Violet Cross

She hadn't been scared for herself, she'd been frightened for me.Good. Her A-class horror movie scream earlier had nearly put me in an early grave. When this was over, I could call us even.

Same. I don't like to think I might have ended up in Plumber's gang, but given the alternative..."I raised both eyebrows. "Yeah. Drug-dealers or super-powered psychopaths? Choices, choices.

I caught sight of a small twitch on Plumber's face, like he was battling the urge not to frown.Well Plumber, if you didn't want your bitch making noise, you should have put a muzzle on her.

Jesus, Lacey. You just scared me half to death."I forced a laugh. "Only half? Damn.

For all our guessing and speculating, there were a few things we all agree on. Things we knew to be fact. The drug was never meant to get out. Ordinary people were never supposed to develop extraordinary powers. Divines weren't supposed to take over the world.But they did.

Just then they were both vulnerable, and the only thing standing between them and our enemies, was me.It seemed nobody wanted to take those odds because no one approached. I was mildly flattered.

Instead I watched Layla as she bolted over the battered desk, heading for the door Charlotte and Kate had just disappeared through. Good girl.The thought screeched to a halt as I watched her run straight past it.

After a hasty gulp, I lowered the bottle and grinned. "How much are you betting it's that and the melons they put in the fridge yesterday on the menu for tonight?"Luke grinned but said nothing. I shook my head. "You're grinning because I said "melons", aren't you?"His smile widened. I rolled my eyes. Boys, they never grew up.

They were smart enough to know that handing out superpowers like sweets to the general public was never going to be a good idea.Not that that stopped it from happening anyway.

I didn't even know this guy's name. I'd never heard him referred to as anything but "Plumber', a hideous nickname he'd dubbed himself for no other reason than that it had been his occupation Before. Oh, and he carried a wrench around as his signature weapon. The whole thing screamed sanity.Not.

Our enemies had a tendency to take one look at Charlotte, with her short, slim figure and her pretty, delicate Asian features, and assume she was weak. A low level threat.Ten seconds later, the look of surprise on his face as he lay on his back, winded, eyes rolled up and watching her support Kate towards the stairs, said he'd possibly learnt his lesson. Never judge a book by it's cover.

I wasn't the kind of girl who liked to wait around to be rescued.

The view wasn't exactly breath-taking. Kind of boring actually. Unless, of course, you had a rare, strong appreciation for deserts, in which case it was downright mind blowing.

Anyone who'd ever kept a secret could tell you, the bigger the secret, the more draining it was to carry around with you. Every second, of every minute, of every day, lying to the people around you. Waiting for the inevitable moment that the truth would come out and you would have to deal with the fallout.It was exhausting.

Never underestimate the power of telling a teenage boy he's risking his chances of getting laid. Works almost every time.

What?" I asked, the word coming out much softer than I'd intended. Not quite a whisper, but close."Nothing. Just glad we ended up here, all of us, together.

Kate! Get some ice on that ankle or it's going to swell to the size of Luke's head. Then neither of you will be able to get through the front door.

He was slowly starting to recover. I could tell by the eye roll and sigh. Oh, so only he could be a comedian?