Banging the Superhero Read online

  "Only it didn't work exactly like that."

  Like manna from heaven, Ace appeared in the doorway of the studio. He leaned against the edge of the frame as if a common visitor, not a Superhero interrupting a killer about to end someone's life.

  "Shit." Zee whirled around. In a split second, she had another weapon out and pointed at Ace. "Careful Batman, this one doesn't just stun."

  Ace spoke through gritted teeth. "Don't call me that."

  Alice wasn't sure what to do. Should she run while Ace distracted Zee? No, there was no way she was leaving Ace alone in this room with the crazy woman.

  "What are you doing here?"

  Ace shrugged as he stepped forward. "I couldn't stay away." He met Alice's gaze for a second before turning back to Zee. "How come I never knew you could manipulate machines like I do?"

  "You never asked. No one ever asked what I was capable of. The other Superheroes at Powers are all second-class citizens to Draco. He keeps us all down. You know that."

  "I've never heard anyone complain."

  "It's what everyone thinks." Zee's voice sounded strained, almost forced. Alice wasn't sure who Zee tried to convince, Ace or herself.

  "Do you want more money?"

  She stomped her foot and raised the gun at Ace. Alice was no expert, but from her viewpoint, it looked like the gun now pointed directly at his chest.

  "I want respect."

  "Zee." Ace took a few steps forward. "I can talk to machines and apparently so can you. I have this problem where too much adrenaline rushes through my body and while that makes me very strong, it also makes me do unreasonable things. I have to find ways to handle it. I'm wondering if, perhaps, the same thing has happened to you."

  "Don't make excuses. You know how terrible Draco is."

  He shook his head as he continued, at a snail's pace, to inch forward. "I've never thought of Draco as terrible. In fact, I admire him more than anyone else in the world."

  "How can you feel that way? He rules us all with an iron fist."

  "He's my brother, Zee."

  Alice wanted to scream at Ace. What are you doing? You can't tell her that. She's the enemy. Sudden realization hit her. There was no way in hell Ace was letting the woman out of the room alive, not if he'd told her that.

  Oh god, poor Ace. She wondered if he'd ever done that before—taken a life, a life of someone he once trusted. She swallowed through a lump of so many jumbled emotions she couldn't identify them all. One thing she knew for certain, he would kill this woman and it was Alice's fault. Tears slid down her cheeks.

  "Ace." Her voice sounded more like a croak than a word.

  "Quiet, Alice."

  "He's your brother?" Zee seemed to ignore Ace and Alice's exchange altogether.

  "And you kept that from me?" She shouted now.

  "You're not my girlfriend." He raised his hand in the air in a mock gesture of confusion. "It was a good thing I trusted my instincts and didn't let you inside the inner circle."

  "The inner circle, that's right." She walked forward, her gun waving. "I was never cool enough for that."

  "You were never trustworthy enough for that."

  "Ace." Alice couldn't help it. She had to tell him. What if it all ended right here? "I love you. It scares me more than Zee ever could, but I do."

  Ace's attention slipped for a second and his haunted blue eyes met hers. "Alice . .

  . ."

  Zee interrupted. "Now I know how I'll hurt you. I'll kill the stupid cook."

  Zee whirled around, almost faster than Alice could follow. For a split second, she had no doubt she was dead. Zee fired her laser. Alice hadn't so much as gasped when she hit to the floor, Ace's body on top of her.

  A scuffle sounded as she tried to shove Ace off her. God, he was dead weight.

  She screamed.

  "Oh god, Ace." Over and over, she called his name. He needed to wake up. She wasn't sure how long she pled in vain. He couldn't be dead. He just couldn't. He hadn't answered her. He hadn't forgiven her—

  Ace's body was ripped off hers and set on the ground but Draco didn't stand over her.

  She shook her head. "Lael?"

  What's he doing? Lael tore Ace's shirt off his body. She stood up and rushed to his side. "What are you doing?"

  "Saving him."

