A thunderous roar of wind and rain coiled inside the courtyard and surged across the compound, slicing through the sleet and crushing everything in its powerful wake. Heavy gusts of stinging rain pummeled him, forcing him to stay flattened against the slimy ground as consciousness slowly returned.
Face full of grass and muck, Rome stilled until the raging storm washed over him.
His chest ached at the pounding he’d taken from the bullets. The force had knocked the wind out of him and even caused him to black out for a few moments. It looked as if the storm was subsiding, though. Running his hand over the bulletproof vest, he loosened the straps and wheezed in some of the thick air. He was glad he’d had the extra protection, given the force of the blows.
Heavy mud sucked at his body as Rome peeled himself out of the glop and up on all fours. And fell back onto his rear with a sloppy thud as he surveyed the area in complete shock.
An eerie sight lay before him. The compound was shrouded in a dense gray curtain of relentless hammering rain and haze.
Other than the splattering hum of the rain drumming against the already saturated ground, he couldn’t hear a thing. The air was still and deafeningly quiet.
And he couldn’t see a damn thing. It was as though a fog had rolled in from the ocean and planted itself inside the confined space.
Wiping a grimy hand over his already smudged face, Rome hauled himself up to stand unsteadily on the slippery ground. The hard rain cut through the cloudy plume, but did not allow him to see what remained of the complex. And what was left of the courtyard where he’d last seen Harper being brutally yanked into a crate, just before he passed out.
No.
He would not, could not believe she was Jeff’s captive. Again. He had to get to her somehow.
In his line of work, he’d witnessed explosions and disasters, but he’d never seen a natural storm contained like this. And never with the woman he loved sitting smack-dab in the middle of it.
It had to have been Harper. She’d escaped and was using her powers somehow. She had been learning to control it, and if she had focused hard enough, like he knew she could, she most likely was the source of this. But why? When he’d seen her release Jeff, he’d hoped she’d chosen justice over revenge. Righteousness over killing.
But the force of that staggering storm was so mortally strong. If Harper was the eye of the storm, how on earth could she endure it? Endure the raging force of the rain, wind, and lightning? Bobby’s notes had said the subjects burned from the inside when they’d used their power to its fullest.
Then he remembered. Her brother’s notes hadn’t accounted for the fact that her powers were the real thing. The pure serum, not like the others. So, she’d have survived it. Right? Plus her powers were able to regenerate.
But Jeff had captured her. The bastard had thrown
her in a crate, in the dark, where her powers couldn’t thrive.
He had to find her.
Skidding with every soggy step, he made his way as fast as he could past the dripping trees that stood within the compound. Rome recalled the map of the courtyard and tried to follow it in his mind. Though dangerously hard to orient himself through the incessant fog, he kept up his swift pace, desperate to find Harper.
Until he found himself flat on his face in the waterlogged grass. Pushing up on his knees, he looked over his shoulder to see what he’d tripped on.
A body. Lying facedown, as he’d just been. Rome recognized the dark camouflaged fatigues from all the men who had surrounded Harper in the courtyard. Was he destined to find her unmoving body like this, stuck in the crate?
No, Harper was alive. He had to believe that.
Rome stood and looked around to regain his bearings. His gaze didn’t cut very far through the mist and rain, but he began to walk in the direction he hoped he’d been heading. It was like walking through a perpetual fog machine.
Not ten feet later, he stumbled over another fatigueclad body lying faceup on the grass
. Damn it all.
Rome moved on at a slower pace, his impeded gaze darting from the thick haze ahead to the ground. Disorientation kept him from calling out to her. Who knew what he might run into? Though he imagined that anyone he found would want to kill her.
Pulling his gun from his shoulder holster, Rome readied it just in case.
A soggy squish broke through the eerily quiet murkiness. Someone was coming. Through the dense mist
and rain, he couldn’t see but could almost feel the air stirring as someone moved closer to his position. He stilled into a crouch and waited.
The stirring air swarmed into a brisk breeze. The breeze grew to a damp gust. The gust grew to a roar, deep and rumbling. Driven to his knees, Rome lifted his arm to shield his eyes as he struggled to see through the blustery onslaught.
Then it all ceased.
A ghostly silence befell the still, misty air that enveloped him. Rome wiped his eyes with his wet sleeve, trying desperately to see anything, gun raised and ready.
Steady rain continued to pour mutely, but the gray haze began to scatter like fireflies. A dark form materialized, forcing the mist to dissipate as it moved toward him.
Harper.
It was Harper. Seductive and powerful. Coming into clearer focus the closer she came. Her arms were slightly spread, palms out, radiating gentle translucent waves of energy, clearing the haze until it was simply gone, leaving only the rain behind.
Her unsteady movement seemed to grow stronger with every step. She came to stand directly in front of him. In the streaming rain. Mere inches away.
