An American female voice replied, “Right here. As if I’d allow Jaxton to leave me behind. Neena said you’d have a surprise for us. What is it?”
“Well...” Millie trailed off and motioned for Will to come forward. Just before he reached Millie’s position, Millie dashed ahead through the undergrowth. While keeping her eyes and ears open, Petra followed.
As soon as Petra cleared the last of the bushes and other foliage, she saw a helicopter sitting in a clearing, with a tall man who had the same shape of eyes and brow as Millie. Next to him was a short, dark-haired woman. Petra had seen both of them back in a pub in Edinburgh many weeks ago.
Luckily, neither one seemed to recognize her. Petra was about to introduce herself when Will maneuvered Gio to the ground and Kiarra whispered, “Giovanni.”
Millie put her hands up. “Surprise. We have your brother.”
Petra eyed the woman named Kiarra. All she knew was that Kiarra was an elemental fire first-born and the niece of James Sinclair. Petra had suspected the fire user to be working with DEFEND, the organization fighting to bring down the AMT prison system. The way she was leaning against Jaxton pretty much solidified Petra’s assumption. After all, Jaxton Ward was a well-known DEFEND commander in certain circles and DEFEND commanders were rarely allowed to have relationships outside of the organization.
As Petra looked around the clearing, she waited to see how everyone would react. Jaxton was the first one to speak up. “You can have your reunion later, Kiarra. If we don’t leave in the next five minutes, we may not make it out of here alive.”
Kiarra stared at Giovanni for another beat before she sighed. “I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but you’re right.”
The corner of Jaxton’s mouth ticked up. “Pardon? I think I must’ve misheard you say I was right.”
Kiarra opened her palm and a small flame appeared. “Don’t rub it in. I have fire and I’m not afraid to use it.”
Will spoke up. “How are you doing that? You don’t have a hand to the south.”
Before anyone could answer, Petra put it together from the legends Millie had told her over the last few weeks. She blurted out, “You’re the Fire Talent, aren’t you?”
Kiarra closed her hand and the flame extinguished. “Questions will have to wait. Seriously, we need to go. Jaxton, go help—I’m sorry, what’s your name?”
Millie answered, “This is Will and Petra.”
Kiarra smiled at Millie. “Thanks. Jax, help Will and I’ll tell the pilot to ready the chopper.”
Petra frowned. “AMT enforcers are bound to be crawling the area after the break-in. I somehow doubt they’re just going to allow you to fly out of here.”
Kiarra tilted her head. “Oh, we have a few surprises of our own. You’ll see.”
With that, Kiarra disappeared into the helicopter.
Will still stood at her side, staring at where Kiarra had just disappeared. She couldn’t tell if he was thinking about Kiarra’s abilities or admiring the woman’s petite form. Unwilling to admit she was jealous of the latter, Petra poked his side. “Go help Jaxton. The sooner we’re in the air, the sooner you can try to get some answers.”
Will studied her a second before replying, “How do you know I want answers? I could be thinking of the upcoming helicopter ride.”
“Because if there’s one thing that trumps your fear of heights, it’s thinking about how to prove a theory. If Kiarra’s the Fire Talent, she could be the key to your research.”
Will grunted. “Maybe. Maybe not.”
She motioned toward Jaxton. “Just go help him.”
Petra half-expected Will to argue some more, but he merely walked over to Jaxton.
Will took Gio’s arms and Jaxton grabbed his feet. Then the two men slowly maneuvered Gio into the helicopter.
Not wanting to be left behind, Petra followed. She hated entrusting her life to people she’d just met. Petra only hoped she was doing the right thing by following Neena’s suggestion and accompanying Kiarra
and Jaxton on the helicopter.
Of course, those were her minor worries. Riding in close quarters with Will Evans would truly test her patience and ability to resist him. On her own, she could probably do it. But Millie was bound to meddle.
It didn’t help that Petra wanted to know more of Will’s past from the last two years. She had a feeling the beating right after her death was just the beginning. She wondered how he had come to work for the AMT, for starters.
Had he bedded many women since then? Told one he loved her?