Dragonfury 02 - Fury of Ice

it?
    Angela didn’t know. Couldn’t figure out why she felt as though she was about to jump out of her own skin. Her reaction didn’t make any sense. Especially since Mac trailed her, watching her back as she paused at an intersection in the double-wide corridor. Maybe it was the absolute silence. The eerie echo of, well…nothing. No movement. No other voices. Just the thump of her heart and the soft pitter-patter of Mac’s bare feet behind her.
    Which freaked her out the most. Her partner never made a sound. Ever. He was silence personified when he moved. So the fact she could actually hear him didn’t qualify as a good sign. Where the hell was everybody?
    Okay, so it wasn’t everybody she wanted to find. Rikar was the target. Too bad he’d decided to play the part of the invisible man. Freaking guy. Everywhere she looked—the clinic, the computer room, the gym…which, holy crap, had a section with equipment for sharpening dragon claws—she’d come up empty.
    “We gonna walk around all day?” Mac asked. “Or do you have a destination in mind?”
    She glanced over her shoulder and met Mac’s gaze. Inquiring minds wanted to know. So did she, but she’d lost his energy signal thirty seconds ago. “Give me a sec. I need to recalibrate my Rikar radar.”
    “Rikar radar? Jesus,” he murmured, looking intrigued and alarmed at the same time. “You can actually feel him?”
    “Yeah, it’s more of a vibration, though…like I’m tuned into his radio frequency or something.”
    Mac huffed. “He might as well have a GPS chip embedded in his ass.”
    Too bad he didn’t. She was accustomed to technology-based stuff. Enjoyed high-tech computer systems and wiretaps. And using satellites to track phones, cars, and people? Awesome with a capital A. But the sudden appearance of a built-in supernatural homing device inside her head would take a little getting used to.
    Along with a crapload of practice.
    Controlling it wasn’t easy and concentration was key. Mining the signal—connecting to him—took effort. Maybe with time it would get easier, but for now, she needed to stay focused and in tracking mode.
    Taking a deep breath, Angela turned inward, sank into her center, the place where stillness lived and chaos took a backseat. The connection flared, linking her to Rikar like an electrical appliance plugged into a wall socket. The muscles bracketing her spine coiled. Sensation swirled across the nape of her neck, then ghosted down, releasing the tension thread by thread.
    She glanced at the ceiling. “Got him. We need to go up.”
    “Gotta be stairs somewhere,” Mac said, brushing her shoulder as he strode past her.
    Angela put her feet in gear, following his lead.
    Embedded in the concrete floor, twin tracks of light acted like a runway, drawing her eyes forward while illuminating the walls with splashing V patterns that didn’t quite reach the twelve-foot ceilings. The place was impressive. Big. Modern. Clean as hell. Jeez, whoever cleaned Black Diamond had a serious case of OCD. Well, either that or was a total germophobe.
    Mac slowed his roll as he came to another intersection. Two options. Continue straight along the main corridor. Or turn left down a narrower one.
    He glanced at her. “Which way?”
    “Straight.” Yup. Definitely. She knew exactly where she was now from her foray into the lair with Myst. “There are elevators farther up.”
    “Goddamn, this built-in GPS shit is wicked good.”
    Angela snorted. “You won’t think so when some woman nails you with it, Mr. Commitment-Phobe.”
    “Am not.” He tossed her a dirty look and lengthened his stride. No doubt in a hurry to leave the conversation behind.
    Too bad. No way would she let that one lie. Mac was delusional if he thought for one second she didn’t see right through him. Besides, like any self-respecting sister, she couldn’t pass up teasing him. Poking at him was way too much fun.
    “Oh, please.” Keeping pace with his cut-and-run routine, Angela jogged alongside him. “The thought of settling down scares the crap out of you.”
    “Does not.”
    “Does too,” she threw back, sliding to a stop in front of twin Otises.
    He hammered the up button with the side of his fist. “God, you’re a pain in the ass.”
    “Missed me, didn’t ya?” He rolled his eyes. She grinned at him. Man, settling into routine with him felt so good. Normal. Comfortable. Just like old times. Unable to resist, she stuck it to him again.