“You’re going back home?” I still felt bad about the Mason situation, and I was relieved Britney didn’t seem to be holding it against me.
“It’s time for me to deal with this baby stuff. I think my mom can help me out.” She slung her purse over her shoulder and gave me a careful hug, so as not to disturb my injuries. “Take care of yourself, 'kay? And, like, do yourself a favor. Go talk to Vigilante.”
She headed back to the spare bedroom and closed the door behind her.
I plopped on the couch, confusion twisting in my gut. By the time the police got to the scene, I’d lost track of him. After searching around the gardens fruitlessly for several long minutes I finally headed home, alone. Maybe Vigilante was just done dealing with me.
Not that I could blame him. Just like him, I’d blown hot and cold the entire time we’ve known each other—clinging to him closely, then pushing him away a second later. But since he’d vanished on me tonight, maybe he didn’t want to talk to me.
The idea of that sucked, so I pushed it out of my head. I was tempted to call him myself, but I couldn’t deal with another blow of rejection.
I laid my head back on the couch, my eyes suddenly drowsy, so I closed them, letting my battered body relax into the cushions. Wow, was I going to be sore in the morning.
A heavy knock on the door startled me out of my sleep, and I jerked awake. I glanced at the clock above the TV—7:30 a.m. I’d spent the whole night on the couch. And in my towel. Real classy.
The knock thunked harder. Whoops, maybe Britney had forgotten something and had to come back. I tucked the towel tighter around me and peeked the door open. It was a tall man, wearing jeans and a black shirt. He had eyes the color of dark grey and thick, black hair. He had a smile on his face, a dimple creasing his right cheek.
Oh, God. My heart pounded hard in my chest, and my hands started to shake. Was it—
“Can I come in?” he said, his raw, rumbling voice as familiar as my own by now.
I stepped back to let Vigilante, completely out of disguise, into my apartment, soaking up the sight of him in regular clothes.
And without a mask.
I closed the door behind him and swallowed hard, facing him with as much dignity as I could in a faded purple towel. “Why aren’t you in your uni—”
Before I knew what happened, he’d wrapped me into his arms and gently tugged me close to him, pressing his lips to mine and effectively cutting off my words.
I sighed into his embrace, running my hands through his hair, sliding them down his neck to caress the strands brushing his collar. My mouth slid open, and he slipped his tongue along the curve of my lip.
We kissed deeply, fervently, with a hunger that surprised me. I thrilled on the inside. He’d come to me. Not as a superhero, but as a man.
Vigilante pulled away, then reached into his back pocket and pulled out a wallet. He flipped it open and tugged out his drivers’ license, pushing it into my hands.
“My name is Scott Samson," he said. "I’m an independent consultant to businesses. I help them upgrade and maintain their computer systems. It’s a nice career that offers me flexibility, perfect for my line of work.”
I took the license and looked.
“Scott, huh?” I said with a smile and handed him back the license. “But why show me this?”
“No more secrets between us,” he said, putting the license in his wallet and tucking it back into his pocket. “I already messed up once by not trusting you to help me with Mason. I won’t do that again.” He paused. “There’s more I need to tell you, if you want to hear me.”
I took Vigilante’s—Scott’s—hand and led him to the couch. We sat, and he clutched my hand like a lifeline, his thumb caressing my palm.
He drew in a deep breath. “You might think I’m just a mercenary, but I’ve known Mason a long time,” he said. He shifted on the couch, using his free hand to scratch the back of his neck as his eyes drifted away from mine. “He and my parents used to fight together. They trusted him with their lives every time they went into battle. They had his back, and he had theirs. Or so they thought.”
My stomach lurched at his foreboding words.
“One night a few years ago,” he continued, “the three of them were fighting a particularly bad villain, and Mason used them as a shield to escape. It’s nothing I could prove of course, but the eyewitness accounts made me believe he didn’t try to defend their lives, but was concerned with making it out alive himself.”
I gasped. “That’s horrible.”
If someone had told me a month ago that Mason would do that, I wouldn’t have believed it. But given all the hell we’d just gone through, I could see that now. Mason was a scummy person, always looking to further his own interests—even at the expense of others.
“When I realized what happened, I vowed to not let him get away with his injustices anymore. But it wasn’t until I’d heard rumors of his recent dealings with SummerTech that I realized I finally had my chance. So when Rowena told me her story about Mason’s infidelity and how she couldn’t take it anymore, we decided to use you to bring him to justice.”
I looked away, slightly sick. Even though I appreciated getting the truth, it was hard to hear. “I see. So the fight at the dry cleaners was staged then.”
