Reluctant Protector (10 page)

“Trackers. In the woods. Six of them.” She listened again. Definitely six. Could they fight off six? It didn’t matter. If the Trackers knew they were here, they would find them again. Better deal with this batch first. “We'll have a better advantage on foot. At least we won’t be sitting ducks.”

“Are you kidding me? You really want to get out and fight these assholes?”

She kept her expression neutral. “If we stay in the car, we’re toast.”

Chapter Twelve

Seth followed Cassie's lead as they alighted from the car. She hiked north, but it wasn't long before she put up a hand signaling him to wait. He strained to hear any sound—footsteps to their right. Every step gave away the Trackers’ position. Cassie held the gun out to him. “You’re sure your aim is good? Your shoulder feels okay?”

He nodded once, swiftly. “I managed to avoid hitting that douche bag the other night, didn't I?”

She rolled her eyes. “Remember, that gun is for protection only. Do not engage. Let me know their movements. If you need me, call out.”  

“It’s easier for you to read me now, huh?” He opened the magazine and counted his bullets before shoving the clip back in.

She nodded. “Ever since you changed. Although you’re still pretty thick-skulled. Reading you still takes some effort, but if I’m listening for you, I can hear you.”

In a fight, her mind pushing abilities would come in handy. Didn’t mean he had to like it though. “How do you want to do this?”

“I'm going to take out the guys on the left. See if you can distract the guys to the east. Just keep them out of my hair until I can get back to them.”

The fuck he would stand by and twiddle his thumbs while she risked her life. Stepping lightly, he used the trees as cover. The first Tracker he came upon was headed back toward the police barricade. For several moments, Seth wondered if he'd be able to pull the trigger. This time his aim had to be true. One mistake and that meant trouble for Cassie. A gunshot would also bring this asshole's buddies running.

Lifting his arm, he leveled the gun and fired.  The Tracker turned toward Seth just as the bullet hit the right side of his chest. His body flew back made a soft thud in the sodden grass. “That's one.”

He reached out to Cassie with his mind even as he approached the downed Tracker.
One is down. How many left?

Her answer was like a soft brush against his skin.
I told you not to engage them.
He smirked as her irritation filtered through.
I took one out. About to engage another. You've got two heading south west in your direction. Will you listen to me if I tell you to leave them be?

Nope
.  He isolated his hearing. As leaves rustled in the direction Cassie warned him about, Seth wondered how far her powers could reach.

As he approached the Trackers, he cursed. They converged in a clearing and cover was sparse. When he spotted the ubiquitous black military boots and head-to-toe black camouflage, he aimed his weapon. He was so focused on his one target he didn’t hear the one behind him until Cassie screamed in his head.
Watch your six, Seth!

He managed squeeze a shot off before he got slammed in the side by something the size of a refrigerator. The fall he anticipated. What he didn't expect were his automatic reflexes. He executed backward summersault into a fight stance. The mountain man in front of him grinned in that sinister way of douche bags everywhere.

Seth sneered at him. “Game on Asshole.”

The Tracker might have been huge, but the brute was quick. He sprang into action, launching himself at Seth. Seth braced for the weight, but ended up on his ass.

The two of them rolled around on the ground, arms and legs flailing. Seth was unaccustomed to his new bigger body. The first image flashed, catching him unaware, and he staggered backward. Seth’s mind filled with a visual of the mountain man bracing himself on a nearby rock, leveraging himself to sit on Seth’s chest. It wasn't hard to guess the rock. In the clearing, only one was big enough to support either of them.

As they rolled in that general direction, Seth forced his body to go limp. His assailant seemed temporarily surprised by the move and let up on his hold for the barest moment. Seth flipped him onto his back, pinning him to the ground. Two feet away, Seth’s discarded gun lay in a pile of wet leaves. Could he get to it fast enough? Another picture filled his vision—Mountain man jumping on his back spider-monkey style, braining his head into the rock. Going for the gun was a bad choice.

Seth rained punches in the brute's face, hoping one of them would knock the guy out. But the behemoth beneath him writhed and flailed his arms trying to get a punch in. Finally, Seth used all his strength and pressed his arm like a bar across the guy’s neck. It seemed like hours. Like weeks. Like months, but finally the Tracker stopped struggling.

Leaning back, Seth checked for a pulse. It was weak, but present.

Dragging in deep breaths, he refused to acknowledge his shaking hands. He almost killed three men. What the hell had he become? Before he could get too maudlin, Cassie called for him.

Seth, I need you. Been shot.

On instant alert, he mentally called out for her, but she didn't respond.
Shit
. Forcing his body to a stand, he turned in the direction he'd last seen her and ran through the trees. Before he went three hundred meters, he picked up the scent of citrus and vanilla. As powers went his heightened sense of smell was certainly handy. Running faster, he followed the trail, coming upon one downed Tracker. He checked for a pulse, but didn't find one. He was smarter this time and snatched the guy’s weapon and ammo. Even if Nisulin wasn’t lethal to people without powers it would slow anybody down.

When he finally stumbled upon Cassie, he found her propped against a tree, two dead Trackers at her feet. Kneeling before her, he checked her for wounds. There was a hole just above her knee. Thick red blood slowly seeped from the wound in time with her pulse. She also had a few bruises, but no other gunshot wounds.

He held her face in his hands. “Cassie. I need you to wake up.” She didn't budge.

Shit
. He should have insisted they stay together. Instead, he’d let her go off on her own.

He scooped her up in his arms. Stepping over the bodies, he ran as fast as he could back to the car. He couldn't lose her like this.

