CHAPTER 9 —
Stopping an assassination. What does one wear to that sort of thing?
Amanda rummaged through her suitcase, full of the light clothing she’d packed for the Panama vacation that seemed like a lifetime ago. Her flower print bikini was cute, but definitely not appropriate for the occasion. Chunky-heeled sandals were not suited for quick getaways, should she need to make a run for it. She pulled out one item after another, dismissing each, finally settling on her coral jumpsuit. Not exactly great camouflage, but compared to her short skirts and sundresses, it was a clear winner. She strapped on a pair of flat gladiator sandals after donning the jumpsuit, and headed down to breakfast.
Downstairs, she spotted James sitting at a table in the hotel’s small café restaurant. She couldn’t help but notice how his black T-shirt subtly wrapped his sculpted, muscular form. He was looking down at his menu when she approached, a cup of coffee in front of him.
He looked up. “There you are!” he said, now oddly friendly again. When he stood to greet her, her gaze dropped to his perfectly fitting olive-green pants, which showed off his lower assets quite nicely. He pulled out a chair for her.
“Good morning.” She sat down and placed her supple brown leather sling purse on the table in front of her. She was moving slowly, deliberately, giving herself time to think.
“I came down to join you last night,” he said. “I waited a while, but you never showed.”
“Oh?” He’d come down and waited for her? But why? He’d been pretty dismissive of her invitation.
He nodded. “As soon as I got to my room, I realized it might be good for us to talk a little, you know, about this evening. So I took a quick shower and headed back down.”
“I went to bed.”
He chuckled. “I thought maybe you’d run off with the blond guy in the gray suit.” He shot her a playful smirk. As if. As she was opening her mouth to say what she thought about his insensitive joke, the server came to take their orders.
“Did you give some thought to our mission?” she asked instead. “I still feel like I have no idea what to expect, despite their video and all. I think we should start planning.”
He shook his head. “We’ll play it by ear. I spoke to Basil last night, and he said we’re so powerful that ninety percent of the job is just to show up.”
Amanda hiccupped from the surprise. Her hand flew to her chest and she swallowed. “Seriously?”
“That’s what he said. He reminded me our powers are intuitive. Told me to trust our instincts. Besides, they don’t really know how Komani will operate. They’re just hypothesizing that he’ll use the same method as his previous hits, but nobody knows for sure. There’s no guarantee he’ll even be there tonight, if the Committee is wrong about the exact location of the hit.”
Amanda could not exactly disagree. It reminded her of something they’d been told as med students: most of the time, half the job is to show up. It didn’t help her anxiety, but in a crazy way it made sense.
While waiting for their food, Amanda told James how she and Lydia had first met when they were seven, then lost touch because her parents moved away, and how they’d reconnected in their first year of medical school. She learned that James had moved around a few times as well. He was originally from Georgia, but his family had moved to Ohio when he started high school, and he had since lost his accent. “That’s when I met my fiancée,” he said.
That caught Amanda off-guard. “Oh, I didn’t realize—”
“No. She’s not my fiancée now,” he said, his voice cracking. “You know, I’d really rather not talk about this. I’m sorry I brought it up.” He got misty-eyed.
Amanda was confused. It seemed strange that anyone would have broken up with James—she’d taken him to be more the heartbreaker type. “Sure.” She was about to change the subject when he rose abruptly and motioned for the check. The server hurried over, and James asked to have his breakfast taken to his room, scribbling his signature on the bill without looking at it. He barely glanced at her while explaining that he’d forgotten about things he needed to do before they headed out later, and he was gone before she could respond.
She finished her breakfast alone. His behavior no longer offended her. Clearly, James was not boyfriend material; he was prone to mood swings and was downright impossible to read. As for tonight, let the chips fall where they may, she thought, sipping her tea. She’d just have to trust that it was going to be okay.
After breakfast, she went to the front desk to get a map of the city. Since she and James clearly weren’t going to spend any more time planning, she had hours to kill before the start of the mission. The best thing to distract her from the evening ahead would be to check out some of the sights.
