Twice as Hot Read Online Free PDF Page A

answers—how, why, lasting
effects—before freaking me out.
    “He
didn’t even call me. I only know because I saw it…last night in my…dreams.”
    Why
the hesitation? “You see the future, not the past.” Hope filled me. “Maybe it
hasn’t happened yet. Maybe we can stop—”
    She
was shaking her head, grimmer than I’d ever seen her, dashing every bit of my
hope. “I know my visions. This has already happened.”
    That
struck me as odd, but I was too crazed at the moment to reason it out.
    Tanner
gave me a little shove toward the hallway. “He’s going to be fine. Change out
of your pj’s and get your stuff. I’ll take you up there.”
     
    An
hour later , I found myself standing outside of Rome’s recovery room in PSI
headquarters. I’d been beside his bed, but my grief had gotten the better of me
and ice tears had once again begun falling from the ceiling, so I’d been asked
to leave. Now I was looking at the love of my life through a glass partition.
    He
lay motionless, his dark hair in disarray. His features were smooth, as if he
were merely sleeping, at peace and healthy and dreaming of love and
heart-pounding sex. Perhaps the last was wishful thinking. Long black lashes
feathered over his sharp cheekbones. I wanted to trace the shadows they cast,
the slope of his nose. His lips were soft and parted. I’d kissed those lips.
Those lips had kissed every inch of me.
    He
hadn’t lost any weight. His body was still tanned, primed and roped. Pure
strength, total vitality. The only evidence that something was wrong was the
electrodes scattered all over his torso. On the monitor, his heartbeat appeared
steady and sure.
    Lexis
stood beside the bed, clasping his hand. Tears were sliding down her cheeks and
dripping onto his bare chest. They should have been my tears. I should have been the one holding his hand.
    Right
then, I hated my powers.
    Tanner
was in the waiting room with Sherridan, who had yet to exit her Happy Place.
How I envied her. Rome was my Happy Place, but I couldn’t get to him. And I
couldn’t leave to give them an update. Approaching Rome was too dangerous, but
I refused to move from this spot. When he awoke, he would need me. By then, I
would be calm.
    Really? Several ice crystals
splattered atop my head. Hand shaky, I brushed them off. Stupid fear. Several
more instantly took their place, but I didn’t bother with them. Until I did
that pesky calming thing, they wouldn’t stop falling.
    “Belle.”
    I
felt the heat and zap of Cody’s body as he approached me, and then I caught the
scent of a wild storm. Familiar, but not as comforting as it should have been.
I didn’t turn. My gaze was still locked on Rome. My Rome. Lying there, so
helpless. Even with all my powers, there was nothing I could do to help him
right now. None of the doctors knew what was wrong or why they couldn’t rouse
him.
    “What
happened?” I asked Cody softly. He and Rome were friends. They worked together,
trusted each other. He would tell me the truth—no matter how much it hurt.
    “I
honestly don’t know.”
    Or
maybe not. “If you’re saying that because you think the truth will cause me to
break down—”
    “Nothing
like that, believe me.” He laughed, but there was a hard edge to the sound. “If
I knew, I’d tell you. But it’s like a piece of my brain is missing, my memories
of the event gone. All I know is that I saw Rome open one of the cages and then
he was unconscious on the ground. Next thing I knew, I was on the ground myself
and crawling to get to him. Had Lexis not told me about the man entering our
bodies, I would have no knowledge of it whatsoever.”
    “He’s
going to be okay,” I said, more for my benefit than his.
    “Yes.
He’s strong. A fighter. Remember when our old friend Pretty Boy plugged him
full of poisoned bullets? He lived through that, thanks to you, and even helped
end the son of a bitch, so he can live through anything.”
    My
hands fisted at my sides, tongues