Chapter 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’s been 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.
“You don’t go radio silent when there are assassins trying to kill your ass.”
She clutched the front of my shirt, pulling me closer.
“Got me?”
Although her lip turned up in a snarl, I’d say this was going better than expected. I nodded, not saying a word.
“I’d murder somebody if they hurt you.”
Wait. The person I worried about most confessed to a pending murderous rage?
Her words were enough to make me rethink what I thought I saw after stopping Nails.
To reinforce the sentiment, she glared. No matter how much my self-doubt tried to rewrite them into something cynical, they held their own rage.
I held out my arms, thinking it was the perfect moment for a hug.
Instead, Janet punched me in the shoulder. “What do we owe this reunion?”
“He’s found the person behind Synergy’s security breach.” Connor stood in the doorway, arms folded. It wouldn’t surprise me if he had been tracking me this entire time. Heck, knowing him and Orion, I threw the idea of privacy out the window. “Am I wrong?”
“He’s right,” I admitted. “She’s been playing us this whole time.”
“It’s Tia,” Janet said. She flexed, hands balling into fists. “We’ll storm the office and—”
“No,” I said. “Tia’s a good guy.”
“Bite your tongue!”
If they could settle their dispute over trolls, they’d be an unstoppable duo. They’d go from singing duets at karaoke to terrorizing local bikers. Once we finished the city-destroying business, I’d make that my new goal.
“Ms. Keyes. Synergy’s Human Resources director.”
“Didn’t see that coming,” Orion said.
Arthur eyed Janet. “Really?” He pointed at his twin. “Human Resources director didn’t hit anybody’s radar?”
Wyatt shrugged. Janet turned and snarled at her brother. Once the identity sank in, all eyes drifted back to me. We were at a crossroads. I could glaze over the truth and pray that they didn’t ask questions, or I could—
“I’m Hellion.”
“No shit,” Janet said.
“What she said,” Connor added.
“I had no idea,” Wyatt gasped.
Orion rolled his eyes until they turned white. With a flick of his wrist, his watch projected one of his conspiracy boards. For a second, I spotted Wyatt at the center of the board with the words “Earth Destroyer” at the top.
“Whoops. Wrong board.”
“Friend Orion, we’re going to talk.” Wyatt’s hand gripped Orion’s shoulder.
With another flick of the wrist, this board had my photo on it. To one side was a handful of pictures of assassins I had sent to prison. He had the trident symbol circled and a question mark. My photo faded, replaced by Hellion, above a blinking 93% match.
With another flick, the screen vanished. “It wasn’t hard to figure out after that woman attacked.”
Just like that, Orion laid my secret out for the entire room.
I wanted to look down and avoid their eyes.
My hands went to my lap, fingers already fidgeting.
Not even Hellion’s brazen confidence could overcome the fear of what this meant.
Taking charge and throwing villains through walls wasn’t as scary as their judgment.
“Sorry.”
“For?” Arthur asked.
“Not telling you sooner.” I stole a quick glance at the boss. “For not being honest.”
“The name of the company is Secret Identities.”
“That’s not it, is it?” Connor’s face remained neutral as he asked. I wondered if he could read micro cues like Booker, or if he had deduced my real dilemma.
“Hellion isn’t really my secret identity.”
Wyatt’s eyebrow went up. “I am confused.”
“Drew’s not real, is he?” Orion asked.
“So confused,” Wyatt reiterated.
Janet patted him on the chest. “I’ll explain it later.”
This had been the moment I feared. It was one thing for them to discover my secret identity.
Hell, even their knowing that I roamed the streets looking for trouble didn’t compete with this.
Revealing that Drew, in some part, had been the mask, that I had spent the last year concealing myself, that made me want to curl into a ball.
“He’s not,” I admitted. “Not entirely.”
With my darkest secret on the table, I gave them a moment to process. How many conversations would they replay, wondering if they were Drew or Hellion? Would the sense of betrayal be immediate? Or would it slowly rise to the surface?
“Well,” Arthur started. “That explains the bloody rags in the employee bathroom.”
“Told you it wasn’t me,” Janet mumbled.
“I think Drew is waiting for our reactions.” Connor cut through the noise. I appreciated his blunt approach to conversation. “Would a woohoo suffice?”
“Woohoo?” I whispered.
“What Connor is trying to say—” Orion held out his hand. “—nice to meet you, Drew.”
I stared at his hand. The guilt. The anguish. The uncertainty. It all washed away as he reached out, patiently waiting for me to take his hand. Every accusation I had made, every fear I held, I swallowed them, trying to force myself to see his hand as nothing more than a goodwill gesture.
“Good grief.” Orion lunged. His arms wrapped around my shoulders, squeezing as if he wanted to crush my ribs. “Take a hint, buddy.”
“Hugs!” Wyatt’s arms wrapped around us both, lifting us as if we were stuffed animals. That would have been fine, but as he started jumping up and down, I feared I’d hurl.
“Do we join?”
Up and down. Up and down. Up and down. On the third round, Janet and Connor joined in.
It wouldn’t have been awkward, but somebody’s hand found its way to my left ass cheek.
Not in my wildest dreams did I anticipate that this was how my identity reveal would go.
I forced myself to remain present and bask in the glow of these odd humans—and one alien—that I called my friends.
“Ahem.” The hug broke to Arthur, shaking his head. “Can we get back to the part where my boyfriend’s company is about to be destroyed by one of his employees?”
“Mood killer,” Janet said.
We took our seats, and I explained to them everything Booker and I had discovered.
Every so often, Orion and Connor would nod to one another.
I didn’t need to ask as they mentally rearranged their conspiracy boards.
Janet and Wyatt listened quietly while Arthur shook his head with every new revelation.
When I reached the end, everybody remained silent.
Our morning meetings were chaotic at best, but never had we discussed our heroing so openly. This would normally be the point where Orion dropped an annoyed statement before vacating. None of them spoke long enough that I feared I hadn’t explained the severity of the situation.
“Well, boss?” Janet turned to Arthur. “What do we do?”
Arthur leaned forward, propped up on his elbows. “Looks like everybody’s getting the day off.”
“To kick some ass?” Janet didn’t hide her zeal.
“To kick some ass,” he repeated. He turned toward me, his lip turned up in a smile. “What do you have in mind?”
They had seen me nearly kill somebody. I confessed to being a vigilante known for breaking bones and leaving the bad guys in a bloody heap.
Even after revealing the mask I wore every time I entered the building, none of it had fazed them.
The self-doubt in the pit of my stomach stirred, ready to convince me that they didn’t really understand.
“I have a plan.” Hellion… no, I wouldn’t let the self-doubt fester. I could already hear Booker’s ‘I told you so.’ “Call Ricardo, Hudson, and Dustin. Booker’s waiting for us in the lobby. The Janeteers have a job to do.”
Janet’s hands slammed down on the table. “Fuck yeah!”