Masked (Superheros Undercover Book 1)

by J. D. Wright

  She had just finished swallowing when Nick returned from wherever he had gone. He turned back toward the kitchen without even glancing her way. Of course he did. She was invisible to him.

  Henley looked behind her, expecting to see Victor there again, ready to tease her. All she saw were other partygoers, and none of them were paying attention to her. Just like Nick, they didn’t seem to notice she was there.

  Maybe Victor was right. Nick had never given her the time of day before. Even without Scarlet around, he still didn’t see her. What am I doing? Irritated with herself and the situation, Henley spun on her heel and marched away.

  She spotted Vada walking in from the patio, so she hurried over and took her friend’s arm, pulling her to where a few other girls were dancing. They joined in.

  “Did you do it? Did you talk to loverboy?” Vada asked, waggling her brow.

  Henley shrugged. “I changed my mind.”

  Vada didn’t press for details, but she stopped dancing when she saw glass reflecting from Henley’s hand. She reached down and plucked it out. “What’s this?”

  “It’s nothing.” Henley swiftly snatched the vial back and tucked it into her dress pocket. “Just a little party favor to help me to relax. That’s all.”

  “Henley Jean Abernathy!” Vada scolded. “Please tell me that you did not take drugs at this party. Are you insane?”

  “Calm down, Mother. Geez…it’s just some ecstasy,” she lied. “It’ll wear off in the morning and I’ll be good as new.” Henley wasn’t sure if she believed her own words. To be honest, she didn’t know what was in the liquid she had drunk. But she wasn’t about to tell Vada that.

  Vada bit her tongue because she didn’t want to cause a scene in front of all of these people. If this was another one of Henley’s acts of rebellion because of her parents’ divorce, it was one that Vada couldn’t stand by and do nothing about. She resigned herself to watching Henley like a hawk until the drugs left her friend’s system. And she’d probably continue to keep an eye on her after that.

  If she needed to save Henley from herself, she would.

  The party had already begun to wind down by the time the neighbors got angry enough from the noise to call the police. When the cops swooped in to break up the festivities, Nicholas Grayson was ready to call it a night, anyway. The officers waited until the last guest had left the house, wished Nick a pleasant weekend, and went on their way.

  This was nothing new. Nick was starting to lose count of the number of times the city’s police had overlooked a minor infraction of the law where he was concerned. Traffic violations, parking tickets, the parties with blatant underage drinking were a few examples. Since his father was Cyper City’s D.A., Nick had been effectively overlooked by the police force.

  The first time had come as a shock. He had been caught speeding last summer, a violation that should have resulted in at least a fine. However, after the cop ran his license through the system and discovered who he was, the ticket had mysteriously transformed into a stern warning to slow down and have a safe evening.

  Tonight, was just another strike that wouldn’t go against him. He doubted his father would even hear about it. Hell, Nick wasn’t even sure if his father would come home this weekend. At all. Ever since Phillip Grayson won his third term with the city, he had become less and less present in Nick’s life. He hadn’t eaten a meal with his father in over a year, and that last time had only been due to some gala that Nick had been forced to attend like the dutiful son.

  To say that things in the Grayson household were strained would be an understatement.

  Nick picked up the remote to the entertainment system and turned it to classical music. He couldn’t stand the silence of the giant, empty house, but he also didn’t want the stimulation of rock or pop. He walked to the oversized couch, shoved an empty cup to the floor, and collapsed onto the cushions.

  Tonight had been fun. More fun than he’d had in weeks. He’d lost in beer pong against Mitchell, but he’d still enjoyed the game. Now though, he was alone. And the isolation only pissed him off. Irritated and ready for bed, Nick shoved off of the couch and stood.

  Something shining on the floor caught his attention. He bent down and picked up a vial of some sort of yellow liquid. Curious, Nick pulled the stopper from the top and gave it a sniff. It had a hint of citrus aroma but not much else. Thinking it was probably one of those dumb fruity shots that Scarlet liked to drink, he threw his head back and downed the whole thing in one gulp.