  A black burn mark covered the center of Ace's chest, marring the beauty of his skin. She covered her mouth as she felt herself scream again. Oh god, where was Zee?

  Where was she? She scanned the area. The evil superhero lay motionless on the floor.

  Alice didn't have to look twice to know Zee was dead. Necks were not supposed to hang the way hers did.

  "Did you . . . ?"

  Lael shrugged. "She hurt my family."

  The horror of it was too much and the tears flowed uncontrollably down her cheeks. "Oh god, Lael. Ace would never want you to have done that."

  "Ace can wake up and tell me. He can punish me."

  She swallowed. Fine, that sounded like a great idea. Lael sounded old, so much older than he should have. "What are you going to do?"

  "I'm going to restart his heart."

  "You can do that?"

  He nodded. "It's my particular talent. Or my freakish ability, whichever word you would prefer."

  She rubbed her nose. "I'm so sorry you heard me say those things to Ace. I didn't mean them. I don't do well when I'm scared, but that's no excuse."

  Lael closed his eyes, holding his hand over Ace's chest. He wriggled his fingers, probably doing something else, too. Next second, Draco knelt beside her. His eyes were huge, his face pale.

  "What's going on?"

  "Lael's restarting his heart."

  Draco's head shot up. "You can do that?"

  "Quiet!" Then after a second, Lael added, "Please."

  "I think, considering the circumstance, I'll let him be rude to me." He turned around and appeared to hone in on Zee. "Ace killed her?"

  "No." Alice shook her head and nodded toward Lael.

  Comprehension appeared to dawn on Draco. His eyes took on a cold, steely look.

  "Shit."

  "Ace saved me."

  Ace took a loud gasp for air as his body shot upwards before hitting the ground again. He screamed, a long agonizing sound, as his head whipped back and forth.

  His eyes opened, to say they were bloodshot would be kind.

  She fell to her knees. "Ace."

  Lael spoke, the muscles in his neck straining, his face red. "I've got his heart beating but I can't keep it that way."

  "Draco." Ace's voice was sandpaper rough. "You know what you have to do."

  Draco pounded the floor. "No."

  Lael shook. "Whatever it is, do it."

  Draco pulled out a syringe from his blazer pocket.

  "What are you going to give him?"

  "It's adrenaline."

  She shook her head. "He makes too much of it."

  "It will make his body fix itself but it will overdo him."

  Ace screamed. "Do it but first get her out of here. I don't want her to see me like that."

  Draco sighed. "Ace . . . ."

  "You heard me." He closed his eyes. "Either let me die or get the woman out of here. I need her like I need to be shot in the head."

  Draco stood. "Come on, Ms. Styles, it's time to go."

  Before she could stop him, Draco ran from the room, dragging her behind with a grip so tight on her arm she could do nothing but follow. Two superheroes waited in the hall and Draco pushed her into the arms of one. "Do something with her. Ace doesn't want to see her anymore."

  And just like that, Alice felt her entire world shatter. Tears sprang to her eyes and she didn't care that she was in public. He didn't want her anymore? He needed her.

  She struggled against the strong hold the nameless superhero who worked for Draco had on her.

  Without a word, they pulled her down the hall. Alice felt numb. She'd left her heart in that room with Ace, and now, she was bein
g told she'd never have it back again.

  Chapter Eleven

  Ace roared as Draco shoved the adrenaline-filled needle into his chest. He cursed, not even sure what he said, just knowing that he hurt like hell and the pain wasn't finished.

  His vision blurred but he could make out Lael—well, two versions of him, moving in circles—and he grabbed his brother's arm.

  "How did you do this?"

  "When I was living on my own, on the street, I found out I could bring people back if they hadn't been gone long. I could make their body work again."

  Ace could barely make his mouth work. His heart beat so fast. The adrenaline made his body heal itself. He couldn't explain why this happened, why his own physiology behaved the way it did, but today he was glad he functioned this way.

  "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

  "Neither you nor Draco could do it. That made me feel really weird."

  Draco laughed. "We're all weird, brother-of-mine, and congratulations on finding your version of it."

