Unexpected Superhero (Adventures of Lewis and Clarke Book 1)

by Kitty Bucholtz

  Hearing footsteps, she picked up her pace. It hadn’t snowed for the last couple days and the parking lot was plowed clean. In the cold dark, sound seemed to echo. She’d be at her car in a minute – ah, the joys of being so low on the totem pole that her assigned spot was in the next county – and her ridiculous nerves could take a break. The conversation with Kane bothered her more than she’d like to admit.

  The footsteps got closer. Tori turned and jumped when a shadow turned out to be a man in some kind of dark suit. Then she recognized him. Superhero X.

  “You scared me!”

  “Sorry,” he said. “I want to be sure you get home safely.”

  “Well, giving me a heart attack isn’t going to help.” Tori knew her anger came from nerves, but she had to learn to control it now. Always. Her power had something to do with getting angry, she was pretty sure. Which reminded her, she wanted to talk to him about helping her with all this. Ah, but not tonight. She just wanted to get home to Joe. She missed him with all the long hours they were both keeping.

  She stopped and turned to X. “Thanks, but I’m fine. My car is right there.” She pointed fifty yards in front of her, in the right corner of the lot.

  “Great, I’ll walk you to your car and when you’re home, I’ll go about my business,” he said with a grin.

  She shook her head at him. He had a nice smile. She’d give him that. “I don’t need any help, I don’t need protection, and I don’t want you following me,” she said. “I’m fine.”

  But the big, strong hunk beside her didn’t take the hint. “You’ve been in a few difficult situations lately.”

  Wasn’t that an understatement? Tori started walking. The quicker she got to her car, the quicker she’d be home.

  “We want to make sure you’re safe.” He strolled along cheerfully beside her as if he had no place better to be.

  “We? Who’s we?”

  “My team and I.”

  Tori stopped and stared at him. His team? Did that mean he was watching her? That they were tracking her movements? Did they know about Kane? Did they know more than she did about Kane? Maybe she should ask him to coffee so he could answer all her questions.

  But she was tired and Joe would be home soon.

  Maybe Superhero X could help her figure things out, but not tonight. She sighed again. “I do want to talk to you sometime, but not now. Go away, please. Go home. I don’t need you to–”

  BAM!

  The sound of an explosion startled them both.

  WHA-BAMM!

  A second explosion, louder and bigger than the first, knocked Tori to her knees. For an instant, she thought she saw her car on fire at the far end of the parking lot. Then Superhero X’s body wrapped around hers, protecting her in a cocoon of muscle. Tori could feel the warmth of the explosion whoosh around them.

  X crab-walked them behind another car, a big black Mercedes with a spot much closer to the door than Tori could ever hope to have. She looked up over the trunk toward the blazing inferno burning red against the black sky. That certainly looked like her car.

  “What the–?” Tori stared in frozen fascination at the fire. She turned to Superhero X and saw the same shocked look she imagined she had.

  “You didn’t know about this?” she asked. She couldn’t shake the feeling that he knew something he wasn’t sharing. And she couldn’t shake the fear that thought spread through her mind and body. What if he was more like Kane? She didn’t know him after all. Both men professed to have her best interests at heart.

  Tori jumped up and started to run.

  A car length later, strong arms grabbed her, swinging her off her feet. She yelled. A big hand covered her mouth as she was pulled behind another car.

  “Quiet,” X whispered in her ear. He peeked out behind the bumper, scanning the parking lot.

  The shivers running down her spine weren’t the type she got when reading the good parts of a romance novel. This was real. This man could break her in half. Perhaps he’d been involved in blowing up her car. Perhaps he’d killed Evan. Perhaps he’d kill her.

  Wait, her mind struggled to catch up. Wait!

  Tori struggled to get out of the superhero’s grip. Instead of letting her go, he pulled her closer. A sense of safety battled with the cold rush of hysteria that threatened to sweep over her. She fought her panic, still clawing at his arms.

  “Shh,” he said in her ear. “I know you’re scared, but we have to get out of here.”

