Mickey finished making some notes. “Okay, that’s all I’ve got. What about you guys?” He looked up expectantly.
“Nothing.”
“Nope.”
“What do you mean nothing? How can you have nothing? What’s wrong with you two?” Mickey’s glower appeared to be decreasing tonight in direct proportion to his consumption of baked goods. Right now it was at Level Orange.
“Eat a cookie, Mick,” Joe said. “We’ve all been on Christmas vacation, right?”
Joe figured Bull couldn’t sit still physically, but he could relax. Mickey couldn’t relax if his life depended on it.
“Wrestling season just began, too,” Bull reminded them, “so I’m not going to have a lot of time till spring break.”
Joe worked full-time as a superhero, undercover with Mickey’s firm as well as with the team. Bull, on the other hand, had always wanted to be a teacher. He loved expounding on history almost as much as he loved working with his boys as the high school wrestling coach. That’s where his heart was. He moonlighted at saving the world.
“Yeah, yeah, I remember,” Mickey said, sighing. “Joe? Nothing?”
Joe shrugged. “What’s with you today? You’re wound up tighter than a clock.”
“Nothing that a new secretary couldn’t solve,” he grumbled. “I’m losing prospects left and right. Then I talk to you schmucks and we can’t even find anything interesting to do after hours.”
Joe put away his phone and stood. “Come on, let’s hit the bag. It’ll make you guys feel better.”
The other two stood and followed him through a door to the left.
“Bull, you can hold the bag for one of us, but no more work-outs with it!” Mickey and Joe unbuttoned their shirts as they walked into Mickey’s personal gym. Bull still had his sweats on from wrestling practice. “I bought a new bag for now,” Mickey continued to Bull, “but I need to modify it before you can use it.”
Bull dropped his eyes to the side and grinned like a ten-year-old. “Really sorry about that, Mick. Good thing you didn’t have one of the water-filled bags, huh?” He spotted a machine on the other side of the room. “Hey, is that working?”
Bull walked over to examine a computerized weight-machine Mickey had developed, while Joe and Mickey went into the changing room.
The spacious room was like a bedroom without a bed. Cedar dressers and cedar-lined closets held clothes and super suits, designed by Mickey, for all three of them. Big chairs accommodated the big men comfortably. Another door led to a large and well-furnished bathroom with two shower stalls and two sinks. Off that room was a laundry room that opened up behind the kitchen.
Joe loved this part of the basement, too. If only he’d had an inkling he’d be getting married so quickly, he would’ve redone the house much like Mickey’s space before Tori ever saw it. Maybe when he told her about his secret identity, he’d tell her about the money, too. Suggest finishing the basement. ’Course, if he did that she’d probably want to put up flowered wallpaper or something. Hmm, he’d have to think about it. So many adjustments to make as a married man.
Changed into workout clothes, Joe and Mickey joined Bull in the gym. Mickey adjusted the machine Bull was fiddling with. “You okay working it by yourself?”
“No problemo,” Bull said with a grin. “I love this thing. When you gonna start selling them? Make a fortune.”
He lay down on the bench under what appeared to be a free weight bar. The computerized controls were just above eye level and easy to reach.
“I can’t sell the damn things,” Mickey grumbled. “They’re too expensive. Who’s going to pay twenty-five thousand dollars for a weight machine?” He walked over to a rack of boxing gloves and started pulling a pair on.
“Yeah, right. Well, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you sizing it up for me,” Bull said as he pushed buttons. “Best workout I’ve ever had.”
“Start off slow, two hundred pounds,” Mickey warned. “Make sure there’s no kinks in the system before you go over five hundred.”
“Gotcha, boss.” He entered his personal code and heard a husky female voice say, “Hello, Bull.” He turned to the others and grinned. “I love that part.”
“Don’t tell Hayley,” Joe said with a laugh. He watched Bull adjust himself so his shoulders were under the bar.
Mickey held out his hands for Joe to tie on his boxing gloves. “Don’t worry, he’ll be fine. I’ve got so many safeties built into that machine, I don’t think there’s any possible way to hurt yourself.”
