Secret Spark

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

Sadie readjusted her bouncy red ponytail to prep for closing time cleaning. Another few minutes and she could politely inform the woman and man typing away at a corner table that Vector City Coffee closed at ten.

Her feet hurt, which wasn’t her fault. These cute purple Mary Janes had insoles from the drugstore down the street. Pounding concrete sidewalks on her commute and standing all day behind the counter was simply a tiring thing to do. Blaming cute shoes was like arguing with that vindictive pigeon who pooped on her apartment balcony every day: a big waste of time.

Besides, the shoes went perfectly with her bright blue cigarette pants and matching sleeveless top. It would’ve been a disservice to the outfit not to wear them, even though said outfit was covered by her drab gray work apron.

The energy of a warm summer night permeated the coffee shop. Most of the drinks she’d made that day had been iced, which was fine. It was a good lazy Sunday for iced coffee or tea. It just didn’t allow her to craft fun designs on top of a hot cappuccino.

The open, airy vibe of Vector City Coffee and white-and-gray décor telegraphed cold drinks, cold sandwiches, muffins that were not fresh from the oven. The moody indie music and stiff metal chairs made you feel more like sitting at attention than relaxing.

All things Sadie would change.

Her heartbeat doubled as visions of her dream café played about her head. Warm, cozy, inviting. Wooden tables, comfortable chairs, a couch or two. And color. And a jukebox if she could find (and afford) one. It’d be stocked with oldies and real old oldies and random pop songs from the past few decades. Whatever struck her fancy, because it’d be hers .

She slid the glass door on the back of the display case to start gathering the unsold pastries. A boom sounded outside. Then a second one, louder and closer. A huge burst of unnatural wind stirred dust and garbage along Bromley Street.

The intensity picked up. Several bolts of small, contained lightning flashed across the street.

“Not again,” Sadie groaned, shielding her eyes.

One of the wide front windows shattered as a large lump of a man crashed through it. The coffeehouse vibrated from the impact.

He sat up fairly quickly. Brushed bits of glass off his skintight black spandex. His face was masked other than eyeholes and a space for his nose and mouth.

He stood, stamping more glass off his massive frame. No mistaking which Superhero with that body. It was Lunk. Tremendous strength packed every bulging muscle.

Amit came running out of the back, untied apron flapping around him. Utter disbelief made the manager’s brown eyes grow comically huge.

Lunk looked around, met Sadie’s gaze, then gave a small shrug. “Sorry,” he said in a deep timbre.

“Aw, come on!” Amit all but shrieked.

A lithe figure in black and crimson ran past the newly created hole, laughing loudly. Her long, dark hair bounced with every step. Oh, no. Spark .

Two more Villains quickly crossed the street—Ice in his black getup striped with dark blue, Breeze in his charcoal-gray outfit. Ice shot a spray of snow at Lunk’s face on his way by.

Lunk frowned, then charged through the broken glass and back out to protect the citizens of Vector City.

Catch dropped to the sidewalk from above. Hooray! Catch was here! Looking commanding and protective in head-to-toe navy blue. She followed in hot pursuit.

Sadie’s heart soared as she leaned over the counter to catch one last glimpse of her Superhero crush. “Go get ’em, Catch.”

“I don’t believe this.” Amit stomped over to the accident site. “That’s the third time this year. What are these dumbasses doing?”

“Last time, it was one of the bad guys,” Sadie said.

“Yeah, who got thrown through the door by Flight.” Her boss kicked at a large chunk of glass.

Sadie picked up the cordless phone. It’d been smart to add the twenty-four-hour emergency board-up company to their speed dial.

The man and woman at the corner table went back to typing.

Amit grumbled and groused as he snagged the phone from her. “Why couldn’t it have been one of the others? Why’d it have to be the biggest frickin’ Super the city’s ever had?”

Sadie nodded in agreement.

“Flight crashes through tall buildings, since he flies around. Race is too fast to get caught.”

“Catch absorbs energy, so she doesn’t cause too much damage,” Sadie pointed out.

“Yes, she does.” Amit shook his head. “They all do.”

She bit back a retort in defense of her heroes. Particularly Catch. “It’s not the Supers we have to worry about. It’s the Villains. The ones who shoot fire and ice and mess with your head.”

Amit harrumphed and got on the phone. Sadie headed to the utility closet. There had been wind and electricity outside—most likely the work of Breeze and Volt. Which meant Hide could be lurking about. Hard to tell with someone who got all invisible. The Villains loved sneaky diversions.

Then again, they were led by Trick, a dude who did mind control. One guy she hoped to never cross paths with. Liars were the worst. Manipulative liars were the worst of the worst. A fact she knew all too well.

