by J. A. Huss
Thomas might be in charge. I’ll give him that. He might be rich and on the verge of taking over the world. And Case might be the one who has the tech to get us through the next stage in the plan. But they’re not SuperAlpha Lincoln. I’m the only asshole here with my own motherfucking artificial intelligence who can blow our corporate enemy as sky-high as the SkyEye satellites.
“Thanks,” Thomas mouths. If he actually says the words, they are not audible over the helicopter.
I flip him off and mouth, “You’re not welcome.”
I catch Case smiling out of the corner of my eye.
“Molly?” I ask, leaning into her ear and handing her a headset after putting my own on. “Are you OK?”
She looks up at me and shrugs, but doesn’t put it on. It’s an honest answer. So I give her the same thing back.
A smile. And then a squeeze. And then a kiss. We sit like that for a little while, holding each other. She’s shaking and her body is hot, like she’s got a fever. I’m wrapping her up in a blanket from the crash kit when another explosion erupts off in the east.
We only see it for a second because the ’copter eases back into the cover of the mountains.
“What the fuck was that?” I ask into the headset.
“Several explosions are being reported from the security guards at Cathedral City Asylum,” Sheila says.
I look at Thomas and he shakes his head. “Wasn’t me. I swear to God, it wasn’t me.”
“I think it was me.” We all turn to see Molly holding a headset up to her face. Her eyes are downcast and her shoulders are slumped. She forces herself to look me in the eye. “I guess I’m not the hero of this story after all.”
Chapter Fifty-One - Lincoln
Thomas hit his self-imposed Friday deadline. I admit, I’m surprised. Twelve hours ago we were racing away from the scene of a massive explosion at Blue Castle. The whole electrical grid went down, the town went black, the asylum exploded, and Channel Nine somehow got a hold of Chief O’Neil’s indiscretions over in the Merchant District. There have been no fewer than four news conferences this morning. Thomas is about to start number five.
It’s been a pretty fucked-up twelve hours.
Well, unless you’re us. Because it’s been pretty sweet for us.
I’m watching Thomas on TV, Molly still sleeping, her head resting on my chest as I play with her hair. She’s been changed, just like me. But we’re still not sure exactly how. Sheila has the bots running tests on her blood and DNA, but it will take time to figure it all out.
She’s slipping into a depression over it, I think. She is convinced that the Blue Boar made her blow up Atticus and her mother. Somehow, some way. She won’t listen to any other explanation. She blames herself for all of it.
It’s dumb, but it’s natural. And she will come out of it sooner or later once she gets some perspective. All she needs is time. “We’ll get all the answers, Molls,” I whisper into her. “We’ll solve all those leftover mysteries and you’ll be better than ever. I promise.”
She stirs slightly as Thomas begins to speak on the screen.
“Good morning, citizens of Cathedral City,” Thomas says, beginning his announcement. “We are all reeling together as the explosions at Blue Corp and the Cathedral City Asylum sink in. And some might say this is not the right time for such an announcement, but I say it is.”
Thomas’ expression hardens as he looks straight into the camera.
“I say today is the perfect day to announce that I have initiated a hostile takeover of Blue Corp. And the gross negligence you witnessed last night due to improper chemical storage will never threaten the safety and wellbeing of Cathedral City again. SkyEye will incorporate and take over all of Blue Corp’s many subsidiaries.”
His stare is like granite. He’s so focused on these words.
Who is he talking to? I wonder. Not the city. Not me or Case, who is downstairs in the cave recovering from his shoulder injury after Sheila injected him with jellyfish goop. Not Molly. Not the Blue Boar—he’s dead. Blew that motherfucker’s skull to pieces, I did.
“By this time next week,” Thomas continues, “I will be a steward of the community in a way that Blue Corp never was. SkyEye,” he says, pointing up to the satellites that hold vigil above, “will take care of you.”