  It didn’t really burn going down, not the way a good shot of alcohol should.

  “Weak,” Nick said and tossed the empty glass onto the coffee table.

  He stretched and yawned, then looked down at the couch. It was a long walk up the stairs to his bed, and this was just as comfortable, anyway. He fell down, face first, onto the sofa and drifted right off to sleep.

  Chapter Four

  Vada heard Henley stirring on the floor beside her bed for over ten minutes before her friend finally gave up on getting back to sleep. The morning rays were heating the room now, anyway, and neither of them would be able to stand lying under the covers for much longer.

  “What day is it?” Henley groaned, rolling onto her back and trying to force her eyes open. “How long did I sleep?”

  “It’s Saturday, and you only slept for about four hours.”

  “Ugh…such bullshit. I always regret sleeping over on a weekend. I don’t know how you can sleep in this room with the sun shining right in.”

  “You know I’m an early riser. Well, earlier than you.” Vada chuckled to herself as she sat up and looked down at the floor.

  The room was a mess. Their clothes were strung everywhere and Vada remembered how difficult it had been to get Henley out of her dress and into pajamas. She wasn’t sure if it was the drugs, the beer, or a combination of both, but Henley had been super uncooperative at two in the morning. It was a wonder how they hadn’t woken Josh and Garret with all of their noise.

  But at least Vada’s parents hadn’t been home to see it since they’d worked a night shift. They often did that on Friday in order to spend the rest of the weekend at home. It was definitely a perk of working for the S.U.C. There were enough supers on the Defenders team to keep a flexible rotation for superheroes with families. Crime had even slowed so much in the past few years that the S.U.C. lowered their on-call superhero count from ten to four.

  “Are you hungry?” Vada asked, pulling her medium-length blonde hair into a ponytail. “Or some coffee?”

  “I could go for some—” Henley sat up and immediately fell back down with a pained expression.

  “You okay? You look like you might puke.”

  “I don’t feel so good.”

  “I can tell. Probably from whatever you took last night. Hen, we need to talk ab—”

  “No.” Henley put a hand up to stop her. “I don’t want to talk about anything right now.”

  “Can I get you an aspirin or something?” Vada wanted to say their conversation wasn’t over, but decided to wait.

  “Where are my keys?”

  “In my purse. I drove us home, so I have them.” She dug the keyring out of her bag and handed it to Henley, who had already gotten to her feet. “I can drive you since you don’t feel good.”

  “No, I’m fine.” Henley started for the door, carrying her shoes in one arm, and jacket, purse, and keys in the other. But she halted at the door when Josh blocked it.

  “Good morning,” Josh said, yawning.

  “Get out of my way,” Henley barked.

  Josh didn’t even hesitate. He immediately stepped to the side, his movements almost militarized or robotic. After Henley breezed past him and flew down the stairs, Josh shook his head, as if he was trying to erase a thought.

  “Whoa,” he mumbled. “That was…”

  “Weird,” Vada finished. “I’m sorry about her. She isn’t feeling good.”

  “Right.” He shook his head, again. “But that
’s not what…never mind. How was the party?”

  Vada followed him down the stairs and recounted the evening. Henley and she had danced and talked with some people, played a game of pool with two guys from the soccer team, and had a pretty good night, overall. She omitted the parts of the story where she caught Henley with drugs and had to wrestle her into pajamas.

  “I’m glad I went,” she said, taking out a juice carton and pouring a glass. “Thanks for convincing Mom and Dad to let me go.”

  “It’s what big brothers are for, right?”

  “What about you? What did you do all night?”

  “I kicked Garret’s ass in Doom and then killed off all of your Sims in a house fire.”

