Landlocked (Atlas Link Series Book 2) (10 page)

“What is it?” I asked.

She nodded and Chelsea was past me in seconds. They each grabbed a bar on the cell door and tugged in opposite directions at exactly the same time the guards rushed the room. Between the two of them, a man-sized hole appeared in the metal.

“Go, now!” Pike ordered, tackling the first guard.

Chelsea and Sophia entered the fray, swiping water from the air to knock the guards over onto their asses. Sophia ripped off one of the bars and swung it like a bat. Within moments the six guards were dispatched, unconscious inside the cell.

We filed quickly through the opening in the bars and headed for the puzzle game room. Germay would still be there, analyzing our results. She’d still have the sickle with her, our Return Piece.

A dozen guards barreled down on us the second we entered the game room. The harsh lighting scorched my eyes. Germay stood at a console at the far end, the soldiers acting as barriers in between us. I blinked through it and charged the closest guard. We crumpled to the floor. Chelsea and Sophia sucked the necessary molecules out of the air to form water, which smacked into them. Together, they were unstoppable, super-strong forces.

I forced myself off the ground just as another guard rushed toward me, and air kissed my cheek as I ducked under his first swing. Before I could back away, his other fist connected with my gut. The breath flew from my lungs as pain exploded in my stomach. I struggled to remain upright even as Pike tackled my attacker. I watched their scuffle, waiting for the opportunity. I reached out and snatched the guard’s gun off his hip holster. Squeezing the trigger, I fired and a green laser shot out from the weapon and burned the guard’s arm. Pike tugged the laser gun from my hands and fired twice more at the guard for good measure.

Pike charged toward Germay, who Dr. Hill was trying to talk down. Trying to talk was stupid right now. I followed after them while Chelsea and Sophia took out more of Germay’s guards. When Pike held enough of her attention, I ripped the sickle out of her grasp. Germay had been utterly stupid to walk by the cells with it in her hands, as if Chelsea and Sophia wouldn’t have seen that it was a Link Piece. Germay screamed in protest—until Pike threw her in a chokehold, hanging on tight until her eyes rolled back and she stopped struggling. Guess she wasn’t an Atlantean super soldier after all. So what’s the truth about these guys?

Chelsea and Sophia had a number of the other guards disabled in seconds thanks to the element of surprise. They clearly hadn’t expected either of them to have their powers back this soon. Whatever they’d done to take them away must have been an area of effect sort of thing, like EMF fields and what’d happened on SeaSat5 during the hijacking, but with some sort of timer twist. Maybe their powers were strong enough to buck against the EMFs the farther we got away from the cells.

I threw the sickle to Sophia, who held it with both hands. Chelsea touched one hand to the sickle and held the other out to Dr. Hill, Pike, and me. We made a human chain extending from Chelsea, and in an instant we were back in our home-time, standing winded in the Transfer Room. All we could hope was that even though we hadn’t finished creating a Link Piece to the Sargasso Sea cache for Germay she hadn’t gleaned what information she’d needed anyway.

I was so tired of relying on hope alone.

could not stand Trevor. Our rooms on base sat side by side. I’d known this since day one, but it wasn’t until I heard him thinking about it in his thoughts that I realized our beds were pressed against the same wall. I had no idea how I’d never noticed that before, but the second the thought flashed through his head, I’d committed to rearranging my whole room, every piece of furniture.

With my bed against the most opposite wall I could manage while still being able to use the bathroom door, I collapsed onto the soft fabric of my comforter. Whatever those guys had done to our brains, I hoped it was temporary. Seriously. Considering it wasn’t an actual
ability
, I had high confidence it’d be gone eventually. Hopefully by morning.
It better be.

Great.
Trevor’s thoughts sifted through.
She’s mad. Good going, Boncore.

Well, of course I was mad. Let’s make my quasi-girlfriend relive the exact moment her life went to shit.

I’m sleeping
, I thought in his general direction. Sleeping so I could go on leave tomorrow. They’d pushed back the briefing for this trip due to me and Trevor’s…
condition
.