Atticus, I think. Even though Molly thinks he’s dead, blown up in that explosion, I don’t think he is. Sheila reported a city-wide blackout at the time of Blue Corp’s explosion. That would’ve been twenty minutes before the asylum one happened.
Plenty of time for an Alpha like Atticus to get away.
So I think Thomas is talking to Atticus. A warning, maybe. A warning that says, Don’t try it, brother. You had your chance and this one’s mine.
Thomas still creeps me out. He’s probably gonna fuck Cathedral City up in a way Blue Corp never even dreamed of. He’s psychotic and emotionless and all that talk about satellites taking care of people should be sending chills up every spine within a hundred miles.
But fuck it. That’s what happens when people lose respect for good and evil.
Even the bad guys get to win sometimes.
Epilogue - Molly
Two Months Later
“Oh, my God. What the hell is that?”
“Don’t answer it,” I whisper to Lincoln. “It’s bad news.”
“Sheila!” he bellows from under the covers of our bed. We’ve been staying in his little house above the cave since the whole let’s-take-over-the-town debacle. Sheila has been unbearably snoopy and invasive as far as our private lives go. “The fucking doorbell!”
“I’m sorry, Lincoln,” Sheila says from his phone sitting on the nightstand. “It’s a delivery for you and Molly. And since I have no access to the house, you’re going to have to answer it yourself.”
“Bitch,” he mutters. “It’s Sunday! There are no deliveries on Sunday!”
The doorbell rings again, several times in succession.
“Just go tell them to take it back.” I have a moment of panic as I imagine what she might’ve sent this time. “Lincoln,” I say, sitting up and grabbing his bare shoulders. “Do not sign for it. For the love of God, do not sign.”
Lincoln grumbles as he swings his legs out of bed and rubs his face. He shoots me a look over his shoulder that says, We’re fucked, and then stands up and walks out of the bedroom.
“Molly,” Sheila says as soon as he’s out of earshot. “I detect a slight rise in your core temperature. I predict you will be ovulating within the next hour.”
“Oh, my God.” I hold the pillow over my head to try to drown her out.
“I’ve taken the liberty of uploading What To Expect When You’re Expecting to your eReader. We’re having a quiz on Friday.”
“Go away. I’m not getting pregnant. I’m going back to work tomorrow.” I am too. Chief was fired two months ago and I’m actually looking forward to it.
“Molly, statistics say children who have stay-at-home mothers—”
“Liar! Stop it.”
She sighs. “I’m only looking out for your biological clock, Molly.”
“I’m twenty-three!”
“That’s barely enough time to get in my desired number of grandchildren before your ovulation cycle begins to change.”
“Jesus Christ.” She is crazy if she thinks I’m having that many kids.
“I’m all alone, with only the two of you to make my life meaningful. How can you deny me—”
There’s a bunch of voices from the front of the house and I peek my head out just as Lincoln walks back into the bedroom.
“What the hell is all that noise?”
“Apparently,” Lincoln says in his I’m-gonna-kill-that-crazy-lightshow voice, “the guys are here from the baby store to put the crib together.”
“We don’t have a crib!”
“We do now.”
“Lincoln,” Sheila says. “I was just informing Molly that she will begin ovulating within the ho
ur. And I think—”
Lincoln chucks the phone into the hallway and kicks the door closed with his foot. He shoots me a sly grin as he walks towards the bed, his intentions clear from the bulge in his pajama pants.
“Your robot mother is crazy,” I say, laughing at him.
“Maybe,” he says, kneeling on the bed next to me and swiping a long strand of hair away from my eyes and leaning down into my neck. “But I know how to fuck you in a way that will never get you pregnant.”
“I heard that!” Sheila says from the other side of the door.
Lincoln reaches over and turns the TV on, blaring it to drown out the nagging, the workers, and the world. His hand slips under the covers and he palms my lacy pink panties, the heat of his desire radiating out as a soft orange glow.
“Would you like to help me pick out china patterns, gun girl?”