  Vada gasped and threw her empty cup at him. He quickly glided out of the way, laughing as his feet found the floor again. She had forgotten how fast of a flyer he was, and even though he didn’t practice his power every day, he was still as swift as he used to be. They had often wondered if Josh had superspeed too. Some supers had two powers, but one was always stronger than the other. That one was the focus power, which for Josh was flying. Anything else was considered to be their minor power.

  “If you killed my Sims, I swear—”

  “I’m kidding. Calm down.” Josh laughed and swiped the juice from the counter, taking a swig straight from the carton. “But we did cause two divorces, one marriage, and a few babies. Three, I think.”

  “Four,” Garret said, walking into the kitchen. “That last family had twins.”

  “Oh yeah, I forgot.”

  Garret made himself a bowl of cereal, sat at the island, and shared highlights from their rousing game of The Sims 3. Then just as quickly as he entered, Garret fled the room to play some more video games.

  “Josh,” Vada said, waiting for Garret to walk upstairs before continuing, “have you used drugs before? Like, the kind in a glass bottle?”

  “Uh…what?” He couldn’t hide his surprise if he tried. “Vada Renee Lawson, what are you talking about? Did you do something stupid last night?”

  “No! I absolutely did not use drugs. I would never do that. I can’t even take Nyquil without it messing with my power. You know that.”

  “All right…then what are you talking about?”

  Vada sat on a stool and considered her words carefully. If she told on Henley, there was a good chance that her parents would tell her to stay away from her friend. Vada didn’t want that to happen. Abandoning Henley now, when she needed a friend more than ever, would be a big mistake.

  “Last night, at the party, someone I know took something. I’ve never seen it before, so I just wondered if you had. It was liquid. Yellow, I think. I didn’t see them actually take it, so I’m not sure. I just saw the empty container afterward.”

  “I don’t hang out with that sort of crowd, Vayday. I suggest you don’t either, or you can kiss your future as a superhero goodbye.”

  “I know. I really do. I didn’t touch the stuff.” That was technically a lie since she had taken the bottle from Henley and touched the container. But she didn’t think it would help her case to say it. “I just want to know what it is so I can keep an eye out for it. You know, in the future…”

  Josh was quiet for a few long seconds as he studied her. “I don’t know, but I’ll keep an ear out when I get back to school. But Vada, remember that going after drug dealers and pretty much anyone involved in the drug trade business is not for an amateur super to do. If you see anything, you need to report it to Mom and Dad. Don’t even think of doing something yourself. It’s dangerous. Bad people are mixed up in that. Really bad. And stay the hell away from anyone who is.”

  Vroom, vroom…vroom…

  Nick heard the noise from the vacuum cleaner before he opened his eyes. The living room was still fairly dark thanks to the thick drapes, but he knew it was definitely morning. Raising his head, he wiped a bit of drool from his chin.

  “Ah, shit.” He pulled himself up and rubbed his eyes, trying to bring the room into focus. “What time is it?”

  He wasn’t talking to anyone in particular. Other than the housekeeper, Janet, he was the only one home. One glance at the clock on the mantle showed that it was half-past ten o’clock. He was supposed to meet the guys in the park in half an hour for a game of football.

  The vacuum cleaner turned off and Janet wandered into the room.

  “Good morning, Nicholas,” she said in a stern voice. “I see you had another party.”

  “I’m sorry, Janet. I’ll clean it up,” he replied, then leaned back on the couch because his head was swimming.

  “No, it’s fine. It’s what I get paid to do.”

  …though, not enough…

  “Yeah, you should get a raise,” he mumbled.

  Janet snickered. “Funny, I was just thinking that.”

  Nick picked up his phone and scrolled through the messages. Most were from Scarlet, complaining because he missed her calls. A few others were from Mitchell. Nick skipped over Scarlet’s texts and read Mitchell’s first while Janet went back to cleaning.

  …might be a beautiful home, but what’s the use if the family’s so broken…

  Nick heard Janet’s words, but he wasn’t sure what she was talking about. He tried to ignore her.

