Page 70 of All Superheroes Need PR
“With him?”
“Yes.”
“Then you stay close to that boy. Don’t let him out of your sight.”
“That’s what Elena said. You really think so?” I smile sheepishly, not used to talking about boys with William.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because.” The front door opens, and my dad raises a salt-and-pepper brow. “That boy made me a promise, and I believe him. You could do worse for a boyfriend, Vanny, but just so you know, if he even thinks of marrying you without asking me first for permission, I don’t care who he is, I’m gonna sock him good.”
He’s speaking loudly enough for Roland to hear him as he reappears through the screen door. He snorts and shakes his head in my dad’s direction but remains undaunted as he walks up to me wearing borrowed sweats that are too short and a T-shirt that’s too tight. “You ready, Nessa?”
I nod and take his hand when he offers it.
Before I leave the porch, I plant a kiss on William’s cheek. “Bye, Dad. Thanks for letting us crash.”
“You know the rules, Vanny. No couples sleeping together who aren’t married.”
I’m about to respond, but Rollo wraps his arm around my shoulder and shouts over his, “Don’t worry, William. I’m planning on fixing that!”
“You little shit.”
My brothers laugh and wave us off as we pile into Vinny’s car; he leaves one here for whenever he’s in town. I haven’t forgotten Rollo’s promise, and I hate myself for what I’m going to say next.
“Rollo?”
“Yeah?” he says as he pulls onto the highway.
“As much as I want to take you up on your offer of gentle sex, there’s somewhere we need to go first.” I pull out my cell phone and dial Mr. Singkham’s private line. He answers on the third ring, and I’m still looking at Roland as I say, “Mr. Singkham, I’m sure my team has told you that I was attacked. Yes ... yes. And yes. We need a meeting ... right now.”
Chapter Twenty-OneRoland
Nessa sits forward in her seat, her left heel tapping out a pattern on the ground that spells agitation. She’s being honest, and Mr. Singkham’s trying to get his eyeballs melted. “They called themselves number Three. They were—are—a superbeing I’ve never heard of before.”
“That’s not possible.”
“They were dressed as a delivery person walking through the COE lobby, and when I bumped into them, they transported me to my childhood—the place where I lived when I was small. They left me there.” Nessa’s voice gets more aggressive as Mr. Singkham’s denial grows more adamant. “They are alien, but they aren’t one of the Forty-Eight. I’ve never heard of them before, their presence wasn’t disclosed in any of the briefs you provided my team, and their powers were extraordinary and terrible. Roland hasn’t heard of them either.”
“You think there areunknownones?” Mr. Singkham scoffs, shuffling papers arbitrarily over his new desk; the old one was deemed ruined after the Marduk’s attack. It’s clear he’s flustered. He already dismissed Mrs. Morales and all his guards with an order to turn the cameras in his office off, as if I didn’t hear that. My hearing is sharper than any human’s, and in the last days, my senses have all only gotten sharper. Like my claws. “As in,morethan one?”
“Yes. I think there may be as many as sixty-two.” Vanessa nods, and I squeeze her hand. “That’s what Three called Roland.”
She’s seated in the chair next to mine, and I’m leaning forward so that our knees touch, and occasionally I reach out to pick her hand up off her lap. I need it. I’m fucking shaking. I don’t know if she or Mr. Singkham can see it, but I can feel small tremors throughout every inch of my body. I attribute it to hearing Nessa’s full story, down to the detail about how that fucker touched and intimidated her. I know what would make me feel better—this Three fucker dying today in epic violence—but since this is a being who seems to be able to move through space at will and is someone the COE claims doesn’t exist, finding them is going to be my biggest hurdle.
“Ms. Theriot, it is of vital importance that you are honest with me,” Mr. Singkham starts.
Vanessa cuts him off, and I’m fucking proud of her for it. “Iambeing honest with you, Mr. Singkham.”
“We have the footage, Ms. Theriot. There were forty-eight pods that fell from the sky. Almost all of them shattered upon impact, and the few that were relatively intact are well within the safety of the SDD—those that weren’t stolen in the VNA raid twelve years ago. And if you are sticking to your story, I will have no choice but to report you and have the SDD come here and launch a full investigation.”
“And what of the footage of the COE lobby? Where’s that? I requested it from your security, but according to them, the specific ten-minute block in which I was abducted has been wiped.” She’s leaning forward, rage tinting her cheeks pink.
Mr. Singkham flounders. “That’s ... a security failing. One that will be looked into—”
“That won’t be necessary.” I yank my hands away from Vanessa’s skin just as my palms turn to flame and my claws tingle. “Vanessa is misremembering the event completely. Thank you for your time, Mr. Singkham. We’ll be going.”