  Lael let out a sound that was half-sigh, half-laugh. "Why did you make Alice leave?"

  "Because it's over." Or maybe it was fairer to say, because it needed to be over.

  He couldn't continue down the path with her when nothing but hurt awaited him on the other side.

  "Or he wants it to be." Draco hauled Ace off the ground. "I was in the same place about a year ago." As he flung Ace over his shoulder, Draco turned his head to Lael.

  Being treated like a bag of potatoes hurt like hell, but Ace didn't want to complain. He needed to be home when the adrenaline stopped fixing him and started making him crazed.

  "Men in our family don't do love well and Ace has a doozy on his hands. The girl isn't particularly easy going."

  Now, it was one thing for Ace to feel like he wanted to get out of the way of a relationship with Alice. It was another thing for Draco to talk about her in any way unkind.

  "She runs a multi-billion dollar company and her family has betrayed her in the worst possible ways. They set Zee after her. She's not easy going, I'll grant you, but she's like a hot, glowing star, the whole universe could flow around her if she wanted it to."

  Draco laughed and if Ace could have moved he would have pounded on his back.

  "What's funny about that?"

  "Yeah . . . you're done with her. I'll buy that."

  Ace rolled his eyes. "I could do without your sarcasm."

  "Tough. You nearly died on me; you get whatever I feel like dishing out. Besides, there's still the little matter of you being here when you weren't supposed to be and bringing Lael with you."

  Lael got off the floor. "I followed him. He didn't know."

  "I was a little distracted."

  Draco nodded as he kicked open a window to the studio and flew out into the night air. Flung over Draco's shoulder, Ace could see Lael following.

  "Thanks for saving my life."

  Lael smiled. "You're my brother."

  And that, Ace realized, was why it didn't matter that he couldn't tell people about his family. They were still his. Alice might be able to claim her relations publicly but unlikely any of them would save her life if given the chance. That's how he and her differed.

  But he'd taken a laser directly in the chest for her. It had nothing to do with her being his client. He loved her. He did. Even if he never wanted to see her again.

  * * * * *

  The next thing Ace remembered was banging his shoulder against a steel door.

  Halfway through slamming into the door, he stopped. He looked around to determine where he was before sinking to the floor. He was locked in a room, and he had no memory of what he'd done or how long he'd been in lockdown. Of course, the way his body hurt, likely he'd been abusing himself physically for a good long time.

  Here was the safe room. Draco had built it, under Ace's direction, for just this kind of scenario. Clearly, he'd lost his mind and been unable to handle his aggression.

  Resting his head in his hands, he wondered how long he'd been inside. Hours?

  Days? Weeks? Years? The thought made him sick to his stomach. This was truly lost time and something he'd hoped never to have to actually face up to. He'd always been close to losing it—apparently, today he had.

  "Are you calm now?"

  Draco's voice bellowed into the room over an intercom.

  Ace nodded. "How long have I been in here?"

  "About twenty-four hours. I sent Wendy and Lael from the house. They were too upset seeing you like this."

  Ace lay flat on his back. "I'm sorry."

  "Not your fault." Draco sounded tired. "I was worried you weren't coming back.

  You kept hitting and throwing things."

  "I guess the adrenaline finally dropped enough that I got control."

  Draco opened the door to the room and walked to Ace's side. "I have a suggestion."

  Draco extended his hand and Ace took it, allowing Draco to pull him to his feet.

  He rubbed his shoulder. It hurt. His whole body felt swollen.

  "About what?"

  "There's a guy I met once, a Superhero . . . . I think he can help you."

  Ace sighed as he stretched. "What does he do?"

  "His whole body changes when he gets mad. I'm not sure exactly what happens.

  Anyway, he's taught himself to control every emotion he feels. I think he might be able to help you get a handle on your condition." To Ace's utter horror, Draco pulled him into a hug. "What if next time you don't come back?"