  Tori sobbed behind his hand. She struggled not to give in to her fear. What was happening? Why were these things happening to her?

  She watched Superhero X look around the parking lot. He pulled his hand away from her mouth and tucked her body in close to his, smoothing her hair and whispering to her, his chin tucked over her head, still protective.

  Thoughts of Joe holding her close like this flitted through Tori’s mind. She felt herself relax slightly. Killers didn’t try to comfort you. The feeling of safety encompassed her, calming her. As surely as she knew there were bad people in the world, she knew there were good people, too. Superhero X was one of the good guys. She was willing to bet her life on it.

  She rubbed the tears from her eyes. She could hear a few people’s voices. She started to stand, but Superhero X held her back.

  He looked down at her. “Trust me.”

  No explanation. No commanding tones. Just a request.

  Tori gave him the tiniest of nods.

  Superhero X pointed to a black king cab pickup halfway between their hiding spot and her burning car. She heard more yelling near the studio doors. Taking her hand firmly in his, the superhero ran for the truck.

  Shouldn’t she be running for the safety of the crowd? The fleeting thought disappeared as he opened the driver side door and helped her in. He gave her a push and she slid all the way over to the passenger door. She cast a surprised look at him but he didn’t notice.

  He climbed in behind her, started the truck, and drove to the exit without the lights on. Tori frowned in the dark. The interior light hadn’t come on when he’d opened the door. Most of the parking lot lights were out. He was driving around the outer edge of the parking lot as if he were trying not to be seen. Why?

  Fear gripped her gut again. She eased closer to the passenger door.

  At the street, Superhero X took her hand before he came to a stop. He pressed a button on his fancy watch, flipped on his lights and his turn signal, waited for a break in traffic, and turned left into the street.

  “I know you’re afraid, Tori,” he said in a low voice, soothing even with the metallic sound under it, “but try not to be afraid of me. I’m here to protect you. I promise.”

  She closed her eyes and tried to think. God, please help me know what to do, who to trust. As she focused on listening for his answer, she felt a growing peace. With it came that strange sense of safety that she felt around Joe. She glanced over at Superhero X’s masked profile. Nuts or not, trusting Superhero X seemed to be the best plan.

  But they should go to the police, make a report. Or not. The police didn’t seem to think of her as an innocent bystander in Evan’s death. Perhaps less so after that mugger had been killed in front of her. But at least the police weren’t planning her imminent demise.

  Not as far as she knew anyway.

  X made another turn, then another, and hope flared in Tori’s chest. “Are you taking me home?”

  “No.”

  Sprayed with the emotional equivalent of liquid nitrogen, the hope froze and shattered. Tori tried to let peace fill the void rather than fear, but fear gained a foothold.

  Superhero X glanced over and saw the fresh tears. He sighed and turned back to the road as Tori held her bottom lip between her teeth. She could feel her chin quivering like a flag in a breeze.

  “Why not? My husband will be expecting me soon. He’ll keep me safe.” She ignored the quiver in her voice. She needed to be stronger. She simply had to buck up and keep her wits about her.
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br />   “I’m taking you someplace where no one can hurt you. I’ll make sure he meets you there.” His voice was calm and soothing. It eased Tori’s nerves even though her mind still struggled to make sense of the last few minutes.

  “You are taking me home,” she said as she recognized her neighborhood.

  He didn’t say anything as he drove past her street. He turned down an alley and drove a few blocks, checking his rearview mirror. He pulled up behind a big white house and parked.

  Tori knew she was close to home, though from the alley in the dark she couldn’t be sure exactly where she was. She opened the door and hopped out. She considered making a mad dash for home when she heard a familiar voice.

  “Is that you, Tori?”

  From out of the darkness materialized Joe’s dad. That’s where they were, in the alley behind Owen and Hannah’s house and the church.

  Tori stared as Owen walked up and clasped Superhero X’s hand, slapping him on the back. Then he moved to Tori.

