Chapter 17
“Keep your cool.”
In the hallway, I took a steadying breath.
I had broken out the crimson tie and bright white dress shirt.
Normally, I didn’t wear a suit jacket in the office, but today I wanted to make a statement.
Silver cufflinks glimmered, completing the look.
Nobody had given me a second look as I walked into Synergy.
A temp at Tia’s desk hadn’t bothered looking up as I let myself in and snaked through the hallways.
“You’ve got this.” The suit might be my business attire, but I was entering Keyes’ office ready to raise hell. I arrived before Booker, hoping to keep the conversation about my identity a secret. I wanted to tell him… I think. That was a conversation that needed more preparation.
“Don’t strangle her,” I repeated.
I didn’t knock. Pushing the door open, I barged into Catherine’s office.
She didn’t look up from her laptop. Clacking keys continued, as if she were sending the most urgent email of her life.
I shut the door, feeling my determination waver.
I thought this would be a Hellion-centric exchange, but what was I going to do? Break a finger until she confessed?
“We need to talk.”
“One moment.”
I stood in front of her desk, waiting. Catherine Keyes paid me no attention.
I imagined grabbing her by the ponytail and knocking her chin against the keyboard.
When she spit blood, it’d stand out against the turquoise blouse.
Would she be able to reach the alarm under her desk before I lunged?
With security tightened, I’d have a minute tops before officers busted into her office.
“What can I help you with? Any updates?”
While I lay in bed, I practiced what I was going to say.
It ranged from accusations to cocky laughing.
Most of the time, it resulted in my heart racing before I threw the desk to the side.
Now, standing in front of her, I felt my conviction falter.
What if I had misread the clues? Maybe it was all speculation, and she was a victim of dire circumstances?
My shoulders straightened. She preyed on my need to placate.
“It’s you.” Not as confident as I had hoped.
“Me.” She didn’t deflect.
Catherine leaned back in her chair, hands clasped together.
Her face remained neutral, which made her even more alarming.
Connor’s statement had me twitchy. The natural reaction to an accusation would have been a worried expression, deflection, or even anger.
Instead, the corner of her lip curled. Most of the time, it’d have gone unnoticed, but the control she exuded made it stand out.
“You caught me.” This hadn’t been any of the outcomes when I practiced. “What gave me away?”
“Bad lighting.” I reached into my pocket, producing Tia’s photograph. Tossing it onto the desk, she barely glanced at it. “I have enough evidence for a trial.”
Catherine laughed. Not the maniacal laughter I expected.
Everything about this amused her, as if she knew it was only a matter of time.
With how deftly she had manipulated me before, this was nothing more than another chance to elicit sympathy.
As my fingers curled into fists, the sting of nails in my palms kept me grounded.
“You’re done for.”
“Did you practice your determination?” She leaned forward. “I can almost taste your conflict. You’re a sweet warring contradiction.”
Okay, this had gotten weird. When a villain talked about tasting something, a hero had to be careful. It wouldn’t be the first time somebody tried to eat me.
“That contradiction is the only thing keeping me from breaking every bone in your body.”
The smile grew wider. “Hellion joined the party. It’s unfortunate that Drew holds him back. I appreciate a vigilante who leaves a trail of carnage in his wake. It has a certain irony I adore.”
“Why?” I needed to know. Not why she consistently sabotaged Synergy. This was more personal. “Why me?”
She held up her hand, palm facing me. The silver bands around her fingers almost shimmered. No, not the rings, her hand. As her arm stretched across her desk, it grew brighter until the light turned almost a vibrant yellow. Nope, her having powers was not in any of my rehearsed dialogues.
“Chaos,” she said. “I felt it the moment you walked into Ricardo’s office.”
“You’re a super?”
“That turbulence, it’s like a succulent midday snack.”
This didn’t change her guilt, but it left me with more questions. She knew about my identity, but what about the others? I wasn’t scared of whatever sorcery she had at her disposal. It was the knowledge behind that condescending smile that gave me pause.
