Deadly Sight

An intimate undertone slid into his voice. “Are you, now?”

She rolled her eyes. “About HIVE. Tell all about HIVE.” She was cute when she was discomfited. Speaking hastily to cover her obvious discomfort, she said, “So. Does the local antitechnology monitoring mean this shack isn’t under any kind of electronic surveillance?”

“As far as I can tell. The locals would pick up the transmission from a bug or a parabolic microphone in a heartbeat. A few years back, not far from here, a heating pad in a doghouse had a short circuit in it too small for the dog to feel, but it still caused interference with the telescope.”

“Cool.” She sank down on the sofa facing him and studied her fingernails as if she’d rather avoid the conversation to come.

“So, what’s HIVE?” he prompted.

“Human Improvement Via Engineering. The name’s actually a joke. The project’s head scientist hates the moniker. Real name’s Code X.”

“Very spooky,” he murmured. Human improvement? What on earth did that mean? A buzz of consternation vibrated in his gut at the possibilities. He asked much more blandly than he felt, “What kind of engineering?”

“Give the city slicker points for asking the right question.”

She stretched a languid arm across the back of the sofa and drummed a complicated rhythm with her fingers on it. More delaying body language. She really didn’t want to talk about this HIVE thing. He was intrigued at the aggressive overall body posture. It made her look like some sort of predatory animal at rest, although which kind, he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

She continued, “A team of scientists who work for Jeff have been experimenting with a combination of stem-cell therapies and genetic engineering to enhance certain characteristics in test subjects.”

“What kinds of characteristics?” he asked.

“When’s the last time you saw Jeff? Like in the flesh?”

He was thrown by the abrupt shift of topic. “About two years ago. What does that have to do with anything?”

“Let’s just say he has changed a bit since you last saw him.”

“What the hell does that mean?” he demanded, alarmed. “You’re using human test subjects? Has Jeff done this experimenting on himself?”

She grinned. “Let’s just say he’s put on a little, umm, muscle mass. The guy can pick up a Jeep and throw it if he wants to. Literally.”

Gray’s mind went blank. He couldn’t believe the implications of what she was saying. His old friend had used far-out, experimental science to make a … a … superhero of himself? “Has he become some sort of freak?”

The woman flinched at the word. “Yeah,” she said grimly. “A freak.”

He asked cautiously, “And are you also one of these test subjects?” She didn’t look like she could pick up a Jeep, let alone throw it.

“Yes,” she answered flatly. “I’m a freak, too.”

“You throw Jeeps?”

“No. My special abilities are somewhat different than Jeff’s.”

“Indeed? Do tell.”

That was definitely a wince tightening her facial features. What in the hell was going on with her?

Chapter 2

Sam warily eyed the dark-haired man lounging in the chair across from her. She had to admit, he was a hunk. Although that wasn’t exactly the right word for him. He looked … patrician. Not a word she used frequently, or that frankly ever came to mind. But it fit him. His features were classically handsome. Heck, flat-out well-bred.

“Do people actually call you Grayson?” she asked abruptly.

He looked irritated at the change of topic. Must be the intensely focused type. In her experience, such men made great lovers if they could get over their other hang-ups. But this guy seemed wired pretty tight. Probably would be as boring as they came in bed.

“My friends call me Gray. Why?”

She snorted. “The name suits you.”

A flash of heat flared in his gray-green gaze. Hmm. Maybe not so boring in bed, after all. Were he not Jeff’s friend, she might be tempted to find out for sure.

“What’s your super-ability, then?” he demanded.

She never just up and told people about herself like this. But Jeff had been clear. She was to brief in Grayson Pierce fully on Code X. And orders were orders. Taking a deep breath, she removed her sunglasses.

He stared like everyone did at her eyes. No human had eyes that color. At least no normal human did. She knew good and well that she looked like an alien with her eyes uncovered like this.

He mumbled, “Okay, so your eyes are a unique shade of … of gold. And it’s very striking, by the way. Surely that’s not why Jeff sent you here.”

Striking. What a polite word for weird. Her eyes were brilliant, freaking yellow. She responded drily, “I imagine he sent me here because I can read a newspaper from a hundred feet away.”

“That’s it! An eagle,” he exclaimed.

“Excuse me?” That was not the usual reaction she got from people when they saw her real eye color or first heard about her eyesight. Usually they called her a damned liar and demanded a demonstration.

“You reminded me of a predator earlier, but I couldn’t figure out which kind. It’s a bird of prey. A powerful one like an eagle.”

“My eyesight is better than an eagle’s,” she responded, more than a little flummoxed. “They rely on spotting movement, whereas my superior human brain can better process and analyze acuity-based input.” She broke off before she could descend into even greater geekdom. She wasn’t about to give this guy the slightest advantage over her if she could avoid it.

“Seriously?” he blurted.

“Seriously.”

His face lit up. “Surveillance. I’ll bet that’s why Jeff sent you here.”

“Could be. My eyes don’t require any electronic enhancements to do their thing.”

“If you were to look at a person, how far away could you be and still make a positive facial ID?”

She shrugged. “A mile or so, day or night.”

“Huh?”

“I see as well at night as during the day.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Call Jeff if you don’t believe me.”