  “Did your father say when he was coming home?” Janet called from the kitchen.

  “Not really,” Nick replied. “He hasn’t said anything to me.”

  …but what kind of father leaves his son for days on end? The man should be ashamed…

  At that comment, Nick turned his head toward Janet and watched her wiping the counters. He had never heard her utter a word against his father, so it was surprising to hear such harsh criticism coming from her. He opened his mouth to reply but couldn’t come up with anything to say. It wasn’t as if he could argue with her. She was right.

  …and if his poor mother was still alive, I’m sure she would have left Phillip’s ass by now…

  “Whoa,” Nick murmured. What the fuck? He had been watching Janet when the last remarks were made. She hadn’t said them. At least, not with her lips. Her mouth was pressed into a firm line and she scrubbed the counters as if she had a grudge against them, but she hadn’t spoken. So how in the world had he heard her?

  Confused and a little scared by what had just happened, Nick rose from the couch and walked over to the kitchen. He slowly took a can of Dr. Pepper from the refrigerator, carefully watching Janet as she worked. He didn’t hear another comment from her, so he shook his head and went back to the comfort of the couch.

  He must be going crazy. Or maybe it was the alcohol still in his system, messing with his mind. Feeling strange and sensing a headache coming on, he drank the soda and stared at the clock on the wall as the minutes ticked by.

  “I’m all done,” Janet said, stopping beside him.

  Nick jumped at her voice. “Oh. Uh, okay. Have a good weekend.”

  Janet smiled and shook her head. “You look like someone beat the crap out of you.”

  “Thanks. I can always depend on you to be honest with me.”

  She laughed and walked to the door, stopping to grab her jacket.

  …I’m probably the only one who’s ever honest with you…

  “What?” Nick’s head snapped up. “What does that mean?”

  Janet spun around. “What does what mean?”

  “I thought you just…you didn’t say anything just now?”

  “Nope. Boy, you are starting to worry me. Do I need to call your grandmother to come down here and—”

  “No!” He nearly jumped up in protest. His grandmother was the last person he wanted to visit. She would probably scold him and force him to go play BINGO with her for hours on end. She’d once made him learn to sew, as punishment for playing video games for so long. All right, maybe it only felt like punishment. Either way, the threat of Grandma Grayson was enough to make him cringe.

  Janet just shook her head, a look of pity all over her face. Nick didn’t
need to read her mind to know that she probably felt sorry for him. Hell, she’d practically said it just a while ago. Wait. Read her mind? Is that what he’d been doing? Is that how he heard her when she wasn’t speaking?

  “Bye, Nicholas.”

  Janet left and closed the giant door behind her before Nick could think to stop her. Not that he knew what he would have said to her, anyway. Think of a number and let me see if I can read your mind? That was preposterous. Impossible. Sure, there were people who could do things like that, but he wasn’t one of them.

  His phone beeped and Nick picked it up, swiping the screen to read the text from Mitchell asking if he was still coming to the park. Nick glanced at the door once more and decided that it was probably best he stay home and get some rest. He was obviously coming down with something.

  A case of insanity, perhaps?

  Chapter Five

  The car beeped outside and Vada gave one last yawn before trudging out of the house. It was Monday, her least favorite day, and the start of another school week. But the end of the tunnel was growing close. She only had about two and a half months of school left before graduation. Two and a half months of homework and tests, and then it would all be over. She was ready to get on with the next step of her life and leave high school behind.

  Henley honked even after she clearly saw Vada approaching. Vada found it sort of annoying and rather rude, but she just frowned and slid into the front seat.

  “Good morning,” Vada said, fastening her seatbelt. “Are you feeling better now?”

  Henley pulled out quickly enough to spin the tires. “What do you mean—oh, yeah. I feel fine. Better than fine, really. I feel fabulous.”

  “That’s…good.” Vada forced a smile but that began to fade when she finally got a good look at her friend. “What are you wearing?”