Hero Stalker

Part Seventy-Six

Dan met me outside the Washington Harbor Sushi Queen as the sun went down. His chin had a bruise from when I'd pinned him down on the deck. Flecks of dried blood lay under his fingernails. The cold fire in his eyes had died down. You don't need to hide that side of yourself, I wanted to say. I get it.

But now wasn't the right time.

Inside the building, the cops were grilling Valerie, since her business had constructed the disguise for Harpy's superweapon. I'd already had my own hour long session. Saito, Sue, and Brendon would probably be stuck here past midnight.

No fireworks lit up the evening. Vendors had cleared out their stalls without fanfare. Discarded food and carnival prizes littered the streets. All the families had long since fled. The streets felt empty without the laugher and cheers.

Dan's arms wrapped around me. He held me against him for the longest time without speaking. I'd already pegged him for one of those guys who didn't talk about their emotions.

"At least we don't have to lie anymore," he whispered in my ear.

I pulled back. "What?"

"You didn't see the press conference? Thought you were a psi-nerd."

Oh. That. For a second, I'd thought he'd caught on to me. "Your friends in uniform spent the past hour interrogating me."

"Get this." He pulled out his smartphone and opened YouTube. Shadowcat stood before a bunch of microphones. The smooth waters of the harbor lay in the background.

"A Centurion's most important possession is their secret identity." My voice sounded deeper and stronger in the recording. I blamed Dan's phone. "But one of Bayton's own Centurions has betrayed the sacred oath she swore to protect this city. I will not protect her in return. Amanda Mason, alias Peregrine, committed these murders under the guise of Harpy. She betrayed Slasher and threw him off Centurion Tower. And even though she's fled Bayton— "

Dan paused the video. "Pretty goddamn revolutionary, right? Thought Ayers would order us to say Harpy was a Somali pirate or something."

Femme would kill me the next time I set foot in the Tower. All the same, I'd be back there tomorrow night. "You still think Shadowcat's reckless and disrespectful?"

"You should have seen her out there. Lady didn't even let me fire my gun. She thinks I'm incompetent or something. And her crazy stunt with the fireworks . . ."

I saved your life.

Dan must have seen how uncomfortable I looked. He cleared his throat. "Anyway, I don't want to burden you with the details. Shadowcat might be rude and reckless, but she's one brave woman. And I know she means a lot to you. So here."

He pulled a box from the shopping bag by his feet and handed it to me. A first edition Shadowcat action figure.

I held it up in the dying sunlight. The breasts on the figure were much larger than my own. Maybe that was why no one recognized me. "I thought you weren't a psi-nerd."

"I'm not. But you are." He shrugged. "I want you to know I'm okay with you being you."

I kissed him as hard as I could. He squeezed me close. That's when I realized how arousing fighting for your life could be. I yearned to hop in his truck and drive straight to his house. But the still-healing cuts on my back would invite too many questions, and Mom needed to see I was alive.

So I swallowed my pride and texted Annabelle.

She'd come to my press conference, but I hadn't seen her up close. When I finally slid into her busted-up white Honda, her eyeliner had run down her face. She'd been crying. I tucked my purse under my legs and pulled on my seatbelt. Not a speck of dust dotted her dashboard. Her air freshener filled the car with a lemony scent. Annabelle liked to keep things neat.