“First,Draculais going on our reading list.” He hadn’t let go of my hand. “Second, some people are natural emoters. They broadcast their feelings. But Mom told me about the people who draw on emotion. Kind of like a succubus.”
“Oh, she’s definitely a succubus.”
“So she’s been doing all this… for what?”
My eyes went wide. “Chaos.” She had given me the answer as if we’d never unravelhersecret. “She feasts on chaos.” Keyes had suckered me into a classic supervillain exposition, and I didn’t even realize it.
“Vanguard.” Booker sat back in his chair. He had connected the dots, but I needed a little nudge in the right direction. “She’s behind the villains. She’s sowing chaos across the city.”
It had never been about stealing Synergy’s property. Catherine Keyes wanted the world to descend into chaos.Instead of seeing the bigger picture, we had been chasing the symptoms and not treating the cause. We had been played from the beginning.
I growled. Knowing the Centurions were being created for this very reason, I couldn’t help but be angry at Carmen. I should call her and demand that she activate this so-called team of heroes. I had to wonder if Catherine and LaToya had an arrangement.
“Nobody’s coming to save the city,” I whispered.
“Nobody has to.”
His fingers slid from my hand. The cool air made the absence of his skin hit harder. As he crossed his arms, I found the smirk, that grin that said he had a plan. Our laundry had been aired, and if anything, I thought we were stronger for it. Whatever he had in mind, I’d follow him anywhere.
“I know of another team of heroes.”
The smirk widened.
Okay. Anywherebutthere.
20
There were no cookies.
“I should have made cookies.”
The table looked bare without at least one plate of freshly baked goods. For the millionth time, I thought about running to the store and buying some. They wouldn’t be made with love. All the deliciousness came from the love. At least I wouldn’t be sitting at the break room table, twiddling my thumbs. At any moment they’d arrive, and I wouldn’t have a single confectionery treat to win them over.
“Friend Drew?” Wyatt’s head extended past the door as if I hadn’t heard the mammoth of a man stomping through the hallway. “Is that really you?”
“Hey, big guy.” Seeing him came as a relief. Of everybody in the office, I feared talking to Wyatt the least. “It’sbeen a few?—”
Super speed. He rushed across the break room, arms wrapped around my chest. He swept me off my feet as if I were a rag doll. Turning back and forth, I let my body go limp. I thought I’d need to explain myself. It’d be a guilt-riddled confession, and then there’d be a solemn silence. Wyatt had other plans.
“Friend.” He squeezed tighter. “Do not ignore our group text ever again.”
My ribcage threatened to give under his bear hug. Of the people I expected to face, Wyatt was the least of my worries. He tried befriending every villain he defeated. There wasn’t a bone in his body capable of malice. While he danced, my face pressed against his chest, it was the confidence booster I needed to get through today.
“Wyatt, put him down.”
From Wyatt’s bosom to Orion’s skeptical deadpan stare. His t-shirt read, “Big Tech Is Watching.” It highlighted his usual cynicism mixed with an edge of irony. No matter how much I tried to interpret those eyes, they gave me nothing.
“Drew.” He pulled out his usual chair and plopped himself down. From one word, I couldn’t tell if he had an opinion about what happened. “Glad to see you’re okay.”
“Friends,” Wyatt shouted. “Drew has returned.”
I wouldn’t put Orion in the victory column. He rested firmly in neutral, where he lived most of the time.
Arthur appeared in the doorway. I braced for a lecture,or at least a glare. He didn’t have time as Janet shoved him aside. There it was, the eyes that… no scrunched-up nose. No angled eyebrows with pursed lips. I treated her like one of Booker’s interviewees, studying every muscle twitch in hopes they gave away a clue.
Nothing.
“We need to talk.” Four of the most dangerous words in the English language. She casually moved through the break room. With a slap against the chest, she pushed Wyatt out of the way. Janet stopped short of her breasts bumping into my chest. I braced for a slap across the face, physical or verbal.
