Free Frostbite (Touch of Frost) by Lynn Rush

and steamy windows gave me the cover I needed. I curled my fingers around the wheel, checked to make sure I was clear again, then cranked it up and out of the way. The straining metal objected but was no match for my strength.
    Not much was.
    I dragged the girl out through the open passenger door. My feet slipped, and we fell. She was dead weight on top of me. Completely limp.
    Water poured over us, but it ran murky red from her body into my light tank top. I squirmed out from beneath her and hoisted her into my arms. Fear that the car would explode fueled my energy. I had to hurry. I had to save her.
    The flames flew high. How was that possible? Shouldn’t the downpour douse the fire?
    An explosion quaked the ground. A stabbing pain shot through my shoulder, pitching me forward. Somehow I stayed vertical, but white stars flickered in the corners of my vision. Darkness seeped in. I shook my head. No, I had to keep moving. Get the girl to safety.
    I had super-powers for a reason, maybe this was it. To help. I couldn’t fail on my first try.
    “Amanda.” I didn’t recognize the voice. It sounded like a guy. Oh wait, could it be Zach?
    My legs weakened, and I stumbled. Yeah, Zach was helping me earlier. What happened to him? Was he okay? I stopped and turned. I’d run a good hundred yards from the crash site. No wonder I was tired.
    The rocky ground pierced my knees as I crumpled. I set the girl down in front of me. My legs had morphed into lead weights. Sirens ripped through the soggy air. Finally, someone to help. My eyelids threatened to slam shut.
    Yeah, just a quick rest.
    “Amanda.” That time it was Georgia. I couldn’t mistake her voice.
    She and Zach raced my direction. Georgia’s usually spiky hair lay flat against her forehead. She looked like a little boy. Zach, on the other hand, looked like the athlete he was. Lean and muscular, pumping his arms as he dashed toward me. His forehead creased, and jaw clenched.
    “Amanda. Don’t move.” He shouted. “Just don’t move.”
    When someone told me to not move with a voice laced with as much panic as Zach’s, of course I moved. Was there a snake?
    I scoured the ground around me. I didn’t see anything except the unconscious girl. They were probably worried about her. Blood leaked from a gash in her forehead. I reached for her, intending to put pressure on her wound, but something pinched at me from behind. In the shoulder blade.
    Like a little needle prick.
    Wait. I’d felt one earlier, too. Had the Coats shot a dart at me? Maybe that was why I felt so sluggish. Usually their darts worked faster than this, but still, I was hyped up on adrenaline. I—oh no, I had to keep Zach safe. Georgia.
    “Don’t move.” Zach’s voice sounded closer than before. “You’ve got something in your back.”
    I reached where I felt the prick.
    “No. I got it.” Zach’s hand hooked mine.
    Black streaked Georgia’s ashen face. Too much eyeliner and mascara for a rainy day. “Oh, my God, Mandy. How’d you do that?”
    “Do what?” Pain spider-webbed up my neck to the base of my skull. Nausea clenched my stomach. I fell into Georgia.
    Her eyes shot wide as she caught me. No more pain, only a stinging warmth flowing from my back, mixed with the cool rain. I shivered.
    Strong hands peeled me off Georgia. “Come here.” Zach sat, and his arms wove around my waist, pulling me back against his chest. Wrapped in his strong arms, I felt safe. Protected.
    For once.
    “Georgia, run get an EMT out here for Amanda and the girl.”
    She nodded and jumped to her feet.
    My head spun.
    Zach pressed his cheek against mine. “So, you finally agree to hang out with me, and look how it ends up. You rescue this girl, then get stabbed in the back.”
     

 
     
     
    ELEVEN
     
    “S tabbed?” My gut churned. The Coats had found me. I tensed.
    “Whoa, hold on.” He held up a little triangle-shaped object.
    “What’s that?” I sat up and nabbed the Dorito-sized metal thing,