Bones of the Past (Villains' Code Book 2) by Drew Hayes

Author:Drew Hayes [Hayes, Drew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-12-23T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 66

Taking a sip from her plastic cup of wine, Beverly surveyed the rooftop scene carefully. Unlike Tori, she hadn’t spent the majority of her life eyeball deep in electronics, meaning she had a better grasp of social nuance. Not that the talent was especially called for—most people would have picked up on the dynamics at play, if not spotted them immediately.

Donald and Tori were sitting on chairs, plates loaded with barbecue, catching up on life. While they weren’t technically alone—others were seated near them—by keeping the topic to their old lives, they’d effectively locked everyone else out of the conversation. For most of the other revelers, that was no matter at all, but two of the attendees seemed not-quite-comfortable with how familiar the former coworkers were.

One of them, Beverly had seen coming. It wasn’t hard to note the way Kyle’s fondness for Tori had grown through their interactions. Maybe it was her lack of giving a shit about superheroes, or her brusque nature, but something had been winning him over despite their initial impression. Not that Tori appeared to have registered even the slightest iota of it. It was hard to be too tough on her, given that Donald was getting the same looks thrown his way from Lucy. While there was a chance those glances were out of concern for a team member, it wouldn’t be the bet Beverly tossed her money on.

Ike was still occasionally turning his head toward Ellie, who was mostly talking to Austin and Lucy, as Ren and Chloe were in a discussion about a surprise shared interest in some obscure winter sport they’d evidently both grown up watching. Between all the secret identities and hidden feelings, Beverly was starting to feel like she’d stepped into a meta-human version of high school. Not great, but then, she hadn’t been able to turn into a dragon in real high school. That wasn’t a terrible trade-off.

“Taking a breather?” Of all the capes on the roof, Irene was the easiest to lose track of. Short, intentionally bland wardrobe, largely quiet, she essentially vanished amidst the larger forms and personalities of the others.

“Enjoying the stars for a moment.” Beverly had selected her seat partially for this excuse, as it was the point on the roof furthest from any light source. That also made it furthest from sound and activity and was an excellent spot for unwinding.

Irene also boasted a plastic cup, the fizz from within marked it as either a soda or a cocktail, rather than wine. She took a soft sip, then settled down onto one of the cheap lawn chairs dotting the roofscape. Once she was comfortable, she drank once more, then let out a grunt.

“Spot anything interesting?”

“Stars don’t tend to change,” Beverly replied.

“These days, you never know. I wasn’t talking about the sky, though.” Irene pointed over to the party, then to Beverly herself. “You’re over here hugging the sidelines, trying to get a read on everyone.”

Beverly wasn’t entirely sure how to react, largely because she didn’t know if the words were meant as a compliment or an insult.

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