How many times did this sort of thing happen? She dressed fast, feeling really exposed now that Ace had left the house.
Perhaps, however, the most disturbing thing was the grin on Ace's face as he'd run from the house. He'd reminded her of a child who had just been told he got to play with the cool toy his brother usually hid from him. She rubbed her arms.
He was heading out to, hopefully, put down something that could cause tremendous amounts of harm and he was happy about it. How could anyone function, whose happiness came from handling this kind of situation in his or her day-to-day life?
"You're dressed, right?"
She swung around. Lael had entered the room, his eyes covered with his hands.
She grinned. There was something so likable about the teenager. He made her think of what Ace must have been like as a young a young man.
"I am. The coast is clear."
He took his hands down. "That's good because I really don't need to see my future sister-in-law naked."
Alice felt like the world shifted beneath her feet. She gripped onto the side of the couch for support. "Lael, I'm afraid you've gotten the wrong idea. Your brother and I are very good friends. I'm his client, which complicates things. I'm not going to be your sister-in-law."
"Yeah?" Lael shook his head. "I've never seen him look at anyone like he looks at you. I've never come home and found him on the couch with any of his other clients before."
She needed to change the subject immediately. "Why did you lie to him?"
Lael stood very still, the smile falling off his face. "What?"
She walked into the kitchen. No matter where she was, the kitchen always became her safe spot. "You heard me."
Lael walked up behind her, stopping at the island. "How did you know I lied?"
She shrugged. "I was a teenager once. I know when someone's cutting class."
Lael tapped his hands on the island. "Are you going to tell him?"
"I'm not your mother, Lael." She opened the fridge to see what was inside. Food seemed to magically appear in there. She was going to have to ask someone how that happened. "I think you should tell him before the school calls and tells him."
"What are you going to cook?"
She pulled out one of the drawers and found something that looked appealing.
"Chicken sound good?"
"Food always sounds good. I don't usually care what I'm eating."
She groaned. "That's so far from how I feel, I can't even begin to relate to that statement."
Silently, she moved to the island and stood next to Lael. "Get me a pan to cook these in and some olive oil, please."
He nodded and scurried around the kitchen to do as she asked. "I hate math. The teacher gives me a hard time. I really fell behind in it when I ran away."
She raised an eyebrow as she poured the olive oil into the pan. "And you thought it was a good idea to miss more school so you could fall even further behind? Seems pretty stupid."
He banged his hand on the counter. "I'm not dumb."
"No." She shook her head. "I didn't say you were dumb. I said missing school when you've already missed was dumb." After seasoning it with salt, she dropped the chicken gently into the pan. "And you clearly have a temper."
In a move she'd learned from her mother, she stared down at the hand he'd banged on the counter as if it was a bug she wanted to squish.
"I'm sorry about that. I shouldn't display my anger like that."
"You're very strong. You have to be careful how you express yourself."
Cooking helped. It calmed her, to concentrate on accomplishing a goal, instead of over thinking things.
"I don't think Draco was ever young, and Ace is rapidly forgetting how to be fun."
Alice shook her head. "It's called being a grown up."
A vision of Ace's joyful face as he left to go do something about the missile filled her mind. He, obviously, had his own version of fun at this point. It wasn't what anyone else considered amusement. Apparently, however, it worked for him.
"What happens next? Ace brings down the missile and then what?"
Lael walked to the fridge and took out a soda. "I doubt if he's bringing it down alone. He probably has Zee or one of the other Superheroes with him. When they get done they'll probably hit a dance club and then stumble in sometime in the middle of the night. It's his MO."
Alice's knife slipped, hitting the side of her finger. She dropped it and hissed as she put the now-bleeding wound into her mouth and ran to the sink to wash her hands.
Damn it, when was the last time she'd done something like that?
"He's going to go to a dance club?" While she was here and they'd just had sex?
She knew there was something else she should say but heaven help her she couldn't think of what it was.
Lael nodded. "You okay?"
"Yes." She pulled the cut out of her mouth to look at it. "Could you get me a Band-Aid?"
"Sure thing."
As Lael turned to leave the room, Alice paced back and forth around the kitchen.
She needed to get control of herself immediately. It was the stress of the whole situation. That's all. There was a madman after her—set in his course of action by her own family—and she'd had sex with a Superhero.
Really, she didn't care what Ace did. It didn't make one little difference to her whether he handled dangerous situations, and it wasn't her business, at all, whether or not he met women at dance clubs . . . when he could come back here and be with her instead.
Lael returned holding the bandage. "Here you go."
"Thank you."
She smiled, even though she felt sick to her stomach. Ace had to catch The Mask so she could go home. She needed out of his house. Fast.
Chapter Nine
Ace sat atop the missile. He placed his hand on it, letting the mechanics of the projectile rocket speak to him. It was going to be no problem to destroy it. All he had to do was to turn it off. The wind hit him hard in the face and he coughed as some kind of insect flew into his throat. He bet those sorts of things never happened to Draco.
"You got this under control?"
