Powerless (19 page)

“That’s not going to happen.” Draven’s tone is flat. He sounds completely immovable.

“My brother is the only one who might know about the lab relocation
and
might actually tell us where it is.”

“Who are you kidding? The perfect son of Rex Malone would spill the beans on the top secret hero hideaway?” Draven sounds bitter, angry. “That’s so not even in the realm of possibility.”

“Well, I didn’t mean we should just walk up and ask him,” she says. “Geez.” She gestures to Draven, Dante, Jeremy, and Nitro. “Between the five of us, we’ve got some serious power. He won’t be able to hold out against all of us. No matter how much he wants to.”

It still hurts a little—okay more than a little—to be counted as powerless, especially by my best friend. Just because I can’t move things with my mind or crush skulls with a thought doesn’t mean I’m useless. I thought I’d proven that tonight. Thought I’d shown Rebel and the others that I’m just as important as the rest of them. It sucks that she still doesn’t think I can contribute.

But now’s not exactly the time for self-pity, not when so much hangs in the balance. Deacon’s life. My mother’s freedom. Exposing the superheroes for their crimes. Saving the villains.

We don’t exactly have room in our schedule for my existential crisis, no matter how overwhelmed I feel. Ignoring my hurt and embarrassment, I force myself to concentrate. To think logically about our next steps since emotions are running high right now. They’re not reacting; they’re overreacting.

“Don’t you think Riley’s is the first place they’ll look for us?” I ask Rebel. “They know you and I are part of this now. It’s not a stretch for your dad to think you’d go to Riley for help or—”

“I’m not going to that kiss-ass for
help
,” Rebel says through gritted teeth. “I’m going to him because my dad trusts him. He knows everything that we want to know.”

I hold up a placating hand. “I’m not saying he doesn’t. But you didn’t let me finish. Even though your dad knows you and Riley don’t get along, your dad has to know that Riley would be the first one you’d try to break. You’ve made him cry more than once through the years.”

“And I’ll do it this time,” she tells me determinedly. “If we get in and get Riley under control fast enough, he won’t have time to notify anyone that we’re there and we’ll be gone before Dad can send in the troops.”

“And if his security system alerts them first?” I ask.

“That’s what I’m here for,” Jeremy says. He’s trying not to show it, but I’m pretty sure he’s as concerned about this idea as I am. “I cracked into the lab’s mainframe. You think I can’t hack Riley’s home security system? I’d be insulted if I knew you weren’t just being Kenna—looking at every angle of the situation.”

“How many angles are there?” Rebel demands. “We’re out of options. Unless we find out where they’re holding Deacon, it’s game over. He’s as good as dead.”

Dante sags as if he can’t handle the weight on his shoulders for one minute longer.

I know exactly how he feels. That, more than anything else, has me saying, “Maybe you’re right. If we can get to Riley—”

“I’m not okay with this,” Draven cuts me off.

I don’t know why he’s turning down what seems like the only solution to our problem. It’s not like I don’t agree it’s a long shot, but it’s the only shot we’ve got.

Nitro must be thinking the same thing because he jumps in with, “Screw it. Does anyone have any better ideas?”

Nobody has anything to offer.

Draven’s eyes darken to nearly midnight. It doesn’t surprise me when he yanks open the door and jumps to the ground, stalking away from the group with his head bent and shoulders hunched.

“We don’t have any more time to argue,” Rebel insists, her voice rising with fear and impatience. “We need to go now.”

I hold a hand up to her to still her impatience and then go after Draven. He stiffens when my fingers brush against his arm. A part of me wants to pull him close and let him lean on me the way that we’ve been leaning on him for so much of this journey.

“I know this isn’t a great plan,” I begin. “But—”

“It’s crap,” he tells me, scowling at the ground.

“I know.” I rub his shoulders. “I think so too. But we’re out of options.”

I give it a moment to sink in. “We need to get to Deacon. Before he ends up in one of those body bags. If Riley is our only access, then we have to suck it up.”

“Suck it up?” he asks incredulously. “You want me to put the fate of my cousin, my best friend, in the hands of a
hero
?”

