Absolute Zero (Touch of Frost) Read online

  “Some idiot knocked into me while fighting these losers.” Georgia motioned over to the guys.

  “Dude. She totally knocked Rick on his ass-s-s-s.” He glared at me. “How’d you do t-t-that?”

  “Oh my gosh, you’re so drunk.” I planted my hands on my hips while Georgia accepted mystery friend’s hand to pull her up. “I shoved him, he tripped on the sidewalk and fell.”

  The two drunks looked at me, then to their friend on the ground. He wasn’t moving. Probably passed out. The three of them emitted the smells of a brewery the size of the Mega Mall in Minnesota.

  Georgia nudged me. I faced her. “Girl. You okay?”

  “Feel more stupid than anything.” She patted her backside down and looked at Dreamy Eyes. “Thanks.”

  Our new friend strode over to the guys, the third one finally made it to his feet, although not very sturdy.

  “What’s going on, guy?”

  “Ah, Nate. This sack of shit hit on my girl. He’s—”

  “Just go home. You’re all totally wasted. Who’s driving you?”

  “But—”

  The guy, who may or may not be named Nate, leaned in, grabbed the drunk’s bicep, which I was sure he couldn’t even fit his fingers around all the way, and said, “Just tell me who’s your driver, and I’ll go get him.”

  “It’s Steve—um—I can’t remember—”

  “I know him. Relax, I’ll be right back.” He whirled around and stomped toward Georgia and me. “They’re just drunk. Hope they didn’t bug you too much.”

  “You know them?”

  He nodded.

  “How? Thought you were a first year, too.”

  “Um—I just met them earlier, around campus.” His lips curled up into a smile.

  That smile tickled something way deep inside me that shouldn’t be tickled at the moment. I was out of control!

  I turned to Georgia. “We staying or going?”

  “Let’s just go.”

  “Good idea.” I wrapped my hand around hers and tugged her toward me.

  Zach might be done with work by now. It was only ten o’clock maybe I could still see him tonight. I needed to see him.

  “It was nice to meet you, Mandy,” Nate called out.

  I cringed when he used my nickname. Georgia might have, too. I steeled myself and turned to tell him that he didn’t get to use that name.

  Two huge eyes, the size of silver dollars, I swear, beamed down at me. A wave of Envy cologne cut through the thick brewery smell the three-nimrod-giants emitted and filled my lungs. I think it clogged my brain, because instead of chewing him out for using my nickname that only a very select list of people could, I simply said, “Ah, yeah.”

  I so needed to get out of there before I did something stupid.

  Chapter 3

  “You better start talking girl,” Georgia said.

  “About what?”

  The white lines in the single-lane road on our way back to Trifle whizzed by as I sped down the road. They were almost hypnotic. I couldn’t shake the smell of Envy cologne from my nostrils, though. It was like it clung to my nose hairs or something. I hadn’t even drunk any beer and I felt a little tipsy.

  So not cool. Guilt slammed into my chest in the form of a pounding heart. Sure, Zach had been a little weird these past few weeks. Always working, family gigs I wasn’t invited to, but he didn’t deserve my wandering eye.

  A slap to my shoulder yanked me out of my daze. Probably a good thing, too since I was driving.

  “About what?” Georgia ranted. “You’re killing me here, girl!”

  The glow of the dashboard lights sent an eerie shadow over her eyes. I knew they were blue because I had the exact same color, but the shadow made them look hollow. Deep. Hooded.

  Scary.

  Her hair had grown enough that she had cute wisps sticking up in the back, but the bangs, which were mostly red, always fell into her face, covering her beautiful eyes.

  “You didn’t correct that Nate guy when he called you Mandy.” She nailed me with a stare.

  Cue the gut churning in my stomach. Sounded like a freaking freight train roaring toward us. Georgia’s eyes widened, which only made my heart thump faster. I leaned forward and cranked up the radio.

  Even Scott’s lame country music was better than hearing the guilt shred my stomach. For the first time since I started dating Zach, someone else had tripped a trigger in me. Big-eyed, nice-smelling, dimple-cheek, strong-guy made me stumble.

