As Cold As Ice (7 page)

Charles huffed. “You hunters don’t normally
spend so much time in this building, so it’s no wonder. Soren keeps
his mouth shut about it and doesn’t ever tell anyone what he’s
doing.”

When they entered the elevator and the doors
closed, Charles looked at her abruptly, as if just then remembering
that he and Jessica weren’t quite on the same level anymore. Layton
still hadn’t decided if she could be trusted enough to work on the
Proxy Project, so that still made her a prisoner.

He smiled, and his laugh came out sounding
somewhat forced and nervous. “But never mind that. Say, I know what
would make a good treat. How about I walk you down to the
cafeteria, the real one where the employees eat. You and I can get
some limp iceberg leaf salads with two-day-old sandwiches. Sound
good?”

He was trying to turn on the charm, and
though she had no interest in spending time with him, or dealing
with his flirting, the thought of food that wasn’t mashed into a
goop, plus being able to eat with actual utensils, sounded so
amazingly wonderful her stomach growled.

She forced herself to smile back at Charles,
but all the while she thought of Soren. Upstairs. Talking to Layton
about God only knew what. “That sounds great.”

Chapter Six

Jessica ate lunch with Charles, and yes,
using a fork and knife, even if they were plastic, felt pretty
damned good. Only a few people stared at her, some faces she
recognized, others she didn't.

She assumed the glares were because of the
employees she'd injured when she'd helped Jack and Cindy
escape.

She thought over her story and what she'd
told to Layton as best as she could while still listening to
Charles prattle on about this new project, how helpful she would
be.

There were so many problems with her story.
It was believable, but only if Layton thought Jessica was the kind
of girl to let her emotions get the better of her.

It wasn't so believable if he thought she
was too strong-willed for that.

And Jessica's assumption was that he wanted
someone who was strong to be able to hunt down paranormals
undercover.

The problem with the entire
thing was that if Jessica were to judge herself, she knew she
wasn't the right type of person for the job. She
was
the kind of woman
who allowed her emotions to get the better of her, who would do
rash things for someone she loved.

She loved Jack—not as strong as a lover, not
anymore, but he was definitely a friend, and they had a history
together.

That had been enough for her to act when she
found out what was going on. She'd thrown her life away so her
ex-boyfriend could go off and live happily ever after with the
woman he'd spent a majority of their relationship talking
about.

That was probably why they had ended it.

And then she was thinking about Soren, about
the surprised look on his face when she'd kissed him, and how long
it had been since Jessica had sex.

God, was it only because he had some
authority over her? Was one of her jailers? Really? That was what
turned her on? It was one thing if that was a turn-on while she was
still safely hiding her secret from the world, but this was
happening in real life. She actually was a prisoner, and the only
reason why she wanted to be put on this stupid Proxy Project was
because it was her best ticket out.

Fuck. She was
screwed.
So
screwed. That was not what she should’ve been thinking
about.

"Are you all right?"

Jessica jumped a little, coming out of her
inappropriate thoughts. Charles was watching her, and there was
some genuine worry in his eyes.

Sometimes, she forgot he wasn't a total
creep. He just had zero social skills.

"You know you can tell me anything you want,
right?" he asked, leaning in close, his hand coming to rest on her
thigh.

High up on her thigh.

So much for the creepy bit. He probably just
got better at hiding it.

The only reason why Jessica didn't shove his
hand away was because she couldn't. Charles was still one of the
men she had to keep in good favor with.

So she put on the helpless girl routine
again, looking down at her empty Styrofoam plates to make her
appear all shy and lost in the whirl of things. "I guess I'm just
worried. What if Mr. Layton doesn't think I'm qualified for the
job? I mean, with how I was found out...he might not think I'm up
for it."

Charles drank up her words, nodding along,
his eyes never leaving hers. They looked slightly beady behind
those round glasses.

Jessica deserved her own special medal in
acting when his hand slid up and down her thigh, in what was
probably meant to be a comforting gesture, and she didn't shiver,
or push him away, or punch him in the nose.

His nose was just begging to be smashed
inside out.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it. I know
you're capable for this job, and so does Soren. He's just as
adamant as I am to get you what you need, I promise you."

"He is? Why?"

Charles puffed himself up, sitting back in
his chair, which was a good thing because then his hand had to slip
away from her thigh. "Because I told him to, of course. He knows to
follow my lead."

Jessica didn't know when she was going to
get anymore information, or what source it would be from.
Therefore, since she was sitting there, almost like an equal, she
figured it was time to at least do a little digging. Even if it had
to be through the mud.

"Are you his superior?" she asked, leaning
forward and putting her elbows onto the table, lacing her fingers
together and resting her chin on top.

Jessica gave Charles all of her attention at
that point. She even put a little sparkle in her eye, as if the
idea of Charles having power over someone else turned her on.

She'd been on enough dates to know what
signals to give off, when to not be too friendly, and when to
really turn it on when she wanted a guy's attention.

It worked so easily. Charles preened under
her attention. He might've even grown an inch or two taller in his
seat.

"Of course I am. I'm the managing director
of our department. All projects need to be filtered through
me."

"I see. So, Soren's only talking to Mr.
Layton because he's being given instructions? Something that has to
go through you then, right?"

Jessica wasn't even sure if she'd phrased
that properly. She wanted to give Charles the impression that she
believed he basically ran this place, and she needed to act like an
airhead to do it.

Charles frowned and made a seesawing motion
with his hand. "He can stand in, of course, and from time to time
during a meeting. Mr. Layton asks for his opinion on certain
things. He was hired here for his own specialties, of course, so
that's to be expected. But yes, whatever they're talking about, I
will soon be privy to."

