Brendan, with his blue eyes and freckles and easy smile, was more than just a pretty face to look at. He genuinely liked helping people, which was something Trevor respected, and he gave as good as he got when Trevor teased him. More importantly, he wasn’t scared around Trevor, and he never flinched the handful of times Trevor had used his telekinesis in Brendan’s presence.
In the beginning, when he’d first been changed into a metahuman, even Trevor’s family had freaked out over his power. Brendan seemed more curious than afraid, and his casual acceptance was refreshing.
“That sounds fun,” Brendan said after a brief pause, breath catching a little.
Trevor started the engine and pulled out of the spot, wondering about that quiet little noise Brendan had made. It sounded likeinterest, and Trevor really only had so much self-control left after seeing the other man stumble around sleepily before synthcaf in the mornings.
If he’d casually bumped into Brendan in order to steady him with a hand on the hip from time to time, well, it was only the polite thing to do. What few touches Trevor had gotten away with only made him want more.
“Dinner it is,” Trevor said, pitching his voice a little deeper. “I’m going to hit rush hour traffic though, so it might take me a little longer to get to your place.”
“Can’t wait.”
The line cut off and Trevor drummed his fingers against the steering wheel as he drove. His mother always used to say the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach, and Trevor was willing to put that to the test.
“Computer, link to the grocery store closest to Brendan’s apartment,” Trevor said.
The car’s onboard computer complied, reorienting the GPS map on the control panel to his requested location. Trevor accessed the store’s website and spent the next five minutes dictating his order online before paying for it. The food would be ready for pickup when he got there.
He did hit traffic, made worse by an accident on the highway that doubled his arrival time. Trevor only hoped Katie hadn’t gotten stuck in it, but she lived in the opposite direction.
Here’s hoping she won’t miss her date.
An hour past when he should have arrived, Trevor finally pulled into the receiving line at the grocery store. Trevor counted six vehicles between his and the delivery door, but the line was moving at a quick pace compared to the bumper-to-bumper traffic he’d left behind on the highway.
It took five minutes for Trevor to finally pull up to the front of the line and receive groceries from a delivery drone. As he reached for the button on the control panel that would unlock the trunk, an emergency tone cut through his comms with the loudness of a siren. Trevor slammed his foot against the gas pedal as Brendan’s frantic voice came through for a heart-pounding second before it cut off.
“Trevor, they—”
Trevor swore and opened a direct uplink to the MDF’s war room and the agents on duty there. “Brendan tripped his emergency alert. Get eyes on his apartmentnow.”
One minute later Trevor got an answer that made his stomach sink. “Power to the building has been cut. They’re employing jammers on par with our own.”
Trevor didn’t have lights or sirens in his car, but he had the backing of the government. In a situation where seconds could determine life or death, every single one counted.
“Clear me a route.”
He was five minutes out from Brendan’s apartment. The agents on duty back at the MDF made sure every light was green for him when they cleared the way, ensuring he made it there in two and a half minutes at a speed which would be illegal if it weren’t an emergency.
Katie, I need you,Trevor said, tapping into the mental link instead of their comms.
Her response was instantaneous.On my way.
Trevor braked hard when he finally made it to the apartment building, the force of the stop making the seatbelt dig into his chest. Trevor telekinetically ripped it off before scrambling out of the car. He raced past the empty squad car belonging to the officers that should have been on watch duty.
They were nowhere to be found.
Trevor ran into the dark apartment building, heart beating fast in his chest.
Don’t let me be too late.
8
Washington, D.C.
USA
Brendan looked awayfrom the television when someone knocked on his apartment door. Frowning, he got to his feet and approached the door but didn’t open it. Tapping the control panel on the wall, he looked at the image on the tiny screen from the security camera. The pair of police officers standing in the hallway eased his worry, but he didn’t immediately open the door.