  Ace couldn't actually remember the last time he and Draco had embraced. Had they been ten and eight? For a second, he couldn't move at all. Draco didn't let go, which left Ace no choice but to hug him back.

  Finally, Draco spoke. "You're my little brother. I don't want to lose you."

  Ace pulled away. "Is that what the hug's about?"

  "Wendy, while we are on our honeymoon, told me I don't spend enough time expressing my emotions."

  Ace nodded, peeling himself out of Draco's embrace. "Let's say that we're both comfortable with the amount of expression we give each other."

  Draco laughed, his whole face relaxing. "All right. No more hugs?"

  "If I ever get married, you can hug me on my wedding day."

  "Speaking of that—"

  Ace raised his hand to stop Draco before he could finish his statement. "I don't want to talk about her." Not now. Maybe not ever.

  "Fine. Then can we talk about Lael? He killed Zee and he refuses to talk about it."

  "Call Wendy, have her come back to the house with Lael. I'll talk to him."

  Draco rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. "You think he'll open up to you and not to me?"

  "Yep."

  Ace moved past him to leave the room.

  Draco passed him. "Why?"

  "Because you're perfect. Even when you screw up, you always know the perfect way to fix things. Lael recognizes that in me he has found someone who is just pretending to have it together. I'm more screwed up than he is so he'll tell me things he'd never tell you."

  * * * * *

  Ace stepped out of the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist. He looked at himself in the mirror. It was time. He always knew the day would come. He could tell himself it had nothing to do with Alice and the fact that she'd always hated it. But he made it a point not to lie to himself whenever possible.

  He didn't want to see her. He didn't.

  So much for not lying to himself. He grinned at his reflection. All things eventually came to an end.

  He pulled on his sweatpants and walked into his bedroom, not surprised to find Lael sitting on his bed. Ace had heard his brother come into the bedroom earlier.

  Lael jumped when Ace entered. "I'm glad you're okay."

  "Mostly, thanks to you."

  "Yeah, well." Lael's cheeks got red. "You'd do the same for me."

  "I would. In a heartbeat."

  "I know."

  "Want to talk about what ki
lling Zee was like?"

  "No." Lael's face got firm and shut down, like Draco's could do. "I know I'm supposed to have deep feelings about this, and that it's supposed to be life-altering.

  Maybe I'm suppressing it, like Wendy keeps saying, but the truth is that bitch was going to kill you —had killed you— and I moved without thinking. I don't know why obsessing about it now is—"

  Ace cut him off at the pass. "I'm not saying obsess. I'm saying discuss."

  "Have you ever done it?" Lael asked. "Ended someone's life?"

  "Twice, and I intended to kill Zee."

  Lael stared him straight in the eyes. "Did you want to talk about it?"

  Ace stopped to consider what his brother asked him. Should he lie? Crap, he wasn't cut out for this big brothering pseudo-parenting stuff. "Shit, no I didn't want to talk about it. I still don't."

  "Me neither."

  "Just because I don't—"

  Lael shook his head. "Ace, enough."

  Ace closed his mouth. He regarded Lael. His younger brother wasn't grown up yet, but damn if he didn't look like an adult today. Ace wasn't the kid's father. No, Ace's own dad had done all the damage in that department. The best he could be was an attentive older sibling.

  "I'm here if you want to."

  "If I suddenly want to talk about that, I'm sure Draco will find me a psychiatrist."

  Ace laughed as he nodded. "That's true."

  "What else did you want? Did you have Draco send me in here to talk about that or was it something else?"

  Ace grinned. It wasn't often he got to do something that would surprise everybody. "I need you to help me cut my hair."

  Lael tipped his head. "Did you just ask me to help you cut your hair?"

  "I did."

  Without waiting for Lael's response, Ace walked into the bathroom.

  "How much are we taking off?"

  Ace sat on the side of the bathtub. "All of it. I want you to go at it with the sheers and then I'll shave it the rest of the way."

  Lael rolled his eyes in another distinctly Draco move. "Don't you ever do anything halfway? You had the longest hair in the world, now you have to have none at all?"