As she walked the ancient streets, she couldn’t believe she was here again, in this beautiful city she’d hardly had time to see the first time around. She’d done a shoot with a prominent photographer named Pamel and a male model whose name escaped her. She remembered very clearly, however, the only real sightseeing she’d done—climbing to the top of the ancient portico in six-inch heels. What a workout for her calves that had been. The ad was supposed to illustrate that wearing a certain designer cologne would create an intensely romantic moment between male and female in vaporous clothes—but her most vivid recollection was the insane attraction between Pamel and the male model. She might as well have been invisible!
As Amanda joined the crowds passing the massive, carved stone façade of St. Vitus Cathedral, she thought about what a strange time that had been in her life. And how bizarre it felt to be back in this romantic city with a man who couldn’t show less romantic attraction to her. Well, at least his broken heart made that easier to understand.
Her modeling days had been odd, but this new job was even odder. As she wandered about, peeking into various shops, she kept thinking about the huge task ahead of them. Less than a week ago, she’d been a promising medical resident; now she was the most powerful of an ancient force of Sentinels, about to thwart an assassination. Yep. Life was odd.
Thinking she should keep her strength up, Amanda stopped at an outdoor trattoria and ordered a light lunch. The atmosphere was pleasant enough and the pasta dish looked and smelled heavenly. But she couldn’t eat much. With a deep sigh, she fished her phone out of her bag, toying with the idea of calling Paolo Gioia. Perhaps they’d found out something more, since their debriefing in Prague. He’d given them his number, but despite his suave manners, she didn’t find him approachable. Instead she dialed Basil. He was their adviser, and she needed to hear him say that they’d be just fine.
“Yes, my dear. How are you holding up?” he asked.
“I’m managing.” She smiled. “Did my nervous voice give me away?”
“Oh, I am a super-empath, after all,” he reminded her with a chuckle.
“I see. Mr. Blake, why did you tell James that we don’t need to prepare for this mission? That seems counterintuitive to me. We are stopping an assassin, after all.”
“Actually, my dear, you already have all the tools you need. And call me Basil. It might seem like a daunting task right now, but this mission is not even a real challenge. It is hardly a challenge for a Sentinel 9, never mind for a 10.”
“But I’m brand new at this! I don’t—”
“Amanda,” he interrupted her. “My dear girl, the only thing you need to fear is your lack of confidence. New or not, your powers are within you already. In fact, I’ll tell you something right now that I have not told James.”
She waited, as he seemed to be searching for the right words.
“Your powers are within you, but they have not been entirely awoken. They’ve been primed, so to speak, but the full activation needs a challenge. Something that creates an adrenaline rush.”
“Oh, wow!” she scoffed. “Trust me, I had my rush when the plasmid found us in Panama.”
Basil paused. “That may have been enough, but it may not have been. It depends on the Sentinel in question, and your level has nothing to do with it. The sooner you get a complete awakening, the better. So I encourage you to trust the danger, so to speak. It is good for you.”
“What the hell. Seriously, did you just say to trust the danger? To go for the adrenaline rush?” Her heart thudded.
“My dear Sentinel 10, you will do just fine. I think this is what you wanted to hear when you called me, anyway. Am I right?”
She sighed. Great. Show off your empath powers, Gramps. She’d never call him that aloud, of course, no matter how annoyed she was. She respected her elders. “Sure. It’s too bad that it is not your powers that need awakening, I’d love to see how you handle anxiety.”
“I handle it fine. And so do you, my dear girl. You are the best. The absolute best, you just don’t know it yet. But after tonight, you will. Take care of James, okay?”
She blushed a little. What if Basil knew how James turned her on? He probably knew! Oh, that was embarrassing. “Sure. Okay, thank you. You’ll be the first to know how it goes. Talk soon!”
She went back to the hotel and tried resting, but couldn’t sit still. Finally, she went to the lobby—it was still too early, but she’d rather wait down there than be pacing her room. She took a comfortable armchair and texted James that she was ready to go anytime.
In spite of Basil’s assurances, her stomach was in knots. Watching the people enter and leave the hotel lobby, she was envious of how carefree everyone looked—relaxed and in vacation mode. No one else had an assassination to stop. Where was James? What was taking him so long? Basil or no Basil, they should have met to think things through. She was starting to panic.
James finally appeared, striding toward her from the elevators. Several female travelers watched him cross the lobby toward her. “Ready?” he asked, friendly again.
