But now, the only thing Harper was doing was throwing her life away. Giving in to the hatred and revenge she so deeply believed she needed. Rome knew that she did need vengeance, but not this way. Not by becoming a cold-blooded killing machine.
Knowing the extraordinary kind of person Harper was, he couldn’t believe that her brother would’ve wanted that.
Add that to the fact that she thought she was going to die anyway, and she’d likely figured she had nothing to lose. But she was damn wrong. She had everything to lose.
He saw Harper move at lightning speed, roughly grabbing Jeff by the neck with one rigid hand. Rome twitched at her unreal strength.
Gunfire rang out, causing him to jerk again, but Harper merely raised her free hand to freeze the charging ammo in some type of near-invisible shield. Damn, she was getting good at controlling her powers. Too good.
Rome shook his head with a profound sadness. He thought he had convinced her to bring Jeff and his faction to justice. To make the bastards accountable for what they did, not just decide to kill them and be done with it, losing her precious humanity in the process.
He couldn’t stand by and watch her go down that dark and desolate path. It nearly tore him apart to see her shatter his belief in her. To take the easy road of a vigilante instead of the tough route of responsibility.
She’d chosen to break the rules and, for everyone’s sake, he couldn’t let that happen. The cost of her per
sonal vengeance was too high a price to pay for the rest of the world.
He had to stop her somehow. If she killed Jeff, he knew he’d lose her forever. Maybe he had already.
No. Rome refused to believe that. And he refused to let that happen to her.
“I’m going in,” Rome told the operative next to him as he resolutely jumped up and raced down the slick hill, the rain stinging his face.
Through her fury, Harper heard the crack of gunfire. Raising her other hand, she freed up a small corner of her writhing mind and formed an energy field, blocking out everything except Jeff and her, essentially encasing the two of them in a bubble. The bullets pummeled but didn’t breach her psi-powered defense.
Harper was heady with spiking power. And she liked it. Craved it. Her body filled with sultry energy, consumed with the hate for this man and his monstrous actions.
All it would take was one small shift of her mind and that energy would surge from the hand wrapped tightly around his neck into his body, searing him from within. Less than an instant would pass before his death.
She was that strong.
Bobby had known her strength. He’d seen it when she decided to fight back from her swimming failure. That’s why he’d left the serum and the data for her. Because he knew she had the inner fortitude to see this through.
Even Rome had said the same thing. He, too, had faith in her inner strength.
Rome.
Harper blinked as recent memories flashed across
her vision, merging with the energy that swirled in her head. She and Rome fighting side by side in the darkness. Perusing Bobby’s data together over sandwiches.
Falling in love.
The rigid hand around Jeff’s neck trembled. Rome had said he loved her. He had said her strength was genuine. That he trusted her as much as Bobby had, to do the right thing.
The right thing.
And what was that? She thought it was revenge. But Rome told her she was losing herself to that craving for vengeance. He demanded that she believe it.
He’d said that the right thing wasn’t always what you wanted to do. But what had to be done.
Make the hard decisions. And usually the hard decision was the right one.
Evil was easy. There were no boundaries. No rules. But also no honor. Doing the right thing consisted of doing the honorable thing and making the tough choices.
Like Rome and his steadfast dedication to duty. No matter what he did, he always tried to do what was right. Even if it meant going against his boss. Even if it hurt. Even if he sacrificed something he wanted, he did it because it was the right thing.
After knowing her for mere days, Rome had sacrificed everything he had, everything he was, for her, for the sole purpose of the greater good. Bobby’s greater good. Her greater good.
Rome trusted her to believe she was more than just vengeance. Because he believed it. And because Bobby had, too.
And because it was right.
Harper blinked again, clearing her rage-clouded
sight to look closely at Jeff and everything the man stood for. Then she took a deeper look inside herself.
Did she have the right to play judge, jury, and executioner? Even if Jeff and his faction committed hideous and dishonorable wrongs, did she have the right to act out on her own to resolve it?
No. The answer was easier than she thought.
She was more than that. She was better than revenge. The inner strength she had didn’t stem from the serum, but from passion. From the tenacious bond she had with Bobby, unbreakable even with his death. And from the unwavering love she’d found with Rome.
And that was enough.
The relentless heat roiling just under her skin receded slowly, like a bear pacing coolly back to its cave, alert but relaxed. Her mind calmly pulled back the power that radiated though her body, storing it for another time.