  “Mandy!”

  “Stop yellin’. Jeez.” I checked my rear-view mirror. Man it was dark. A cloud must have covered up the moon. “I know. I froze.”

  Georgia laughed. “I know what frozen looks like, and I’d say you were just the opposite.”

  “Hey now.”

  “What’s going on? You and Zach not clicking?”

  “We click fine. That was nothing. I was just distracted for a second. You know, with meeting up with your parents soon, moving into an apartment, and starting college. I mean, come on. Cut me some slack.” I gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles ached. “And then you drag me to this party. We don’t know anyone—”

  “Hold on just a second. You’re the rebel sister. Not me. Remember?”

  “Oh, please.”

  “Kicked out of, like, seven schools in five years? Partying. Messing around with guys—”

  I slugged her shoulder.

  “What? I’m just sayin’. Seems like something’s off with you and Zach, so this Nate guy, he caught your attention.”

  I was such a jerk.

  “Look out—,” Georgia screamed.

  A massive deer froze in the middle of the road, staring at the car. Antlers shot up from the animal’s head, and lots of them. That meant they were really old if I remembered correctly, and judging by the size of this thing, it had been around for a hundred years if that was possible.

  I slammed my foot on the brake, hoping I wouldn’t send it through the floor. A high-pitched screech pierced my ears as the tires locked up. The back end of the car slid to the side. I cranked the wheel to compensate.

  I cranked it a little too much.

  We fished-tailed the other direction, my stomach slammed against my ribs as gravity yanked us in all directions. The seatbelt dug into my chest like a fire-hot branding iron, and I lurched forward. The car skidded onto the gravel shoulder.

  It felt like an hour later, but finally, the car slowed. The blurs subsided, and I looked out the side window. The deer leapt, with the grace of a cat, into the brush on the other side of the road.

  “I can’t believe you missed it,” Georgia said, with a hitch in her voice.

  She palmed her forehead as she sagged into her seat. Her chest heaved as she sucked in air. I noticed a slight glow to her cheeks. I, myself, had a little chill in my fingers as well.

  We still had a ways to go on that control thing, despite the improvements we’d made over the summer.

  “Oh my gosh,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper and my heart firmly lodged in my throat.

  The car idled, rumbling through my insides like it growled at me for treating it so badly. I rested my forehead on the steering wheel. Thank God I hadn’t hit the deer. Not to mention Scott would never let me drive his precious car again if I’d damaged it.

  I probably deserved punishment for mentally flirting with another guy anyway.

  After a few minutes, once my heart slowed to an acceptable amount of beats per minute, I glanced at Georgia.

  She let out a long breath. “Let’s get out of here.”

  I eased my foot off the brake, then pressed the gas.

  The engine revved, but we didn’t move.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Not sure. Something’s not working.”

  I pressed the gas again, with a little more power. The engine soared, and the car lurched but didn’t move forward.

  “We must be stuck,” Georgia said. She cranked open her door. “Yep. Back tire
. Stuck in some mud or something. Can’t see it real good, though.”

  “Great.” I cranked the gear into park, but left the car running. “Slide over. I’ll lift us out. Check the glove box for a flashlight. I think Scott keeps one in there.”

  She dug in and pulled one out.

  “Sweet.” I grabbed it and clicked the light to life. “Ready?”

  She nodded.

  I opened my door and stepped out into the black void. Jeez. Not one freaking streetlight? We were only a few miles out of Aspers, but still, a county highway should have some lights.

  I flashed my beam of light to the ground, then faced the car. Georgia slid over and positioned herself as the driver.

  “I’ll lift and push, you gun it when I tell ya, okay?”

  “Got it.”

  I slammed the door, then shuffled toward the back end of the car. Crickets serenaded me, but they sounded eerily loud. I hated the dark. I flashed my light over the top of the car. Of course, tall, ominous trees loomed over me. Woods, in particular, freaked me out because they reminded me of escaping from The Center in California before we destroyed it.

