Chapter 4
I had been told to take the rest of the day to get my head together.
In the middle of a superpowered emergency, I must look pretty bad to be relieved of duty.
I should have gone home, stood under a scalding shower and called it a night.
There were plenty of things I should do, but I remained fixated on watching the paramedics bring in a steady stream of patients.
They had picked up another hero. After twenty, I stopped keeping count.
It was going to be a long night inside the walls of every hospital in Vanguard City.
Government vans had arrived. Even the Centurions' science team showed their nerdy faces.
In all my years, I had never seen so many humans rushing to save the heroes who were supposed to protect them.
“Ironic, isn’t it?” Aiden, formerly known as the asshole, said.
“What’s that?” My voice sounded unamused and lackluster to even me.
“They’re the heroes. They can fly and hurl fireballs, but now it’s up to good ol’ science to save the day. Everyday folks have to become the heroes.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
His hands were wedged in his jacket pockets, so he used his foot to tap my shin. “I’m trying to pay you a compliment.”
“He died.”
Death and I were strange bedfellows. I rarely dwelt on losing a patient.
I couldn’t without going crazy. Instead, I’d run through my procedures to see if there was anything I could do differently.
Eventually my case would be up for review, and I’d sit across from our medical director and be told what I could have done faster, better.
“I’m sorry.”
Those not in the profession never knew how to console us on an off day. It wasn’t a missing stapler or forgetting to include fries. Our bad days meant people died.
“What are you doing here?”
I looked up to see his face studying the influx of people arriving at the hospital. He was hunting for somebody in particular. Eye-level with his belt buckle, I couldn’t help but let my eyes travel downward. Any other day, I’d have let out a whistle at the bulge in his jeans.
“I was at the bridge and this random dude nearly fell to his death.” I looked up from his package to see him grinning. Caught. “I thought I’d stop by and see if he was going to pull through.”
Smooth, I’d give him that. “Nice try. Why are you really here?”
“Okay, but your biceps are a perk.” Was he flirting? Where the hell was Alejandro when I needed him? “Did you see the light?”
“Yeah, Lei nearly crashed the ambulance. Never seen anything like that in Vanguard. And I mean…” I gestured to a seven-foot cyborg stomping its way into the emergency room.
“Not just Vanguard. There are reports from around the globe. My boss asked me to see if I could get an official statement from one of the heroes.”
“A reporter?”
“Well, sort of. I work on the blog for Revelations. A reporter hopeful, you could say. If all goes well, this story could get me bumped up to the big leagues.”
I was about to ask if he knew Griffin or his boyfriend when somebody caught his attention. He put a hand on my shoulder and quickly retracted it.
“Boundaries,” —he tapped a finger on his temple— “see, I can learn. Hate to jet, but I need to keep my job.”
“Always grinding,” I said.
“If you’re lucky.” Okay, screw Alejandro, even I could read the signs. My eyes must have gone wide as he laughed to himself. And with that, Aiden rushed off in pursuit of his story.
I watched his ass as he jogged toward the automatic doors. It was a bad day, but I wasn’t dead. I always enjoyed a man with extra padding. It made for a cushion when things got vigorous in the bedroom. Before I knew it, I imagined the guy who saved my life naked.
“Shit,” I cursed. I forgot to thank him for saving me. If this funk continued much longer, I was going to crawl into my cave and never leave. I might not be the most approachable person, but Mom raised me to have manners.
“Good luck, kid,” I muttered. At least somebody still had the chance for their day to be better than mine.