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Nick’s stomach sank to his feet. “Seth didn’t tell you?”
“Little busy,” Seth muttered. “Haven’t had time.”
Well, shit. “Burke knows,” Nick said as he closed his eyes, thinking about Owen telling him how he’d been in the hospital because he’d seen things. Darkness. Shadows. He’d been givenmedicineto make it stop, but what if that had been a lie? “He’s the one who made Owen who he is.”
Jazz squinted at him. “What are you talking about?”
Nick opened his eyes, shaking his head. “Something Owen told me. He said he was sick when he was younger. Got put on medication. He was all buttellingme he was Shadow Star, and I didn’t see it. I was so focused on—I wasn’t thinking. But all of this seems to go back to Burke Tower, right? What if Owen is trying to get revenge against his father for what he did to him? Burke Pharmaceuticals. For every experiment, for every creation, there have to be tests. On subjects.”
“Simon Burke experimented on his own son?” Martha asked, hands clutched against her chest.
“He did. To be his own personal guard dog.” Everything was falling into place, pieces of a puzzle coming together to form a terrible picture. “All those attacks on Burke Tower. His father used him to protect what was hidden inside, to keep the secrets safe. But it doesn’t matter, at least not right now. We need to focus on stopping Owen first. All the rest we’ll deal with later.”
“We have to find him before we can stop him,” Gibby said, leaning over Nick’s shoulder to look at the screen. “Anything, Seth?”
“No,” Seth said. “Nothing. It’s like he’s disappeared.”
“Or he’s waiting for the perfect moment to strike,” Jazz said.
They all turned slowly to look at her.
“What?” she asked. “It’s whatIwould do if I were a supervillain.”
“And I thank god every day you’re not,” Gibby said, kissing her cheek. “Always remember to use your powers for good.”
Jazz rolled her eyes. “Like I could ever be evil. I’m too cute to be a bad guy.”
Maybe the current roster for their superhero backup team was actually perfect.
It was dark when Nick stepped out of the Gray house onto the street. The streetlamps were lit along the sidewalk, casting shadows on the cement. The air had a bite to it, and Nick pulled his jacket tighter around him as he took his phone from his pocket.
He’d turned it off after he’d left the hospital, knowing his dad would be calling. It was a dick move, but he had to do what was necessary in order to help Seth stop Owen. And knowing his dad, he probably would have had Nick’s phone traced to find out where he was. Nick knew all about cell tower pings.
Sure enough, as soon as he’d turned the phone on, a notification came up telling him he had seven voicemails. He ignored them, looking for a number on his phone.
It only rang twice before a breathless voice picked up. “Nick? Is that you?”
“Hey, Cap,” Nick said, looking up at the dark sky. There was too much light pollution to see even the brightest of stars.
“Oh, don’t youHey, Capme. Do you have any idea how worried your dad is? They had to sedate him when he tried to leave the hospital!”
Nick’s throat clicked as he swallowed. “Yeah, sorry about that. But I had to. Things are happening, Cap.”
“Where are you? I’m going to send a patrol car to come get you.”
“Can’t do that. Not yet. And I’m keeping this short, so don’t try and ping me.”
“I’m going to arrest you,” Cap growled. “And throw you in jailmyself.Do you hear me? In fact, I’m going to reinstate chain gangs. Hard labor. That’s all you’re gonna get.”
“That’s a clear overreach of your position, and you should be ashamed of— Stop trying to distract me!”
“Tell me where you are, Nick.”
“Listen, okay? I’m asking you to listen. There’s going to be—”
A voice spoke behind him. “Hey, Nicky.”
Nick whirled around. There was no one there.
