I knew what they really were. Knew I couldn’t leave them behind.
C had been tracking Supers. Where he got the information or what he planned to do with it might always be a mystery, and that’s fine. I just knew I couldn’t let him keep it. I was angry, but also relieved when the flames swallowed it all up—until they tried to swallow us too.
“Days later, the CCP moved in on Supers who refused to submit to their rules.” The citizens of New Malcolm didn’t know how bad things would get until it was too late. Anonymous men in unmarked vans, brandishing weapons in people’s faces without cause or warrants. Heroes disappearing, stolen in the early hours of day when the rest of the city dreamed of a world without fear, without villains. It wasn’t the villains they came for.
“C disappeared completely not long after that. Then I got this.” I pull the folded paper from my pocket, tossing it down. “The whole Rose operation went underground.”
“Let me get this straight—you actually don’t have any real leads?” Kaye looks from one person to the next. “Thisis the super-secret plan?”
“You don’t even know the half of it.” Jaspar winks.
“C came out of hiding to leave this note, Kaye,” Fulton points out. “You might not know him, but clearly he knows you. That makes you valuable.”
“As bait,” Kaye nods. “I’m missing the part where some guy I’ve never met before gives two shits about me. Especially if he’s as dangerous as you say he is. Who risks an empire on a stranger?”
That’s the question. There has to be some kind of connection, even if we can’t see it yet. A button that we can push.
“Fuck,” Kaye gasps. “It went underground! Literally.”
“I don’t see an answer in that nonsense,” Jaspar says. “And I have visions.”
Kaye’s arms shake with excitement as she gestures, punctuating every word. “Think about it. The tunnels under the church aren’t the only ones in the city. Sure, half of them have collapsed by now, abandoned and unusable, but…”
The spark catches in my mind, white and hot and blinding. Through that burning, I can see clearer than I have in years. When we made the plans to rescue the Supers from the CCP that night, I didn’t know what to do with them, where to keep them so that they could recover in safety. Then they showed me the tunnels—perfect, expansive, practically untraceable.
How had I never thought of it before?
“We need a map.” This is it. It’s finally happening.
“I might be able to help with that.” Kaye’s smirk is radiant, infectious.
Gravity rocks beneath me at the sight, orienting itself once more to her. Though I still ache from earlier I feel myself stiffening, pressing painfully against the metal teeth of my zipper. There’s pleasure in that pain, a delicious edge that echoes clearly what I feel for my lovely nemesis.
Beautiful, intelligent, sexier than sin.
I can’t wait for her to bring them all to ruin.
24
KAYE
Ashiver races along my skin and the urge to move suddenly becoming unbearable. To shake off the chill, and maybe some nerves. The last time I ventured downtown ended in a knife stuck through my arms and a light coma. If Zane hadn’t been there to act so quickly, if Mr. Pancost hadn’t stayed close by…
So many close calls, and questions that thankfully remain unanswered. It’s hard to believe that was only a few weeks ago.
I stretch my arms over my head, the muscles in my forearms prickling with what I would call irritation, not pain.
“All good?” Zane, dressed in full Charade-ensemble, presses an ear piece into my palm. Bluetooth connected—a lifeline, should I need it. And honestly, it’s kind of nice to know someone’s watching out for me, talking me through any sticky situations that could arise. It’s still a little strange to think about that person being Charade.
Our fingers brush for a fraction of a second. Something magnetic pulses between us. A connection I could see if only I looked hard enough, quick enough. There in one breath, and gone the next. Blush heats the tops of my cheeks, but I can’t bring myself to look away. For once neither does he.
I never planned on admitting this, neverdreamedI would ever be allowed to feel this way. I blurt it out before I lose my nerve. “You were right. There is something more between us. Maybe there always has been.”
“Something more than mind-blowing orgasms, you mean?” He smirks.
“There’s that, yes.” I roll my eyes. “But I think I… might have feelings for you. I want more of orgasms of course, but maybe we could also go on a date sometime?”
“I thought we decided the next logical step to this was marriage.”