Harper peeled her stiff fingers from Jeff’s throat and stared at him. Still hating him and everything he had arranged. Hating him for lying and using her brother to bait her. But sad for him as well, because he had no idea what real strength and power was. And probably never would.
She stood her ground, holding off the threatening barrage around the two of them with her protective shield while she just gazed at him. Jeff rubbed his reddened neck, staring back at her in fear and uncertainty.
“You’re right. My brother would’ve wanted me to use my powers for good.”
A sly grin creased his face. His fear morphed into hopeful triumph.
“I’m glad.” He lifted his chin a notch and straightened his tie with shaking hands. “Glad that you understand what your brother really wanted.”
“I know exactly what Bobby wanted.” Harper smiled with solid and sure belief. And for the first time in a long time, peace. “He wanted you stopped and brought to justice. And that’s what I’m going to do.”
The moment held still.
And then he lunged at her.
Jeff tackled Harper to the ground. She wasn’t fast enough to stop his onrush. Her head snapped hard against the wet turf, causing sparks to flash across her vision and pain to explode inside her skull.
Straddling her hips, he smacked her cheekbone sharply with a solid backhand. Twice.
Chaos rang loud in her ears as she realized her protective psi-powered field had dropped at the same time she hit the grass. A frenzy of heavy boot steps and loud voices filtered through the ringing, and she saw frantic blurs of movement out of the corner of her eye.
Another hard whack connected with the other side of her face, shocking her fuzzy focus back to the madman on top of her.
“Coward,” Jeff seethed, lowering his face just a breath away from hers, his cheeks fuming red. “You have no idea what justice is. You could have had everything.” His eyes turned wild. “But now you’ve chosen to lose it all.”
He swung his hand back again, now with a cruel blade clasped in his severe grip, ready to strike. Harper thrashed and managed to loosen Jeff’s hold on her.
As she struggled to free herself, a slight motion to her left caught her attention. A tall dark figure raced down from the hill where she’d been not too long ago. Rain
lashed at the runner, but he sped on, boots kicking up splashes of standing rain and mud.
Rome. What in the world was he doing?
Gunfire filled the air. Followed closely by deafening yells and splashes. A fierce wave of black-clad figures rushed into the courtyard and clashed with camouflage.
Rome’s group of special ops attacked Jeff’s army, half of which were supersoldiers. Skirmishes swamped her vision. Bodies battled and dropped. It was war.
Jeff took advantage of the distraction and pinned her again, raising his knife above her chest.
He was going to kill her. And the moment Rome took one step inside the compound Jeff would kill him, too.
She lashed out, anything to get free and find Rome. A hot slash pierced her skin. Jeff’s knife had missed her neck, but found her shoulder.
The searing pain throbbed, giving her mind a shot of clarity. Rome needed her help.
Untangling her arm from under Jeff, she thrust the heel of her hand upward and heard a satisfying snap as it connected with his jaw. She took advantage of his surprise and shoved him off her. She scrambled away and raced into the fray, hunting for Rome.
She found him. In the middle of the courtyard, trading punches with two attackers. She focused on the two in her mind and raised her hand, aiming a burst of clear energy at them. The surge leveled them, heaving them through the air several yards away.
She was nearly blinded by the relief in Rome’s smile. Which quickly transformed into anger and then urgency.
“Duck!” he yelled. She crouched as he fired shots just beyond her, knocking down three of Jeff’s men.
She and Rome were now back to back, watching the
oncoming wave of enemies heading their way from all sides.
“Harper,” Rome shouted over his shoulder, “I have to tell you—”
“Not now,” she barked back. She needed to focus.
“You need to know,” he persisted even as the attackers closed in. “You’re not—”
Gunshots filled her hearing. His voice was cut off. His body banged heavily against hers. She stumbled forward and twisted around in time to see bullets pummel Rome’s chest, driving him to the ground with a heavy thud. Unmoving.
Suddenly, rough hands grabbed her arms, hauling her through the lashing rain, away from Rome’s still body.
Pulled backward, she twisted, trying to break free to get back to him. More hands clamped around her legs, dragging her away from the fight. And Rome.
“Put her in!” Jeff ordered over the raucous sounds of combat. Harper craned her head to the side for a moment to meet his ruthless stare, realizing he meant to stick her in the wooden crate like a caged animal. She couldn’t let that happen, knowing it would neutralize her psi powers. She had to get to Rome.
“No!” She madly struggled against the iron grips on her limbs.
Harper thrashed wildly to no avail, kicking out and jerking her body every which way. The burning pain in her shoulder mingled with the ache in her soul from seeing Rome on the ground. She couldn’t seem to focus her thoughts to summon the energy she needed to escape.