“I’ll ask them to bring the car around.” She stood up and smoothed her jumpsuit over her hips.
“Already took care of it.” He motioned toward the front of the hotel, where she saw that the car was waiting.
“Let’s go, then.”
Outside, Amanda reached the valet first, took the key, and went over to the driver’s side.
“You’re driving?” he asked. He seemed surprised. “Are you sure? It’s Italy, you know. They’re all crazy here.”
She laughed. “I’ve driven here before, thank you. And besides, I thought you were a pilot! I’ll be the driver.” She adjusted the seat and mirror to her comfort. “And if anyone messes with us, I’ll just blast them away with my energy pulses.”
He smiled. “Yeah. Never mess with a Sentinel. You won’t know what hit you. Road rage, paranormal style,” he joked, strapping on his seat belt.
Amanda laughed again and punched their destination coordinates into the GPS mounted on the dashboard. She confidently pulled into traffic and accelerated.
Save a few random remarks, they drove the rest of the way to the fields in silence. James didn’t seem to want to talk, and Amanda didn’t feel like forcing it. She tried not to think about him while she focused on the road ahead, enjoying the luxurious car. One day, when she became a successful anesthesiologist, she would drive a car just like this one. Maybe she’d have a couple of them. One for her and one for her husband. She glanced at James, who was gazing out his window, his chin pressed into his palm. He seemed lost in thought.
The GPS told them that they were approaching the tunnel. As soon as they passed through it, she switched the hazard lights on and pulled off the road onto the shoulder, pausing just outside the tunnel’s dark mouth. She looked over at the line of trees in the distance, about three hundred yards from the road. That’s where they could hide, but it seemed awfully far away from where the action would be.
“Okay, let’s recap,” James said. “Here’s what we know. There are three cars in the official procession—two security, and the politician in the middle car.” He looked around. “If he uses the same approach as last time, Komani will arrive on a bicycle and wait by the roadside, like an innocent guy taking a break.”
“This sucks,” she said. “I looked this tunnel up on Google Maps. But now that I see the terrain, those trees are way off. See, I thought we could hide there, and we can’t. But we can’t stay in the car, either.”
James twisted his head around to examine the entire area. “Agreed. We can’t stay here.”
“What do you suggest?” She tried not to sound as tense as she felt.
“Let’s drive the car into the field behind those trees. Then you and I can find opposing ditches to hide in. When the assassin appears, we ambush him. I’ll go first, and if things get dicey, you can surprise him from the other side.”
Amanda was not thrilled. Just the thought of lying in a ditch made her feel vulnerable and exposed. But there was also another problem with the plan. “The ditches aren’t that deep. I’ll stick out like a sore thumb and we’ll lose our element of surprise.” She looked down at her coral jumpsuit. Given the circumstances, maybe the bikini would have been a better choice after all.
James looked her up and down. “You’re right. Okay, new plan. You drive to the tree line and stay in the car, that’s even better. Keep an eye out for me. If we lose the daylight, I’ll text you when things start happening, so you can come rescue me.”
At least he hadn’t suggested that she be the bait so he could swoop in and save the day. “Sounds good. And don’t worry, I’ll hit him with everything I’ve got.” She looked into his eyes. “You’ll be safe.”
James cracked a grin. “I know. We’ll be fine, partner.”
Time moved as slowly as molasses while Amanda sat alone in the car with the doors locked and the lights off. She didn’t quite reach the tree line, as the grass got significantly wilder and taller, and the light was going. As dusk fell over the fields, she could barely see James lying in the ditch beside the road, the tall grass slowly moving around him in the lazy evening breeze. He was wearing the right colors, that was for sure. He probably didn’t even own brightly colored clothes. Regardless, the sun was going to set, and she was going to lose sight of him. The roads weren’t lit at all. Once the sun went down, it would all go black.
“Oh I hate this,” she whispered, craning her neck to make sure James was still out there. She couldn’t help but feel the worry forcing its way back into her chest; she worked hard to will it out.
You are a Sentinel 10. You are the most powerful Sentinel on earth. You can do this.
But the pep talk wasn’t working. “Crap,” she muttered. “Shit, shit, shit. What if I can’t do this?”
I hate this. James is in the military; this makes sense for him. But me . . .