“We live in an eight-hundred-square-foot house. Why the hell do we need china?”
“Because I think I’m ready to rebuild the mansion. Did you know you can build this thing called the mother-in-law apartment?”
I laugh, and look at him over my shoulder. “Oh, I’m all over that idea.”
He leans down, pressing his mouth to the cheek of my ass. He takes a little bite. I gasp, but there’s no inhibition reaction from him.
“You know what I love about you, Molly?”
“What?” I ask back.
“Number one, you like it any way I give it. Number two, you put up with my crazy fake mother. And number three—”
“I’m yours.”
He smiles as he crawls up my body. “That’s the best part. You were mine, you are mine, and you will always be mine.”
“For as long as we both shall live,” I say back, channeling the day he came back into my life.
It might not have been an accident when Lincoln crashed his bike in front of me on that mountain road. I suspect Sheila might’ve had something to do with that. And he’s killed a lot of people in the name of vigilante justice. But he did it for all the right reasons. Maybe the road to hell is paved with good intentions, but it’s a long road, and maybe those good intentions outweigh the bad by the time you get there.
No, Lincoln might not be good in all ways, but he’s good in all the ways that count. He’s strong and smart. He’s brave, and protective, and loyal.
And that’s the hallmark of a true superhero.
Regardless of which side he thinks he’s on.
END OF BOOK SHIT
Welcome to the End of Book Shit, where I get to say whatever I want about the book and you get to listen. ;) Not really, I imagine most people skip this part. Anyway, my fans started calling this the EOBS a couple years ago and it stuck, so if you join us in my private Facebook group or join one of the discussion groups, that’s what EOBS means.
So shit, I bet you’re wondering where the hell this story came from? Well, if you’re a #fan you know I started my writing career with a science fiction series called I Am Just junco. It’s a crazy ride over five books and one novella that is really one of the most original SF stories out there.
I also have a romantic suspense series called Dirty, Dark, and Deadly which chronicles the life of three assassins who grew up as part of a global shadow government called The Company.
So I guess Biker Batman (as my inner circle have been calling this book since its inception) is a mash-up of those two stories, but with a whole new world and set of characters.
I got the superhero idea when I was driving by the Centennial Airport not far from my house. There’s this building over there, kind of sitting out in the middle of nowhere, and it seriously looks like a place Batman would work. It’s got a cool Gothic feel to it, all gray stone and imposing atrium windows.
And if you drive by the Centennial Airport (which is pretty much only for private jets that service the real-life millionaires of the Denver Tech Center) at just the right moment, those corporate jets come in for a landing right over your car. This is a freeway, BTW, and I’ve seen it happen a dozen times at least and I never get tired of it. You can see faces looking out the window, that’s how close those little jets are to your car.
So I started thinking about those people inside those jets. And off to the right was that weird Gothic Batman building, so I got this idea for a psychotic corporate billionaire who is really a misunderstood superhero. You know, Batman. But not, since he’s taken. (The original idea is Thomas’ story, not Lincoln’s) And that superhero thing just kind of stuck in the back of my mind. I think this was before 321 even came out or maybe around that same time.
But I had learned my lesson first-hand about writing genres that don’t appeal to mass audiences. And a superhero romance? I just didn’t know. I pushed that shit aside quick and went back to writing that lovable Merc story.
But then I was a little bit sad about ending all these Company books (Wasted Lust is the last of them, and that released in June). I really love that story line. Especially Come Back. It’s still in my top three favorites. Wasted Lust is probably my number one at this point. Ford had that spot until I wrote the end of Wasted Lust, that’s how much I love it.
So I was a little bit sad when I was in Atlantic City for a book signing with my co-blogger, Kristi, and my assistant, Jana, and decided to pitch Biker Batman to them.
