I awoke with my heartdrumming and my body sweating.
First thing I noticed was the beeping. Beep, beep, beep. The high-pitched noises came from every direction, a discordant symphony. One was fast, one slow, one in-between. One was a quick thump thump before a lengthy pause and another thump thump.
Confusion was a thick web inside my brain.
Through slitted eyelids and a fan of lashes, I saw that a light glowed overhead, dimmed but still too bright for my sensitive corneas. When I turned my head, I could see colored pinpricks shining off...monitors?
Heart monitors, then. The beeping suddenly made sense. Except, why was I hearing it?
Brow furrowing, I scanned the rest of my surroundings. A hospital room, by the looks of it. Gurneys, a nurse padding through and reading charts. Electrodes dotted my chest, and a paper-thin blue gown I remembered very well gaped over them. We must be back in Georgia. PSI headquarters.
Sherridan lay in the bed to my left, Lexis in the bed to my right. Elaine was in a bed across from us. All four of us were hooked to an IV and all the others were awake, eating. Groggy, I sat up - hello, dizziness - and scrubbed the sleep from my eyes. My IV tube caught on the bed rail, pulling the skin of my forearm. I winced, inhaling deeply and catching the scent of cleaners, medicine and...Rome?
I inhaled again, savoring the scent. Sure enough. Wild, earthy.
Rome had recently been beside my bed.
When had he left? Why had he left? I guess I could ask him next time I saw him. But I hated waiting.
"Hey," I said, drawing everyone's attention. "How are the others doing? Rome, Tanner, Jean-Luc, Cody and the Shadow Boys?"
"They're good," Elaine said. "Promise."
Sherridan grinned at me and waved. God, she looked good. There was a flush to her cheeks that bespoke health and vitality. Her hair was clean and brushed, the blond curls shining. There was a cut on her lip and a bruise on her cheek, but those would fade. She was alive. Nothing else mattered.
"How are you?" I asked her.
She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it with a snap. Her smile slowly faded.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
She pointed to her mouth and shook her head.
"You lost your voice?"
She shook her head again. The vivid blue of her eyes dimmed, a sad, almost haunting edge creeping into them.
"She can't talk to you unless you have special filters in your ears." Rome's voice echoed through the room, nearly electrifying me.
Both Lexis and I jumped, I noticed. For different reasons? I wanted to watch her, to see if I could judge whether she realized he'd gotten his memories back, but I didn't. My gaze sought Rome of its own accord, drawn to him by an invisible tether. Breath caught in my throat, burning.
He was as beautiful as ever. Tall, muscled, dressed in black. His unkempt hair shagged around his face, so damp it dripped onto his temples. His cheekbones were a little sharper, as if he'd lost weight, and fine stress lines branched from his eyes.
"Rome," Lexis said.
He ignored her. In fact, a muscle ticked in his jaw, the only reaction that he'd even heard her. So. He was mad at her. Mad about what she'd done, how she'd lied, manipulated and used him to try to win him back. I'd tried to warn her it would happen.
"How are you?" he asked me.
"Better." I pinned him with a stare, crossing my arms over my chest to hide my hardening nipples. Now that the danger was over, now that my friends were safe, now that his memories were returned, my body was reacting as it always had when he neared. Like I was a live wire attached to a generator. Only now?
Ha! But still, not good in a room full of people.
"I'm glad. I was worried about you."
Sweet man. "What were you saying about Sherridan?"
"You mean Siren? That's her new paranormal name. Because she now has a superpower," Rome explained, stepping into the room. He didn't stop until he was beside my bed. There was a chair there, and he eased into it, leaning back and stretching out his legs.
Siren? The smell of soap wafted from him, distracting me. I was willing to bet he'd left me only long enough to shower. I smiled. My dear, sweet man. Who once dated Desert Dirtbag and never told me.
My smile disappeared.
Rome reached out, twined our fingers. I was stiff, but didn't pull away. "What?"
"Nothing." Everything. My upcoming dates with Jean-Luc were approaching. Could Rome and I make it?
The question slammed through me - when would it leave me? Of course we'd make it, I told myself.