Sadie carried two brooms and dustpans over to the mess. She’d only have to do a thorough cleaning of three tables and a few chairs. Their tempered glass shattered mostly downward in compliance with city building regulations. At least staying late would mean extra money in her savings account.

A twentysomething white guy stopped in front of the gaping hole to snap a photo, then went on his way.

The bank across the street had probably been the target. It was one of those “private banks” that catered to a select clientele. Her meager savings account didn’t meet their minimum requirements, so at least her money was safe.

Amit ended his phone call with the board-up company. He grabbed a nearby garbage can and dragged it over. “There’s a reason we don’t have tables along this wall. Can you imagine how much our liability insurance would go up if someone got hurt by these jerks?”

“It could’ve been worse,” Sadie said.

“‘Protectors of the city,’ my ass. What’d be nice is if they weren’t destroying the city they’re supposed to be protecting. Why don’t they protect our insurance rates by watching where they’re going?”

“We can file a claim through the SuperWatch app.”

“Why bother? Nobody ever sees a payout.”

“Villains don’t care what they destroy,” Sadie said. “The Supers have to meet them where they’re at.”

“Can we do an exchange program with a different city? We get their Supers while they take ours?”

“Every city has similar problems.”

“My brother lives in Oceanview,” said Amit. “They don’t have nearly as many mishaps. Their Supers take it to the sky and over the water.”

“They’re coastal,” Sadie reminded him. “We’ve only got the river, and it’s lined with skyscrapers.”

“Over in Destine, they set up a fund to help with repair costs.”

“That was after the big robotic sidekick fiasco. And their taxes went sky high.”

Amit went on about dreading his phone call with Vector City Coffee’s owner. Sadie tipped a chair to the side. Bits of glass tinkled off the seat. What if something like this happened to the comfy couches in her dream café? Would the insurance rates be better if she leased space in a smaller building in a more residential area?

Reality sank low in her gut. One of the major obstacles to opening her café was insurance rates. They were cost-prohibitive. And what if disaster struck and she didn’t have a financial cushion for those couch cushions? And the paperwork involved, and having the proper building materials…

Superheroes and Supervillains played out their good guy/bad guy battles while regular people tried to do their jobs and go about their lives.

Still, the tradeoff was having crooked criminals running rampant through the city. High premiums and replacing the occasional window were better than the bad guys winning.

Another fact she knew all too well.

* * *

It was after midnight by the time Sadie got home. She swiped her keycard at her building’s main entrance. The blue-accented lobby was empty and quiet. She plodded on weary feet to the alcove of mailboxes. Okay, maybe it was the shoes, though she hated blaming them.

Her slim mailbox held a coupon for a nearby Mexican restaurant. Ooh, good junk mail for a change. She double-checked in case there was a newsletter from one of her favorite animal rescue groups hiding in the back. Or on the extremely unlikely off-chance one of the several exes who were “totally gonna pay her back” had made good on an empty promise with cash or an old-school check. That would probably bounce.

She headed out toward the elevators. A voluminous yawn overtook her face, which she didn’t bother covering. Her eyes got all squinty and she squeaked out a whoosh of breath.

Then she blinked and noticed someone waiting for an elevator.

A gorgeous white woman watching Sadie with amusement toying at her lips.

She stopped short, instantly embarrassed. The woman’s dark brown hair was pulled into a little bun, showing off an undercut. Her buttoned-up, short-sleeved seersucker shirt and olive-green pants didn’t disguise the cut of finely sculpted muscles.

Sadie reflexively smoothed her rounded bangs. Good thing she’d had a recent color touch-up so they were a brilliant auburn.

“Late night?” the stranger said.

“Yeah,” Sadie said. She cleared her throat and found the ability to walk again.

“Doing something fun, I hope.”

“Working, so not really.”

“That’s too bad.” The woman held a large gym bag in one hand. The lighting around the elevators was dimmed in the evening, but it did sort of look like she might have recently worked out. That glow of physical activity.

Sadie pointed at the bag. “Getting home from a workout?”

Pleasantly Glowing Person glanced down at it. “Sort of. I was at work, too.”

“Are you a trainer?”

“I work at a gym.”

Before Sadie could ask which one (not that she knew about local workout places), the elevator doors in front of them opened.

They stepped in. Sadie pushed the button for the seventh floor. “Which floor?” she asked.

“Same one.”

“Really? What apartment are you in?”

“Seven fourteen.”

Elation twirled up her chest. “I live across the hall in 709. We’re neighbors.”

“Cool. I just moved in.”

“I’ve lived here for two years. Let me know if you have any questions about anything.”

“I will.” A citrusy ginger aroma wafted from Pleasantly Glowing Person.