Just then, her phone buzzed. She stared down at James’s message on the lit screen: now. The moment of truth had come.
James stood up just as a man emerged from the tunnel. She recognized him from Gioia’s video. The assassin had come on foot, from inside the tunnel! And Moro’s convoy would be along any moment. There was not a second to lose. Amanda scrambled out of the car and ran across the field toward James in the gathering darkness. Her heart pumped furiously as she stopped near the ditch, across the road from her target. Not far from her, James and the assassin were facing each other, immobile, staring. Despite their immobility, she could tell that James was already engaged in a psychic struggle to retain control of his mind. She prepared to hit Komani with everything she had.
At this precise moment, a malevolent energy invaded her limbs. Something was messing with her mind—or rather, her motor control. A gnawing sensation tore at her muscles, its malignant control intensifying, gripping her in a strange, numbing vise. She let out a loud, terrified gasp. James turned to her, his face filled with fear. And then she saw them.
Both of them.
There were two figures now, one on each side of the tunnel. Two assassins, not one! The other must have remained hiding inside, just as James had been lying in wait in the ditch.
The malignant control that had seized her limbs clenched her more firmly, and Amanda felt herself walking toward the middle of the road. A vehicle was coming from the other direction. She could see it grow from a dot of light into the headlights of a speeding vehicle. One of the assassins was making her walk toward it . . .
No. She fought against it. That’s when something opened in her mind, as if she’d suddenly woke up in some way. She realized she could simply shake off the malevolent energy. The experience was like walking through a sticky spiderweb that clung to her face—it was horrifying, but all she needed to do was wipe it away.
Amazed at how easy it was to get rid of the malignant force, Amanda stood there, wondering how it had even been possible for such puny power to control her at all. She had nothing to fear! Her powers were immense.
James suddenly broke free of the assassin’s hold and made a belated rescue effort. Although she had already backed away from the road, he grabbed her in a bear hug and pulled her toward him. They narrowly avoided falling into the ditch. Standing tall, James held her against him, their hearts beating, their faces inches away from each other. For a moment, she was unaware of the two assassins only yards away, as she stared into his eyes.
If she had felt a malignant force before, what she felt in that moment between herself and James was anything but. The electric currents that always ran between them shifted and magnified when their bodies pressed against each other. She wanted more than ever to kiss him.
“I’m okay,” she whispered, gazing up at him, finding herself falling more deeply into the moment.
He gently set her back down, his gray eyes still locked onto hers. But she knew that they did not have a second to spare. The assassins were still sending malevolent energy, and flashing lights bounced off the walls deep within the tunnel to their right, which meant that the procession was almost here.
“James, I’m fine. We need to move!”
The trailer truck was much closer now and rapidly bearing down on them. While James had been “saving” her, things were quickly escalating. Flashing lights grew brighter in the tunnel, and now the procession was emerging. But instead of a security car, two motorcycles led the convoy, followed by Moro’s vehicle, with another car bringing up the rear. Amanda heard a rumbling noise and turned to see the semitruck racing from the other direction, its metal mass fully in view. The assassins had redirected their efforts away from the Sentinels, presumably because this was their only chance to get their targets.
She stepped back, energy surging through her arms, a feeling already familiar to her.
“That one!” she directed James. “Get that one, the one on the left!”
James sent the assassin on the left side of the tunnel a major hit. His psychic energy sizzled through the air; the assassin was thrown against the side of the tunnel and was out immediately. For her part, Amanda targeted Komani with a large power surge, sending him flying upward. He hit the roof of the tunnel and was already unconscious when he hit the ground.
You little bastard, she thought, lifting her chin. A bonus concussion for you.
But it was too soon to gloat. The semi had already started to skid sideways down the middle of the road, setting up a clear collision course with the motorcycles. Eerily, the events in the video were happening again, just as Gioia had predicted. The assassins must have seized control of the truck driver’s mind before she and James eliminated them, and the events were inescapably set in motion.