Ace glanced up to see Zee, one of Powers, Inc.'s most loyal Superheroes, flying next to him.
He raised an eyebrow as he looked at her. "Oh, ye, of little faith."
She laughed and rubbed her nose. "Are you ready?"
"I'll turn it off, you catch it."
"I'm on it." With a kick of her feet in the air, she flew two feet down until she was directly beneath the flying missile.
Turn off.
It was so easy to speak to the machines. They never argued. Never did anything he didn't want them to do. But then again, they didn't hold him close at night or smile at him first thing in the morning either. And they certainly didn't challenge him and make him hard as hell at the same time.
He shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking about her right now. Only he couldn't seem to stop. He wondered if she'd gone to his room to wait for him or if she'd ever gotten off the couch.
Beneath him the missile let out a loud groan and sputtered as its forward momentum ceased. Two seconds later, it plummeted from the sky. Beneath it, Zee raised her hands and caught the object before it carried on toward the ground. He jumped off, not wanting to add to the tremendous weight she already shouldered.
Instead, he flew next to her, helping to hold half the missile.
They set it on the ground. The government retrieval team awaited. He smiled at the general who shook his hand.
"Usually, we deal with Draco."
Although he kept his smile big, inwardly he sighed. "Yes, I know. Today you got to deal with me instead. I charge slightly less than he does."
"That's true but you had to call in a second Superhero to assist. That's going to cost the taxpayers twice as much."
Zee interrupted. "I'm pro bono today."
"Well." The general who Ace knew was actually on a first name basis with Draco sputtered. "I s
uppose that is different then."
"Right, then I suppose I'll leave you to it."
The general stepped forward. "When does Draco return from wherever he is?"
Ace shrugged. "I'm afraid Draco Powers doesn't discuss his plans with anyone else. I'm currently running Powers, Inc. I assure you, General, we will take care of your needs until he returns." He'd lied for so long and so often about Draco that he was downright good at it now.
The internal pain that used to show up and make a home in his stomach whenever he was called upon to pretend he wasn't Draco's brother didn't happen anymore.
Turning on his heel, he took off into the sky with Zee right behind him. After a while, he slowed his flight to a more casual pace.
"Good work back there."
He smiled at Zee. He'd always suspected her background had to be something Middle Eastern. He'd once told her that her skin was the color of the desert at night. She hadn't appreciated the compliment and told him in no uncertain terms to leave his charm at home when it came to her. But he didn't know, actually, where she was from, and she was more close-mouthed about her background than anyone he knew. They had a quiet, easy friendship. He wasn't going to screw it up.
"Thanks. Hot date with a pretty lady tonight?"
She smiled. "No. I'm officially not dating."
"Why?"
"I need a break," she said.
He thought of Alice back at home. God, he didn't want a break. Not at all. He wanted more. So much more.
Zee spoke again. "Which club are we hitting tonight?"
"I was thinking about skipping it?"
Her eyes got huge. "Skipping it? Are you crazy? How will you let lose the adrenaline?"
He had a very good idea how he could handle his problem. But it wasn't like he wanted Alice to feel like he used her sexually to take care of his issues. Maybe he should go to the club with Zee and see if he could come home calm, cool, and relaxed.
Then he'd still take her about hundred times before they went to bed . . . .
"All right, we'll go to the NightOwl." It was a little bit more laid back than some of the other places they went.
"I take it you're not dating either then?"
NightOwl was mostly for people who wanted to listen to music. It was less of a pickup place.
"I've met someone."
It felt so funny to say that. In fact, he wasn't sure he'd ever uttered those words before. He wanted to sing to the stars. He, Ace Hudson, who had lived his life in spurts and stops, looking for pleasure wherever he could find it and not holding onto it very long, was in love.
How and when that had happened was not clear to him. All he knew was that somewhere between sparring with her verbally, flying her to Florida, and having the best sex of his life, he'd fallen head over heels for the curvy brunette.
"You're grinning like a buffoon." Zee rolled her eyes. "It must be serious. It's not that cook you're protecting, is it?"
They landed side by side outside the NightOwl. Nodding to the bouncer, they walked in. The music hit him immediately. The loud bass made his blood cool. He wasn't sure why that happened. All he knew was that it worked and he wasn't going to complain.
He shouted to be heard. "Why did you say it like that—'It's not that cook?' What if it were?"
"I'd say you're in deep shit, buddy." She smiled at the bartender who immediately made their standard drinks. Zee liked a good, cool beer and Ace preferred vodka straight up over ice.
"Why?" He sat at a table in the corner where he hoped they wouldn't be recognized by anyone wanting an autograph. Zee settled across from him.
"It's not like you can be part of her life."
What? He had no idea why Zee would say that. Shifting in his seat, he felt like he was back in high school when he'd been called into the principal's office for skipping class.
"You say that like I'm supposed to know why that is."
Zee shook her head. "Shit, Ace. It's Alice Styles, isn't it?"
"Just explain yourself."
"See." Zee pointed at him. "There's the problem. You won't even tell me it's Alice.