“I’m Sadie Eagan, by the way.” She giggled at how weird that sounded. “Wow, that was sure formal. Sadie Eagan. ”

Her new neighbor laughed, too. “Joan Malone. Since we’re being so formal.”

They shook hands firmly, almost professionally. The warmth in Joan Malone’s hand was definitely friendly. As was her languid smile that hinted at good times for its lucky recipient.

The elevator binged and delivered them to their floor. They walked into the bright hallway light. Joan’s strong jawline was more pronounced, and?—

Whoa. Her eyes. Their color. Amber and golden and brown. A swirl of shades Sadie had never seen before.

“What do you do for work, Sadie Eagan?” Joan asked, her voice low and unhurried.

Sadie forced her gaze from those eyes. “I’m a barista at Vector City Coffee.”

Joan switched her nylon gym bag to her opposite hand. “Oh yeah?”

“It’s over on Bromley, near the corner.” With a snort (ugh, so embarrassing!), Sadie added, “The storefront with a giant hole in it.”

Joan blinked. “Really?”

“One of our windows got blown out by Lunk tonight.”

“You don’t say.”

Nodding, Sadie said, “Third time this year we’ve had an incident.”

“By the Supers?”

“Twice it was the Supers, though I guess technically the other time was, too. One of the Villains got tossed out of the air and crashed through our front door.”

“Out of the air, huh?” Joan said, squinting curiously.

“Yeah. I watched it happen. Flight was doing his thing up high, and then got sprayed with frozen pellets by Ice, so he threw Ice down, and…”

“Ice crashed through your door.”

“Yeah.” Sadie made a circle with her arms. “He left a huge puddle. We had to squeegee it out with mops and brooms.”

Joan’s lips twitched. “I’ve heard it can be messy when all his ice melts.”

“Can confirm, it is.”

Her new neighbor glanced down the hall. “I think sometimes…” Joan scratched at an ear. “I mean, I’ve heard people talk about it. They don’t mean to. I don’t think they’re trying to damage anything. It just happens.”

“The Supers? No, of course they don’t. They have to do what’s necessary to protect the city.”

“Right.” Her rather lovely mouth flattened into a thin line. “The cost of doing business in Vector City.”

“Well, the cost keeps going up.”

“Is that why you’re clutching that coupon like it might blow away?”

Glancing at the mailer for the Mexican restaurant, Sadie joked, “You never know when there’ll be a taco emergency.”

Joan tilted her head. “Nothing worse than a taco emergency.”

Sadie opened her mouth to agree, only… Taco emergency? “Uhh…”

Her cheeks burned with a deepening blush.

Joan’s eyes lit up with humor. Maybe a little interest, too. They were utterly captivating. It was hard not to stare at them. To stare at all of Joan. She was hot. Like, really hot in a chiseled Greek statue way. She was only a few inches taller but commanded twice as much space with her energy.

Hot New Neighbor Joan saved Sadie from further humiliation by walking toward their apartments. Sadie fell in step with her. Self-conscious warmth settled into her skin, or maybe it was excess exercise endorphins radiating from Joan.

“Sorry your workplace got hit again,” Joan said. “Vector City Coffee, right? On Bromley Street?”

“Yep.” Sadie gave her a smile. “Feel free to stop by.”

“Sure,” Joan said. “My schedule can be unpredictable, so I might miss you.”

“Then you’ll just have to try and try again.”

“If at first I don’t succeed.”

Her grin widened at Joan getting the joke. Sadie slowed to a stop in front of her door. The multicolored crepe paper flower wreath added a pop of happiness to it. “It was nice meeting you,” she said.

“Nice to meet you, too,” Joan said.

“Just knock if you need to borrow a cup of sugar or something.”

“That’s mighty neighborly of you.”

“It’s important for new residents to feel welcome.” Sadie tipped her head to the side, conveying that Joan was a very welcome addition to the building.

Joan continued to her apartment. She paused and gave Sadie a devastatingly sexy look over one shoulder. “Goodnight, Sadie Eagan,” she said quietly.

“Goodnight, Joan Malone.”

Good night, indeed.

Sadie peeked into the hallway as she leisurely closed her door. Joan stood at her door for a moment. Was she listening? For what? A pet, maybe. Or with Sadie’s luck, a spouse. Though Joan had said I just moved in , not We or My equally hot partner and I just moved in.

Joan unlocked her door and slipped inside, closing it just as fast.

Sadie flicked the lights on in her small, open-concept kitchen. It was pretty late. She’d probably have a hard time winding down and going to sleep. Not just from the ordeal at work, but from meeting a gorgeous, flirty new neighbor who lived steps away and was possibly available.

Without Lunk, she might not have met Joan tonight. The Supers had done it again. Bringing good things to the residents of Vector City whether they knew it or not.

Thanks, Lunk.