Rome’s heart stopped and then pounded faster than the rainfall coming down. She held out a shaky dripping hand. He took it, squeezing gently, causing little mud bubbles to percolate where their palms joined. She gave his hand a slight tug and he rose slowly, just staring at her, an ethereal vision of wild beauty and untamed nature.
Her blonde hair was plastered to her head. Her sopping clothes were blotched with blood and mud, and she
smelled like muck. Her endless green eyes were as clear
as looking through dew on grass. She was everything he would ever want. Ever need. Taking a step forward, he reached for her other hand
and leaned into her. Harper did the same, resting her wet forehead against his. He closed his eyes and savored this one perfect moment, wishing it could last forever.
The spattering rain continued to trickle down around them. After a long, languid moment of simply being with Rome, Harper opened her eyes and gazed at the man she’d somehow grown to love. The blue in his eyes was an infinite stormy sky, churning and wild.
But he was alive. And so was she.
“I thought you were dead.” Her husky voice sounded strained to her own ears as she just looked at him, reveling in his living warmth and the landslide of emotion that threatened to overtake her.
“I thought we had a plan.” Rome’s eyes narrowed, his voice hoarse as he tilted his head just a tad, his sharp gaze piercing hers. His tone was questioning, challenging.
“I got tired of waiting.” She crooked her lips into a sheepish smile, injecting the hope in each word that he would somehow forgive her. That he would somehow love her in spite of everything.
Then she leaned forward and used her lips for something else. Harper kissed him fiercely, willing him to experience just how much she loved him.
In the pouring-down rain, with Rome’s love surrounding her, Harper began to believe life would indeed go on. Even if it would go on without her. She could
hardly believe she’d survived up to this point. She felt drained but oddly steady as her strength started to return with every breath of fresh air. That much power should’ve killed her.
His arms wrapped around her, crushing her hard against his chest as he deepened the kiss. She lost herself in the intoxicating moment.
Rome broke the intense connection with a gravelly chuckle against her lips and turned to glance around the courtyard area. “What a mess.” He shook his head sadly.
Harper followed his gaze through the teeming rain, the blustery haze now all but gone. Bodies littered the squared area, some stirring, some not. She searched for Jeff and saw him still breathing.
She bowed her head in regret over all the lives she’d taken. Her need for revenge had stained her hands with blood she knew she’d never be able to wash away.
But then she raised her head, contentment overshadowing the remorse by the simple knowledge of the lives she’d saved by stopping Jeff and his faction. And by keeping Bobby’s work safe, maybe the bloodstains could be honored with the good his formula could do.
As if reading her mind, Rome brought her hand up to his lips for a quick kiss, breaking through her heavy thoughts. He rested a hand on her wet shoulder and fished out a cell phone from his back pocket. It dripped as he pressed a button, making a call.
“Area secure,” he said into the mouthpiece. “Proceed with caution. Lock down the facility and hold any survivors.” She watched him end the call and tuck the phone away.
Barely a moment later, Rome’s hidden backup team of black-clad men and women filed into the quad, splash
ing through the grass and mud, checking the prone bodies, securing the living members of the faction, passing by the others. Some saw to their stirring comrades while others filtered into the facility, guns ready.
“Harper, these are the good guys.” Rome’s somber tone drew her attention away from the surreal scene, something she’d seen only in action movies. “My guys.”
Harper nodded her head sadly, her mind swirling with muddled emotions.
“I wish I’d gotten to Bobby’s data sooner,” he continued, grasping her hand, clearly wanting to tell her something. “Or at least known what he found out about—”
“Thank you,” she interrupted quietly. She didn’t want to hear the what-ifs. She sincerely doubted there was anything anyone could’ve done. Anything Rome could do now. What-ifs were useless. Jeff had clearly been in tight control of the operation. Her brother’s death was probably the catalyst for taking that control away. A necessary sacrifice, just like her.
Now that this was over, grief threatened to pour into her. Though she’d won, her brother was still dead. And she’d be dead soon, too. It all seemed so senseless.
“Why?” Rome asked, now grasping both of her hands and holding them tightly against his chest. “Why did you go on your own?”
Searching his eyes, she knew she had to give him an answer. He deserved an answer. Even though she might lose him because of it. Well, she was going to lose him anyway, so what did it matter?
“All I could think of was revenge.” She kept her gaze steady and locked with his. She needed to be honest and strong and to face whatever reaction it bred. She’d have to face it for only a limited time. “I thought revenge meant killing them all. Just as they’d done to Bobby. I
was strong enough to do it, too. They couldn’t stop me.”
And they couldn’t. The power she felt had been unequaled. As a matter of fact, she couldn’t believe she was still standing there. The internal radiance of heat should’ve been more than the sun could withstand.
