The bright beam of light cut through the darkness, illuminating the quiet scene. The flashlight’s trail was garish against the stark ground as Jeff Donovan searched for anything that could lead him to Harper Kane.
And Rome.
Jeff hadn’t wanted to believe that the agent was a part of Ms. Kane’s desperate actions, but he couldn’t deny the facts. This was Rome’s warehouse, and it was apparent that the two of them had spent time there. And now were gone.
A shame, really. Rome Lucian was an exceptional agent. One of the best. Jeff had even considered Rome for being a subject, but hadn’t wanted to use the serum on him until the formula was perfected. The agent had invaluable skills. Now Rome would be another necessary sacrifice to the imperative project Jeff was trying to implement for the military sector.
But he had to find the two of them first. And his enhanced troops were proving to be less than adequate. Case in point, Jeff had no idea where their bodies were. He was getting very tired of Ms. Kane killing his men. Just one had survived the encounter, barely escaping, only to die soon after he’d relayed what had happened here at the site.
Jeff paced toward the dense tree line, looking for any lead. But again, Rome was very, very good. And obviously so was Ms. Kane.
His toe kicked something that made a hollow
clink
and skittered across the pavement. Jeff darted the beam from the flashlight around the immediate area, searching the ground for the source.
A bullet. Not just any bullet, though. He recognized the sleek and sharp ammunition his men stocked. Twisting it between his fingers, he could see a dark film coating it.
Blood. This was her blood.
His lone survivor, who had been the unnoticed backup, had told him they’d shot the woman. And she’d just pulled out the slug as though nothing had happened. He’d thought the man had been delirious.
She’d survived a powerful gunshot wound as if she’d never been hit. This was a new development. A very interesting and even more encouraging development.
Jeff smiled and squeezed his fist tight around the shell. The bitch was truly dangerous. He wanted her. Wanted her power. And he’d stop at nothing to get it.
Rome pulled into the potholed parking lot of a dingy motel. If it could even be called that. He’d been in worse places, but this spot was a dump. At least it was a surprisingly clean dump, miles from civilization.
Surrounded by leafy trees and a sprawling, overgrown hayfield, the ten-room, one-level motel was the perfect point in the middle of nowhere to hole up and spend some time going through the data that they hoped could answer a lot of their questions.
Harper was convinced it would. He trusted that she trusted her brother’s foresight, so he was also convinced the information would be valuable.
He’d dropped Harper off here with explicit instructions to stay put this time, then left to get some provisions. He’d had to drive for a while, finally finding a local all-night superstore, which thankfully had a little bit of everything, from clothing to groceries. There was no way they’d be staying at the motel for long, but they’d be there overnight for sure, given that midnight was fast approaching.
Rome felt a curious thrill while shopping for extra clothes for Harper. Her requests were simple, but actually picking out her cotton underwear seemed extremely intimate.
He’d never bought lingerie for any woman. He’d never understood the purpose of it. He wanted his partners naked, not clothed, even in just scraps. And he was very glad he’d never wasted any money on the superfluous garments.
All Harper wanted were a pair of jeans, a couple of T-shirts, and a hooded sweatshirt. Rome sighed as he hefted the plastic bags.
He’d never met a woman quite like Harper. She wasn’t apologetic or embarrassed when she rattled off the sizes of her clothes. She loved food. She was athletic, sported an honest tan from the outdoors, and was rightfully proud of her lean muscles. She was also extraordinarily intelligent.
And she wasn’t ashamed of any of it. The woman was completely confident and comfortable with herself.
Almost every other woman he’d encountered had always been on some kind of fad diet and would never in a million years have eaten a full-sized salad, let alone a whole sandwich.
Harper was the complete opposite.
Most of the women he’d dated back when he’d had
time to date wore glitzy designer clothes. Any muscles were carefully sculpted for looks without much actual substance. His usual type was celebrity gorgeous, with long midnight dark hair, pale skin, and petite frames. He’d always thought their insecurity was appealing and liked the fact that they were just plain shallow—like a pill, glossy on the outside but acrid on the inside.
