Hero's Revenge (Keepers of Justice, Book 2) (7 page)

We spend the remainder of the day talking, playing games, and watching movies. Stealth
mists away to pick up the uniforms, and once she returns we go to my room to review the plan.

Stealth doesn’t seem nervous. In fact, she looks a bit too confident.

When she catches me watching her, she gives me a big smile. “It’ll be okay.” She scoots to me and marks an “X” on my lips. “Stop worrying.”

That night, I don’t sleep. I’m thinking about tomorrow, and about Stealth. More about the latter than the former. No matter how much I try, I can’t get her out of my head.

And deep down, I’m not sure I want to.

“Man, these uniforms are uncomfortable,” Kale mutters, pulling and stretching. It’s eight in the evening. We’ve been through the plan at least ten times. Maybe that’s a bit too much, but nothing can go wrong. We need perfection.

“Careful,” Lindsay says,
stopping his hands. “You’ll tear it.”

“Cheap crap,” he mumbles.
“It’s itchy.”

I adjust my mask. He’s right—it’s itchy. I feel it all over my body
. “Beggars can’t be choosers,” I say and look at Stealth. “Yours fit okay?”

She nods, fingering the designs. Red smoke is scattered all over the black material.
It’s the perfect uniform to intrigue these villains.

“Okay,” I say. “Stealth is going to bring us to the location. She and Lindsay will stay a few
feet behind while Kale and I check it out.” In case something goes wrong, I don’t want the girls to get hurt. If we get captured, at least the Blades won’t have their hands on them and discover their powers. I’m sure Vlayne wouldn’t like to see us again, but we’ve been through this before while the girls haven’t.

“You don’t have to check it out,” Stealth says. “I’ll be fine.”

“I don’t doubt that, but I’d like to scan the area. I don’t want any surprises.”

Lindsay clutches Kale’s hand tightly. “Be careful
.” She buries her head in his chest.

“I will.” He kisses her che
ek. “Don’t worry.”

“I’ll make sure we all get home safely,” I promise her.

She bites her lip. “Okay.”

I turn to Kale. “Are all our thoughts hidden?”

“Double checked.”

I scan the mansion. Samson and Cindy are in their office
s. Some Elites are training, others are in the Conference Room. Everyone is doing their usual activities. It’s a normal summer night.

Kale and I take Stealth’s hands while Lindsay
holds onto her wrist. Our molecules separate and we fly through the tunnel. We end up in Downtown Brooklyn, a few blocks away from the Nightmares’ location.

“Oh, wow!” Lindsay says.

“That was
so
cool!” Kale adds.

Stealth laughs.

Kale and I turn on the invisibility watches and race toward the abandoned building. Crouching behind the planks of wood, I penetrate the walls. All six of them are in there. Three, who seem to be college age, are playing video games. Two battle each other and the last one paces around.

You think they’ll accept her
? Kale asks.

I watch them for a bit. The one pacing seems to be the leader.
He was the one wearing the fake ShadowBlade logo. He looks to be in his mid-thirties. He runs his hand across the top of his head, clearly distraught.

Hope so
.

We watch for a bit longer.
What’s he thinking about
? I ask.

How worthless these idiots are
. He chuckles.

I smile. Perfect.
Better call Stealth and Lindsay here
, I tell him.
Before they leave
.

A few seconds later, I
feel Lindsay and Stealth crouch near us. They’re invisible.

“This is freaky,” Lindsay
whispers. “What if they catch us?”

“Don’t worry, they can’t see us,”
Kale says. “Here, hold my hand. We’re fine. We’ll be okay.”

“
They’re in there?” Stealth asks.

“Yeah,” I say. “Go in. Be strong, confident. No BS-type girl. Show them you mean business and won’t back down until you get what you want. Show them your power. Knock them off their feet.”

“Easy,” she says softly, her voice tickling my ear. My heart lurches, but I push that aside. I can’t lose focus now.

“Remember the life we created for you. Stick with it.”

She grew up in the foster system and was thrown from house to house. She lives on the streets now and steals and kills to survive. It’s a little similar to both our pasts, but it’s the only thing we could come up with that incorporates her ability and hatred for normies.

“Got it.” Her hand rests on my thigh. I’m not sure if she meant to touch a different spot, or touch me at all.

I shake my head to rid the thoughts. “When you’re ready.”

A gust
of wind shoots at me. Stealth appears inside the building, right in front of the guys playing video games.

“Kale,” I
say. “Connect us.”

“Already connected.”

We’re inside the head of the leader. I can see through his eyes. When they land on the intruder, his fingers transform into bird claws and he swats at her face. Stealth mists away. To one end of the building, then to another. All six heads whip around as they try to catch up with her. She’s too quick.

“What do you want?” the leader demands.

