast.”
“You said nothing about wiping my memories.”
“I knew you’d react like this.”
“Are you wiping Carrie’s memories, too?” she demanded.
“We have no choice,” he said. “It’s that or a life in Sunrise City.”
Sterling walked into the room and stopped next to Kel. His gaze slid around the room before he muttered one of his famously outlandish statements turning Holy Mother of God into, “Holy M&Ms we’re fighting, aren’t we?”
“Yes,” Sonia said at the same time Kel said, “No.”
“So yes,” Sterling said and glanced at Kel. “Sorry, man. Her face says it all. And I hate to make this worse, but we have a team ready to follow us to Carrie’s new location. We need to get a move on.”
Kel ran his hand through his hair. “I’d planned to talk to you about this before we left for Sunrise today. I had no idea they would find her a location as quickly as they did. Can we talk a minute, Sonia?”