She was airborne and then landed hard on the solid floor of the crate. On her back, she twisted to her knees and crawled to the opening, as the hatch began to shut.
She had a split second before the darkness overtook her. Enough time to see Rome’s lifeless body lying on the wet grass.
Harper shuddered and froze. Then her world went black. The crate hatch was shut. She was captured. Rome was dead.
It was over.
She was alone once again. In the dark.
Harper slammed her body against the wooden walls of the crate. She willed every ounce of power to her swirling mind, yet felt nothing but throbbing pain. Without even a crack of natural light, her psi powers were dormant. She could already feel the energy seep from her mind.
She had come here to die anyway, but Rome hadn’t. He didn’t deserve to die because of this. No one did.
Harper stilled her flailing and took a deep breath, stalling the raging anguish that assaulted her every fiber.
Rome was dead.
“It was supposed to be me,” she whispered to no one, anguish filling her senses.
It wasn’t supposed to end like this.
Bowing her head in solitude, she knew she had to do something, anything, to stop this. And make Rome’s sacrifice worth it all.
He had said her inner strength was stronger than any artificial power. She had to believe he was right. She’d spent a lifetime forging her body into top physical form. She could do this.
Leaning back, she coiled her legs tight to her chest and then thrust them forward against the front of the crate.
A shot of pain streamed through her legs as the wood resisted.
No. She had to believe. She could do this.
Taking a deep, focusing breath, as she’d done before every race, Harper closed her eyes and pictured herself surging through the water with her powerful arms and legs, each movement bringing her closer to victory.
With that thought in her mind, she tried once more to break free. The pure strength of her swimmer’s kick shattered the wood outward.
Shaking off her shock, Harper scrambled through the opening and crawled over the splinters out into the heavy downpour.
The moment the heavy rainfall hit her body, a swell of rejuvenation washed over her. Her shoulder ceased to sting and her mind cleared. The cloudy natural light sparked her energy as she raked her gaze over the continuing battle in the compound. There were bodies everywhere, some fighting, some motionless.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jeff’s stunned glare fix on her. But she had one focus: Rome. His still body was in the same spot.
Harper bowed her head and looked deep inside herself, knowing what she had to do. It was beyond what she’d come here for in the first place, even if she’d been blinded by revenge.
She had to stop this madness. Rome was gone. She was going to die anyway. Bobby’s vision was the only thing left to lose.
Indeed, she knew deep down that what she was about to do would kill her. There was no way she could withstand the force she’d need. Even Bobby’s notes had affirmed that. She’d burn up inside.
Yet her sacrifice would be for the greater good. It’s what Rome had lived for. What better reason to use her
psi powers but to surrender her life to honor the man she loved, and the work of the brother who loved her enough to bestow it upon her?
She could think of none. Decision made. She would call upon all the psi energy in her body to stop this.
Harper was tired of all the killing. And she knew that some of these people were here to help. Maybe she could give Rome’s people time to get the upper hand by just stopping the chaos. So she would try to focus her power to immobilize everyone in the compound with a nonlethal pulse. Just as the sunlight rejuvenated her before, she’d try to harness the rainstorm’s natural force. The amount of concentrated energy needed would no doubt kill her. How could her body physically handle it?
But she was dying anyway, right? It was a chance she was willing to take.
Closing her eyes, Harper allowed the raging thunderstorm to invigorate her body. She drew upon the lashing rain. The swirling wind. And the cleansing air. The organic elements gave her a boost beyond measure.
Her revitalized body began to tingle with shivers of lightning under her skin. Raw electricity throbbed through her mind. Her veins crackled as her blood raced.
All this energy. All this power. It would be the death of her. But she was okay with that. The last pure psionic power would live and die through her. And somewhere in between, she’d revere the brother she’d lost and honor the man she loved.
Snapping her eyes open, she spread her arms wide and watched the hazy shower of rain and the icy blustering wind snake and spiral around her as it intensified into a menacing tempest.
For the last time, Harper embraced the customary sensations as ice raced under her skin and heat flared inside her body for an instant before her psi power kicked in. The inferno burning in her veins was unbearable. The natural elements felt as if they were merging with the organic power radiating from her mind. Surrendering to her. And it also felt right.
With all that she was she concentrated, and then unleashed a massive surge of energy from her roiling body, shaking everything in its path with its overwhelming force.
The compound eclipsed around her. It was the last thing she saw.