We'd made it through his memory loss. And yet, he hadn't even hinted about whether or not he could see himself with me forever, now that I was putting the agency first.
I dragged my thoughts back to the matter at hand. "I still don't understand." I looked over at Sherridan, who had tears in her eyes. "Whatever it is, we'll make it better," I vowed.
Rome's fingers squeezed mine. "Candace had her scientists mess with Sherridan's voice. Now, when she speaks, anyone who hears her will fall under her spell. Male and female alike. They'll be her slave, do anything she asks."
Oh, Sherridan. Poor Sherridan. She'd wanted a superpower, but hadn't thought about the consequences. And there were always consequences. I'd come to realize that bad always balanced good and good always balanced bad. Otherwise, the world would swing too far to one side.
"What about Lexis?"
Something in his eyes hardened and he answered before Lexis could. "They didn't mess with her. She already had a power."
As he spoke, I tried to throw my legs over the side of the bed. I wanted to wrap Sherridan in my arms.
But Rome had anticipated such a move from me. He released my hand and locked onto my ankles, tossing them back onto the bed with a flick of his wrists.
"Don't even," he said.
Fine. I wasn't sure I could walk, anyway. "Someone tell me how Desert Witch planned to use a spell-binding voice against me." And I knew it had been for my benefit. Why else take my friend?
"Sherridan would have commanded her to go to hell, and that would have entranced her. " Rome was shaking his head. "The only way to not fall victim to Sherridan's voice is by having special filters surgically added to your ears. Filters Candace has. She wanted Sherridan to call you before her procedure to worry you, then after it was done so that you were guaranteed to answer and assuage your fears. But Sherridan wouldn't do the latter, even upon threat of death." Candace, was it? Ugh. "Surely Sherridan's voice wouldn't affect me. Surely - "
"I guess we have to prove it. Lexis and I had filters implanted when we went through all our enhancements, and Tanner got his this morning, so you and Elaine are the only ones in the room without them. Brace yourselves. Show her, Sherridan."
"I'm so sorry, Belle," she said on a sob, and her voice was heaven. Absolute, utter heaven.
I shivered, my gaze drawn to her, my body leaning toward her. No, not leaning. I was trying to stand again, had to reach her. Touch her. She was so beautiful, and if I could just trace my finger over her skin, I knew I would be transported to the paradise I heard in her voice. It would be better than Rome's kiss.
Hooked as I was to the IV, I couldn't move fast enough, couldn't move close enough. But I tried, oh, I tried. Until a hard restraining hand pushed me back on the bed and held me down.
"What are you doing?" I batted at the offending restraint. "Let me go. Sherridan, I need you. I love you."
A heavy weight descended, pinning me down. I fought and bucked and bit and scratched, all to no avail.
"Let me up, damn it!"
"Belle. Stop."
My struggles increased. If I could just reach Sherridan...hold her, kiss her perhaps. She was everything I'd ever wanted. Everything I needed. Sherridan. Even the name made me shiver.
Warm lips pressed into my ear. "Calm down, baby. I'm here. Rome's here. I've got you. Concentrate on my voice. Do you hear me? Your body feels so good pressed against mine. Lush and sweet." Rome's husky tone penetrated the love-lust haze thing I had going. I stilled, tendrils of horror sneaking up on me. I was panting, sweating, but my head was clearing. "Oh, God." Slowly Rome's delicious weight lifted off me. I remained in place, though I wanted to latch onto him and take comfort.
"See," he said, settling back in the chair.
I shared a watery smile with Sherridan. "It'll be okay," I told her. And then I looked away, because her sadness was more than I could bear.
My gaze landed on the other "happy" couple in the room. Tanner must have entered while I'd been trying to score with Sherridan. He'd been forced to hold Elaine down just as Rome had held me.
Thankfully, she was covered in another full-body stocking, preventing them from any skin-to-skin contact.
"Look on the bright side, Sher," Tanner said with a grin. "You've finally got a shot with Jessica Alba." Rome reached up and traced a finger over my arm. "Now you see how powerful Sherridan's voice is.