  I think tall, dark trees should be banished. We lived in a desert, Northern desert albeit, but still, there should only be cactus here. A shiver rattled my spine and considering it was the last day of July, I should not be shivering.

  Damn paranoia just wouldn’t back down.

  I shone my light on the passenger side back wheel, and saw it was in a glistening hole. It must have rained recently, because my tire sat in a quicksand-like pit of mud.

  Gross.

  Resigned to the fact that my white shirt would be no longer, I stepped to the rear of the car, near the hitch connection. I’d lifted Scott’s car tons of times to fix flats, so I knew where to pick up.

  At least it wasn’t the Coats shooting out tires like they’d done to Zach’s motorcycle. We’d burned The Center to the ground weeks ago, but still, I’d not fully relaxed. Somewhere deep inside, I knew they’d show up again.

  They always showed up.

  I scanned the darkness one last time. “Ready?”

  “Say when.”

  I clicked off the flashlight and shoved it in my back pocket. Not the most comfortable thing, but I needed both hands. I bent my knees, curled my fingers around the cool bumper and drew in a quick breath.

  The metal groaned beneath my grip as I straightened my legs. “When.”

  The engine revved, and I stepped forward, pushing the car a foot or so, then dropped it. A quick squeak of the rubber kissing the pavement sounded, then the car lurched forward.

  Sweet. I didn’t get any mud on my shirt after all.

  Lights flashed behind me, and I whipped around. Two headlights cut through the darkness. The vehicle sped around the corner and swerved into the oncoming lane. The car jerked to the side, probably compensating for the crazy driving, but that meant it was headed straight for me.

  And of course, I wasn’t holding my flashlight, so the driver probably couldn’t see me.

  Not such a good thing.

  I squatted to dive to the side, but a powerful stream of snow blasted from my palms and thrust me into the air, nearly ten feet.

  Okay. That’s new.

  For some reason, the stream of high-pressured snow stopped, and I landed on the roof of the car that had targeted me. Too bad I didn’t land on my feet, though.

  The metal groaned beneath me as the full force of my bodyweight caved the roof. Searing pain ripped through my shoulder and elbow. Felt like my bones jolted into my neck from the impact.

  The wind whooshed from my lungs.

  I rolled onto the trunk, and my knees collided with the back window, but the world went topsy-turvy as I kept rolling. A hard ball of metal dug into my side on my way over the end of the trunk. Ribs cracking resonated through my aching body all the way to my teeth.

  A sharp smack to the skull ignited an explosion of white blasts in my eyes. A line of fire shot up the base of my skull, over my head, and landed with a violent pulse at my temples. My stomach clenched as momentum thrust me into two more revolutions on the hard pavement.

  Screeching and the smell of burning rubber assaulted my senses. I finally stopped, flopping onto my back. My head throbbed. My lungs burned like acid had been poured down my throat.

  “Mandy.” Georgia’s voice registered above the ringing that had settled in. “Oh my God.”

  “W-w-where’d she commme from,” a male voice slurred.

  “Son of a bitch. You’re drunk.” Georgia sounded closer, then two warm hands rested on my chest. “Mandy. Are you okay?”

  Georgia’s glowing face came into focus. The edges of my vision stayed blurred, those damn white lights making a comeback when I moved. Her eyes were wide and her skin pink. A cough rattled my body and sent a flow of iron-tasting warmth pooling in my mouth.

  She leaned toward me. “I saw you fly.”

  “Get—” Cough. “Them away—” I spit out more blood. “Need to heal.”

  Georgia darted to her feet. “Beat it you assholes. What the—”

  “I’ll call 9-1-1.” Another male voice entered the chaos in my mind, but he didn’t sound drunk. Why the hell hadn’t he been driving, then?

  “No. She’s fine. Just get out of here.”

  Georgia sounded vicious, like a lioness protecting her cubs. No doubt she looked fierce. She’d gotten so strong in the last month.

  I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath. My frantic heart calmed a fraction as I focused on the aches and pains. Ice crackled, like someone crumpling sheets of paper. Stinging cold tugged at my flesh as the frost crept up my arms.

