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“What are we going to do?” Bob asked. “If he’s here, we need to find out what he’s up to as soon as we can. Do everything to prepare.”
Martha looked older than Nick had ever seen her. “Does Simon Burke already know? What if this is all a ruse and he’s working with Owen?”
“Owen hates his father,” Nick said in a daze, flashbacks of being held up by shadows against a bridge rising through his head. “He wouldn’t help him with anything. Unless that’s what hewantsBurke to think.”
“Which is why you’re not going to like what I have to say next,” Mom said. “I wish there was any other way, but I don’t know if there is. I’m open to ideas, but I can’t think of how to get to Owen without showing our hand.”
Nick rolled his eyes. “Great. More bad news. Fantastic. Just frickin’ peachy. What is it?”
“We need to protect Burke. If Owen is going for him, then we need to be there when he does.”
Everyone had an immediate opinion on this, and quite loud ones at that. They all began to talk over each other, their outrage palpable, but for what was perhaps the first time in his life, Nick didn’t join in. He let it wash over him, mouth closed. He watched his mother, his father, the stiff set to their shoulders, the way they stood side by side. A team.
Of course, the very idea of doinganythingfor Burke grated against Nick harshly, but there was a sort of twisted logic to the idea. “Two birds, one stone,” he said, raising his voice, and everyone fell silent.
Mom nodded, obviously pleased. “That’s exactly right. If we get in with Burke, that might mean we can also get to Owen.”
A sense of savage satisfaction rolled through Nick at the idea of saving Burke from his own creation, and then flinging it back in his face. How would Simon Burke do with his anti-Extraordinary propaganda if the only reason he lived wasbecauseof Extraordinaries? Sure, he’d probably try to spin it inhis favor, but he’d already be revealed as the two-faced bastard he was.
“We don’t have to decide anything right now,” Dad said, scratching the back of his neck. “But we all need to be on guard, just in case. At least until we have a better idea of what we’re facing. Chris will use the resources at his disposal—carefully,” he added. “Cap and I can do the same. We don’t have the same access we once did, but there are still a few people loyal to us inside the NCPD in case we need something.” He tried for a reassuring smile but missed completely. “And the rest of us. No one goes anywhere alone. Always have someone with you. Eyes and ears open. Be aware of your surroundings.”
“Let him come,” Aysha said with a sneer, her words like steel. “I’d like to see him try and hurt my daughter while I have her back. It’ll be the last thing he does.”
“Same,” Miles said.
“On it,” Jo said, and Nick knew she meant it. Jazz was evidence enough of that.
“We’ll figure it out,” Mom said. “We have to. All of us. Because it’s easier to stand together than it is to struggle apart.”
Their mantra, the words that Nick had heard for most of his life. Their gospel truth. A tidal wave of surety washed over him. Heartened—though still more than a little furious—Nick almost felt sorry for Owen.
He’d never see them coming.