It kept things simple. It kept things neat and orderly. He couldn’t stand the drama of a relationship. His world of shadows, violence, and corruption had more than enough of it. So he didn’t need it in what little personal life he allowed himself.
And it had been a while. Almost two years since he’d lost himself in a woman. Which was just fine with him. His work fulfilled him like nothing else ever had. Even hockey. Besides, he didn’t want the complications of falling for anyone.
But he was falling for Harper. Hard. It was completely insane and a logistical nightmare, but he couldn’t deny it. She was everything he’d never thought he’d wanted, and something he should never have.
And when she’d said she loved him at the café, his heart had pounded so loud, he thought she must have heard it. Though he knew it was just a fleeting quip, involuntary sparks of joy had shot through his chest, warming his every fiber.
Harper was all wrong for him, yet he wanted her. Bad. For more than just a night. More than just however long this mission took. Knowing she didn’t fully trust him, he knew he needed to keep some distance.
Despite her apparent lack of trust, he was sure Harper wanted him, too. But for how long?
Stopping outside the thick wooden door to their motel room, he knocked on the door in the prearranged
sequence that would assure Harper it was him. After a few seconds, the door opened a sliver and he saw a sea green eye, near his eye level, peer at him from above the jingling door chain. He gave her a smile. Then the door shut and he heard her fiddle with the chain.
And fiddle some more.
After several clatters, he heard a “for crying out loud” and something that sounded dangerously close to “gosh darn it.”
Something else about Harper that was undeniably enchanting. She never swore. At least, he’d never heard one bad word come from those luscious lips, and she certainly had many reasons to rattle off some doozies.
After a heavy
thud
and splintering
crack,
he distinctly heard the clinking of the chain and the door opened wide.
She greeted him with an innocent smile. He stepped over the threshold and pushed the door shut with his boot. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that the chain slider had been pried off the back of the door and now dangled harmlessly, still attached to the chain.
He raised his eyebrow at her in question. Her smile grew bigger with a shrug of her broad shoulders.
“How goes it?” Rome chuckled at her resourcefulness and gestured to the laptop resting on the lone queen bed. He dumped the bags next to the computer on the golden-flowered comforter.
“There’s a lot of information there.” Harper’s voice sounded throaty and tired. He heard a slight squeak from the bed as she flopped down on it. “You were right.”
“About what?” he halted his rummaging through the bags for a moment, giving her his full attention after feeling, more than hearing, her weary tone.
“Bobby was a Five Watch scientist,” she said, rolling over to lie on her back. She crossed her hands over her
flat stomach. Damn, she was hot. “He worked in a classified bioengineering division. Apparently, he’s not just a normal genius government scientist.”
“Okay, tell me about it,” he said as he resumed unpacking the bags, starting with the food he’d gotten at the grocery section of the store. He’d been surprised to find that the tiny room had a modest refrigerator. Even more surprised to find that it worked and was nearly spotless.
“I’m not through it all yet.” Harper sprawled at the head of the bed and repositioned the laptop in front of her. “But from what I can tell, Bobby was experimenting with plants, developing—well, actually, he did develop—a serum for them. A superserum of sorts.”
“The serum you have in your body,” Rome said, confirming more than questioning.
“I’m sure of it.”
“So it’s for plants,” he said as he bent over to put some cans of soda in the fridge. “What’s it supposed to do?”
“Augment and fortify global vegetation,” she answered with a heavy sigh. She moved over to lean on her side, just watching him, her gaze raking him.
“What does that mean?” he asked, emptying the food bag and riffling through the heap piled on the top of the comforter.
A couple of chocolate bars slid across the bed and hit her in the thighs. His gaze followed her hand as it reached near her crotch to grab one of the king-sized bars. A rush of heat flushed through him straight to his groin and he had to clear his throat. She tossed the long bar back onto his little pile of food.
