Page 20 of Amethyst Flame
That seemed as unlikely as Kansas. I wasn’t going to figure things out in wheat fields or Caribbean-blue waves.
The only place that had answers for me was…
Yeah.
“Well, of the two, I think maybe the tropical beach is better than fracking or whatever.”
Her smile was fleeting but maybe a little more relaxed. “Okay then. After my brother catches the love of his life, we’re off.”
“Cool, cool. Can I borrow your sunglasses?” I really needed to get my own pair. “Maybe one of your designer bikinis?”
“No.” The sun glinted disapprovingly off her polarized lenses. “You lost the last pair you borrowed.”
I sighed. “Or we could be in Kansas by midnight.”
She dropped me back at the Q-Mart and leaned over to hug me again. “Be careful,” she whispered. “I don’t know how to help you.”
“By being your fabulous self,” I whispered back. “About those sunglasses…”
She handed me the candy wrapper that she’d twisted into a flower. “For luck.”
I clutched the thin foil in my left hand. With just the tiniest bit of purple power, I charged the electrons so the foil gleamed with violet sparkles deep in the twists. “For inspiration.”
She gasped as I gave it back to her. “So pretty.” She tucked the flower into the visor. “How long will it last?”
“Until Wichita, at least.” I reached for the door handle.
“Call me,” she said. “If…anything. Call me.”
I gulped back a panicky sort of noise. This was my choice, after all.
Heat and light bouncing off the windows slapped me as I got out of the cool BMW. I waved at Swann and then shaded my eyes with an exaggerated grimace to make her laugh as she drove off.
Then I headed off to my next quest.
My car didn’t have near as smooth a ride as Swann’s, but the time went by faster than it should have. After I pulled into the Banta parking lot, I wondered how shiny glass and chrome managed to feel so ominous.
The last time I’d been here, it’d been dark. I’d been cold and wet, flat on my back, being wheeled into an ambulance, watching that mysterious black helicopter escape overhead. I’d just killed a man who’d threatened to kill Mom and me. I’d thought I’d burned out my moths saving us.
Now… What was I here to do? Maybe I shoulda asked a few questions before diving in again.
But too late now.
My mobile had been on silent while I’d been hanging with Swann, but looking at it now, I had five messages. Four from Jacob, which I ignored. One from Dane, which read,Stay focused. You’ll do fine.
So he had to have been tracking me and knew I’d decided to do this. Somehow it made me feel better.
And because I was being responsible today, I shot Rique a text to open the Freeze. I didn’t wait for his reply.
I marched through the front doors and up to the desk. The first time I’d been here, looking for my missing coulda-been boyfriend, there’d been a cute attendant with ear gauges. The night I’d been kidnapped and brought here, the security guard had been someone working undercover with Dane.
The lobby was the same, though. Same big screen flashing an image of the company’s founder, Adley Ruskin. Same waterfall creating a muted hush.
So excuse me for staring a little suspiciously at this new guy, a thick-set, middle-aged man with a name badge reading, “Hi! I’m Gerry!”
“Hi,” I said, deciding not to risk the hard or soft G pronunciation. “I’m here for the intern orientation.”
His gaze flicking over me was almost as suspicious as mine. True, I’d fled the house this morning with no intention of coming here. But what was he going to say when I was already accepted (since I’d been hacked in) and was never going to work here (since their tech had basically hacked me)? He checked his tablet, then the top of his desk that I couldn’t see from my angle. “Ms. Taylor?”
