Read Online Chasing Power (Hidden Talents) by Genevieve Pearson - Free Book Online

sooner they got to this Jacobs guy, she figured, the sooner she could get away from Lane and his helpful ‘influence’. 
    “Here we are,” Lane said.  They stood in front of room 1146.  A ‘do not disturb’ sign dangled from the knob.  Lane knocked.  No answer.  He knocked louder.
    “I hope he’s not with a girl,” Al whispered, “That would be awkward.”
    “Don’t worry, he went to Noble Steeds,” Harry whispered back, “He’s probably not going to be with a girl.”
    “Yeah.  Still awkward.”
    Sam hung back, letting Al and Harry crowd in front.  Jacobs was going to be pissed to be woken up this late, she guessed, so she didn’t want to be the first face he saw.  Let them take the flack. 
    Apparently, Jacobs was a heavy sleeper.  A minute plus of knocking, and still no answer: “Are we going to wait here all night?” Samantha asked.
    Shaking his head, Lane took out the room key and slid it into the lock: “Maybe he’s out,” he said as he opened the door, leading the group down the short hallway that lead to the bedroom: “But we can wait here until—”
    Suddenly Lane turned.  Without a word he pushed Sam back, into the main corridor, before she had a chance to see the hotel room. 
    “Hey!”  Sam protested, “What’s going on?”
    Green, Lane shook his head, “You don’t want to see that,” he said, gagging.
    Harry and Al followed them out in a rush, Al with his hands over his mouth, Harry with his eyes wide.  They leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.
    “What’s in there?”  Samantha asked, “What?  And what’s that smell?”  The scent of charred...something permeated the air.  Not anything she had smelled before; it was definitely unpleasant.
    Still not getting the answer she wanted, she dodged Lane’s grasp and stormed into the room, only to stop dead in her tracks.  She covered her mouth.  Now she understood why Harry was throwing up in the hallway.

 
     
    Chapter 6
     
    A man—at least, she thought he was a man, it was hard to tell when 90% of his skin was gone—lay on the bed, burned to a crisp.  The image was surreal.  The bed and corpse looked charred, blackened in such a way that suggested an inferno.  The rest of the room was fine, unburned.  Absently, Samantha wondered why the smoke detectors hadn’t gone off.  And whether he had been asleep.  It didn’t look like it.  A knocked over lamp and a partially burned chair suggested a struggle.  Oh.  Oh sad.
    “All right, time to go.  Gotta go.  Right now.”
    Sam let Lane take her hand and lead her out of the room.  Like Blackbeard’s wife, she wished she’d listened to him.  The image was burned in her retinas now, to haunt her nightmares.  Probably for the rest of her life.
    “Was that Jacobs?”  Her voice sounded weak to her, choked.  Lane closed the door, wiped his eyes and his nose.  He was trying to hide the fact that he was crying, Sam realized, and felt a pang of sympathy.  It wasn’t easy for Sam, and she had never met the man.  It must be infinitely worse knowing the person that...husk had been.
    “Lane,” Harry said, “I know this is tough man, but we have to consider what this means.”
    “Yeah, I know,” Lane said, voice choked, “Let’s go.”
    No one said a word.  Back through the long corridor, the interminable elevator ride, and across the casino floor.  As Samantha pushed the door open to the parking lot, though, Lane stopped her.
    “Wait,” he said, “I don’t think going back to the car’s a good idea.”
    It was past 4 AM.  The night owls were in bed, and the early birds were just waking.  The night felt still, cold and empty.  A feeling of dread stole over Samantha.  She shook it off.  For all she knew, that was Lane again.  How could she trust anything she felt around him, now that she knew about his talent?
    “Why not?”  Al said, “We have to get out of here, fast.”
    “You’re a mech, Al,” Lane said, “How easy is it