They looked over to see Bull bench pressing two hundred pounds. Not free weights, though. The bar was connected to a hydraulics system connected to the computer. The system emulated free weights exactly, evidenced by Bull’s right arm extending higher than his left.
“Right’s too high,” Joe called out.
“Yup, thanks. It’s harder to keep it even with so little weight.”
Mickey laughed and punched his gloves together. “Show off.”
“Whiner,” Joe called out before he walked over to the punching bag and held it steady.
“Losers,” came Bull’s voice, without even a hint of exertion.
Mickey hit the bag with a couple of test punches, then settled down into a serious workout. It seemed to Joe like he was particularly aggressive tonight. When Joe’s turn came to work the bag, he started off slow. He wasn’t as tense as Mickey.
Punch!
Life was good. Punch, punch!
He really had no complaints. Punch, punch! Punch!
“Hold up,” Mickey stopped him. Joe was surprised to see his friend panting. “You wearing any metal?”
Joe looked down and shook his head. Then he and Mickey said at the same time, “Wedding ring.”
“Bull, can you come hold the bag for Joe?”
“Forget your ring?” Bull chuckled. “Thought that’s why you got the soft gold, so it wouldn’t make you too strong.”
“Thought that’d be enough.” Joe shrugged. “Guess I’ll have to be more careful than I thought.”
Bull braced the bag against his body. “Go for it, man.”
Joe let Mickey coach him through a grueling workout. Tori wouldn’t find out. Not until he told her. Which he’d have to do right after the party since he’d promised Mick.
Punch! Punch!
She might take it hard at first, but she believed in him. She loved him. She’d come around.
Punch!
As Joe hit the bag, images from last night weaved with other pictures behind his eyes. The drug dealer with the gun. Tori’s face. Another kid with a gun. Blood. He shook his head, trying to clear it. He couldn’t allow marriage to reduce his effectiveness at work. No reason to fear for Tori’s safety.
Protect her.
Except for that voice he’d been hearing since the day they’d met. He slammed his fists into the punching bag. Every day they were together, Tori would do something or say something or just smile at him and it twisted him up inside. He didn’t know if it was a good feeling or a bad one. But every day was a little brighter, a little warmer, and he couldn’t say he didn’t like it. He had the power to absorb the strength of metal, but he’d never felt stronger than the last two weeks. The way she looked at him, like he could do anything…
He shook his head and hit the bag hard. No, nothing to be afraid of. Of course he could protect her, but nothing was going to happen.
He stood panting, hands on his knees when he was done. Mickey examined his new bag, obviously concerned he’d have to buy yet another one. Or maybe start making custom bags. Like he didn’t have enough cool gadgets on his to do list.
Joe stood up and let Bull unlace his gloves. No worries. He’d protect Tori the way any man protects the woman he loves. But she wasn’t in danger. What could happen?
CHAPTER 5
TORI knocked and opened the front door to Lexie’s apartment. It felt weird – she’d lived here with her sister and nephew until two months ago, but now it wa
s no longer her home. Neither was the cute little apartment she’d rented down the street. She’d given notice less than two months after she signed her lease. Now she just had to learn to make Joe’s house feel like home and life would be perfect.
Well, perfect except for her new secret.
“Hey, Lex!” she called out as she walked in. She was about to close the door when she saw Hayley heading up the sidewalk. Hayley jogged a little while Tori held the door open.
“Hey, sweetie!” Tori hugged her best friend. “How are you?”
A high-pitched screech and tiny pounding feet came from behind her. “Ree! Ree!” screamed Ben as he raced around the corner in his yellow footie pajamas. The little boy stood with his mouth wide open like he couldn’t believe his luck – both Tori and Hayley had come to visit.
Tori laughed. “Hey, buddy!”
Ben screamed his laughter and stomped his feet. Then he looked at Hayley and said something that sounded like “hurry” – his version of her name. Hayley held up her hand and he raced up and high-fived her. Then he waited for Tori to finish taking off her coat and boots and high-five him, too, jabbering away the whole time.
Tori scooped him up and cuddled him close. She missed him. His tiny arms wrapped around her neck and she felt calmer than she had in hours. Some things in life hadn’t changed.