Harper looked deep into his blue eyes, searching the soul she loved so much, trying to find the understanding she hoped he had saved up for her.
“I thought it would be easy,” she continued. “To take control and solve the problem once and for all. But you were right. The toughest choices are for the strong. And not acting on that vengeance is the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make. That’s how I knew it was right.”
She had become someone other than herself. Someone she didn’t want to be. Regardless of her life span. And this man before her had helped her to see that.
Rome’s powerful blue gaze remained glued to hers. He wasn’t recoiling. That was good. Right?
“But you made me realize that my strength is bigger than that,” she confessed as his grip tightened, warming her trembling hands. “I can’t bring Bobby back. But I can bring them to justice. I can expose the wrongs the faction committed. And the good Bobby did.”
Rome brought her clasped hands to his mouth, brushing her knuckles lightly with tender lips.
“You were right. I knew I’d lose myself if I went through with it,” she whispered. “And I’d lose you.” Her vision blurred as tears welled in her eyes, falling with the incessant rain trailing down her face. “I’ve lost Bobby. I couldn’t lose you too, Rome.”
“You could never lose me, Harper,” Rome said quietly, his soft breath warming her chilled fingers. “Bobby’s legacy will live through his work. Through you.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, infinitely comforted by his words, though a little confused. She was ticking on a terminal clock. Had he forgotten? She certainly hadn’t. It’s one of the reasons she’d decided to go alone.
“I have some contacts,” he said. “Good people. People we can trust. We can make sure that Bobby’s work on the plants continues. We can pick out a research team.”
Harper dropped to her knees, splashing onto the sodden mud and grass. Stunned to her core by the realization that her brother’s revolutionary work could continue. It was everything she could ever hope or want. Well, not everything. Wait, Rome was still talking.
“Harper, I said I wished I’d gotten to Bobby’s data sooner,” Rome said. “After you’d gone, I found an unopened file.”
“Holy cow, we missed one?” How was that possible? Well, they had been distracted. Warmth replaced the shock at remembering just what distractions Rome had applied on her. “What was in it?”
“Only the most important factor of all,” he answered, a dazzling smile breaking across his gorgeous yet grimy face. “I tried to tell you before, in the fight. Harper, you’re not going to die. Bobby had found that the plants Jeff stole from him continued to grow happy and healthy, while the ones they replicated kept dying.” He looked at her with a happy look himself.
“We already knew that.” Harper smirked at him, not quite sure what he was getting at. “Fake serum equals bad.”
“Every plant that didn’t have the original formula croaked,” he continued, still smiling. “Every one that had it thrived.” What exactly was he saying? “Harper, you have Bobby’s original formula inside you. The se
rum you injected was pure. That means you won’t die like those other guys that Jeff experimented with. The offshoots were terminal. The originals lived out their normal, healthy lives. Bobby found the proof.”
The realization washed over her like a springtime waterfall. Cool and refreshing. She’d come here seeking revenge, believing it didn’t matter what became of her. She thought she had no future to throw away. But now she could let relief settle inside her mind. The serum wasn’t going to kill her. She wasn’t going to die.
“And I’ll be with you through it all.” Rome knelt in the muck, facing her. There. That was everything she needed.
“You will?” she asked, wanting, needing to hear it again. “Holy cow.”
“Damn right.” Rome leaned in to slant his mouth over hers for a quick kiss. “We’re going to be partners.” Partners. She loved the sound of that. “If you want to go back to swimming, I’ll understand. I just want to be with you.” She watched him reach into his coat pocket and pull something out. “By the way, I think this is yours.”
He opened his fist and revealed her gold medal. Her good-bye to him. She curled her fingers around his and closed his hand around the medal, wanting him to keep it. This time as a hello to a life together.
“And I want to start a new life,” she stated honestly, overwhelmed, but insanely thrilled. Swimming was now part of her past. She knew she couldn’t compete anymore now that the serum ran through her blood. And she could accept that, knowing that she could use the psi power for something worthwhile. Something that fed her soul even deeper than her life in the water.
Life with Rome. Righting wrongs. Fighting side by side. Just like Bobby would have wanted.
“Harper,” Rome said, rolling her name as his fingers brushed her wet cheek. “I love you.”
“I know you do,” Harper said with a true smile. Heat surged from her mind, blazing a passionate trail to her heart.
Rome grinned, pressed his lips to hers, and stood. She watched him tread through the squishy grass toward two men who were holding up a bound and dazed Jeff. He grabbed Jeff roughly, and then walked alongside as they hauled him away.
Was it finally over? She glanced around the courtyard, watching the good guys take the bad guys away. Maybe it was.
And as Harper sat in the grass with the rain streaming around her, she wondered whether the heat from her psionic powers could hold a candle to the flame of their love.
She couldn’t wait to find out.