“No, that was real. I’m assuming Rowena hired them, because I had no part in that. I promise.” Scott paused. “You have to understand something,” he said, cupping my chin and lifting my eyes to see his. “I assumed since you were working for Mason, you were in on the scam. It wasn’t until I actually was around you that I started to suspect you were innocent.”
I nodded. “It makes sense. I don’t know that I would have trusted me, either, if I were you.”
He ran a hand along my left shoulder, the warmth permeating my skin. “As we got deeper into the situation, it was harder to keep the truth from you. So I had to start getting deceptive with the tricks, even as I knew it was wrong. I looked through your purse, hoping you didn't have anything that would make you guilty. And I lied and said my house was broken into so I could get you alone and interrogate you about the ambush. But you were so damn sexy, throwing that towel at me—” he stopped, his eyes crinkling in the corners as he smiled.
Wow, would I ever get tired of seeing him without the mask on? I couldn’t believe how attractive the man was. What a shame to hide that away.
A warm flush covered my throat and stole up my cheeks when I remembered that night in the hotel. “Yeah, that was pretty slutty of me, wasn’t it?”
He slid his hand up my neck, his finger caressing my bottom lip. “I’m glad you did, though.”
I drew in a deep breath, my lip tingling from his gentle touch, and darted my eyes over his shoulder, suddenly shy. “It’s time for me to be honest too.”
He ‘fessed up, Jenna. If you don’t tell him how you feel, you’ll never get anywhere.
“I…I love you,” I said in a small voice, heart in throat. “I know you’re a superhero, and you probably don’t have time, but if you ever wanted to see me romantically, someday, I’d like that, because I really think we could hit it off if we had a chance to see each other outside of fighting crime, and—” I stopped my inane rambling, daring a glance at his face.
Eyes soft, Scott tugged me closer, capturing my lips with his. “You’re all I could ever want in a woman,” he whispered against my mouth. “I love you too. I was coming here to claim you, even if I had to club you over the head and drag you to my cave.”
Oh my God, did he say he was going to claim me? And then threaten to club me? I laughed. “Nice caveman antics.”
“I make enough to support us both, so you wouldn’t have to work if you didn’t want to. You could sit at home in a towel all day, waiting for me to come home to our castle.”
“Sounds like my kind of career,” I joked. “But seriously, I’d still want to find a job.” I liked being an independent woman, even if I were in a relationship.
&nb
sp; He slid his fingers down my arm, touching my hand again. “To sweeten the deal, I’ll even promote you from sidekick to full-fledged cohort.”
“Cohort? Now that's a deal,” I said, a huge smile on my face.
He grabbed my hand and lifted me from the couch. His eyes turned dark as he scrutinized my towel. “I could get used to seeing you like this,” he said, touching the curve of my ass.
I melted beneath his touch. “I bet it looks even better on the floor,” I said, leading him to my room.
* * *
“Vigilante, Hellfire, Night Ghost, and—” Storm Wave paused to look at me expectantly.
“Lady Electric,” I said, blurting out the first name off the top of my head. Actually, I kind of liked it. It fit my superpower quite nicely.
He nodded. “And Lady Electric, have shown admirable bravery in the face of danger, putting the lives and needs of others ahead of your own. We are grateful. And we won’t forget the sacrifice Mechanoman gave of his life to protect us and our city.”
Neither would I. We’d even attended his funeral, which was painful, but he was there for me when I needed him. The least I could do was be there for him and his family.
Storm Wave faced Vigilante, who stood to my left. “The council and I discussed the situation and humbly request that you become head of the Midwest League of Heroes.”
Vigilante’s eyes grew wide, but he quickly regained his composure. “Very well, I accept the position,” he said. A huge smile broke out across his face. “This is an honor. Thank you.”
The League of Heroes broke out in thunderous applause, which echoed throughout the room. I clapped hard, as well, dressed in my fully mended uniform—Mrs. Wong did wonders getting it back to pristine condition. The woman deserved a metal for her work.
Vigilante gripped my left hand, and I squeezed it back. Amy, over to my right, shot me a huge smile when she saw the action, then winked, turning to Dwight to whisper something in his ear.
I patted my now-empty pocket, no longer filled with the burden of the changing crystal. The four of us had gotten the jewel safely handed over earlier this morning to the next league, then booked it over here. Of course, none of us knew they were going to appoint Vigilante as the head of the council, but it was a perfect choice. He’d do a wonderful job.
And I’d be there by his side, keeping him in line. After all, that’s what superheroes did, right?
* * *
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Super Zero Page 20
