Page 59 of Not All Himbos Wear Capes
The route we took was confusing. We doubled-backed a few times—and I swore we drove through a mountain—but I was too busy chattering to Xan to worry about it. I’d been half-expecting something that looked like Dracula’s castle, so the futuristic compound we arrived at was a momentary surprise.
It explains why he’s such a tech nerd.
Xander liked to fuss over me on a good day, but the amount of prep he put me through—before we even got in the car—almost hadmecalling this off. He told me how things would go tonight, with an insane amount of detail that still felt infuriatingly vague. There were a few conversation topics that were off limits, but the oddest thing was when he told me under no circumstances was I to shake anyone's hand.
Calm down, weirdo.
I was about to crack a joke about whether we were getting out of the car when someone knocked impatiently against Xander’s door. He cracked the window with a heavy sigh, but with the way we were all positioned, I couldn’t immediately see who was welcoming us.
“Hey, doofus, way to ignore my texts.”
Xander sighed again. “Vi, I simply had better things to do than answer your idiotic questions. You know, like clip my toenails, or rearrange my junk drawer, or literally anything else.”
The mysterious woman snorted. “As if me contacting you wouldn’t be the highlight of your existence. Although…” There was a slight scuffle as she attempted to open the door and Xander hit the lock. “Mother told us you were bringing a date…”
With a third sigh so heavy, I thought his soul might leave his body, Xander rolled down the window completely so we could meet.
And my entire world shattered.
The woman muscling her way through the window to get a better look at me made my heart stop beating. Long black hair fell in waves on either side of her familiar face. Familiar because the light brown skin and flecks of gold in her amber eyes reminded me of the man sitting next to me, but mostly because her mugshot was plastered all over the Biggs situation room.
It’s a mistake. It has to be a mistake.
“Oh, look at that, Xanny,” she cackled. “Your boy toy is so overcome by my beauty he’s speechless.” Her gaze roamed over me like I was a mouse caught between her paws. “What do you say, li’l bro? Is there enough of this big beefcake to share?”
It can’t be… it’s just a coincidence that she looks just like…
“Gross,Violentia,” Xander grumbled, confirming without a doubt that this woman was exactly who I feared she was. Then he took his hand and palmed her entire face before roughly shoving her out of the car—as if she wasn’t one of the most feared villains of our generation.
What the FUCK is going on?!
“Whatever dude,” she scoffed, straightening her minidress with dagger-length nails. “Get in your butt-sex quickie and come inside. We’re all fucking starving and if dinner isn’t served soon, mother might start eating her young.” Then she stalked away on towering heels, unknowingly leaving monumental wreckage in her wake.
Oh.
My.
God.
I sat frozen in my seat. The only reason I hadn’t immediately incinerated Ultra Violent was because of the shock to my system—a hesitation that would have cost me dearly had she attacked. Now that she was gone, I was forced to accept that the man I’d let into my life—into my body—was not who I thought he was.
Xanderwasnota normie. His name was not Xander Marin. He was a Suarez—the offspring of Glacial Girl and Apocalypto Man, along with five formidable others. A supervillain who was undocumented and unknown by both Biggs Enterprises and the USN.
Who IS he?
Has this been a trap the entire time?
Oblivious—or uncaring—to my mental breakdown, Xander dropped his face into his hand with a groan. “Sothatwas Violentia. I would say it gets better with the rest, but that would be a lie. The only silver lining is that you won’t be meeting my father tonight since he doesn’t eat with us… although I unfortunately need to slip away at some point because he wants to speak with me about something. But mother promised me everyone will be on their best behav—are you all right, sweetheart?”
My world tipped on its axis yet again. Xander wasn’t looking at me like a villain who’d entrapped his prey. His gorgeous amber eyes were filled with concern, and he reached out a hand to gently caress my jaw with the same genuine care he’d always shown me.
He doesn’t know who I am.
The realization that at least this intense connection between us wasrealcalmed my racing heart somewhat. I was still sitting outside the home of the Suarez clan—and there was a high probability I would die or be captured tonight—but at least I would go out having experiencedthis.
It was worth it.
“I love you,” I blurted out. “I just… I want you to know that before… before we go inside.”
