Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 84929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 425(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 425(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
“This case will look like a piece of cake compared to what’s ahead. Do you think it’ll be safe to impersonate the leader of a terrorist group or the president of a country that’s spiraling out of control? That’s what awaits Tessa in the future, because she’s the only one who could do it. I don’t have to tell you that some people in the Department of Defense and the CIA are licking their fingers at the prospect of having Tessa’s talent at their disposal. She is the perfect spy—the ultimate weapon. So far I’ve been successful at keeping them at bay, but it’s time to prepare for the future. This mission is the perfect test run.”
Ultimate weapon. The words echoed in my head. I pressed my arm against my stomach. Even with my Variation, I was still just an eighteen-year-old girl, not some extraordinary spy. Alec’s eyes met mine, his jaw locked tight.
“Regarding this case, Tessa attracting the killer’s attention is exactly what we’re hoping for. He’s killed three people and the fourth is as good as dead. We must find him before he strikes again.”
Alec’s dark eyebrows drew together in a V. “So Tessa will be bait?” His voice sounded calm as river water moments before a flash flood.
“She’ll also try to find out more about the girl’s friends, about her school, about every single inhabitant of Livingston.” With a sigh, Major lowered himself into his chair.
“I don’t like it. Tessa isn’t bait,” Alec said, stalking around the desk to face Major. Seeing Alec so protective of me almost made me glad for the mission. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Almost every female in headquarters found Alec attractive. He was tall, muscled and strong. Not to mention that he was the self-defense teacher for recruits.
Kate pursed her lips, rose from her chair, and hit me with a withering glare before she placed a hand on Alec’s shoulder. “Alec, honey, Major knows what he’s doing. Tessa doesn’t need your protection.”
This mission probably had Kate secretly elated. If it were up to her, she’d lock me in a room with the killer and throw away the key.
Alec braced his hands on the desk. “No. I won’t allow it.”
Defying Major was unheard of. As head of the FEA, Major’s opinion was the only one that counted. Even the FBI and the deputy director respected that. But Alec wanted to protect me. Warmth spread through my body at the very thought of it.
“I don’t need your permission. Remember your place,” Major snapped.
Kate’s fingers bored into Alec’s upper arm. “Stop it. This is bigger than you. This is about the FEA, not your own worries.”
Alec’s hands dug harder into the wood of the desk, his strength causing it to crack. His eyes burned with fury and protectiveness, but he should know better than to go against Major. I darted out of my chair and rested my hand over one of his. “It’s okay. I’ll be fine.”
The hard lines on his face smoothed. Kate jerked away and sidled over to her chair, dramatically scraping it over the floor as she plopped down.
Alec straightened and my hand slipped from his. I itched to take hold of it again. He leaned against the wall—away from Major, who was glaring at him with a quiet fury unlike anything I’d ever witnessed before.
The ticking of the clock sounded in the room.
Tick. Tock.
I slinked back to my chair, my rubber soles squeaking on the linoleum floor. The hard wood of the backrest pressed against my spine.
Tick. Tock.
Major folded his hands on the desk and cleared his throat. “We can’t begin our mission as long as the last victim’s still alive.”
We were waiting for someone to die. It felt all kinds of wrong.
“But, Major, I have to see her before she dies,” I said, my voice catching on the last word. After all, I could only take the shape of people I’d touched.
Major nodded. “That’s all been taken care of. I’ll accompany you and Kate to the hospital this afternoon.”
Kate’s expression fell. What right did she have to be dismayed? She didn’t have to pretend to be a dead girl; she didn’t have to lie to someone’s parents. She just had to secretly search people’s brains without them ever finding out.
Major leaned back in his chair, his face businesslike. “You’ll get a few minutes alone with the victim so your body can gather her data.”
He made it sound all clinical and easy, but it wasn’t.
He turned to Kate. “And you, Kate, will try to gather more information from the family and the hospital staff. Unfortunately, most of the doctors are men.”
I envied boys and men, who were safe from Kate’s power. There wasn’t much I wouldn’t do to permanently avoid her gaze. FEA scientists had searched for an explanation for Kate’s selective talent but hadn’t come up with one. By definition, Variants deviated from the norm, defied the laws of nature. Analyzing our gifts wasn’t exactly easy.