She laughed a little too high. “No, it’s nothing like that.”
I didn’t push my luck. She was going out whether she called it a date or not. “Well, try to have fun anyway.”
“Sure, hun. Love you.”
I said it back again but she’d already hung up.
The mall was starting to get busy, too busy for random explosions. Feet dragging, I walked back to my car. The sun was right in my eyes. I hunched my shoulders, my head aching more than seemed reasonable for too much sugar and a few purple pops. Probably just some lingering exhaustion from…everything, considering. At least Mom was safe for today. Jacob was trying to help me, maybe. I’d experimented just enough to convince myself I wasn’t losing my mind. Now I just needed to—
A black shadow loomed in front of me, blocking the sun. “Stop right there, Ms. Taylor. And keep your hands in your pockets.”
I would’ve bolted. Would’ve conjured up some purple lightning. Would’ve at least bitched Dane out for getting me fired.
Instead, when I snapped my gaze up, my eyes kept going and rolled right into the back of my head and I dropped at his feet.
ICAMEto as Raymon Dane was stuffing me into the front passenger seat of a chilly black SUV.
I lashed out at him with a closed fist. My left one. But no purple sparks flared—my glove, gone!—and the blow was wimpy as fuck, barely glancing off his temple as he jerked his head back out of the way.
But I knocked his sunglasses askew.
Just enough to get a real close look at his glaring gray eyes.
“Stop it,” he growled.
“Fuck you.” Tough words but I could barely gasp them out. I tried to punch again, straightening my legs so he couldn’t fold me into the front passenger seat. But my muscles had morphed into stuffed animal stuffing. Apparently I’d burned myself out.
“No, thank you,” he said through his teeth, tight and patronizing.
“Why don’t you just shoot me? Wouldn’t that be faster? Or do you not want blood on the leather?” My muscles might be stuffing, but my mouth still worked.
Dane grunted. “I didn’t kill your boyfriend.”
“He wasn’t…” Oh fuck, that didn’t matter. “Who did?”
“Good question.” He slammed the door in my face and stalked around the front of the car.
I pawed for the handle, but my body felt about as coordinated as a YouTube panda video. By the time I’d straightened up, Dane was in the driver’s seat and locking the doors.
I glared at him. “This is kidnapping.”
“A lesser crime. And not an accusation you’ll want to make because then you’d have to explain…” He grabbed my left wrist and showed me the back of my own hand. “Clearly, it’s making you sick. You’re even more erratic and volatile than usual.”
“I’ll show you volatile.” I strained away but couldn’t get loose from his ruthless hold. At least I’d finally decided who I wanted to be; Swann would be so proud. Erratic and volatile could be the first bullet points in my new resumé…
He pushed those fancy sunglasses to the top of his head so he could study the mark. The X had faded to a pale lavender, which was new. Maybe it was finally flushing out of my system? Was that why I felt so weak? The timing was shitty; it left me no way to defend myself. And just when I’d learned how to use the purple power on purpose. It wasn’t fair.
“Where’s my glove?”
“I’ve got it, though what it has to do with this phenomenon, I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
I stretched him a smile. A mean one. “Give it back, and I’ll demonstrate.”
“I think not.”
Since I’d never been one to pound my skull against the inevitable, I stopped struggling. “What happened to Brayden?”
Dane angled my hand toward the light and snapped another picture of it with his phone. “As far as the authorities are concerned, it was a drug deal gone bad. His body is in the morgue, and his family has been duly informed.”