She had to act fast. The motorcycles parted around the semitruck as it barreled sideways toward the tunnel while Amanda focused on the car with the dignitary. Arms extended, she felt her pulse energy surging out, deep and powerful, acting on the hunk of metal. James joined her in the effort, and the car’s wheels spun as their combined strength held back its forward trajectory. Through the windscreen she could see the driver’s hunched figure over the wheel, still accelerating, obeying the psychic assassin’s earlier command. She watched in fear as the heavily reinforced car finally stopped just a foot away from the truck, now sprawling across the road. Unable to stop, the security car rammed into them from behind and she could see Moro and his bodyguards knocked unconscious by the impact. Amanda quickly disabled that driver too.
The security guards on the motorcycles returned and began to circle the Sentinels, shouting in Italian, their weapons drawn. Amanda and James knocked them unconscious with mild pulses, and they fell where they rode, their bikes toppling, one landing closer to the tunnel and the other one in the grass just off the ditch. Moro’s driver must have come to his senses because he wove around the truck and sped off to safety. The truck driver stayed put, cowering behind the wheel.
In the silence of the evening, Amanda sauntered toward James, hands in her pockets, happy and confident, and perhaps even a little smug. “Woo-hoo! We nailed our first assignment! I can’t believe how insanely powerful we are.”
“I can’t believe how insanely powerful you are,” he hedged, wiping his brow with the back of his hand.
Amanda wasn’t sure he meant this as a compliment, but she didn’t care. She was strong and free and dauntless. The rush was exhilarating!
“Wait!” James said. “Look! There’s someone else.”
She followed the direction of his gaze. A man’s shadow moved in the tunnel. At first he froze, then darted out and immediately mounted one of the abandoned motorcycles.
James reacted nearly as fast. “It must be that guy in the gray suit, from the hotel!” He rushed over to the grass and heaved the other motorcycle upright. “Jump on!”
CHAPTER 10 —
“What?” A hot panic seized her. “I don’t go on these things.” Even her newfound powers didn’t give her the confidence she needed to ride a motorcycle, and certainly not without a helmet.
James narrowed his eyes at her. “You were right about that guy: he’s stalking us, and we have to find out why. Just climb on the front, partner, and hang onto me. I won’t let you fall off.” As the mystery man screeched away from them, he shouted, “Now!”
“Fine!” she snapped, getting on as instructed, onto his lap but facing him, gripping his waist with her legs. James was right. If they were in for a long, high-speed chase, she wasn’t sure she’d have the physical stamina to hold onto him from behind. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and buried her face in his chest.
She would never forget that ride. The steady whir of the engine as the evening air whipped against her back, sending wild strands of hair into her face. Fields flashing by as they revved up the road. The warmth of his body against hers. But the sensuality of the moment would dawn on Amanda later, in the comfort of her hotel room. Right now she barely registered any of it. All she could feel was terror as she tried to figure out whether an energy surge could be used as a cushion when falling off a moving vehicle.
When the country roads started curving and winding, James kicked the bike into an even higher gear. Though Amanda couldn’t see the man in the gray suit from her vantage point, she could tell they were losing ground. James was grunting from the effort. On one curve, they leaned so far to the left she could feel gravel spitting up onto her flats. She held on even more tightly, which probably wasn’t helpful. She had to be severely limiting James’s maneuvering ability. After a particularly crazy lane switch, which made Amanda gasp in terror and bury her face in James’s chest, he slowed down and pulled over. “We lost him,” he announced.
“Thank God that’s over!” Amanda cried, hopping off the bike. She swatted her hair out of her face and tried to slow her breathing.
“Yeah. Well, we had to try. There was no way we could match his speed—not with two of us on the bike.”
“You should have taken off on your own, James.” She nervously smoothed her jumpsuit over her hips.
“No, I couldn’t leave you out there alone. What if this was another trap?”
She rolled her eyes. “Come on. Didn’t you say I’m the heavyweight champion here?”
James leaned over the handlebars, angling his head at her. “Your stalker dude was getting away, so I had no time to think it through.”
He looked like a billboard picture: a rugged guy on a black bike, with the dark fields surrounding him. The last thin line of a purple sunset created the perfect backdrop for him. She broke eye contact. He was so damn attractive, she didn’t want him to know how it had felt to ride on top of him.
“Besides,” he added, surprising her with a mischievous smirk, “maybe I wanted you with me for my own protection.”
“Ha. I tell you this, if I ever see that guy again, I will pulse him so hard he won’t even remember his name.”
“You and me both. If there is a next time.”
