CJ continued forward, outpacing Julius and closing in on the descending Kendra. With the power accelerating him, it was a simple matter to line up for a catch, grab her, and then turn to disperse her momentum.
The normal speed of the world returned. Sweat covered his body, and weariness soaked his muscles.
“That’s two times,” CJ said. “You really need to stop falling from high places.”
Kendra sighed and draped her arm in front of her face. “I’ll try and do that. But… but what did you do? How did you do that?”
“I needed to protect you.” CJ kissed her forehead. “Fate made it happen.”
Stone-faced, Julius turned around and rushed toward the door, but Helen had already stepped through. A loud crash sounded from the hallway beyond. When he reached the doors and flung them open, furniture from a nearby office jammed the hallway.
“We should get out of here before the cops get here,” he called back. “Somebody’s got to have heard those shots, and I doubt any of the disposable survivors know anything. We’ll contact Maximus, and he can let the government do their thing.”
He showed no sign of being surprised by CJ’s burst of superspeed.
CJ nodded, Kendra still in his arms. “Are you okay?”
She leaned in to kiss him lightly. “I’m perfect. You came for me.”
Julius jogged toward the back door. “Do that shit later. For now, let’s get out of here.”
Kendra laughed as she and CJ followed the other hybrid. “He’s a real romantic.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Understood,” Julius murmured into his phone.
Kendra watched from the edge of the bed beside CJ. They’d retreated to the hybrids’ motel room. The news mentioned the race being canceled and police being called in, but no details of anything else.
Julius slipped his phone into his pocket. “I’m going to go make some more calls to check on some things. We’ll hook up with the copter in a different location, but the mission is over. Maximus doesn’t think it’s worth it to try and find Helen.”
“She’s long gone.” CJ shook his head. “She could be in Cuba by now for all we know.”
“I’ll be back soon. Get everything figured out before then. Maximus wants us out of New York today.” Julius opened the door and stepped out. After a final puzzled look at Kendra, he closed the door.
Kendra lay back on the bed. “That’s about the craziest thing I’ve ever been through in my entire life. The weird part is the two hybrids involved seem almost normal.”
CJ stroked her hair. “Now that everything’s calmed down, I wanted to ask again, are you okay?”
“I was more pissed than scared.” Kendra sighed. “And mostly worried that you’d get hurt. I’ve heard about hybrids and those Glycon monsters the Horatius Group used, but not those NextGens.”
“We’ve run into one before,” CJ said with a frown. “But we didn’t know what they were called.” He sighed. “The thing is the Luna hybrids might have found their peace, but my group of hybrids is still hunting Ouroboros. This is what we do, and our enemy isn’t as public as the Horatius Group, but they’re way stranger and more dangerous, as you’ve seen.”
“And… your power?” Kendra sounded curious.
CJ smiled. “Most of my group doesn’t have powers yet. It seems like it’s something that only manifests when we need to protect our Vestals.”
Kendra nodded, not looking surprised in the least. She sat up. “It would have been nice if it unlocked sooner.”
CJ laughed. “Yeah, it would have, but you might never see it again. Our boss was the first to unlock a power, and it only happened once.” He tucked a stray dark strand behind her ear. “But I don’t want to talk about the past. Julius was nice enough to make himself scarce when I know he doesn’t want to be. He was trying to give us time to talk and figure things out.”
“Like what?” Kendra swallowed. She couldn’t stand it if CJ pushed her away after all of this.
“There are twelve hybrids in my group,” CJ said with a serious expression. “We’ve sworn we’re going to take down Ouroboros. So far, you’re only the second Vestal we’ve found. We don’t have a town or an island like the Luna hybrids.” He furrowed his brow. “Well, actually that’s wrong.”
“You do have a town?” Kendra asked, hiding the amusement she felt.
CJ shook his head. “We have a small island off the coast of Maine, but it’s pretty rustic in a lot of ways. We don’t have a community. All we do there is prep for missions and train. Once we know that Ouroboros is done, it might be different, but until then it’s always going to be more like a military base than it is a community.”
Kendra nodded. “You do a lot of training and conditioning?”
“Sure.” CJ shrugged. “Being a hybrid’s a good start, but it’s not enough.”
“Then it sounds like you could use someone to help supervise physical fitness and obstacle courses.”
CJ stared into her eyes. He’d removed his contacts a while back, letting her drink in the beautiful amber color.
“What about your show?” he asked. “It’s not like you have to disappear to be with me, but you will have to keep a lower profile. Ouroboros also knows you’re a Vestal now.”
Kendra shrugged. “That’s all the more reason for me to disappear into the woods of Maine for a while then. Maybe we can figure something else out when everything’s calmed down more like you coming with me when I do events, but I don’t mind a vacation.” She let out a sigh. “I love being the Roving Champion, but it’s never been about the fame. It was always about the challenge, and if I can continue to challenge myself without the show, then I’m fine with that.” She squeezed his hand. “And the only way to start building a community is to have more people around who aren’t soldiers.”
CJ shook his head. “I’m not going to lie. Every part