  “Are you okay, honey?” he said kindly. He put his arm around her shoulders and Tori hugged him tight. He led her toward the house. “Hannah is just putting dinner on the table.”

  Tori looked over her shoulder at Superhero X. He knew Pastor Owen? He’d brought her to a church. Did he think he was giving her sanctuary, or did he know these were her in-laws?

  The gears in Tori’s mind stopped turning in their usual fashion. In fact, they ground to a downright halt. She thought she could smell the burning oil as she finally and completely lost the ability to process what was going on around her.

  But she did remember her husband. “We have to make sure Joe’s okay.” She spoke urgently to Owen.

  “Don’t worry, X will bring him back here.”

  “Are you sure? Owen, something strange is happening. You don’t know the half of it, but I don’t want Joe–”

  “He’ll be here in a few minutes. You’ll see. Everything will be a lot clearer soon.” Owen looked over his shoulder at Superhero X.

  Tori saw them exchange a look. Well, for crying out loud! Everybody seemed to know what was going on around here except her.

  She let Owen lead her up the three stairs to the back door. After dinner, she would take him aside and tell him what had been happening. She’d ask for pastoral confidentiality and tell him everything. Owen would help her know what to do next.

  CHAPTER 13

  JOE let go a mental sigh of relief. His parents would take care of Tori. He drove the few blocks home, called Mickey, changed into street clothes and drove back to his parents’ house. If it were anyone else, he’d be back at the fire, he thought as he walked in the back door. But it wasn’t anyone else, it was his wife. And he was hearing that voice again.

  God, if that’s you, you have to tell me what to do. In-the-nick-of-time rescues are fine, but not when it’s Tori. We’ve got to protect her better.

  Inside, his dad pointed him toward the hall bathroom where Joe heard female voices. A quick look at his hands showed they’d healed enough that Tori wouldn’t notice. Just scratches now. He found his mom putting ointment on Tori’s skinned palms. She’d probably have the tear in Tori’s jeans mended before dinner. He smiled. Hannah always made things better. Tori was clean and dry and looked much calmer. She looked up when he leaned against the doorway.

  “Joe!” The look of relief and pleasure on her face lifted his heart. “You’re okay.”

  She started to pull away from Hannah, but Hannah stopped her with, “Hang on, let’s finish your hands, he’s not going anywhere.”

  “’Course I’m okay. How about you?” He couldn’t decide if he was surprised or not that she wasn’t curled up in a little ball crying. She was stronger than she sometimes appeared. Joe relaxed a little. When he told her about his family, she’d probably be okay about it. Probably. He hoped.

  Hannah finished with Tori’s hands and Tori jumped into his arms. Ahh. He held her close. Hannah patted his shoulder and walked back to the kitchen. In the semi-privacy of the hallway, Joe pulled Tori off the ground so her face was next to his. Her arms wrapped around his neck. They stood like that for a moment, cheek to cheek. She was okay.

  But he was going to get the bastards responsible.

  “You smell like smoke,” he said.

  She pulled back. “You, too.” Her brow crinkled. “Why? Did you go outside? Did you see my car? It’s the one that exploded, isn’t it?”

  Joe floundered, trying to figure out which question to answer first, how to answer with the least amount of lying. “I’m not sure,” he began. “I saw the fire but I’m not sure how it started or–”

  “It started with an explosion,” Tori exclaimed. “Twice! A very big, very loud – Joe, I think my car blew up! I do! How can my car just blow up? And then Su–”

  She stopped and studied his face. Joe could see she was trying to decide how much to tell him.

  “I heard Superhero X was there.” That should make it easier for her to go on.

  “Yeah,” she said. She shook her head. “I don’t know how I’ve never seen a superhero my whole life and then suddenly one is popping up everywhere.”

  Joe could explain it to her but–

  “Dinner!” Hannah called. “Everyone in the kitchen. Time to eat.”

  Saved by dinner.

