“Okay, now you are acting like my mom.”

“I’m serious. What if I’ve put your life in danger?”

“I need a little danger in my life. Think how much it will impress the ladies.”

I anchored one hand on my waist and wagged a finger at him with the other. “It won’t impress them if you’re dead.”

“I can’t die,” he said, his eyes lowering and lingering on my chest. “I’m invincible.”

Spoken like a true teenager. “Get out of here, Tanner, and don’t tell anyone you met me.”

“I won’t.” He gave me one of those slow, wicked grins of his. Lord, in a few years the ladies really would not be able to resist him. No matter what he said to them. “I know you told me not to tell potential girlfriends this, but you really do have pretty nipples poking through your shirt.”

I slapped his arm, but I was grinning, too. “The girls and I thank you.” I got to my feet, clasped his shoulders in my hands and kissed him softly on the mouth. “I think you’re a fantastic guy.”

He reached around me and pinched my butt. “Don’t forget to call if you need me. I’ll see ya around, Viper. Stay safe.”

ALL ALONE, I locked the door and jumped in the shower, luxuriating in the hot water as it washed away ash, soot and the image of the beast monster I’d been. I washed my clothes, too, and hung them up to dry on the shower rod. Since I had torched my spare clothing, I had to wrap the bedsheet around me toga-style.

Exhaustion settled deep in my bones, and I plopped onto the bed. For half an hour I debated whether or not to call my dad. Would I put him in danger by calling him? What if someone had gone in and tapped his phone, hoping to get my location?

Before today, the most exciting incident in my life had been the bathroom funeral I’d held for Martin, my bastard of a betta fish. Oh, to time-travel back to the good old days. A sigh slipped from me as I stared at the phone. My dad would expect to hear from me sometime soon. If he didn’t, he’d worry, and worry wasn’t good for his heart.

That convinced me. Decision made. I’d do it. I’d call. Better to potentially give away my location than to cause my dad stress. If he had a heart attack because of me, I’d never forgive myself.

Fighting a yawn, I clutched the phone in one hand and dialed with the other. He answered on the fourth ring, and he sounded out of breath.

“Hey, Daddy. It’s me.” I strove to keep my tone casual. Breezy.

He coughed and a stream of sizzling static cracked over the line. “Baby doll. Hiya, sweetie. I didn’t expect you to call. With your new man and all I thought you’d be busy.”

I ignored the comment about my “new man.” “Are you smoking again?”

“No, no. Uh-” Cough. Crackle. “I went for a little jog. That’s why I’m out of breath.”

“Daddy,” I said warningly. “I do not support your silver fox habit just so you can put yourself in an early grave with cigarettes and cigars.”

He sighed. “All right, you caught me. But I had to smoke the cigar, baby. Mary has been giving me the cold shoulder, so I had to find something to do with my hands. You know how twitchy I am.”

“Is she refusing to talk to you now?” Their on-again, off-again romance kept me vastly entertained. Truly, I loved that he had a girlfriend. Or two. After my mom died, he hadn’t dated anyone. He’d been too busy working and raising me, trying to give me a balanced childhood, acting as both mother and father.

With that thought, I suddenly wondered about Rome ’s relationship with his daughter. I wondered, too, about his relationship with his wife. Or girlfriend. Or whatever the mother of his child was. Did he love her? Did he crave her with every ounce of his being?

“I tried to tell her Janet forced me to kiss her,” my dad said, breaking into my thoughts. “But Mary doesn’t believe me.”

“Janet forced you, huh?” I twirled the cord around my finger and felt my eyelids sink shut, too heavy to hold up. Knowing my dad, he’d probably grabbed Janet by the shoulders and planted a big one on her before she knew what was going on.

“Okay, okay,” he said. “Maybe I asked Janet for a kiss. It’s not my fault she looked like she needed one. What kind of man would I be to ignore a woman in need?”

I chuckled. “You are an incurable flirt.”

“Mary tossed her breakfast bowl at me yesterday morning, and I’ve been washing oatmeal out of my hair ever since.”

Such an exaggerator, I thought with a smile. The man had lost his hair years ago. “Other than the oatmeal incident, how are you feeling? How’s your health? Are you taking all your medication? Are you popping Viagra again?”

“Good. Fine. Yes. No. Lord have mercy, my own daughter is questioning me as if I’m a criminal.”

Yawning-it was unstoppable at this point-I released the cord. I couldn’t pry my eyelids apart to watch it bounce and twist free. “Don’t try that wounded routine on me. You know it doesn’t work.”

“You sound tired, girl,” he said. “How are things with my baby?”

“Good,” I lied. Today was the day for lies, it seemed.

“I don’t mind telling you that I’m a little upset with you, young lady. You didn’t tell me you were dating someone.” Exasperation and happiness layered his voice. “ Rome seems like a nice guy.”

“We only… dated-” any second I’d be hit with a lightning bolt for that whopper “-for a little while, but he wasn’t right for me. I dumped him.” Hard core. “Listen, Daddy,” I said, quickly changing the subject. God, I was tired. “I’ve decided to take a vacation. You know, get some R and R. So don’t worry about me if you call the apartment and I don’t answer.”

“Like I’d worry.” He snorted.

Oh, he’d worry. He loved me as much as I loved him, and he was always looking out for me. I yawned again, this one longer, deeper. My limbs were beginning to shake, my mind forming more mush than thought. “I’m… going… ”

“Get some rest, angel, and call me when you get back from your vacation.”

“I love you, Daddy.”

“Love you, too, doll.”

We hung up. I rolled to my side and blindly replaced the receiver in its cradle. My arm flopped on the mattress and I stayed exactly where I was, too exhausted to move anymore. In the span of one day, I’d kissed a (supposed) government agent, developed superpowers, propositioned a teenage virgin and lied to my dad.

“Anything else you want to make me do?” I muttered to the heavens, pulling my knees to my stomach.

Don’t fall asleep yet, Jamison. I had a lot to sort through, beginning with whom to trust. Not Pretty Boy, the bogus CIA agent who had tried to pump me full of darts. What a bastard. He tortured people. Killed them. I didn’t doubt the truth of that. When Rome spoke of Vincent and his experiments, I could practically hear people screaming.

More than that, I remembered the deadness in Vincent’s eyes.

Should I go to the police?

If I did, would they just hand me over to the government? To Rome? Hell, would they believe me? I almost didn’t believe myself. Para-agencies, for God’s sake. What about Rome? I was out of my league with him. He knew it and I knew it. Still, the question remained: could I trust him?

Rome had promised to help me find Dr. Roberts (and maybe an antidote) and make Vincent leave me alone. All I had to do in return was help him hide his daughter. Sounded like a great trade-off. Too good, actually. I guess what bothered me about the situation was that I was just, well, me. No training for this sort of thing. Unpredictable. I didn’t know how to hide people, so what help could I ultimately give him?

Obviously, there was something he wasn’t telling me. And if he wasn’t telling me about it, it couldn’t bode well for me.

“Shit.” I had no clothes, hardly any money. Maybe I would call Tanner in the morning, have him take me shopping, and forget, if only for a little while, all of my troubles. I could give him more date tips and feel normal again.