I wince at his virulence. “You kind of already have, haven’t you?”

He doesn’t answer. Then, reluctantly, “I don’t trust the Malones.”

“Neither do I. Neither do any of us at this point. But you trust Rebel, right?”

Again he doesn’t answer.

“Draven, come on. You know Rebel would never do anything to hurt Dante.” I’ve only known for a couple days that they’re together, and even I know that much.

“I know.”

“You’re starting to trust Jeremy,” I press. “And I’m not technically a hero, but you trust me, too.”

He shrugs, not arguing.

“Then maybe we need to give this a shot. We’ve tried everything else. Besides, if it’s a trap…if it’s a trap, we can find a way out, right? Between the six of us, we can do a lot.”

“I’m not worried about getting caught,” Draven says, and I can tell from the slant of his shoulders and the clench of his fists that his comment is not bravado.

Besides, except for that heights thing, he hasn’t been afraid once since this whole nightmare started—at least, he hasn’t shown it. He’s never hesitated. Never backed away from anything we’ve had to do.

So whatever this is—whatever’s going through his head right now—has to do with something else, something inside him that I can’t see, can’t reach. There’s so much about him that I don’t know, and never has it been more apparent than right now.

I mean, we may be team members. He may have kissed me. We may have kissed
each
other
. But on this, I’m flying blind.

“What are you worried about?” I ask.

He looks me straight in the eye. For a moment, I can see the real Draven, all alone behind the badass, beneath the layers of darkness and angst he wears like a second skin. And then it’s gone. In its place is the smirk I’m coming to hate even as it makes me smile.

“I’m worried about busting into Riley’s place and being blinded by all his glory and goodness,” he tells me. “There’s only so much superheroic awesome a villain like me can take at any one time.”

He delivers the line well, his voice cocky and his sneer perfect. But there’s a tension in him that says it’s so much more than what he’s letting on. And just like that, all the trust we’ve been building crumbles.

“When are you going to tell me the truth?” I demand. “I’ve done everything I could to prove that I’m committed to rescuing Deacon. That I deserve your trust. You don’t have to trust Rex Malone, but when are you going to
really
trust me?”

“Trust you?” His look turns incredulous. “You locked me in a
refrigerator
.”

I roll my eyes. “Be glad it wasn’t the freezer.”

“Seriously? That’s the best you’ve got? No apology, no mea culpa? Just ‘be glad it wasn’t the freezer’?”

“I was trying to save your life! If you got caught—”

“If I got caught, it wouldn’t be
your
problem.”

I recoil. He’s right. I know he’s right. We’re not together. We’re not dating, despite the kiss we shared—well, kiss and a half. We’re not even friends. We’re barely acquaintances. But we
are
partners in this mission. We’re on the same team. And if something happens to him… My stomach lurches violently. If something happens to him, I’m not going to be okay.

Only a few days ago, I despised villains as much as he clearly despises heroes. I’ve changed, but he obviously hasn’t.

It hurts more than I want it to.

But this isn’t about me or my messed-up feelings. It never has been. “Yeah, well, if you get caught it’s everyone’s problem. That’s what it means to be part of a team.”

He stares at me like I’m speaking Greek. And maybe I am. Because up on that roof, I stopped thinking of Draven as a villain and started thinking of him as a person I care about.

“Come on,” I reach out a hand to urge him along. “I’m not sure this Riley thing is a good idea either. But Rebel seems to think it’s the only way and I trust her. So let’s just
suck
it
up
and get it over with.”

He doesn’t move. I expect more arguing, more sarcasm.

But then he does the most extraordinary thing. He grabs my hand. Slides our palms together. Interlaces our fingers.

Sparks race along my spine at the contact, and though I know it’s the wrong time—that there are so many other things I should be thinking about right now—I can’t help the way my breathing becomes shallow or my heart beats faster.

When he says, “So how far is Riley’s place from here anyway?” I know I was right to trust him.

The streets around Riley’s condo are quiet, and we walk right up to the wrought-iron front gate before running into a camera.

“Shit,” Dante hisses, as he spots the small circle at the corner of the roof.

