Doctor Quinen fell backward, still smiling, no evidence of his wound closing. “It worked,” he rasped. “The experiment worked even better than I hoped. I’ve made you stronger.”
Maximus stood over the man. “You were wrong. You said you’d make me stronger without a Vestal, but she’s why I’m strong. I only got that power because I knew I needed something more to protect her from you.”
“Y-you should be grateful.” Doctor Quinen’s eyes closed. “I’ve made you better than the other hybrids.”
“You tried to take our Vestals away from us!” Maximus shouted. “But fate brought us together.”
“Fate isn’t real. You finding the girl is nothing more than mere coincidence. And without smelling them, you’ll never find the others. If you rely on them to seek your power, it’ll be too late. Ouroboros… will… destroy… you.” With that, Doctor Quinen let out a death rattle.
Maximus stared down at the dead scientist, shaking his head. “All that knowledge, and he never understood.” He headed toward Selena. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.” Selena winced and rubbed her elbow. “Nothing bad.”
Zephyrus and the other hybrid groaned and stirred. They didn’t look steady, happy, or not in pain, but they also didn’t look dead.
Maximus frowned, tilting his head, and holding his finger to his earpiece. “Roger. Finish your sweep and come on the other side. Let’s see if we can grab any files or computers, Other than that, let’s grab our wounded, get them in one of those vans, and get the hell out of here before somebody local shows up asking questions.”
Selena stood, strangely calm despite everything that had happened. “Maximus, we need to talk.”
He shook his head. “We’ll concentrate on getting out of here safely, then we’ll talk.”
“But—”
“We both need time to digest everything that just happened.” Maximus walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. “Right now, it’s enough that you’re safe.”
Chapter Twenty-five
Selena stared at her hotel room door, Maximus right behind. He had swung by his room across town to grab her purse before driving her back to her place. A lot had happened in a short period of time. They’d not spoken much, especially since he’d busy with the post-battle coordination and delivering final orders. They’d found some encrypted laptops and grabbed those before calling Titus and asking him to pull whatever strings he could manage to keep things quiet.
It was strange knowing that the Phoenix Corps was effectively dead, but there was another organization out there, one that might be an even greater threat. That didn’t change much in Maximus’s mind. Alpha Squad were trained soldiers, and they would continue to do what they needed to protect themselves and others regardless of the nature of the threat.
Maximus welcomed the distraction, needing more time to process everything with Selena and Quinen’s revelations. She put her key card against the lock and opened the door, stepping inside.
“It feels like I’ve been involved with you for weeks, but it wasn’t that long at all,” Selena said. She looked around.
Maximus followed her in and closed the door gently behind her. “No, it wasn’t. That’s how life works. When everything’s the same, it blends together, but when it’s new, it lasts forever.”
“Is this just another week in the life of Maximus?” Selena asked.
He let out a short laugh. “Hell, no. Finding my Vestal, dealing with whatever Quinen had become, and finding out I can do that flaming fist thing makes for a pretty memorable few days.”
Selena placed a hand on his cheek, concern in her eyes. “What about you? Are you okay? He shot you with that… whatever that was. I was so worried he might have killed you. Whatever he gave me has long since worn off.”
Maximus managed a decent smile. Every muscle in his body ached, but she didn’t need to know that. He wondered if the blast would have killed other hybrids, and if they’d only survived because of their prior modifications by Quinen. “I’m fine. I’m not going to be running any marathons anytime soon, but I’ve been hurt way worse than that on missions before.”
Selena stepped away and sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing at her neck. “When I came to Hawaii, it was supposed to be a new start, but I never imagined it would involve hybrids, a dangerous secret organization, and superpowers. It’s like a movie, but a good one, not one Chris Silvers would star in.”
“The man does sound like a dick from what you’ve told me.” Maximus laughed. “But what we’re not talking about superpowers.”
“Aren’t we?” Selena arched a slender red brow. “What do you call what you fought? What do you call what you did? Not to mention you already have superpowers if you count your strength, speed, and senses.”
He raised a hand and curled it into his fist. With a grunt, he concentrated trying to summon the flames that helped him defeat Quinen, but nothing happened. As far as we he knew, he was the only hybrid with that ability, so it wasn’t like he could ask anyone for advice.
“Whatever it was, I can’t do it on command,” Maximus said. “I might only be able to do it when under big stress or when my Vestal… when you’re the one being threatened. Not that I’m complaining about having another tool to help protect you.”
They looked into each other’s eyes neither speaking for a long while. Both had overheard everything Quinen had said and both knew the truth. It all seemed obvious in retrospect, but Maximus had let himself ignore the possibilities, convinced that he would never find his Vestal.
He wasn’t sure if he bought into fate or chalked up the Vestal connection to nothing more than genetically compatibility, but he couldn’t deny that the last thing he wanted to do was walk away and leave this woman behind. But what he wanted, and what she wanted might not be the same thing, and they needed to iron that out right then and there. He didn’t want
