“I’ll go in.” I stood, squared my shoulders, all the while eyeing Cody. “Do you have to handcuff me or anything?”

His silver eyes gleamed wickedly. “I will if you ask sweetly.”

“You don’t have to do this, Belle,” Rome said. “And for fuck’s sake, Cody, quit flirting with her!”

“Yeah,” Tanner reiterated, standing beside me. “What he said.”

“I want to do this,” I said softly. These men had done so much for me already. Rome had chosen me over his job. He’d helped me break into Dr. Roberts’s house. He needed me now, and I wouldn’t let him down. “Cody said it wouldn’t be very bad for me,” I offered, trying to soothe him.

Rome sighed. “Then I’ll go with you.”

“Me, too.” Tanner assumed battle position, arms locked behind his back, feet spread.

“Excellent.” Cody’s tone sounded gleeful, but his expression was one of surprise and confusion. “We can have a celebration on the way.”

“You’re not taking us to headquarters,” Rome said, turning back to Cody. “I don’t want her anywhere near the lab.”

The blond angel lost his smile. “I know what you’re trying to do-”

“Just shut the hell up and call John. Unless you want a fight, those are my terms.”

There was a long pause; a heavy tension. Then Cody shrugged. “Fine.”

“Tell him we’ll meet him at the park near his house in two hours. And no agents. Got it?”

“No one knows where he lives,” Cody said, brows arched.

“I do.”

Admiration sparked in Cody’s expression. He nodded. “I’ll make the call.”

WE DROVE FOR AN HOUR. Tanner and I sat in the back seat of a very comfortable sedan. The interior was leather, the standard black that seemed to be preferred by all types of agents. Overall, pretty nice. As far as prison vehicles went, that is.

“How much of a fight did John put up?” Rome asked as he steered down the winding roads.

Cody chuckled. He’d made Rome drive so he could keep his own hands free. The better to subdue us with. “I’ve never heard him so angry. How’d you find his place, anyway? He’s so guarded I doubt his wife knows where he lives.”

“I tracked him one day.” Rome ’s tone suggested his words were no big whoop, but I sensed his pride.

“That’ll teach him to make a jungle cat, eh?”

Dawn tinged the sky, lighting it up with pinks and purples. I yawned. I’d been without sleep for… what? I couldn’t remember. Seemed like forever. But then, these last few days hadn’t exactly been tame. And on the bright side, I was too tired to be scared of the approaching confrontation.

“Stop there.” Cody pointed.

Following the direction, Rome eased the car to a halt near a beautiful park. Flowers bloomed, a sea of yellows, reds and blues. There were two swing sets and a merry-go-round. Several slides.

No people.

I had a tingling sensation at the back of my neck, though, as if I was being watched. Probably John. I started to unbuckle.

“We’ve been spotted,” Rome suddenly said, “and not by John. See the two SUVs? Black? Tinted windows?”

Cody glanced out the passenger mirror. “Vincent. God, the man is a walking cliché.”

“He wants Belle just as bad as John does,” Rome said.

“Well, we can’t let him get near John. If John were hurt, PSI would be placed in major upheaval and Vincent could try to take over. Again.”

“Pussy,” Tanner mumbled, acting brave, as if he could defeat Vincent single-handedly. “No offense, Cat Man,” he added.

“Cut it out, Tanner.” Rome thrust one hand through his hair and gripped the steering wheel with the other. “Shit. Are you ready for another roller coaster ride, Belle?”

“Floor it,” I said, dread filling me from head to toe. And here I thought I’d be too tired to fear my fate. I glanced skyward. Thanks a lot for proving me wrong. To my way of thinking, this proved beyond a doubt God was actually a man.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

IT WAS A CAR CHASE to end all car chases. Several times we almost crashed-into parked cars, moving vehicles, trees and buildings. The object didn’t matter; nothing was safe from our rampage. I was surprised the police weren’t involved yet. Maybe Vincent had convinced them to look the other way, as he had at the café. I just didn’t know. All I knew was that my stomach churned and was very close to heaving.

As we soared down the highway, a black SUV pulled alongside us. I gasped. “Uh, guys. Look to your left.”

“Can’t,” Cody said, chuckling. He hadn’t stopped laughing since the chase had begun. Either he was a danger junkie or completely insane. Maybe both. He leaned out the window, aimed the gun he’d taken from his ankle holster, and fired off a few shots. “We’ve got a tail on the right, too.”

“What?” I whipped around and gasped. Sure enough, another black SUV had closed in on our other side.

The sound of bullets-with which I was now intimately acquainted-erupted, followed by a loud thump, thump. I whimpered, okay. Like a little girl. I’m not ashamed, but I had to keep my fear to a minimum. I didn’t want ice in our car’s engine.

Logically, I knew I should cause a thunderstorm, shielding us from their view. I just didn’t have it in me. I couldn’t forget my fear, couldn’t force sadness to come. If I’d been offered a million dollars and a one-way ticket to heaven, I still wouldn’t have been able to make it rain.

“Everything’s going to be fine,” Rome said, suddenly hitting the brakes.

The momentum threw me forward, but my seat belt shoved me back again, saving my life. The SUVs sailed ahead of us. Cody fired as Rome jerked the wheel, steering us into oncoming traffic.

“Someone could have hit us from behind,” I squeaked out. Tremors raked me. “We could have died.”

“I checked before I stopped, baby, and there was no one behind us. Have a little faith.”

“Yeah, have a little faith,” Tanner said. Brave words, marred by his pale face and trembling hands.

One civilian car after another whizzed past us, honking and swerving to avoid hitting us as we traveled the wrong freaking way. I squeezed my eyelids tightly shut, desperate to drown out the sights. “How did Vincent find me?” There. Conversation. Now maybe I could pretend I was at home, with my dad, sipping hot chocolate and watching cartoons.

“I’m sure he had men all over town, and one of them spotted us and called in the others,” Rome said.

“I don’t want you to talk, Rome,” I said. “I want you to concentrate. Cody can answer me.”

“I’m sure he’s had men all over town,” Cody repeated with a chuckle. His damn chuckling! “Someone spotted our car, figured you were with us, and hello, B movie scene.”

“They’re gaining on us again,” Rome said, ruining the mirage I had going. “Use your goddamn powers, Cody, and let’s finish this.”

“If I do, I’ll cause a power outage in this area.”

“So?”

A pause, then, “Fine.” Cody leaned out the window again, stretching out his hands. Electricity sparked from nearby poles and lanced toward him in orange-gold streams. He gathered the crackling, flickering energy in his palms and hurled it at the SUVs. The surrounding streetlights, which were already muted upon the arrival of the dawn, darkened completely.

Crash!

The cars lit up like a Fourth of July fireworks display. One flipped, careening down the highway. At that point, I shut my eyes again and anchored my head between my knees. Deep breath in, deep breath out.

Finally, blessedly, we lost them and traveled back to the park where we’d originally arranged to meet John. When I called Rome and Cody stupid for going there, they laughed at me.

“Vincent won’t think we’re ‘stupid’ enough to return, so he won’t show up himself,” was the answer Rome gave me.

“Tanner, you okay?” I asked. “You’re so quiet.”

“Just wishing for babes,” he answered with a nervous smile.