Candace planned to use her as bait. Draw you to her. She would have found a way to make Sherridan cave, like threatening to kill Lexis in front of her. That was the disaster Cody was hoping to avoid. He couldn't call us because Candace was paranoid and wouldn't let him out of her sight. She had him monitored 24/7."
Goose bumps broke out over my skin. His touch...so warm, so gentle. "I want filters," I said. No way I'd make my best friend remain silent in my presence for the rest of her life.
"I'm sure that can be arranged," Rome said.
Sherridan waved in a bid to gain my attention. When our gazes met, she mouthed, I'm sorry.
"It happens to the best of us," I said. I held out my arms. "Look at me." A quiet, whispery bark of a laugh escaped her. But it was enough to make my heart pound and my skin tingle. Sweet Jesus, she was beautiful. Enough to - Get hold of yourself, Belle.
"Knock, knock," Cody said. "Can I come in?"
Immediately Sherridan rolled to her side, facing me but giving Cody her back. Cody watched her, his hands fisting at his sides. There was a gleam of murder in his eyes, not that any other part of his expression betrayed it. His smile remained firmly in place.
Something had happened between them. I'd stake my life on it.
"Looks like the gang's all here," I said. I was just happy John hadn't arrived demanding blood. With Reese jailed, he would have had to take it the old-fashioned way, but still. I'd been through enough.
"The nurse told me everyone was awake. I just wanted to check on you guys." Though he spoke to all of us, his gaze kept returning to Sherridan. I remembered the way he'd held her when she'd exited her cage. Remembered how he'd caressed her back and held on as though she were...necessary.
Sherridan paled, opened her mouth to say something.
"We're good," I rushed out, cutting her off. "Right?" I realized I'd asked about the men, but never about my girls, even though they'd been right in front of me the entire time. Or maybe because they had.
Lexis gave a brief nod, and Elaine said, "Better than ever." They did look good, as healthy as Sherridan.
"What happened to Desert Slut?" I asked. "Other than the fact that she likes to sleep with agents."
"Cody slept with her? Go, Cody!" Tanner laughed.
"I'm not talking about Cody." I stuck my tongue out at him. "But anyway, you don't get to talk. You came in here and ignored me, didn't hug me or even ask how I was doing." He flipped me off behind his back, and I was the one to laugh. That was my sweet Tanner, back to his old self completely.
"Be nice," Elaine told him.
"Anything for you, my little tampon."
Both of them chuckled, and I saw Lexis force her attention to her hands, as if they were the most fascinating thing she'd ever seen. Tanner and Elaine really did make a cute couple. I just hoped they found a way to touch each other. Surgery, maybe. Or, ugh, hopefully another experiment wouldn't be necessary.
"Desert Gal," Rome prompted, drawing my attention. "You were curious about what happened to her." Oh, yeah. "Dead?" There was a mixture of hope and dread in my voice.
He shook his head. "Alive and in lockup. John's going to do some tests, have someone interrogate her, find out how she's able to touch other people without draining them and use the information he gains to help Elaine."
"Good. That's good." A part of me still pitied her, but I was glad her reign of terror was over - and that she might do someone else some good. Even unwillingly.
Rome squeezed my wrist. "You did good, Wonder Girl. You did real good. I'm proud of you." My chin trembled, the depth of my emotion seemingly endless. What a wonderfully sweet thing to say.
After all, I had hurt him, put myself in danger, two things he would have ranted and raved about only a few weeks before. "I don't think the battle ended with Desert Gal, though. Dr. Roberts is her dad, you know? He made her what she is, gave her those powers. He experiments on people without their permission."
"Yes." Our gazes were locked and for a little while, only a little while, the rest of the world faded away.
"Once I thought he was fine out there," Rome added, "roaming around. I thought it was better to keep such a mastermind out of the wrong hands. Any hands, really. But he's a danger."
"What if he's experimenting on an innocent right now?"
"Any idea where he is?"
"One. The one Candace gave us."
My stomach twisted, because I knew what he meant. The lead was me. PSI thought Roberts would come after me, try to find out why his formula had worked on me and no one else.