  Muffled voices filtered through the ice that now coated my face, including my ears. Intensifying my concentration, the cold doubled. My body, of its own free will, straightened, and my back arched. Not sure how the ice moved with me, but it did. Like it was an extension of me—my skin—despite wearing clothing. I rolled onto my side. Gravel crunched beneath my weight.

  Heal. Heal. Heal.

  The pain ebbed, and the ice retreated back to wherever it went. I never understood how it began to crackle off and dissipate so quickly. It had to have been an inch thick.

  I quit trying to figure out my frosty tendencies because it literally made my brain hurt. Especially the part where I was never that wet after it melted.

  I pushed myself to my knees, leaning forward on my arms and looked up.

  “Okay. Now, who’s the dumbass who hit me?”

  Chapter 4

  “No, Zach. I’m fine. Really,” I said into my phone while Georgia maneuvered the car into her driveway. “We just got to Georgia’s house.”

  “Come by and pick me up,” he said.

  “It’s almost eleven, not too late?”

  “No way. I want to see you.”

  I needed to see him. I hated this distance between us.

  Georgia jammed the gear into park, and the car jolted back as it settled into the driveway.

  “Okay. Meet me at the end of your driveway in ten minutes,” I said as I tapped End and tossed my phone on the console.

  My stomach tingled at the thought of him sneaking out to meet me. It soothed the sting of his absence tonight…and all the other nights this past week.

  “You flew into the air, Mandy. I still can’t believe it.” Georgia let out a long breath.

  “That was new. Too bad I didn’t stay up until after the car passed beneath me. Would have hurt much less. Thanks for re-directing those drunk-driving idiots so I could heal.”

  “They were the three from the party. Guess that Nate guy never found their driver.”

  “Or they took off without him.”

  “Hello, the reason for a DD is so the drinkers give up their keys to him and not do something stupid like hit a chick on the side of the road!” Georgia shook her head. “So, you’re going to go meet up with Zach?”

  “He’s freaking. I shouldn’t have told him until tomorrow.”

&nbs
p; “You two sneaking away at night for some alone time.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “Naughty. Naughty.”

  “Very funny.” I smacked her arm. “He’s been a little distant lately. You know? Not calling as much. Barely doing Facebook chat with me. Always working.”

  “His parents raggin’ on him big time?”

  “That must be what it is.”

  Georgia looked out the windshield and drew in a deep breath. “Tomorrow’s the day, Mandy. What do you think Lois and Gary will tell us?”

  “I try not to think of it, because, every time I think I understand something about all this super-power crap, I get it all wrong. Or get stabbed with a dart and carted off to a research facility.”

  Georgia’s stare bore into me. Her nostrils flared. “I’m scared.”

  “I’ll be close by, sis.” I slid my hand over the leather to hers. “Blaze and Kelvin. We’ll face it together.”

  “I wonder if she saw that the safe was broken into?”

  “It was hiding something she was supposed to give to you after graduation, and she asked you to save tomorrow night for a birthday dinner, so she had to have looked in that safe by now.”

  “I guess.” Georgia’s fingers gravitated to her mouth. “I have a bad feeling.”

  I didn’t want to say anything, but I had a bad feeling, too. No reason to, really, but most of the summer Georgia’s parents had acted like the plain-Janes they are. We’d not seen anything strange. Hell, we were about to approach them with what we knew when her mom requested some face-to-face time. “You have a bad feeling?”

  “I don’t know. Lois. Maybe she’s lying. Or Gary, even. I mean—”

  “We’ll find out tomorrow. We’ll find out what they know.”

  “I should have just stayed at your house tonight. This sucks.”

  “You still can. Run to your room and get some stuff. Ah hell, you’re the same size as me, you don’t need anything. Come on. Let’s go.”

  “What about Zach?”

  “I can see him tomorrow.”

  She raked her teeth over her bottom lip. “No. I’ll just go in. They’re asleep by now I’m sure. They stopped waiting up for me.”