Page 47 of My Instant Karma

“I don’t like change,” Kurtis finally says. “You shake up our dynamic.”

“Well, for the record, I don’t like this whole deal either.”

He sighs loudly and releases some of his tension. “Yeah. I almost lost my mind when I got recruited. This whole situation is fucked up.” Kurtis winds himself up again and grips the hair at the nape of his neck. “Do you ever feel like you are just barely holding on?”

“Only just every freaking day of my entire miserable life.”

“Oh. You don’t seem to have many cracks in your armor.” Kurtis looks at me, maybe truly seeing me for the first time since we met. “I guess we all have our demons.”

“If it’s too much to help me, I get it,” I tell him, offering him a way out. “No hard feelings if you don’t want to get tangled up in this.”

“I’d rather help you figure out why Karma wants you so badly than do her bullshit.” He fiddles with his fingers. “Fuck, it’s crazy. When I was a kid, I would have sworn this was the best job I ever had. Messing with people? Sign me up. But now? It got old real fast.”

“Do you think Karma sets us up?” I ask. “It seems like she might have been behind my attacker. If she hadn’t interfered, maybe I would still be on my own.” I don’t admit the more accurate description:on the run.

“I wouldn’t put it past her. I mean, it’s how she operates with our everyday jobs. Why wouldn’t her own agents be trapped the same way?”

We both sit silently for several minutes, letting that horrible thought sink in.

“Do you want to figure out if you have more powers?” Kurtis asks. “Or the extent of the powers you know about?”

“I suppose we should try.”

Without warning, Kurtis lunges at me.

My breath catches in my throat, but my earlier training has done me some good, and I evade his grasp.

Then somehow, he has his arm around my neck, and the other one pins my arms to my body.

I kick out and make contact, but it isn’t enough to loosen his grip.

He drops us to our knees so I can’t kick him again, and his chokehold on me tightens.

My fear response kicks in. Even if I had no trauma in my past, I should be scared. Kurtis is strong, and he’s slightly unstable.

“I’ve got you now, precious,” he whispers in my ear.

Swirling anger and fear rages inside me, and this time, I allow it to expand. I’ll teach Kurtis not to mess with me. My entire being feels like it contains a hurricane.

I unleash it.

Kurtis is thrown twenty feet, and a flash of light shoots out from my body too.

Stunned and a bit drained, I sway as I kneel on the ground. A moment goes by, and I realize Kurtis hasn’t moved at all.

In case it’s a trap, I cautiously approach him in a slow crawl. When I get closer, I see a dark pool of blood under his head.

“Shit!” Panic overtakes me.

The guys didn’t teach me how to heal.

I don’t know if that power will work since I’m not officially working on one of herjobs, and I’m still in training. I curse myself for agreeing to test my powers without someone to supervise.

I place my hand on his chest. Kurtis is breathing, but barely. I roll him onto his side and inspect him for injuries. His pretty blond hair is dark with blood, and I see a gash on his scalp.

I rip off my long-sleeve T-shirt, shivering from the chilly evening air and the thought that he might die because of me.

Using my teeth and fingernails, I rip the fabric into bandages. I tie them over his head to stop the blood flow. I pull out Kurtis’s phone and text Dante and Evan.

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