“I’ve got it covered,” Jeremy says, fingers already flying over his tablet. It takes less than a minute before he’s nodding at the gate. “Go, Kenna. The camera’s off-line and the gate is unlocked.”

I reach out to push to open it, and sparks fly. An electric shock zaps up my arm.

“What the hell?” Draven snaps at Jeremy, pulling me away from the gate. “You said it was safe!”

My ex-boyfriend looks completely baffled. “It is. I mean, it should be.”

“Obviously it isn’t.” He turns to me. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” My arm tingles a little and my muscles ache, but telling him that won’t change anything, so I keep it to myself.

Jeremy spends a couple minutes working on his tablet as we all wait impatiently. “Try it now.”

I reach for the door again. Jeremy’s the best technopath I know, and if he says the gate is safe, I’m going to believe him. Besides, it’s not like I want anyone else to get electrocuted.

But Draven’s having no part of it. He shoves me behind him and reaches for the gate. It’s total he-man behavior and normally it would set me off, but considering how much he’s already compromised tonight, it doesn’t bother me. Especially when the gate swings smoothly inward under his touch.

He holds it open as we all file into the courtyard.

“Which apartment is Riley’s?” Dante asks as we move between the shadows, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.

Rebel and I point to the second-story, back-corner unit at the same time.

“You’ve been here before?” Draven asks me. The tone of his voice makes me feel weird, even though I’m not sure what the problem is. Is he…
jealous
?

“Once. With Rebel.”

He doesn’t say anything else, which just makes things feel weirder. I keep my mouth shut as we stand outside Riley’s door and try not to look too nervous as Jeremy works.

This time it takes less than a minute before he’s glancing up at us, a surprised frown on his face. “There’s
no
security.”

“What do you mean there’s no security?” Dante pulls Rebel against his side where he can shield her with his body. “Rebel said her brother’s security system is state of the art.”

“Dad insisted on it when he moved out,” she says. “Didn’t want to take any chances with the heir to his superhero throne.”

There’s an unmistakable bitterness in her tone. She and Draven definitely share that sentiment.

“Yeah, well, there’s nothing,” Jeremy says. “I’m running every type of scan I have, and they’re all coming up blank.”

“What does that mean?” Draven demands as he once again angles his body in front of me like a shield.

I push at him a little this time. I understand he’s being protective, but he needs to know I’m not his damsel in distress.

“It’s dangerous,” he hisses.

“Everything about this is dangerous,” I snap. “And we don’t have time to stand around. Either we’re going in or we’re coming up with another plan. But freaking out won’t do us any good.”

“She’s right,” Rebel says, shrugging off Dante. She reaches for the door handle. I remember from the last time I was here—when Rebel’s mom made her bring by chicken soup when her brother was sick—that Riley’s lock has a biometric keypad that requires a fingerprint for access. It shouldn’t open for anyone but him, but when Rebel turns the handle it opens without so much as a whimper.

She’s the first one inside. Dante follows behind her, so close that you can’t see where he ends and she begins. Nitro goes in after them, then Draven, leaving Jeremy and me to bring up the rear.

I keep waiting for alarms, lights, sirens to go off, or for Riley to jump out of the shadows or for Mr. Malone and the goons in the gray suits to descend on us. But none of that happens.
Nothing
happens as we creep into the dark and silent condo.

“This is weird,” Rebel murmurs softly.

Is it a trap?

We’re all on alert. We tiptoe down the hall to Riley’s bedroom, and there he is, sound asleep. It’s not an act either—he’s got some drool in the corner of his mouth.

“Wake him up,” Draven snaps, as Jeremy scoops Riley’s laptop from the floor by his bed and then disappears into the living room to get hacking.

Dante rips off Riley’s covers and I can’t contain my laughter. Seriously?
Seriously?
Riley’s wearing Superman pajamas. Honest-to-goodness Superman pajamas, including a blue shirt with a red
S
in the middle of his chest.

“Are you kidding me with this?” Draven says. Then he shakes Riley awake.

Rebel’s brother wakes up slowly…until his eyes focus in the dark and he sees three villains and his sister looming over him. I hang back, trying not to get in the way. Something tells me this is going to be all Rebel and Draven’s game.

