“No.” He let out a sigh. The sadness filled his eyes, and I braced for the thrust. “I’ve never seen anybody that… brutal.”
I could hear Alejandro’s voice warning me about my anger issues. It had been a problem for as long as I couldremember. I don’t know the source, but there wasn’t a memory that wasn’t tainted with the emotion.
“I’ve always been like this.” It hurt to admit it, especially because it caused Aiden strife. Without powers, I was temperamental, moody, and maybe aggressive. But now that I wielded inhuman abilities, the dial had been turned. None of it left me feeling warm and fuzzy.
A superhero that made the man he cared about… scared. It didn’t matter that I had been set-up by Smoke. I wailed on Dozer with reckless abandon even though I didn't kill him. The truth had become inconsequential. I had nearly slaughtered two men because I could.
“Did you kill Dozer?”
I shook my head. “But I might as well have.”
Aiden mulled over the words, trying to make sense of the complex emotions raging inside my head. I didn’t know how to fix this, how to make it so Aiden saw me as something other than one of the heroes mad with power.
My chest tightened worse than a punch to the sternum. There was one choice left for me. I might not be able to see eye-to-eye with this adorable man, but I could rise above it. I could protect Aiden. The tears evaporated before they could run down my face.
“I haven’t done much right since I assumed the mantle. But I can start.” Bathed in a warm glow, wearing a mask, I refused to sob. I failed. “This is goodbye, Aiden.”
Falling backward, I hit the railing and left the fireescape behind. The flames wrapped around my body and I fought to look ahead as I flew away from Aiden. But with a quick barrel roll, I caught sight of the handsome man sitting in his window.
“Goodbye.”
20
“Want another coffee?”
“Meh.”
Lei slugged my shoulder hard enough I should have whined. She might be ferocious, but it was hardly the blow of a powerhouse. When I didn’t respond, she switched from intensity to location. The slap on the back of the head got my attention.
“What the hell?”
“Oh look, he’s alive.”
They had stationed us downtown for the last few days, and it seemed the world quieted. There were plenty of idiots causing mayhem in the city, but other than a few shortness of breath calls, we sat in the truck desperately trying to pass the time.
“I’m trying to ignore you,” I growled.
“This has nothing to do with me. I’m downright adorable. Matter of fact, I’m all that and a bag of chips.”
“Slow your roll, ma’am.”
“Ma’am?” She pulled back her fist, preparing for another strike. “I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I want my partner back.”
“Where do you think I am?”
“It’s been days of you being a rain cloud filling this ambulance. Now it feels like I’m going to drown. I thought it might be a dude problem. A ‘sorry, honey, this has never happened to me’ thing. But this is worse than you wielding a broken pecker.”
She had a way with words. Ever since the night on the balcony, she had given me space. At first, I thought I was hiding my bad mood. Bernard hadn’t brought it up. Alejandro hadn’t made a joke about my lackluster attitude. But most of all, Lei hadn’t taken the opportunity to rag on me.
“Either fess up, or I grab the Sux.”
“How many times have we talked about this? You can’t keep threatening to paralyze me.”
“Says you.”
Her gaze turned steely, eyes narrowing without blinking. If she had powers, this is where the beams of red light would shoot out and burn me up and down. Even without laser vision, I could feel the burning. Dammit, at times, I hated her.
“It’s—”