Chapter Thirteen

Deafening cries ricocheted in Cassie’s mind. Her head shrieking with pain, thudding, pounding, threatening to consume her from the inside out. She knew what they were going through. Every visceral scream pierced her soul. The pain of the injections. The slice of the surgeon’s blades. She wasn’t the only one who suffered at Peter’s hands.

Cassie gasped and jerked upright. The dream clung to her consciousness. Shadows surrounded her, but not the same oppressive darkness of her blackouts. A quick check of her senses told her she was in a structure with one other person. For at least a mile, she registered only breathing of one other person and the scurry or forest animals. Nothing out of the ordinary. Or dangerous. She relaxed slightly. Deeply inhaling, she smelled coffee, but not the bitter roast they used in the labs—something rich and chocolaty—mixed with a woodsy musk.
Seth
. He’d come for her.

Tears pricked at her eyes as she turned into a downy soft pillow to hide her relief. She all but kidnapped him and forced him to help her. She'd nearly gotten him killed more than once. She turned him into something freakish and still he stayed with her. He hadn’t left her to die.

Out of the darkness, Seth's voice was gruff. “Why are you crying?”

Cassie swiped a tear from her cheek and pushed into a sitting position. When dizziness struck, she lay back down. “I'm not crying,” she lied.

“I can smell your tears,” He dragged in a breath. “Light. Salty.”

No point denying it. His senses were now as keen as hers. “I—you didn't leave me.” She snuffled again, annoyed with the relief and joy muddling her thinking process.

She couldn't see him, but ice dripped from each of his words. “And that's the kind of person you think I am? You think after everything I'd leave you behind? Unlike you, I know I need you.”

“N-No. But you didn’t ask for any of this. And I nearly got you killed—again. For like the third time since we met. I’m sure you wish you could go back to your normal life, before you ever walked into the lobby of Gentech.”

He sighed shifted in the darkness. As his footsteps neared, her heart hammered in her chest.

“I've had some time to think about all that, actually. While you were taking your catnap.”

The outline of his features came into focus as he approached the bed. God, he was big. Her eyes slid to his waist. And armed.
Whoa
. Butterflies swarmed her stomach. He’d stood sentry over her, to protect her from things that went bump in the night.

“How long was I out?” She tried sitting up more slowly this time. She took it as a good sign when the room didn’t spin. Her eyes adjusted to the weak light of the moon filtering through the window.

“Couple of days.” His jaw set. “I was worried.”

She rubbed at the bandage on her leg. “Damn bastard got off a lucky shot.” Even though a little blood seeped through the bandage, she wouldn’t have so much as a scar.

“Are your powers back?”

“Hearing and smell seem normal, vision is taking a minute. I don’t know about the mind abilities.”

He sat his hulking form next to her on the bed. “Read me.”

She blinked at him. “I gave you my word I wouldn't do that.”

The corners of his lips tipped up. “You’re not breaking your word if I ask you to.”

“No.” She said stubbornly. “It'll be too hard anyway. Pushing thoughts is easier. Besides, I’m only able to read you if you’re projecting, and that still takes effort. I'm not looking for a migraine.”

He clasped her hand. “Cassie. Try.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, but braced herself none-the-less and probed. Instead of the pain she anticipated a sense of freedom filled her. Like she’d been pushing up against a wall but then the wall suddenly crumbled. His relief washed through her. His concern. She could hear every thought, experience every emotion.

Can you hear me?

She spoke her response. “Yes.”

Good. Then promise me, you'll never go off on your own again. We're in this together.

Cassie blinked at him, unsure what to say.

You don’t have to say anything. Just promise me.

Cassie offered him a small, sharp nod. The love welling up in her confused her. She wasn’t ready to really examine that emotion yet.

“While you've been out, I came up with an idea to solve your Peter problem.”

Even the mere mention of her brother’s name made her skin prickle with unease. “What do you have in mind?”

Then she noticed the small piece of black plastic in his hand. He flipped the flash drive over and over with his fingers. “I made that call about your flash drive. Jansen will be here today to decrypt the files. I figured this was safer than trying to go to him.”

“You realize if they’re looking for you, and he’s your friend, they probably have his phone tapped? Peter’s got powerful friends in the government.”

He put up his hands. “This is not my first time at the rodeo with confidential informants. And Jansen is a paranoid mother fucker if I ever met one. I paged him with a burner cell. It’ll be fine. We will find the others. Not to mention, in a pinch, he’s the kind of guy you want on your side.”

“How do you know Jansen? Or is this one of those stories I don’t want to know.”

“Ex-marine. I’ll just say he saved my life more than once.”

 “We’re running out of time Seth. I can hear their screams. I don’t want to lose anyone because I wasn’t able to get to them in time.”

“We’ll get to them. I promise. That brings me to our other problem.”

“What’s that?”

“We both need to work on our powers.”

Nope. She didn’t like his plan one bit. “Seth, you saved my life. You went in after those Trackers even when I told you not to. And I’m grateful. But playing like we’re the Justice League or something will only get us killed. We don’t have enough time to train.”

His jaw set again and he squared his shoulders. “Look. You’ve been asleep a while. I’ve had plenty of time to think about what I’ve been going through and how to control my powers. And, to think about your telekinesis.”

“Seth, two days of practice hardly makes you an expert. What if we go into a fight, you get too many visions, and you’re blind? What if you rely on me to mind push and my body goes into full shut down at a crucial moment? We can’t go in commando style. It just won’t work. We have to go in stealth. “

“You’re wrong. Not about the approach, but about our powers. I’m a secret weapon your brother isn’t counting on. Have you ever stopped to examine the root of your powers? Most of the time, you just do things because you can. The telekinesis and the pushing are different. You actively exercise your concentration when you’re using them.”