She looked up to find her sister staring at her with a mix of panic and fear in her expression. Tori sighed into Ben’s hair, smoothing her hand up and down his back, never breaking eye contact with her sister.
Lexie knew something was wrong. She always knew. But Tori didn’t want to talk about it until Ben was safely in bed. She’d learned that toddlers pick up on an awful lot more than you give them credit for, and she didn’t want him hearing their conversation.
Hayley broke the silence. “What’s wrong?”
Tori didn’t know if she wanted to talk about it in front of Hayley either. Her one good friend. She didn’t want to lose her. But Hayley had been through a lot in her own life, and had seen all the trouble and chaos in Tori and Lexie’s lives. Tori didn’t know if Hayley would handle it well at first, but in the end Hayley would always be there for her. Tori would bet her life on it.
Tori said to Ben, “Give your Aunt Hayley a big hug, Benji!” The boy jumped into Hayley’s arms with a giggle, and Tori picked up the grocery bags she’d brought in. “Let me just say that tonight’s conversation will require at least two bottles of wine and a whole lotta chocolate.”
Lexie watched Tori, her forehead wrinkled with worry, then finally spoke to Hayley. “Hi, Hayley. Happy New Year.”
The three women talked, and cooked, and talked, and played with Ben, and talked. By unspoken agreement, the conversation stayed light and fun while three-year-old ears were listening. Tori was wrong. This was still home, even if she didn’t live here anymore. Joe’s house didn’t feel like home yet, but she hoped it would grow into what she felt in this little apartment.
Lexie soon put Ben to bed, and they sat down to eat. Tori’s honeymoon was the topic of choice. She tried to keep the details to herself, but the less she said, the more Hayley teased her.
“What happened?” Hayley asked. “Come on, give us something! You guys have only known each other for two months. Are you happy? Have you fought yet? Do you find the way he brushes his teeth bizarre? Does he fold his underwear? What? Tell us!” Hayley laughed.
Tori tried to hide her smile by looking at her plate, pushing around the carrots. Everyone thought she was nuts, but meeting Joe two days after Halloween when she was outside taking down the decorations, seeing him every day after that and falling in love, marrying him on Christmas Eve… She felt her heart swell up inside. It was the most perfect, romantic thing she’d ever done, and she’d never regret it. But she wasn’t sure how to talk about it.
“So there’s nothing to tell because you never saw Disney World? You’re just tired from,” Hayley waggled her eyebrows, “you know.”
Tori raised her head at that and giggled. “You didn’t tell me how often guys want to do it!”
“It’s easier to name the times they don’t want to do it,” Hayley said, patting Tori’s arm.
Lexie raised her hand. “Much as I’d love to hear all about how my baby sister finally lost her virginity,” she said, her voice verging on sarcastic.
Tori sobered. She felt Lexie’s fear pulsing in the air. Tori knew that the sarcasm came from Lexie feeling Tori’s worries and not knowing what the problem was. She put her hand over Lexie’s. “Everything’s going to be okay, Lex. Trust me.” She hoped she wasn’t lying.
A moment later, Hayley exclaimed, “Are you pregnant? Oh my gosh, you are, aren’t you?”
Tori laughed and Lexie rolled her eyes. “Hayley, is that the only thing you ever think about?” Lex asked. “Look at her. Something’s wrong.”
Lexie met her eyes, looking for an explanation. Tori broke eye contact and said to Hayley, “I’m not pregnant. I’m on the pill.”
Lexie frowned. “Why are you on the pill? It’s not reliable with your other meds.”
Tori played with the carrots again.
“Oh, right.” Lexie leaned her forehead on her hand. “You stopped taking them.” She shook her head and stared at Tori.
“Nothing will happen.” Tori stabbed her veggies with her fork. “I told you before, I’ve never felt better in my life! I’m happy, Lex. I don’t need that stuff anymore. And like you said, it doesn’t work with the pill, so…”
“What are you guys talking about?” Hayley asked. “You’re on medication?”
