The Superheroes Union: Dynama by Ruth Diaz

Author:Ruth Diaz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2012-10-22T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

It was almost 8:00 when the door chimed. Vincy checked the screen and let TJ in. The slump of her shoulders told Annmarie more clearly than words how her errand had gone.

“Damn,” Vincy said quietly as she closed the door again.

TJ nodded. “We were so close.”

Vincy gave the shorter woman a quick hug and then held her back at arms’ length. “We’ll get him. He still doesn’t know where you are, and we’ll get him before he has a chance to find out.”

TJ smiled, but it wasn’t her usual bright smile. It made her look tired.

“Quit it! Annmarie, Esteban splashed me!”

Annmarie ducked into the bathroom to mediate in the “She stole my toothpaste”/”He splashed me” dispute. By the time the teeth were brushed and she had both kids tucked into bed and waiting for a story, she’d heard the outer door close again. She wasn’t too surprised when, a few minutes after she’d started the story, TJ slipped into the room to say good night.

“Did you get him?” Marisol asked as TJ kissed her cheek.

“Not this time. But we will.”

Marisol nodded with a child’s faith and hugged her tightly.

“Did you remember to eat?” Annmarie asked dryly.

TJ gave her a slightly amused dirty look. “Not yet, but I’ll do that.” TJ moved to the edge of the other bed and kissed Esteban’s cheek too, before leaving Annmarie to finish the story.

After the story was finished, the lights out and the door closed, Annmarie found TJ perched on the edge of the kitchen counter, staring glumly at the box of crackers in her hand. She’d made it out of her business suit, at least, and into ragged cutoff denim shorts and a black camisole that didn’t hide her white bra straps. As Annmarie approached, she set the unopened box down again. “I know, I’d be setting a terrible example. For what it’s worth, I think I’m going to pass on the crackers and go straight to chips and salsa.”

Annmarie shrugged. “Nothing wrong with comfort food.”

TJ hopped down, opening the pantry door to exchange the crackers for tortilla chips. A trip to the refrigerator produced a mostly full jar of salsa, and once she’d poured some into a bowl, she took everything out to the table.

It was better than the counter, anyway. “There’s some leftover chicken if you want something to go with your empty carbs,” Annmarie offered, keeping her voice dry. She couldn’t offer much in the way of comfort, but she could inject enough humor to lighten the mood.

One corner of TJ’s mouth curved. “I’ll think about it.”

Annmarie followed her to the table, sitting down at right angles to her in the chair that was usually Marisol’s. “So you were right about where he was going?”

TJ licked salsa and salt off her fingertips. “Yeah, I got that far. But I was wrong too—he never actually had to come into the installation, or right up to it on the outside. He did what villains do best. He cheated. He managed to interrupt the generator turbines from a distance.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.