The mist gathers on top of a pile of wooden boxes. A second later, Stealth appears, sitting on them. She casually rests her hand on her lap.

“Who are you?” another villain asks.

Her gaze roams the area like she owns the place. “Mistress of Death.”

Kale was the one who came up with
the name. Said it’d be cute because of the “mist” in mistress.

“What do you want
?”

Stealth hops
off the boxes. The guys are standing before her, legs spread, their arms at their sides. They look menacing, but Stealth doesn’t flinch. She walks to the leader. “Word around the street is you guys are recruiting. I want to join.”

He exchanges glances with the oth
er five. They burst out laughing.

“You’re a little girl,” the leader snarls. “
We’re looking for
experienced
villains.”

Stealth doesn’t answer as she walks over to one of the boxes. She touches it, and it disperses.
She does the same to a few more boxes as well as the video game console.

“Hey!” one of the guys yells.

Stealth grabs the guy and he disappears. The only thing remaining is his left arm where she clutches him. The rest of his body is a cloud of mist. “If I let go,” she says. “He dies.”

The five of them gasp. So do Kale
, Lindsay, and I. I didn’t know she could do that.

She’s badass
, Kale says.

No kidding. She’s even more intriguing than I thought. H
otter, sexier, more mysterious.

“That’s my brother!” one of the guys says, lunging for her. The leader holds him back.

“What—what do you want?” he asks.

“Like I said,”
Stealth answers. “To join you. And ultimately join the ShadowBlades. I’ve been trying to get their attention for a while. No luck.” She pauses, her eyes moving to each member. “That’s your goal, isn’t it? To be recruited by them. That’s why you need me. I’m your ticket in.”

“You little—”

Still clutching the guy, she walks around. “The ShadowBlades never promised all
six
of you will get in,” she says, exactly how we practiced it. “If you let me join, and they want me, I’ll make sure you all get in. You have my word.”

The guy in Stealth’s grasp materializes—seeming fine and undamaged—and the five villains sigh in relief.

“Or,” Stealth continues. “We keep things simple and you tell me how to contact the ShadowBlades. But you won’t give me the information without getting something in return, right? So I can either kill you for the information, or you let me join and we take it from there. I help you, you help me. Everyone is happy. What do you say, boys?”

They exchange glances. They huddle together, whispering. Ste
alth leans against the wall, keeping cool and calm.

A few minutes pass before the leader says
, “Come tomorrow. Same time, same location. We need to discuss this amongst ourselves.”

She nods. “See you then.” And she vanishes. A second later, I feel her beside me.

“How did I do?” she whispers.

“Bad-
ass
!” Kale says.

“Take us home,” I say as I watch the six of them talk. “They’ll be leaving soon.”
I’d like to stay and watch, but we can’t get caught.

We grab onto Stealth and she mists us into my room.

“Man,” Kale says. “You do some serious cool crap, but I didn’t know how cool. Why didn’t you tell us you could do that?”

She
smirks. “Surprise. Did I do okay?”

“Wow,” Lindsay says. “It’s a good thing you volunteered. There’s no way I could have done that.” She shivers. “Call me a baby
, but those villains were scary.”

Yeah, they were, but they’re nothing compared to the Blades. I hope Stealth will be able to handle them.

“It wasn’t a big deal,” Stealth says. She looks at me.

“Good job,” I say.

The corners of her mouth drop a bit, like she’s disappointed in my response. I want to say more, to congratulate more, but my mouth is dry.

“
We shouldn’t be too excited,” Stealth says. “I’m not in yet.”

Kale waves his hand. “
Pssh. I read their minds. You’re in.”

Lindsay squeals and
pulls Stealth into a hug. Stealth, who seems caught off guard, laughs a little and returns the hug.

Kale rubs his temples. “Man, I’m
beat. That took up a lot of my energy.”

“You okay?”
I ask.

“Yeah, just needa lie down. I’ll see you guys later.”

Lindsay takes his hand and they leave my room.

Stealth looks at me and I look at her. She still seems a bit disappointed
, and I feel like a jerk. I want to tell her how well she did, to keep up the good work, but that seems stupid. I’m not her teacher or leader.

I’m about to open my mouth, but she’s gone.

***

Three hours later, after lying in bed, I get to my feet and take an elevator to the girls’ dorms. Stealth’s room is the last one on the floor. She’s the only girl without a roommate.
When I reach her door, I knock.

“
Yeah?” she calls.

“Can I come in?”

There’s no response. I’m tempted to look inside, but I hold back. I wonder if she’s staring at the door, unsure how to answer.

“I want to apologize
,” I say.

The
door opens a bit and she peeks out. “For what?”

“For
not trusting you, for being rude to you. I was a jerk.”