Tori shook her head. “No. Not anymore.” She sighed. She was doing a heck of a lot of that lately.
“But something’s bothering you tonight,” Lexie pressed. “Tell us and we’ll help you fix whatever it is.”
Hayley looked confused. “Yeah, what’s the problem? Come on, Tori, like a Band-Aid. Be quick and it’ll be over.” She smiled her encouragement.
Tori took a deep breath. Hayley was right. The quicker, the better. “The police think I have a super power and want to know if I want to work for them as a superhero.”
Hayley choked on her wine.
Tori thumped her back while Lexie gaped.
“Sorry,” Tori murmured. “You said be quick.” She gave Hayley an apologetic shrug and tried to analyze her expression. Surprised, but not repulsed. Not yet anyway.
Looking at Lexie, Tori thought her sister seemed more cautiously curious. Which made sense because she and Lex, well, they had a history of strange things happening in their lives. To find out that the underlying cause might have an explanation, however bizarre it might be, was sort of a relief.
Hayley, on the other hand, had really turned her life around since she’d left her mess of a home as a teenager. Despite years of emotional abuse, neglect, and a lack of almost every material item a child should expect, she’d built her own nursery business.
Tori had never asked, but she assumed Hayley must make a pretty good living at it because she lived in a bigger apartment in a nicer neighborhood than Tori and Lexie could afford. An apartment filled with more kinds of plants than Tori knew existed.
Hayley was definitely the most normal of the three. Very private to the point of having few friends, but normal. Maybe Tori’s worries that Hayley wouldn’t want to be friends with a freak – no, a person with unusual abilities, maybe that worry would prove unfounded.
“Honestly,” Hayley said after she’d caught her breath, “this is a good thing. We should all support each other, like Lex said. It’ll be better for everyone. In fact–” Her cell phone rang. She looked irritated when she looked at the caller ID. “One second, I’m sorry, Tor. I gotta take this.” She moved away from the table.
Lexie drank deeply from her glass of wine. Then she looked a bit sheepish. “Do not rely on alcohol to get you through this, Sis.” Then she grinned. “Maybe just tonight, though.”
Tori and Lex both looked over at Hayley who was having a heated
conversation in whispers. She stabbed her phone with her finger and came back to the table.
“Everything okay?” Tori asked.
“Nothing that won’t be cleared up in a week or so,” Hayley replied. Her voice sounded tight and she looked upset.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Yes!” Hayley grabbed her wine glass and gulped some of it down. “But later. You first. So…” She shook her head. “How in the world did all this happen?”
Tori did her best to explain about yesterday’s robbery, last night’s argument with Joe about blood on her shoes, and today’s interview with the police. “It looks like what Dad called ‘leadership traits’ and Mom called ‘bossiness’ is more like…” Tori paused, not sure how to describe her ability. “I guess I can tell people what to do. And they do it.”
“Huh,” Hayley said when Tori was done.
She didn’t continue, but it was clear from the look on her face that she had more to say. Tori prompted her. “Huh, what?”
“Well,” Hayley hesitated as if she were choosing her words carefully. “I thought these sorts of things began to show themselves in childhood or adolescence. Why now?”
Tori looked at Lexie. Lex smiled grimly back at her, encouraging her without words to tell as much of the story as she wanted. Or as little.
“I haven’t, uh, told you some stuff. From, like, our past.” They didn’t talk about this, not out loud. Their mom would have a heart attack if she were here. This “airing the family laundry” was exactly the sort of situation Dixie had been trying to avoid for as long as the girls could remember. Secrets and hush-hush and keep your head down and don’t stand out in a crowd. That’s how their parents had raised them.
“Mom used to make me see a psychiatrist every week,” Tori said. “He had me on a prescription – several different prescriptions over the years – but I don’t need them anymore.” She sent a pointed look toward her sister. Lexie shrugged and nodded.
Tori turned to Hayley. “I was too embarrassed to tell you any of this before. I didn’t want you to think I was… Dr. Huntington said I have an anger management problem and/or a self-serving personality disorder and/or impulse control issues. His diagnosis seemed to change every time I’d learn enough to argue with him about it.”
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