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“He does,” Aysha said, pushing herself up from the couch. “It’s one of the things I love most about him. Jo, let’s go. We should probably make sure our husbands don’t screw this up.”
“Absolutely,” Jo agreed. She followed the others as they began to hoist the boxes and carry them toward the basement stairs.
“I’ll show you where the secret lair is,” Bob said. “Built the pocket door myself, even thoughsomepeople don’t give it the appreciation it deserves.” He looked pointedly at Nick, who rolled his eyes. After all, it wasn’thisfault for having sky-high expectations when it came to something like a secret lair. At the very least, the door should’ve been outfitted with a retinal scan.
“And I have cookies!” Martha called after them, scooping up the plate from the table. “Everyone who helps will get as many as they want.”
Dad jumped up at that, only pausing when Nick reminded him that he wasn’t getting any younger, and that he’d already had four. Dad muttered under his breath thathewas the adult and could decide how many cookies he could eat as he walked into the kitchen. Nick promised him if another cookie went into his mouth, he’d be eating only kale for the foreseeable future.
And then Team Pyro Storm was alone in the Gray living room, listening as the parents grunted and groaned as they descended the stairs to the basement.
Before anyone else could speak, Nick said, “Gibby, I know that look on your face. Donotapologize for anything.”
Gibby sighed as she slumped in her chair. “He went after your dad hard.”
“He did,” Nick admitted. “But someone had to.” He shook his head. “I just … I don’t know, man. My dad isn’t—” He stopped, thinking hard. He’d been about to sayMy dad isn’t like the other cops, but that wasn’t quite the truth, and it felt both familiar andgross to come to his defense so quickly. Instead, he said, “Your dad was right. About everything.” He looked down at the floor. “And if anyone should be apologizing, it should be me for putting you in this position.”
Gibby rolled her eyes. “I’m capable of thinking for myself, thanks.”
Nick snorted. “Oh, don’t I know it. But still. You deserve to hear it. I really am sorry.”
“I know you are, Nicky.”
“I do feel a bit better, though,” Seth said, and they all looked at him. “Having them know. It takes a bit of the weight off our shoulders. We’ve survived this long, but I don’t know how much longer we could have gone on without them finding out.”
Nick glanced at Jazz, who had an expression on her face he’d never seen before. She looked almost … heartbroken. “Jazz?” he asked quietly. “You all right?”
But she only had eyes for Gibby. “You’re thinking of leaving for school?” Jazz asked her, and Nick’s heart ached at the hurt in her voice. “You never told me.”
Gibby sighed, reaching out to take Jazz’s hand. “I don’t know what I want to do. I didn’t say anything because I haven’t decided yet, and with all that’s happened today, I’m not going to make a decision right this second. But no matter what I decide, it won’t be because I love you any less. No matter where I go, I’m not going to leave you all behind. We’ll talk about it later.” She jerked her head at Nick and Seth. “I promise.”
Jazz nodded, though she still looked upset. Nick could only imagine what she was feeling. He didn’t want to think of a time when Gibby wouldn’t be there every day. And Seth was still thinking about hanging up the suit entirely? It felt like everything was changing, and he didn’t know how to make it stop. And that didn’t even begin to cover what had happened between Dad and Trey. He knew Trey was right, but he didn’t know how to reconcile that with who he thought his dad was.
“Seth,” Nick said suddenly. “Can I talk to you for a second?”
Seth nodded. “Yeah, of course. We can go up to my room and—”
“Stay here,” Jazz said. “Gibby, we should go make sure our parents aren’t messing up the secret lair. You know how I like having everything in the right place.”
“That I do.” She stood, pulling Jazz up with her. Gibby slung an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. Nick watched as she whispered in Jazz’s ear words only meant for them as they headed toward the stairs.
Only Seth and Nick remained. Nick gnawed on the inside of his cheek as he looked down at his hands. His heart was still racing, and he thought he might vibrate out of his skin.
“Nicky?”
He looked up. “You really don’t want to be Pyro Storm anymore?”
Seth sighed, sounding frustrated. “I don’t know. I have so much going on in my head, and I can’t—”
His phone beeped a familiar sound that only meant one thing.
Something was happening in the city.
Nick watched as the Seth he knew melted away. His eyes narrowed and darkened, his mouth stretched into a thin line, his jaw and shoulders tense. It wasn’t Seth Gray who jumped up from the chair, pulling his phone from his pocket.
This was Pyro Storm.
“What is it?” Nick asked nervously.