Riley squeaks when he sees them, jumping out of bed, arms extended in front of himself in a defensive move. “Rebel! What are you doing here? Who are these guys?”

“I need to talk to you.”

“Dad says you’re in trouble.” He darts his gaze over the three villains in the room. He doesn’t look happy, but then again, neither do they. Focusing on Rebel, he grabs her shoulders like he’s going to shake her. “The Cole boys, Rebel? And
Nitro
? Have you lost your—”

“Don’t touch her.” Dante is between them in a flash, pressing Riley into the wall.

“She’s my sister!” Riley answers indignantly, like it means something. Maybe it does. I don’t know. I mean, he looks sincere and sincerely offended that anyone thinks he might hurt Rebel.

“And she’s my girlfriend,” Dante growls. “You don’t get to touch her.”

“Rebel!” Riley looks scandalized. “He’s a villain. You don’t know what he’s capable of.”

“We’re
all
villains,” Draven says. “And you’re going to find out
exactly
what we’re capable of if you don’t start talking.”

Riley stares at him, a little stupidly in my opinion, but Rebel’s brother never has been the brightest bulb in the lantern, so it’s not entirely unexpected when he answers, “We
are
talking.”

Draven’s fingers tangle in Riley’s ridiculous pajama shirt as he hauls him to his toes. Riley is tall—almost six feet—but Draven is taller. And stronger. And obviously in control. “The heroes have a secret underground bunker. Code name Lima Whiskey. I want to know where it is.”

Riley goggles at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Draven growls deep in his throat, and Riley’s life flashes before my eyes.

Then Rebel shoves Draven and her boyfriend out of the way. “Come on, Riley. We both know that’s not true. Tell us and we’ll get out of here.”

“What’s wrong with you, Rebel? Have you been brainwashed? When Dad said you were with the villains who broke into the lab, I didn’t believe him. But now?” He lifts his hands helplessly. “Think about what you’re doing. This could ruin all of Dad’s plans.”

“Maybe your dad’s plans need to be ruined,” I say, shouldering my way past Draven. “Do you know what’s been going on at ESH?”

“Kenna, I never thought I’d hear
you
say that!” Riley’s eyes widen. “Aren’t you supposed to be the reasonable one?”

“Like torture and murder are reasonable?” Nitro pipes up.

Riley looks at him blankly. “What are you talking about?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about, mate. Everyone knows you’re Daddy’s number one pet.” Nitro’s hands have started to glow. “I bet you know a hell of a lot more than we can even begin to know about.”

Nitro’s fireball grows.

Riley notices the ball of green flame balanced on Nitro’s hands. He shrinks back, looking more like wall art than a human being.

“You’re crazy! And you need to leave before I call the SHPD.” He looks at Rebel meaningfully. “Leave my sister and Kenna here, and get the hell out.”

“We’ll leave when you grow a conscience and tell us what we need to know,” Draven says. “Until then, we’re not going anywhere.”

“No way. I’ll never talk, no matter how much you torture me.”

“Torture?” Draven asks incredulously. “We’re not the ones with a history of torture. I think you’ve got us confused with your hero friends.”

Riley narrows his eyes at him. “Heroes don’t torture.”

“They do,” I blurt out. “I saw it at the lab. You don’t know how important it is that you tell us where the bunker is. We have to find them or people are going to die. My mom could die, Riley. They took her. Heroes took her.”

“Why would heroes take your mom? She works for us.” He shakes his head. “We’re the good guys.”

“Good guys?” Dante tells him, stepping forward. “Good guys? Are you serious right now?” His fist slams into Riley’s stomach and Rebel’s brother doubles over.

Dante hits him again and again. Riley is no match for his strength or fury.

“Stop!” I shout, grabbing his arm, but Dante’s out of control.

“Back off, man,” Draven tells his cousin. “This isn’t the way to get him to talk.”

“Sure it is,” Dante says. “Give me five minutes, and I’ll get the little pipsqueak to give up everything he knows.”

Riley drops to the floor, cowering. Dante pulls back a fist, ready to hit him again.

But Draven pushes his cousin away. “We’re not like them. We don’t do the things they do.”