She shrugs. “
You weren’t rude. There’s nothing to apologize for.”

Since I’m done here, I should return to my room, but I don’t. “Are you mad at me?”

“No. Was there something else you wanted?”

My gaze darts to her mouth. Then to her eyes. She bites her bottom lip
and widens the door. She moves a bit closer. I pull her to me and press my lips to hers. Stealth squeezes my shoulders and pushes herself against me.

I trail kisses from her lips to her ear.
“You were excellent tonight.”

“We’re going to get caught
here like this,” she rasps.

My mouth is back on her lips.
My brain tells me to pull off. I don’t. My hands run through her damp hair. I inhale her scent. Not vanilla this time. Sour apples.

She moans as my lips graze her neck. Her fingers tangle in my hair.

“Ray,” she murmurs. I break off. Her eyes are glazed, lips are swollen, and her chest is expanding and contracting. “We should get some sleep.”

I
don’t move, and we stare at each other for a few minutes. Eventually, I find my way back to my room.

Kale and I are in the Game Room, our fingers pounding our Xbox controllers. A racing game, and I’m losing, which is odd for me since I usually own him.

He
tosses his controller onto the couch. “So, you and Stealth are getting…you know…”

I
give him a look.

“I didn’t read you,” he says. “Stealth was up all night. She was thinking about you.”

She was?

“Yeah,” Kale says.
“I didn’t mean to read her thoughts. I was checking up on her, you know, to see if my hold is still strong. But sometimes, when I’m in someone’s head, their thoughts attack my mind—if they’re strong enough. Stealth’s thoughts about you were, like, loud and intense. She was also thinking about this mission, but mostly about you.”

I
scan the mansion. Stealth is in the library, reading a book. She doesn’t socialize with the other kids. She hasn’t made any friends, other than the three of us.

“Do you like her?” Kale asks.

I point to my head. “Read and find out.”

“Come on, X.”

I look at the gray rug. Do I like her? I don’t know. Am I turned on? Hell yes. Do I know anything about her? No, but I’d like to. The question is, what does she think of me?

“Do you want me to find out?” Kale asks.

“No.” Invading her privacy is wrong.

“It’s obvious, I guess,” Kale continues. “I mean when a girl kisses you like that she’s interested, right?”

I guess so. My gaze is still on Stealth. She’s not reading anymore, but staring at the wall. I can’t understand the expression on her face. She doesn’t seem mad, but she doesn’t seem happy, either. What’s going through her mind? “Is she thinking about me now?”

Kale laughs. “What happened to privacy?”

“Is she?”

Kale closes his eyes. A second later
, he opens them. “She’s thinking the book she’s reading sucks.” His eyebrows furrow. “And she can’t wait for tonight.”

Me, either. I don’t think any of us can.

“She’s getting very friendly with Lindsay,” Kale says. “Lindsay told me that Stealth isn’t interested in the other kids.”

I wonder why
she’s interested in me. Yes, we both felt something when we first met, but what exactly does that mean? She wants to be my friend? More? Is she just curious because she doesn’t have much experience in this department, having been locked up all her life?

“I’m gonna go
take a nap,” Kale says. “Need all my energy for tonight if I’m going to protect Stealth’s mind well.”

“
Take it easy.”

“Yep. See ya.”
He leaves the room.

Playing this game alone is boring. I shut it and go to my room. Climb into bed with my
Rubik’s cube beside me. Stretch loved to play with it. Kale, too. We used to throw it at one another. I’m the only one who can play it right. I even taught Stretch, but he never managed to understand. Holding it now comforts me.

I don’t know what I’m going to do for the rest of the day. Not work out, since my muscles ache from spending two hours this morning in the gym. I’m not tired, even though I barely caught any sleep last night.

I can always watch Stealth, but I feel like a creep or a stalker.

My curiosity takes over and I do it, anyway.
She’s not in the library. Maybe she left to her room. I won’t look in there.

Her
scent swallows me up as though she’s in here with me. My stomach twists. I look around. “Are you in here?”

She appears on my bed. Beside me, over the covers. “Ouch, what the heck?” She pulls my cube out from under her back. “
What’s this?”

“Just a
puzzle.”

Her eyes bore into mine. “No. It means something deeper to you. I want to know what.”

“We all want a lot of things we can’t have.”

“Really? What do you want that you can’t have?”

I stare at the “X” pattern on my blanket. An old Elite League member who died two years ago knitted these blankets. I’ve never yearned for much my entire life. When I was a kid, I wanted to be normal. When I was on the streets, I wanted a home, a family. I got that in the sewers, but it wasn’t enough. So I ended up here. Couldn’t ask for a better life. Until…

I’ve never wanted something as badly as I do now. To have Stretch
and Glen alive again. I barely step foot in the foyer because I can’t stand the sight of Stretch’s portrait above the fireplace.