  Joe led Tori into the kitchen, trying to remember not to hold her ointment-covered hand. Seeing a hot lasagna cooling on the stove, he used a finger to pull a piece of cheese from the corner. It burned his finger, but he loved hot melted cheese.

  “Ach!” Hannah swiped at his hand. “Where are your manners? Don’t put your fingers in the food.”

  Joe grinned at his mom’s back and sat down at the table. He pulled Tori into a chair next to him.

  “Owen!” Hannah called. “Joe, find your dad. Dinner’s ready.”

  “Da-ad!” Joe shouted toward the living room. “Dinner!”

  Hannah turned and gave him that mom look that said, that’s not what I asked you to do, I could’ve done that.

  Joe chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.

  Tori rolled her eyes at him and said to Hannah, “I’ll get them for you.”

  A few seconds later, a burst of laughter came from the living room. The sound of the TV went off and everyone filed into the kitchen. Owen was explaining something to Joe’s younger brother Stuart, and Stuart was laughing and arguing. Melissa exclaimed over Tori’s hands and asked questions about the explosion. Tori had an arm around Joe’s niece Katie.

  D’oh! Joe slapped his forehead when he saw Katie. He’d promised she could visit him and Tori. He was going to help her, but he couldn’t do that openly until Tori knew. Ugh, he was losing track of everything that needed to be done.

  His mom caught his eye when she put the salad on the table. “We’re taking care of it,” she whispered, and nodded toward her granddaughter.

  Joe sighed in relief. “Love you, Mom.”

  Finally everyone sat, Owen said grace, plates were passed, and the family dug into the lasagna, garlic bread, and salad. Everyone but Tori.

  “Tori, honey, eat something,” Hannah said.

  Joe glanced at Tori sitting next to him staring at her plate, fork idly pushing at her salad. “You okay? You want to lie down?”

  She looked up at him. Joe couldn’t ignore the rush of warmth as he held her gaze. Her hazel eyes were clear but troubled. “I can’t believe Bill is dead. I haven’t even finished paying for him yet.”

  At his family’s shocked faces, Joe hurried to add, “Bill is her car.”

  “You named your car?” Katie laughed. “Cool.”

  Tori looked at Owen and Hannah, then back at Joe. “I’m going to have to talk to the police again, aren’t I?” It wasn’t a question.

  “Not during dinner. Eat something,” Hannah urged. “Then we’ll talk this all out. Trust me, you’re going to need your strength.”

  “We don’t know if it was your car yet, do we?” Owen asked.

  Tori lo
oked skeptical. “It sure looked like my car. It was parked where I park.”

  “Well, when the police figure it out, they’ll call. Meanwhile, eat while it’s hot.” Owen pointed his fork at Tori’s plate.

  She picked up a piece of garlic bread and took a bite. Then she groaned.

  “I know, it’s great, isn’t it,” Joe said. “Mom makes it fresh.”

  “I had two library books in the back seat!”

  “Oh, man, that’s terrible,” said Melissa, the bookworm of the family.

  “And my iPod,” Tori said morosely.

  “That sucks!” Katie exclaimed.

  “Katie.” Hannah raised her eyebrows.

  “Stinks,” she amended. “I’d die without my iPod.”

  “But she didn’t die, and that’s the important part,” added Stuart. “Why don’t you want to talk to the police? Pass the salad, please?”

  Tori wrinkled her nose at him. “I’ve talked to more police in the last ten years than most people do in a lifetime.”

  “Why?” asked Katie. She twirled melted cheese around her fork and ate just the cheese.

  “It’s a long story.”

  “I like long stories,” Katie said. “Uncle Stuart’s going to be a police officer, so that’s why he wants to know.”

  “How’s school going, Stuart?” Joe asked, changing the subject to give Tori some space. “I haven’t seen you much lately.”

  The rest of dinner passed easily, the younger three talking about school, Hannah pushing food on everyone, Tori finally eating. Joe looked around the table and knew he was luckier than most. His family not only loved each other, they liked each other, too. He hoped he and Tori would be so lucky when they had kids.