“The serum sounds amazing, actually.” Her voice was tinged with pride. Obviously she and Bobby had been very close. She’d never talked about any other fam
ily and he wondered just how alone she really was now. “The primary intention was to enhance the plants to generate more oxygen for the environment.”
“Wow, that sounds pretty damned remarkable,” Rome said. And it did sound remarkable. He had to admit that Bobby really was one of the good guys. Not that he had fully doubted it in the first place.
“It is.” She flung the other chocolate bar next to the first. “But what’s really amazing are the other effects of the serum. The formula basically reengineered the plants’ genetic coding to make them stronger and healthier. Also, self-repairing.”
“Is that possible?” Rome halted his food sorting to look directly at her. He almost laughed, seeing Harper seriously eye the chocolate she’d thrown back.
Usually this kind of Science Channel stuff bored him to sleep, but this was actually fascinating. Maybe because he was smack-dab in the middle of it. Or maybe he just craved the sound of Harper’s low, husky voice. He’d listen to her recite the entire dictionary for no reason.
“Bobby must have found a way to make it possible,” she answered, finally giving in and fishing one of the giant-sized chocolate bars off one of his food piles. She tore the wrapping open to break off some squares. “He tested all different batches of plants, different types, to see if the serum was able to make them withstand severe weather conditions. Droughts, floods, fires, arctic freezes…You name it, the plants held up.”
“So the serum was working,” he said, reaching out to take the chocolate she was handing to him. Their fingers brushed, causing a tingle to shoot up his forearm.
“Right,” she confirmed. “The damaged plants were able to heal broken or missing stalks and repair themselves. If the cold froze the plant, it went into a sort of
hibernation to slow down the decomposition and build itself back up.”
“Kind of a rehab,” Rome mused.
“Self-preservation at its finest.” Harper nodded and tossed another square of candy bar in her mouth, sucking on it lightly. “Plants that used to get pulled up by stormy winds were able to endure with stronger roots. None of the simulated hurricanes, typhoons, or tornadoes was able to tear them from the ground. Plants that would normally shrivel up from intense desert heat were able to keep rehydrating themselves.”
He could imagine the creamy chocolate melting on her hot, wet tongue.
Oh, to be that piece of candy. Shit.
He was staring and not listening. She was smiling. And he was sure she saw him flush. What was it about her that made him lose his composure? Some damn agent he was. He cleared his throat, tilting his head to indicate she should continue.
“Each folder contained the data for every experiment,” she went on. “Every detail on a given date. Bobby was meticulous about his notes. Each plant that was given the formula developed a keen hydrologic system that merged with is native plumbing. Developed its own filtering system, kind of like your brain filters a need or a threat. The superior new system adapted to its climate and other conditions.”
“Superplants,” Rome said, quite in awe at the brilliance of the formula her brother had developed.
She shrugged. “Bobby called it a variation of psionic power, meaning that through the complete force of genetic will, the plants actually desire to flourish. To find ways to survive. He found that a psionic plant could set off a power of sorts unto itself that would oppose any physical force or energy. The plants’ modified molecular
nervous systems basically commanded their enhanced muscle tissues to survive adversity and hostile climates.”
He watched her finish her report and pop more candy bar into her mouth. Then he thought hard about what she’d just said.
Imagine. Food wouldn’t be scarce in places where vegetation couldn’t grow right now. Air quality could vastly improve. Forests could be replenished quickly. His mind reeled in absolute awe.
Bobby hadn’t just developed a revolutionary brew; he’d saved the world.
“Harper, that’s seriously incredible.” He brushed the boxes and packages aside so he could lounge on the bed near her. Reaching across the hideous but surprisingly cushy bedspread, he snapped off another piece of Hershey’s.
“He was incredible.” Harper’s voice was tinged with sadness. “Apparently this was a very top secret project within the Five Watch. Only Bobby and a handful of people knew about it. For security reasons, his notes indicated. They didn’t want it going public until Bobby deemed it was ready for implementation. The last files were part of his final testing. But then they just stopped.”
“A few days ago?” Rome asked.
She nodded, and then turned her gaze away from him, seeming to look at nothing.