Page 92 of Not All Himbos Wear Capes
The silence in the warehouse was deafening. Despite being dragged into their villainy, Xander had hinted at his low-ranking status within his family. What I kept getting stuck on was how incredibly unusual it was foranysupe family—hero or villain—to bother raising a powerless child.
Unless that’s exactly what made them useful…
Besides outing another’s true identity, it was the worst crime imaginable for a supe to purposefully kill a normie. Punishments ranged from banishment and status-stripping to execution, depending how well-connected you were.
A family as well-known as Xander’s somehow kept their noses clean, despite Biggs Enterprises having an entire file cabinet of unsolved murders we’d been trying to pin on the Suarez clan for over a decade.
All this time, they had an unregistered, seemingly powerless supe doing their dirty work for them.
“Baby, I…” Xander turned to face me, looking as unsure as I’d ever seen him. “I have a lot of blood on my hands. I promise you, they were all the lowlife scum that my family dealt with… Not that it makes it any better, I’m sure…”
He thinks I won’t still love him.
I huffed a laugh and reached up to gently stroke his face. “Xan. Do you know how many villains I’ve killed in only the past year since I took this job?”
“Seventy-seven,” Wolfgang piped in, although his gaze was fixed on how I caressed his brother’s face—fascinated. When he saw he’d captured my attention, he shrugged. “I enjoy following kill stats.”
Even though Wolfgang was hovering nearby, Ineededto reassure Xander—to make sure he knew his past didn’t change a thing. “Every one of those kills was ordered by Biggs Enterprises, and I never once questioned whether they deserved to die. The only time I didn’t follow through on an assignment was with Doctor Antihero…”
My breath caught as I recalled our confrontation on the beach—how wrong it could have gone—but I rallied for his sake.
“Before you get angry on my behalf, you should know that I wasn’t only following orders because it was written into my contract. I alsoenjoykilling—way more than I used tothink a hero should. So, there is nothing you could do, or have done in your life that I won’t like. Especially ifyoualso enjoyed it.”
I wanted to add how hard I got just thinking of Xander with actual blood on his hands, but we had a very attentive audience at the moment.
One who probably likes to watch.
Xander released a shaky breath, even as he maintained a stoic expression. “Both Biggs and the USN could come for me over my body count now that I’m a confirmed supe. My mother might even throw me under the bus.”
I scoffed. “Let them try it. In the end, it was yourparentswho kept your existence a secret, even if they didn’t know you had powers…”
Wait a minute…
“Did you sayRE-emerge?” I spun toward the couch as Wolfgang’s earlier words finally registered.
The Hand of Death wore an expression that was probably the closest he came to a pity. “Yes. Xanny’s had powers since he was born. However, I’m the only one who ever saw them in action.”
“Ex-fucking-scuse you?!” Xander shouted, rounding on his brother. “How do you know more about my powers than I do?”
Wolfgang made a judgmental noise. “Because you tried tokillme when you were barely out of diapers. Granted, I was trying to killyou,but you fought back by draining me in return. You somehow turned my power back onme,so I had no choice but to let you live.”
White-hot rage raced through me, uncontrollably exploding outward in a fiery blast that, thankfully, Xander was immune to. “If you so much asthinkof touching him again, I will incinerate you until no one remembers you existed!”
Wolfgang hadn’t even flinched at my threatening display, although a single bead of sweat ran down his temple from the heat.
“Okay, that was mildly attractive.” He leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees. “Listen, Butch. I wouldn’t expect anonly childto understand sibling dynamics, but I assure you, it was a one-time murder attempt. After that, Xanny became my little secret—to hide and protect—although Ididvaguely mention his powers to our parents, for reasons…”
Xander cocked his head, approaching his brother despite my growl of discontent. “Our parentsknewI had powers all this time? What did you tell them, Wolfy?”
Some sort of sibling understanding passed between them, as Wolfgang sighed and resolutely nodded. “I told mother and father I’d witnessed you moving objects with your mind. A bullshit parlor trick, but it was enough to keep them interested in you…”
He watched Xander carefully as he added, “I had to ensure they wouldn’t kill you before you were strong enough to kill them.”
Xander swallowed hard. “You think they would have killed me?”
His brother pressed his lips together. “Iknowthey would have. A few years after my discovery, I overheard them discussing how to finally dispose of you. They believed you were powerless and therefore of no use to the family. But you weren’t useless to me.”
“Why would you save me?” Xander rasped. “Especially after we tried to kill each other?”