I didn’t know what Kristi would think. I pitched it to her first because Jana was snoring at the time. And she was like, “Oh, fuck yes. Write that shit.” But then I had Jana to contend with. We butt heads over plot all the time. We are so totally one hundred percent opposite when it comes to plot, I don’t even know why we are friends. I don’t even know why she likes my books. She’s so romancy and my books are so… not. :) But for sure, she keeps me from going off the rails all the time. So if you like my books, next time you see Jana, say thank you!
So when Jana woke up and I started telling her my idea, I fully expected a, No, hell no, you will not ruin your career with a superhero romance!
But she said the same thing Kristi said. Write that shit, she loved it. And if Jana loved it, maybe it wasn’t so crazy? She got a little obsessed with it, to be honest. She’d message me in the middle of the day with an idea… “I think Sheila needs more time.” “I think Sheila should be trying to manipulate Molly into getting pregnant.” I think Sheila…” She has a lot of fucking opinions about Sheila.
And really, once I got on board with the plan to write a superhero romance, I plotted out four books in record time. Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet. ;) Case, Thomas, and Atticus will shock the shit out of you.
I admit, writing a superhero romance sounded a lot easier than it actually was. For one, I’m not even a superhero comic reader. I have seen most of the movies and I have a background in the biological sciences, so I can do SF with the best of them, but superhero fans are a serious sort of bunch. So I ended up doing a lot of research on The Dark Knight and the psychology of Batman to get a handle on the Lincoln character.
And the origin story was another thing I had to contend with. I knew there was such a thing, and I knew that all superheroes have to have one. But mixing that up with a plot that was true to the romance genre was not at all easy. I did my best in this first book. I think there is a lot of both the superhero genre and the romance genre in this story of Lincoln and Molly, so I hope fans of both superhero and romantic suspense agree with me and enjoy this beginning. Each book will focus on the romantic couple and what it means to be a superhero.
Of course, it will all be fleshed out in future books. I don’t give the whole story in book one. You have to take the ride with me. If you think I left a lot of loose ends, well, you’re right. But every word is necessary for the next three books. Each one will be a standalone like Anarchy Found, and each one will release when I’m good and ready. So don’t expect my next book to be about Case, it’s not. My next book (aside from the novella about Rook & Ronin’s HEA that comes out on December 16th and the SF erotic romance called Sync, releasing late Ja
nuary) is a rock star book I’ve been writing in my head for almost two years called Rock. I predict that will release in March/April.
I will write the Case book when I have the plot right where I want it. So it might take all of 2016 to get through Case and Thomas and I imagine Atticus might release in early 2017 because I have the regular romancy books to write too. I have more ideas than I have time, to be honest, and I don’t want to invest all my work hours on just one story line that might not appeal to the majority of my fans.
I like writing all the books I release, but I love some more than others. This is a personal project for me, and I’m going to treat it as such and take my time with it.
So once I was totally invested in the whole superhero thing I decided I needed an artist to make the cover to stay true to the superhero genre. But since romance books have photographs for covers, I decided to go looking for an artist who can do photorealism and found Ambro Jordi. Who is simply fucking amazing. You need to check out his website and watch him draw people/animals in time-lapse (he did this for the Anarchy Found cover, so if you haven’t seen it, it’s fun. Go look). You cannot tell they are drawings, he’s that good.
Ambro also made the interior sketches for me. He so goddamned good, I gave him a deadline of a few days and he came back with these six images you see in the book based off random photos I found on the internet. I wanted those to be more sketchy, and just wow. I love them.
I also made an entire website about this series and it has a lot of stuff to look at if you’d like to learn a little more about each character and the city itself.
I’m making the trailer tonight after I upload the book, so if you check the website after release, it will be up. It’s not done yet, but I predict it will be mind-blowing. I’m getting really good at making trailers! JA Huss might make a film short in the near future, that’s how into video I am at the moment.
My son-in-law is a comic artist and he’s working on the graphic novel now. It’s slow going because I’m so damn busy, but we are hoping it will be out by the time Case’s book releases.