They don’t let the sentence end before they’re shooting again.I’m terrified Lucky is going to get caught in the cross fire if he tries to get to me.
I use the bags they were holding, throwing them at them to distract them, while Lucky blinks in and gets a few punches in.One catches him in the face with a punch, and I see red.
With a scream, I send a shock wave across the room.The guy flies four feet away until the wall stops him, and he crumples to the ground.I look around.Everything is a mess, dragged outward in a wave from the force of my push.But I can’t see Lucky.
Shit.
“Lucky?”What if he’s gone?What if I … did something?I wasn’t really thinking, just trying to stop the guy from hurting him again.
“That’s some trick you’ve got there,” comes from behind me, and I rush over to crush him in a hug.
“Don’t leave me again.”
“Not even to piss?”
“I’m serious.I thought I’d hurt you.I thought …”
“Shh, it’s okay.You can’t get rid of me that easy.”He kisses the top of my head.“Hell, a lifetime stuck with you?Sounds like heaven to me.”
I hug him closer, breathing in deep.A week ago, we were strangers, but we’re linked now, by fate and magic.Bonded.
A voice I don’t recognize appears in my head.
“What the fuck happened here?Where the hell is Tony?”
He’s behind me.
Turning, I see him.A man in a suit, blood on his lip, creeping cautiously around the corner, shock clear on his face.First Sterling and now this?These were some sloppy robbers.
“It’s okay,” I call out, walking toward him.“It’s safe.They’re all knocked out.Help is on the way.”
The man stands, but says nothing.He’s not coming closer, and he’s eyeing Lucky and me like we’re the bad guys.Jeez.What’s a girl got to do for some fanfare?It’s not every day you save people, you know.
Without taking his eyes off me, he sidles sideways until his leg hits the body of one of the bad guys, his arm outstretched, knife still in his grip even though he’s out cold.
“Careful there, pal,” Lucky says.“Maybe you want to think about sitting down.”Then adds,“Maybe we should get out of here before they storm the place.”
He’s right.There’s not much more we can do here, and I’d rather not have to answer any questions about how Lucky and I managed to subdue a group of armed guys on our own.
Especially because I’m still not quite sure how we did it.
Oh, Officer, it was nothing, just these neat new powers we got after I touched a glowing rock.What’s that?You want to take us to a secure location and never let us leave while you study us for eternity?Sounds great.Let’s go.
No, thanks.
Even if these guys wake up soon—and they won’t—they aren’t getting away.I can already hear the shouts from outside getting closer and glass smashing as the cops break through the front doors.
“You ready?”Lucky asks.
I reach for his hand, only to be pulled backward with enough force that I stumble straight into a hard body, the knife now at my throat.
What the heck?
The man from before is huffing and puffing behind me, mumbling something that I can’t hear over the loud cursing in his head.He’s swearing so much that my mom’s probably blushing all the way back home.
“Get away from her!”Lucky yells.
I hold up my hands to calm him.The poor guy is just confused.I’m not exactly thrilled to be on the receiving end of it, but the key is to play it calmly.Talk him down.
