Free Overtaken by Mark H. Kruger Page A

true. It was obvious he had something on his mind he wanted to discuss.
    â€œYou found out something,” I said, sitting up, hoping he’d have the answer to all my problems and make my life go back to normal. A pipe dream, I knew, but a dream I had nonetheless.
    â€œCochran is planning something major. Top secret. At the highest levels.”
    â€œLevels above him at Bar Tech? I thought he was the one in charge.”
    â€œHe is,” my dad acknowledged. “But Bar Tech’s tentacles reach out from the company to all sorts of places.”
    â€œYou mean like the military?”
    â€œI wouldn’t be surprised,” he admitted. “What about you? Were there any run-ins with Bar Tech Security? Anything strange happen at school or with Dana?”
    â€œNo. Nothing. Which was weird. I didn’t see security anywhere.”
    â€œThat doesn’t mean they’re not watching,” he said ominously, mulling over the significance of it all. He then turned to leave.
    â€œDad . . .” My throat constricted, suddenly parched.
    â€œYeah?” He paused and looked at me, half listening, his mind still preoccupied.
    â€œThere’s one other thing that I probably should mention,” I confessed. “Remember how I said my power only lasts twenty-four hours after the pulse?”
    â€œYes. What about it?” His attention riveted back on me.
    â€œThis time it didn’t happen. My power didn’t go away. And I’m scared it’s permanent.”
    My father leaned back against the doorjamb. My revelation stunned him like a jab to the solar plexus.
    â€œThe frequency of pulses must’ve caused a kind of genetic critical mass,” he said, “which permanently activated your ability. Like flicking on a light switch.”
    â€œLucky me,” I scoffed. “Some girls get nose jobs when they turn sixteen. I disappear.”
    Dad stayed up until the wee hours of the morning reassuring me that other than Bar Tech already knowing about Maya, they had no way of knowing who else was affected. And Maya was safely in hiding and out of reach. All the other blood samples drawn from students at school had also been tainted by my father, effectively creating a protective firewall around my friends.
    â€œHow long will it hold?” Dad heard the trepidation in my voice. He took me by the shoulders and looked me right in the eyes. Cool, calm, reassuring.
    â€œI’ll make sure Richard Cochran never harms you.”
    Dad planted a kiss on my forehead. It felt like his kiss could protect me from all the evil that was out in the world. For that moment I felt safe. Protected.
    Nothing could’ve been farther from the truth. But I was too self-involved and wrapped up in my own emotional turmoil to see anything else clearly. I should’ve been worrying about my father. Who was protecting him?

Chase Cochran grabbed me in a bear hug and planted a kiss on my cheek. He was aiming for my mouth, but I had the sense to turn my head at the last moment. We were in the school quad at seven forty-five a.m., in full view of everyone, including teachers.
    â€œAw, come on,” he groaned, acting like a sad Labrador puppy dog. “Don’t be like that.”
    â€œI’m not like anything,” I replied, gently pulling away, taken aback by his sudden appearance and quite public display of affection.
    â€œI’m single now,” Chase offered. “Still recovering from my coma. Take pity.”
    â€œYou seem perfectly healthy to me,” I bantered back, my guard up. “Glad you’re okay.”
    â€œAwww,” he said brightly, with the kind of hopeful, excited expression one has on Christmas morning. “Nica Ashley missed me.”
    â€œDon’t get carried away, cowboy,” I scoffed, rolling my eyes, hoping to knock his ego down a few pegs.
    â€œI’ll take that as a yes.” He grinned, nearly blinding me with his