“You okay?” she asks. “You’re crying.”

She’s right. I didn’t realize. “No.” I run my arm across my eyes. “I’m all right.”

She
brings her hand to my face and strokes my cheek. “Your eyes are so dark and mysterious, but I see so much in them.”

I pull away, causing her hand to drop.
“Let’s talk about tonight.”

She frowns
, her fingers dancing across my cheek again. “You’re so tense and serious. Let’s talk about something else. Loosen up. Have some fun.”

I can’t. I need to focus.

“What are your powers like?” she asks. “Can you see through everything or are you limited like Superman?”

“Limited?”

“Yeah, he can’t see through lead. Don’t you know?”

“No.”

“Oh,” she says. “My father was a comic book maniac. I couldn’t get any books, so I read his comics. Pretty interesting. I’m so glad the mansion has a library. I love reading.”

“Why couldn’t you get books?”

She’s quiet. Plays with the hem of her T-shirt. “Are you limited or not?”

“Not. I can see through everything, and that’s why
many people here are uncomfortable around me.”

“Why?”

I look at her. “You’re not answering my question, so I don’t see why I should answer yours.”

She smiles a little. “Okay, let’s play a game.”

“Okay.”

“
Asking each other questions. Do you want to get to know me a little bit?”

I do. I nod
.

“Okay, me first. Why
are they uncomfortable around you?”

I hesitate. She already knows the answer to this, thanks to Air, but I fear that if I tell her, she’ll hate me, too. I don’t want to lose…this.

“I think it’s better if you don’t know,” I say.

She cocks her head to the side. “You have to answer. Those are the rules.”

“I choose not to answer.”

She crawls under the covers and pulls it up to her chin. Her body is so close to mine, so warm. “If you don’t answer this, you get a penalty. I get to ask you as many questions as I want, and you can’t ask me a thing.”

I think about this for a bit. Stealth already knows the answer to my question, and I don’t want to lose my chance of getting to know her better. If she’ll despise me, I’ll have to deal with it.

I swallow. “
Some girls feel uncomfortable because they think I watch them take showers.” I keep my attention on my bed.

“Do you?”

“No.”

“So why would they think that?”

I shrug.

“Do you watch me?”

My gaze flicks to her. “Not while you shower, but it’s hard for me to hold back from peeking into your room. I fight it constantly.”

She’s quiet.

“Do I disgust you?” I ask.

“No.”

“I’m screwed up.”

“No more than me.”

Our eyes meet. “Tell me about your past,” I say.

She shakes her head, placing her finger on my lips. “
The game, remember? Ask a specific question.”

“Tell me about your past,” I repeat.

She laughs a little. “What do you want to know?”

“Everything.”

She sinks down on my bed. Moves her head closer to mine to share my pillow. I want to touch her hair. “My parents kept me locked up in the cellar most of the time. They let me out only to steal. Everything I know about this world is from newspapers and TV.”

“You seem to do well around people, having been locked up all these years.”

“I went to school until I was eight. I was taught to be civil for when we had company. It wasn’t often. Also, I don’t feel threatened by you.” She grabs my chin. “That was
two
questions.”

“All right,” I say, my gaze locked
with hers. “Ask me two.”

She takes my cube and throws it in the air. I leap to catch it before it
drops on the bed.

“I want to know the story behind this,” she says.

I shake my head. “Ask me something else.”

“No.”

“Please.”

She sighs. “Why do you stay here if you think everyone hates you?”

Good question. I’m not sure I know the answer. “I think I want to let go of my past.”

She sits up. “What past?”

“You don’t seem too affected by what your parents did to you,” I say.

“Ray, why do you keep avoiding my questions?”

I don’t know. I don’t deal with my emotions well.

“Repressed memories,” Stealth says. “Therapy helps, I guess.”

“Does it?”

“Yeah.”

Hmm.

She takes my hand, sending shivers up my back. Electricity. Lightning.

Lightning who killed Stretch.

I pull my hand away and climb out of bed. Run my hand through my hair. I’ll never get over this. All my thoughts lead to him, to what happened.

“Ray?” Stealth is behind me, her hand on my back. “Are you okay?”

“No,” I whisper. “My best friend was murdered.”

Her hand springs off my back. “W-what happened?”

I slowly turn around to face her. Shake my head. “I can’t.”

She moves forward and wraps her arms around me. “Is he the guy hanging in the foyer?”

I nod, choking back tears. I hate being this weak. She’s making me lower my guard, making me vulnerable. I don’t like it.

We stay wrapped in each other’s arms for a while. I press my mouth and nose to her hair, inhaling her scent. It relaxes me, calms me.

I
didn’t realize how much I need this.