Taker Read Online Free

lifting them high above the other passengers.
    It was the best feeling Nicole had felt in weeks. She was too shy to hold Jason’s gaze for long, however, and soon had to look away. And then, like someone flipped a switch, the gravity of her Balancing acts hit Nicole like a weight on her stomach. She felt guilty about feeling so good again.
    She hadn’t meant to kill that agent. Well, she had. But not cold-bloodedly. It wasn’t premeditated or anything. But what if she really did plan to do something? What would happen then?
    Nicole spread her gaze across the gray and red seats of the airplane cabin and considered how artificial this situation was — hundreds of passengers cooped up into what amounted to a tin can. Like her, the majority of them were calmly sitting back as the plane glided through the air. How could an airplane floor feel so solid and yet be speeding through the air? The illusion of control.
    Momentarily, Nicole was back in that dark place. In the rotted, gnarled woods again, trying to make her way home. How to follow the light? How to lift her feet and try to push through the immense stabbing pain in her wounded leg so that she could make it home? Each step felt like an eternity.
    No. She couldn’t visit this place now. Now was not the time. But the facts were inescapable. Ever since the four friends had boarded the plane, their conversations had been awash with speculation — first, with identifying the air marshal, and then with choosing which of their fellow passengers was an undercover fed. They had to face the facts: The feds had to be here, somewhere, even if they were disguised as a teacher or a chaperone.
    How far could she go with her Balancing abilities before the feds would take her? Nicole knew they would think twice about taking her so as not to risk losing another agent the way Agent Carter had died.
    The ting of the airplane PA system sounded again.
    “This is the captain speaking. We’ve reached our cruising altitude and are expecting a smooth flight. I’m going to turn off the seatbelt sign.”
    Minutes later, a flight attendant visited the four friends’ row to offer snacks and beverages.
    “Oh, look — Veggie Crisps. Hey, Ben! They have your favorite, Veggie Crisps!” Nicole exclaimed.
    Ben gave a pained expression
    “Oh, I forgot. Still have that cold sore?”
    “Yeah,” Ben responded casually, trying to downplay any imperfection about himself. “It’s nothing. I get them when I get stressed or worried. I was worried about you in the woods. I just don’t know what I would’ve done … well, you’re a Balancer. I know you can take care of yourself.”
    Amy reached over and grabbed a bag of nuts and shoved it in Nicole’s hands.
    Nicole offered a sympathetic smile to Ben.
    “It doesn’t look that bad.”
    The flight attendant continued on toward the next aisle, but she didn’t get very far before she had to excuse herself around somebody.
    It was Jason.
    “So, I know this is going to sound weird, but — you totally had me at hi.”
    The moment Ben saw Nicole look up and smile at the fair-haired boy in the checkered shirt, his heart sank.
    “Hello,” Nicole said. “‘You had me at hello.’ From Jerry McGuire . That’s my mom’s favorite movie. Jason, you complete me.”
    “Wait a second,” Jason laughed. “That’s Tom Cruise’s line. I’m the guy, so that’s supposed to be my line.”
    “Well, I had to play Tom because you already picked Renee Zellweger.”
    They laughed and stared at each other for what seemed to Ben like forever.
    Game over.

Cold Sores as Weapons
    N icole and Jason continued to talk as though they’d been dating forever, but Ben was too deep in his own thoughts to process what they were saying. He knew he was the guy who never had anything witty to say until hours later. And he’d never been able to get the type of joy from Nicole that he saw in her eyes when she looked at Jason. What was even more frustrating for Ben was that