The thought had certainly crossed my mind. However, unlike Alejandro, my activities in the bedroom didn’t get discussed as if they were the morning news. I wasn’t a prude. I just didn’t like everybody knowing how often I did… or didn’t get laid.
“I owe him a thank you.”
“And…” Not only was I going to drown Griffin, but I’d go after everybody in his family, too. Nobody would survive, thanks to his insistence on making me say it out loud.
“He wasn’t harsh on the eyes.”
All three of them smiled, grins stretching from ear to ear. Nope, I would not blush. There was no way I was going to let them know I had already thought about Aiden writhing underneath me.
“Is that his murder face?” asked Alejandro.
“No, that’s more of a scrunched-up brow.” Great, when Griffin and Alejandro got going, there was no stopping them.
“You mean like this?” Alejandro scrunched up his face.
Bernard joined the mockery. “No, it’s more like this.”
“Bernard,” I growled. The man’s scrunched-up face was dangerously accurate. I had to give him props. “Okay, that’s not a terrible impression.”
Griffin derailed their mocking and pointed to my work pants. “I thought they told you to take some time off. Are you going in?”
“I’m going in to change their minds.”
Bernard put his hand on my wrist, a signature move that he was about to say something I should take to heart. “Maybe you need to take a few days off. It wouldn’t hurt after the mayhem yesterday.” Even though he spoke to me, the words seemed to be directed toward himself. How bad had it been at Centurion headquarters?
“That’s weird.” We all turned to Chad standing at the counter holding the Zipper’s metal thermos. Like clockwork, the speedster arrived every morning to pick up his coffee before a day of heroing.
“He’s never late,” Griffin muttered.
That was my exit before Griffin started spitting out statistics about how fast Zipper could run. Standing up, I finished my coffee and tossed some money on the table.
“Wish me luck.”
“Make sure you use plenty of lube, big boy.”
I flipped off Alejandro as I exited the HideOut.
Staring at the text message with Aiden’s phone number, I was surprised by how quickly Sebastian had relayed the information to Griffin. With gay men, they worked at lightning speed when they sniffed a potential connection. Between Aiden’s number and the paycheck in my pocket, it made the awkward conversation with my boss bearable. At least I’d be able to go back to work tomorrow. Then I’d deal with the stares from my co-workers.
Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t seen that many medics in the bay in years. It was as if the world had slept in and taken a deep breath. After yesterday’s event, perhaps there’d be a slow period while heroes and villains alike licked their wounds.
The afternoon sun beamed down, leaving the day unusually warm for the end of summer. But with a cool breeze pushing against my face, I had to remind myself to smile. Once I deposited my paycheck, it’d be a Chinese takeout night and old martial arts films.
“It doesn’t get much better than this,” I muttered.
I neared the entrance of the bank to see several people running out. I had spoken too soon. A woman clutched her laptop bag as she ran past me. I stared at my phone and could see a red blip had appeared in the HeroApp™. While the heroes might have taken a day off, the villains had other plans.
I debated skipping the bank and heading home. As part of our health class in school, they had taught us to flee or hide when a superpowered battle broke out. Apparently, hiding under your desk would somehow stop mind control or lava monsters. Off duty, I usually avoided situations that might require me to work, but today I felt like pressing my luck.
Standing at the giant brass turnstile door, I squinted, trying to get a look inside. There were dozens of people lying on the floor while others hid behind massive marble columns. Try as I might, I couldn’t find the source of their panic.
So, in I went.
They had built the lobby of the bank to impress. A large room with towering columns that directed patrons through a two-story arch into the main part that held the tellers. There was shouting from somewhere inside, multiple voices demanding the other hurry. I crouched next to a man in a business suit, using the column as a shield.
“How many?”
His eyes had glassed over as he hugged himself. “Six.”
