Free Superlovin' by Vivi Andrews Page B

of Apocalyptum had nearly killed Captain Justice. A full bomb made out of the stuff could take out a city—and whatever super triggered it.
    “The call last night was for a break-in at Nightwing Manufacturing. Kim thinks it might be related.”
    He frowned in concentration. “Do you know what was taken?”
    Darla shook her head. “They hadn’t done an inventory yet when I was there, but they build mostly tech stuff, I think. Laptops, tablets, that kind of thing.” Lucien rubbed a hand over his permanent five-o’clock shadow, his expression slowly darkening as his mind worked furiously. “Wroth? Does that mean something to you?”
    “Someone who knew what to grab could put together a bomb that looked like an innocent computer. If they knew what they were doing.”
    “But they’d still need someone with Strength to trigger it, wouldn’t they? If it was Apocalyptum?”
    Lucien nodded, but she could see she barely had half of his attention as he puzzled over the possible uses and applications. “Did your friend have anything else?”
    “Page three.” Darla slipped into the living room to grab her unread paper. She returned to the kitchen to find him still lost in thought. She resumed her seat, flipping the paper open. The headline at the top of a small article at the bottom of page three screamed Anonymous Threats Against Super Summit. DemonSpawn Suspected .
    Darla cursed softly. Lucien glanced up, and she turned the page to face him. He didn’t even flinch at being accused of anonymous threats.
    “That’s it.” He tapped the article with apparent satisfaction. “Nearly a hundred supers gathered in one place and Kevin with the one substance that has the ability to destroy them all. Shit, that only gives us three days to plan.”
    Ignoring for a moment the fact that Lucien didn’t even appear to be bothered by being accused of all manner of villainy in the papers, Darla countered, “That can’t be the real target. It has to be a decoy or he never would’ve tipped his hand.”
    “With any other target, you’d be right, but these are heroes we’re talking about. Consider the unmitigated arrogance of your kind. Anonymous threats will just bring out more heroes.”
    Darla considered letting it slide, but… “My kind ?”
    “Goody-goody heroes who think they’re invincible.”
    He said it so simply. As if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Darla fantasized about punching him in the face.
    “Being heroic and standing up to evil isn’t something to mock.”
    “Evil is relative. It isn’t this absolute concept you like to throw around to excuse your actions. Virtue, wickedness, we all have both sides in us. Like a spectrum.”
    “And on the spectrum, some people are good and some are evil,” Darla countered.
    “You know I’m right,” he declared, his cockiness making her teeth ache from clenching so hard. “You wear a black supersuit, just like a villain. You can’t tell me that isn’t a nod to the wickedness in you.”
    “ Excuse me? My suit isn’t a nod to anything except the fact that I look hot in black, thank you very much.”
    “Oh please, you’d look hot in anything.”
    Darla blinked, startled by the compliment issued in such a scornful way, and Lucien plowed on.
    “The suit is black, just like that naughty bustier you wore for the Maxim spread—”
    Her face flamed. “It was a magazine . The pictures were artistic.”
    “They were fucking hot, but that’s not the point. We’re all in the middle. Even you, princess. People just don’t want to see the grey area. It’s easier to polarize things. Especially when you’ve got the press screaming heroes and villains because it makes a more exciting story.”
    “The press didn’t make you break into the Crypt, Lucien.” She shoved away from the table and went to stand at the counter, unable to sit still any longer.
    He rose with her, pacing in the tight space. “You can’t deny history is written by the