“Was it Apex who gave away my identity?”
She chuckled as if I were barely an inconvenience. “You were easy to read. I only needed to ask the right questions, and Apex figured it out. The real fun was your partner.”
Booker? What did he have to do with this? If she hurt him, the desk would be against the wall as I charged. I’d throw her out the window without a second thought. She’d pray for the cops to rescue her as I—
“Booker hasn’t told you?” It was becoming increasingly annoying how she read me like my thoughts were on display. “Tsk tsk. Your boyfriend has been keeping secrets.”
“Keep his name out of your mouth.” My fists tightened.
“It took me a while to get through his defenses, but I do love a challenge.” If she even mentioned touching him, I’d ensure she didn’t walk out of this office alive.
“Aren’t you curious how your boyfriend always knows just the right thing to say?
Even for a modern man, he’s dangerously perceptive.
Almost as if he can read your emotions.”
She dangled a secret in front of me, hoping I’d take the bait.
I wouldn’t fall victim to her trap, even if it left me curious.
At first, I assumed his ability to calm the room came from years of training with the government.
She wasn’t wrong; he had a sixth sense for reading the room, and almost supernatural…
The smile spread across her face. “There it is.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I lied. It made sense. I thought my reaction to Cypher’s had been irrational and over the top. Whenever he rested a hand on my shoulder, my thoughts quieted. Could it be that Booker—
“Your boyfriend is an empath.” She slowly stood. “A rather good one at that.”
I couldn’t muster a lie as I replayed every interaction.
Had this been the secret he tried to share last night?
If Tia and Becky had waited a minute longer, would he have come clean and confessed his abilities?
Was I mad? Was I even allowed to be mad?
It wasn’t like I didn’t have my own skeletons spilling out of the closet.
“It’s like a feast every time you visit my office. Him, he’s like water or stale bread. There’s no chaos to replenish the well.”
“It changes nothing,” I said, standing.
“Dear.” She braced her hands on the desk, leaning forward. “By your expression, it changes everything.”
“I could have you arrested right now.”
Her eyes narrowed. She had powers, but other than a lot of awkward eating puns, I couldn’t tell what they were.
That had never stopped me from walking into a fray.
We’d trash the office, break a few walls, and possibly fall out a window and plunge four stories, but nothing in her arsenal could stop me.
“Which one of you would make the arrest? Tint? Hellion?”
Nothing but that.
“When I give my confession, should I mention your boyfriend’s superpowers? I wonder if the government knows? I bet they’d frown at that.”
Whatever power she possessed, it came second to the information she had gathered. Catherine Keyes had predicted this moment and knew that by plunging a knife into an open wound, she’d walk away the victor. It was cold and calculating, but what angered me the most—it worked.
“This will only end one way,” she hissed.
Her eyes clouded white, with a wisp of yellow energy cackling at the edge.
I had two options. I could walk away and let her claim a momentary victory.
It’d sting my ego while I regrouped, but it also meant she might enact whatever plan she had brewing.
My other option was to reach across the desk and snap her neck. Dead men tell no secrets.
“This isn’t over.” Not even Hellion would cross that line.
“I hope it isn’t.” The power surged, and energy radiated from her eyes. “I do love our chats.”
For a second, I considered crossing it, going from vigilante to villain.
It’d save Synergy. Hell, it’d save the city from whatever she planned.
I couldn’t do it and walk away with my honor intact.
She had manipulated me enough. I wouldn’t let her push me any further.
Could she taste the question? Or how incredibly close she had come to dying?
I turned and headed for the door. I glanced over my shoulder. She had already returned to her seat, fingers clacking away at the keyboard as if it had been a minor inconvenience. I exited and walked down the hallway. Catherine had weaponized my secret, the one thing she could hold over my head.
I had one card left to play: remove her leverage.