“Deacon.” Dante sounds shattered.

“I swear, we’ll find out where he is,” Draven promises. “But not like this. Never like this.”

He crouches next to Riley, eyes narrowed and hands clenched with restraint.

“Riley, tell him!” I urge. It feels like time is running out. “Please.”

Images of Deacon flash before my eyes again. Riley’s willful ignorance is killing me, knowing that my own ignorance let the superheroes get away with too much for too long. But I see the truth now, and even one person can make a difference. Right now, that person has to be me.

After all, only a few days ago I was just like Riley.

I try to reason with him. “We know that the lab has been shut down and the most important experiments have been moved to this bunker. We know that the heroes have been torturing the villains for—”

“That’s not true!” Riley gasps. “We’re not torturing them.”

“Liar!” Draven shoves Riley hard enough that his head bangs against the wall.

“I saw it, Riley. I saw what they were doing, and I saw the dead villains—”

“Accidents,” he says. “Mistakes. Every great program has them.”

“Great program?” Dante repeats. He looks like he’s about to lose his tenuous grip on his powers, and I don’t blame him. Riley sounds completely insane—not to mention totally heartless. “You think torturing my twin is part of some
great
program
like the Peace Corps? Like Doctors without Borders? Yeah, you guys are real humanitarians.”

“You. Are.
Killing
. People!” Nitro adds.

“Not on purpose!”

Draven snaps. He doesn’t touch Riley, doesn’t hurt him, but he leans forward until his face is only inches from the hero’s.

Riley’s eyes widen as he recognizes Draven’s power, sees those blue eyes crystallize with memory control. Rebel’s brother squeezes his eyes tight, blocking out the psy access to his mind.

Draven doesn’t seem to care. He leans closer, whispers something in Riley’s ear. I can only catch a few of the words, but they sound a lot like
pain
and
own
medicine
and
death
is
too
easy
.

Riley shakes, trying to curl in on himself.

Clearly Draven doesn’t need to use his power to break Riley’s brain. And still he keeps talking, whispering new threats.

Riley holds a hand to his nose to staunch the sudden blood flow.

My mind screams at me that there has to be a better way, but I don’t move. I don’t intercede. I don’t do anything but watch as the darkness washes over Draven.

It’s a tangible thing, which fascinates me even as it freaks me out. There’s a shift in the way he holds his body, in how he transforms from fighter to predator. A sharpness in his eyes, a clenching in his jaw, a vibe that rolls off him, pumping electricity into the air, into me.

It frightens me, the way I’m responding to him. Not to mention the fact that the whole room seems as spellbound as I am, like we’re all just waiting to see what he does next. I know Draven doesn’t want to hurt Riley; he just wants to scare him. But I also know that if Draven loses control like he did with the guards, we’ll all be sorry.

With that thought in mind, I crouch next to Draven and rest a hand on his lower back. A shudder runs through him.

His eyes are so dark and tormented that my insides twist with fear for him.

“Rebel, you know I can’t tell them!” Riley says, eyes closed tight.

“Dad isn’t the paragon you think he is, Riley,” says Rebel.

“How would you know? You’re too busy playing the wannabe villain to know anything about this family anymore.”

She shakes her head disgustedly. “For a guy who spends all his free time pretending to be Superman, you sure need to work on your X-ray vision. You can’t see shit.”

Rebel glances over to the display cabinet in the corner of Riley’s room, and a heartbeat later, a very expensive and authentic-looking statue of Superman flies off the shelf.

“Rebel, no!”

It hangs in midair for a moment, then falls to the hardwood floor, shattering into a billion pieces.

Riley gasps. “That was an original piece of artwork from DC Comics!” he screeches, crawling over to the mess and scooping some of the bigger pieces into his hands. “I paid a fortune for it. Why would you do that?”

“Because people’s lives are at stake. Lives that are worth a whole hell of a lot more than this ridiculous junk.” A collector’s plate that has Batman and Robin on it floats off another shelf and wobbles in the air. “You better start talking, Riley.”

“Don’t you dare, Rebel!” He lunges at her, but Dante holds him back.