Knowing Charles, and how he wanted to
constantly make himself look better than he actually was, made it
easy enough to detect that he was a lot more uncomfortable with
whatever Soren and Layton were talking about than he was giving
off.

He was jealous. Big-time. Probably the
standard type of office and work jealousy. The kind that meant he
thought Soren was up for taking his position.

She wasn't about to tell him that, however,
since that would likely just soil his mood.

Still trying to win him over, she bit the
bullet and reached her hand over, placing it on top of his. Charles
looked down at their hands then up into her eyes. There was a
split-second of surprise there before his unfounded confidence
soared to life, and he looked at her as if it had only been a
matter of time before she'd start giving him these little
touchy-feely hints.

"Anyway, I want you to know how grateful I
am that you're looking out for me. It's different being on the
other end. Scary, you know? And I guess I just wanted to let you
know that you're making this so much easier for me."

She wanted to yank out her own tongue. She
really did.

From the corner of her eye, she caught the
way some people shook their heads, disgusted with the act she put
on for Charles. She ignored them, though, and Charles didn't even
seem to notice as he placed his hand on top of hers.

Great, they were holding hands and leaning
in close together like a couple of lovebirds.

"You will have nothing to fear so long as
I'm around," Charles said, his voice not quite a whisper, but
nowhere near the tone and pitch of normal speak.

Fuck. Was he about to lean in and kiss her?
What was she supposed to do if he did? He was leaning in. He was
actually going to go for it.

What should I do? What should I do? Fuck.
Fuck!

Someone cleared their throat hard and heavy
above them. Jessica yanked away from Charles before their mouths
could touch, startled.

Soren stood above them, holding another
clipboard. He wasn't frowning, glaring, or doing anything like
that. The look on his face, however…Wow. Just wow.

The blank but not blank look on his face,
along with the firm set of his mouth, told her he was seething on
the inside.

“
Sorry, but I need to take
Jessica from you.”

Charles frowned. “What for?”

“
For her work-up,” Soren
said. “Mr. Layton wants an evaluation of how well her abilities are
holding up after her time in confinement.”

Soren pulled a sheet off his clipboard and
passed it to Charles, who took it and read it over. He sighed and
handed it back. “All right, fine. I have other things to attend to
anyway,” he relented then turned his smile back to Jessica, letting
his hand slide over hers one last time in a way she didn’t like.
“Until next time.”

Jessica was saved for the time being, but
she had to be anxious about every time she saw Charles from then
on, especially if he thought she was offering something she
wasn’t.

“
Let’s go,” Soren said, his
voice harsh. It was harder than it had ever been, even after
Jessica threatened to expose him. He didn’t touch her, didn’t grab
her or force her to her feet, either.

Something about that seemed off. Jessica
stood, grabbing her mess and throwing it in the trash. The people
around her might’ve hated her guts, but she wasn’t about to let any
of them accuse her of being rude, or a slob. If they all wanted a
reason to hate her, then they were going to have fall back on the
classics.

She was too dangerous. She had scary powers
and so on and so on.

She followed Soren out of the employee
cafeteria. He marched with a stiff spine and didn’t look back at
her once. Was he really angry? Because Charles had been flirting
with her?

He led her down the hall to the nearest
elevator. When they entered and she noted he pressed the button
that would lead them down to the bottom floor, every muscle in her
body locked into place. “The basement?”

“
You’re not going back to
your cell,” Soren said. “I wasn’t lying to Charles. Mr. Layton
really does want an assessment of your power.”

“
Right, okay. So then my
shackles will come off,” she said.

Soren nodded. “Right, and if you want to
keep them off, then you shouldn’t call them shackles. You know how
much PR hates that.”

Right. Jessica was going to have to remember
that. Especially if she ever had an audience with Mr. Layton again.
For all she knew, he was watching her at that very moment.

Not knowing how much they were allowed to
say on the ride down, yet unable to keep her mouth shut because of
the anxiety surging through her, she shivered with the idea of
having to go downstairs.

“
Are you cold?” Soren
asked.

“
No,” Jessica
said.

His voice became a touch softer. “I meant
it. This isn’t a trick to put you back into isolation. I just need
to get you to a room where you can let loose your powers.”

Jessica inhaled a deep breath then slowly
let it out again. She decided she was going to believe him on that
part. What else could she do?

The doors opened and they were walking
again, passing the same concrete, cold walls with the same blue
lighting. The guards were all exactly as they’d been when she’d
first been brought down there, and then let out again.

Though she hadn’t exactly walked these halls
a whole lot before, Jessica had the feeling that not a lot happened
down there; these men were just for show whenever a prisoner did
have to be moved.

She had to wonder what they
did if several hours or more passed by with no excitement. Did they
whip out their phones and play
Angry
Birds
when no one watched? She didn’t see
any black camera balls anywhere.

Thankfully, Soren didn’t take her down the
hall where her cell had been. Instead, they turned a corner and
went in an entirely different direction.

Chapter Seven

The hallways seemed to twist and wind, which
was disorienting under the florescent lights. Jessica wasn't sure
if it was a trick of the light, but the halls also seemed to narrow
and curve down at a slant somewhat the farther they went.

Almost like they were trudging deep into the
earth.

She'd never been so deep into the building
before. "Where exactly are we going? It feels like you're about to
take me to some secret torture chamber."

A small smile crawled up the corners of
Soren's mouth, almost as if he was fighting it, but couldn't help
himself. "No, that's not what this is. There's an arena down here.
Sometimes, some of the subjects you catch, the more violent or
powerful ones, are brought down here."