"I won't let anything happen to you," Rome said. "You know that, I hope." Would he feel the same way after my three dates with Jean-Luc? "I want to learn self-defense. And dirty street-fighting."
He nodded, a proud glint filling his eyes. Proud of me? Again? "Soon as the doctor signs your release, we'll head to the gym."
I shivered - in anticipation this time - because I suspected there would be some heavy petting involved.
However much our future relationship remained up in the air, we were attracted to each other and when we were in close proximity, alone, wrestling, hands were going to roam, legs were going to intertwine.
"First," I said, "we need to talk." Much as I craved him, there had to be some ground rules.
"I've been dreading this," he said, and there was indeed a grim note to his voice. "You don't think we should be together. Otherwise, you wouldn't have agreed to date that f*cking Memory Man. Something you are not going to do."
I didn't want to do it, but I wouldn't tolerate being bossed around like that, either. "This whole memory loss thing made me realize a few things, that's all, and we need to hash them out. And yes, I'm going to date him as promised. I told you, I will not go back on my word. But speaking of Jean-Luc, where is he?
If you placed him in lockup again, I swear to God I'll roast you alive."
"You already do," he muttered, his eyes narrowing to dangerous slits. "And yes, you will go back on your word. Because if he touches you, I'll kill him, and you don't want his death on your hands. You're mine. Now tell me what you realized."
On my hands? Ha! And he still considered me his, even though I was "different"? "You didn't think I was yours a few days ago. You thought Lexis was. Do you know how badly that hurt?"
"I'll kiss it and make it better," he said huskily.
Oh, God, did I want him to try. I had to cut back a moan of desire. "Our wedding has already gone up in flames, Rome. I don't have a dress, a church or a caterer. And as we originally planned to marry in a few weeks, I don't think I can get everything together in time, anyway. Not that we've decided to still get married."
"We're still getting married." A hard, harsh statement he obviously saw as fact.
I ignored him. It was either that or throw myself in his arms and just forget the concerns I had. As I sat there in silence, I could feel several gazes boring into me. One belonged to Lexis, and I didn't want her hearing all of my problems. Though given how close her bed was to mine, I suspected she had already heard quite a few. "Let's save this conversation for another time. When we're alone."
"No. What are your concerns? I need to hear them."
Fine. Witnesses be damned. Sherridan and Tanner would only ask me for details later, anyway. "You don't see me as an agent. You see me as a liability."
"That's not true."
"It is. You planned to take me and Sunny and hide us away. Don't try to deny it." His eyes narrowed. "I won't. I thought about it for about a minute and then realized it would be wrong.
And look, I stepped back, didn't try to stop you from fighting Candace. Even encouraged you to fight with her."
True. "Okay, you used to see me as a liability and I think maybe you liked me that way. You were my protector, and I let that define our relationship. But I'm different now. You said so yourself." He nodded. There was no use denying it.
"I'm going to be an agent, not just play at it. I'm going to take cases, travel, fight. I'm going to do this because it needs to be done and I want the people I love to be safe. I would love to work with you, but I won't allow you to be my guard dog. Or cat. Guard cat. You'll have to treat me like any other agent. Is that something you can handle?"
That muscle began ticking in his jaw again. He didn't answer.
"Also, I've said it before but it needs reiterating. I am going to date Jean-Luc. Three dates, as promised.
Otherwise, I'm a liar and that's not something I want to be. Is that something you can handle?" Silence.
Heavy, gut-wrenching silence. My gaze landed on Lexis, and there were tears in her eyes. She nodded at me. Telling me this was going to be okay?
"Go on the dates," Rome finally said, his expression hard as granite. "Just know that I'll be there the entire time. Go to eat, I'll be at the restaurant, sitting at the table next to yours. Go to the movies, and I'll be right behind you, breathing down your neck. But I will not ever treat you like any other agent. You're special to me. I'll be concerned about you, I can't help that. I'll want to protect you. Always. Can you handle that?"
"I - "
Didn't have time to answer. "No. Don't say another word. We're done for right now." He pushed to his feet, scooting the chair away. He strode from the room and never looked back.