Why being connected telepathically was important to completing the puzzle, I didn’t understand. Trevor didn’t have the same knowledge of the Waterstar map and Sargasso Sea Link Piece cache as I did. So why use both of us?

But that wasn’t what bothered me. Germay’s constant use of “connection” in her explanations did.

I can’t control this any more than you can
, he thought.

Then stop thinking about what happened.

You mean like you are?

The newest Phoenix and Lobster song sprang into my mind, blocking out every single one of his thoughts. Maybe if I could keep this up all night until he fell asleep, I could be alone in my head.

Then Trevor started singing along in his thoughts.

Maybe not. I vaulted off my bed, changed my clothes, and headed for the door. Hopefully putting enough distance between us would stop this insane ability. Even if just for a few hours.

The inside of Firebolt, a club in Phoenix, Arizona, had become a second home to me. The first time I’d come here was when Sarah’s college friend suddenly moved back home mid-semester. She’d invited the band out to visit and play, so we did. Ever since that night, I’d come to Phoenix to gain sanity. And to, you know, avoid people. There was not a single chance I’d run into anyone I knew, unlike all the bars in Boston. And especially like the Franklin. I’d stopped drinking there after the incident on the first anniversary of SeaSat5’s disappearance, hence why Trevor and I had gone to a local place a few nights ago instead. What a shit-show that was.

I scouted the club until my eyes found where the bar laid against the back of the main room. My black leather pants hugged me tight, making my walk an unintentional saunter. I waved the bartender over. He was the very definition of tall, dark, and handsome, but his jagged smile was a deal-breaker if I ever saw one. Messy teeth and a creepy undertone to boot.
Yikes
.

I smiled back at him. “Jack and coke. Heavy on the Jack.”

He made up the drink and handed it over. I left a tip and headed for the dance floor. The ends of my maroon top swayed as I moved with the music. I danced alone, which was even better. If I wasn’t on stage these last two years, or stuck somewhere in time, I was at a club, feeling the music rumble through me like it could heal me. My life had become less about creating my own music and more about losing myself in others’. Like doing so could take all the hurt parts of me, wrap them up, and toss them out the nearest window, never to be seen again. And the alcohol wasn’t a crutch like last time. Or at least, it hadn’t been since the one-year anniversary. My drink was more a prop than anything else. I liked the taste of Jack Daniels, but there wasn’t enough to get me even remotely buzzed. I’d need half the bottle at the very least.

Luckily for me, the lack of said buzz made the presence of someone behind me less of a surprise and more of a welcomed change.

I glanced into the man’s eyes as he stepped out in front of me, falling easily in time with the sway of my hips. I gave him a small, encouraging smile. What the hell. I didn’t usually dance with anyone, but after the day I’ve had, why the hell not? Plus, Mr. Mystery Man was pretty damn attractive.

He slid his hands onto my hips and my body reacted before my mind could, inching closer. Melding to his touch, his body’s shape. Our eyes met easily, and his caramel irises captivated me. They were so strikingly different from what I usually went for that it took me by complete surprise. His fair skin was newly tanned, and he had a dark buzz cut and scruff around his chin. It only emphasized his strong jaw line, one that had parts of me melting in his hold.

The warmth of his hands through my clothes seared into me, lighting a fire I thought was long lost. I spun and backed up against him to dance. One of his muscular arms came around my waist, holding me there as I grinded against him. He was strong, but not enough that I couldn’t handle myself with my own super-strength if I needed to.

Every time his hips met mine, my breath hitched. Random passion wasn’t my thing, but if Mr. Mystery Man wanted to continue this, I could be convinced to change my mind. The way he held me wasn’t constricting, but firm. Almost like something you’d expect from a professional dancer. My head fell back and he buried his face in my neck. His scruff tickled as his lips found the perfect spot with ease. The longer the song went on for, the more we fell into sync. Stranger or not, he was beautiful and strong, and all mine for this moment. It was nice to have something like that, even for a few minutes.

When the song ended and my drink ran dry, he motioned to the bar. I followed and tipped the bartender again. “Two this time.”

Mystery Man’s eyebrow rose. “I thought I’d buy.”