Everyone at Powers, Inc. has to guard their personal secrets so closely that even if we're friends we know nothing important about each other"
"That's true. It's for our protection. Not everyone can be trusted. We don't want people who would harm us to have our personal information."
"Would I harm you?"
He shook his head. "No."
"But I might. If I left Powers and went to one of the competitors starting up. I could tell them your strengths, your weaknesses, someone could use that against you.
Or if I knew where you lived, I could post it on a blog somewhere. You'd have groupies showing up."
The waiter brought the drinks and Ace immediately took a sip of his. "None of this is new. It's always been this way."
"Did Draco marry his Handler?"
He shrugged. Here came the lying again. "How would I know?"
"Because you always know things about Draco."
If that was true then he was even worse at pretending than he'd thought he'd been. "What's your point?"
And he hoped she had one because as his mood rapidly deteriorated he wanted to be here less and less.
"How could you date Alice Styles? No one can know anything about you. The second you are photographed together she'd be at risk. She lives her life in the public eye. You never can. Not as long as you're Ace Hudson, totally recognizable to everyone who sees you. Not as long as the rule is that no one can know you, not really."
Ace leaned back in his chair. Shit. She had a point. How could he do that to Alice? She would be in potential danger. It was the same terror Draco had about Wendy. He drummed his fingers on the table, wishing he could scream. Nothing he could do about it. He loved Alice. Even though he didn't know when that had started, he was sure he didn't want it to go away.
"Keep it light."
Zee's advice was good but it was too late for that . At least for him. He swallowed another sip of his drink as he pretended to turn his attention to the DJ. He had no idea how Alice felt. She'd initiated their lovemaking so they could make each other feel better.
That wasn't exactly a declaration of love. Not that he'd expect it to be so easy.
Not with Alice. Just when he thought he'd scaled a particular wall, she'd re-erect it.
"Besides." Evidently, Zee wasn't done speaking. "If you keep it light and don't get too emotionally involved, you'll be able to do what you have to do."
He had no idea what she meant. Taking a large gulp of his drink, which burned all the way down, he swallowed and then spoke. "What's that?"
She laughed as she got to her feet. "Come on now, Ace. You know what has to be done. What would Draco do?"
"Why does it matter what Draco would do?" He was really getting fucking tired of hearing about him today. "I'm not Draco. He's 'Superman', remember? According to everyone over the course of the last few days I'm only 'Batman'. Superman and Batman don't approach problems the same way."
"True." She nodded. "Though, I wouldn't call you Batman. Batman was super sexy. Even I would probably do Batman, and I don't swing that way."
"I think you just openly insulted me."
She sat back down, evidently deciding she wasn't going to leave. "You and I both know that I don't even date women with hair as long as yours. You're not my type."
He wasn't Alice's either. Only that hadn't seemed to stop them. Women were always making derogatory remarks about his hair—much more frequently than men did—and yet—and he wasn't bragging, it was just fact—he had a very active sex life.
Even if he now wanted only one woman for the rest of his life.
"Okay." He shrugged. "I'd rather not focus on that right now, thanks. I'd prefer it if you could tell me why I need to emulate Draco to get this job done."
Leaning forward on her arms, she stared him straight in the eyes. It was a little disconcerting. Zee was never this serious. "You
and I both know that if a client like Alice Styles had shown up in the normal run of things, when Draco was in town, she'd have been Draco's client. You'd have been subcontracted to stop the machines, while he focused on bringing down The Mask."
"Ha!" He couldn't help it if his laugh sounded bitter. "So now in the scenario I am Robin? I've got news for you, Zee; I do a lot of work no one knows about. Draco has me handling a multitude of things that happen late at night while you're all safe and snug in your beds."
She sat back, holding her hands in the air in a gesture of surrender. "Hey, don't get so defensive."
"I can get upset about this if I want to. You just insulted me, again, and you still haven't told me what Draco would do about Alice, since apparently you are now the expert on the subject."
She slammed her hands on the table. "You used to be a lot easier to talk to.
Something about this woman has gotten your panties in a wad."
"I'm not wearing any underwear, Zee."
She laughed, covering her face with her hands for a moment before standing up.
"Draco would have long ago used the woman as bait to draw out the lunatic. If you can't do that because you're too smitten with the brown haired diva who makes rice-crispy treats so people treat her like she's some kind of goddess, then go find someone else who can. That's the only way you're getting him out of his lair. You know it; I know it; and Draco would be done with it by now."
With that, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the club.
Fuck.
He stood. His blood might have cooled down but now, he was pissed as hell.
Fisting his hands at his side, he wanted to throw something. Draco would never have put Wendy out there as bait. Draco's utter terror at the thought had made him temporarily end his relationship with Wendy.
Not that Ace would ever be able to discuss that with anyone since no one outside of Ace and Lael even knew Draco had married Wendy. The hiding of his family had been bugging Ace for years.
He walked out of the club. What was the point of living a life if you could never discuss it with anyone?
It wasn't like he wanted to shout from the rooftops that Draco had tied the knot.
Banging the Superhero Page 9
