Rogue's Passion by Laurie London

You’re hurt.” Ash? Where did that come from? Her quick healing assessment earlier had told her he’d cracked some ribs, but seeing it in the flesh was shocking. How was he even able to move? She had an overwhelming urge to lay her healing hands on him to ease his suffering. Instead, she crossed her arms and tried to ignore it.
    Then he gingerly pulled down the collar of his shirt, showing them his fractured clavicle. “If I noticed a Healer-Talent hanging around, you can bet your ass I’d be begging that person for help. God knows, I can’t seem to find anyone else around here to help me.”
    It occurred to her that he’d lost the accent she detected earlier. He sounded just like anyone else in New Seattle.  
      The AIU guy kept staring at Olivia with those emotionless eyes. Had he guessed they were lying and was waiting for her to mess up? She hadn’t yawned just now, had she? If they knew anything about Healer-Talents, they had to know it took a lot out of you. There were probably dark circles of fatigue under her eyes. Had they seen Asher holding her up?  
    Frowning, the woman tapped the stylus against her lips. “Explain something to me then, because I’m confused. If the two of you have been here this whole time and together, why is it that you—” She pointed the stylus at Olivia. “—didn’t know he was injured?”
    Crap. Good point. “Um…”
    Asher answered for her again. “She was trapped in the wine cellar. And in this condition, I wasn’t able to get to her. She escaped on her own, but it took awhile.”  
    Yes, perfect. “When I got out, I knew he’d been injured, I just didn’t know it was this bad. Ash, why didn’t you tell me?” She scowled at him in order to sell the ruse, then turned back to the army woman, giving her a woman-to-woman look that said men can be so frustrating sometimes. The woman didn’t smile.
    A fresh round of fatigue washed over her. She tried not to fidget or yawn, but she was so damn tired.  
    Suddenly, Asher’s large hand enclosed hers, his thumb caressing her skin in a non-stranger-ish, almost intimate way. Twinges of electricity shot up her arm, making all the little hairs stand on end. She stiffened, expecting to feel a sudden loss of energy again, but there seemed to be a barrier there now. His fingers and palm were warm and callused. And very reassuring. It made her feel stronger, not weaker, like they might actually make it through this as long as they stayed together.
    With their heads close, the man and woman were whisper-arguing. Maybe some small talk would convince them that she knew nothing, and they’d move on. “Any idea how big it was on the Richter scale? Do they know yet?”  
    The woman looked slightly amused and tapped the stylus on her lips. She and her partner made eye contact again and something silent passed between them. “You think that was an earthquake?”
    She took from her response that it wasn’t.  
    Before she could answer, the man interjected, speaking for the first time. “It was a bomb. The fucking Cascadians again.”  
    Now it was Asher’s turn to stiffen. His nostrils flared slightly and his pupils were pinprick small.  
    “A bomb?” When she’d felt the rumble down in the wine cellar and heard the noise, she’d assumed earthquake. It hadn’t crossed her mind that it was a bomb.
    “Witnesses saw a man running from the scene less than thirty seconds before the explosion.” The man stared at Asher as if he suspected him. “He wouldn’t have gotten far. May even be hurt.”  
    Was it possible that he had set the bomb? Could he be a Cascadian terrorist? Olivia considered the possibility, rolled it around in her head. If he was her enemy, then that meant these two were her allies. That assessment didn’t make sense, either. It felt as if she and Asher were on the same side. Of the same mindset. He could’ve thrown her under the bus and told these two the truth about her in order to get away, but he