Free Super Trouble by Vivi Andrews Page A

there.”
    “Right
in front of me.”
    “At
two in the morning.”
    The
implication made his back teeth grind, even though it was perfectly accurate. He
didn’t like the way Justice said it. “Thanks for letting us know about the
situation. We’ll look into it immediately. In the mean time, you can help us do
damage control by telling everyone who needs to know that Kim has a rock solid
alibi. Thanks, Justice.”
    He
hung up before Justice could protest. Beside him, Kim leaned against the
island, staring fixedly at the floor. She gave a soft snort. “A rock hard
alibi.” She chuckled again.
    He
eyed her, looking for signs of incipient hysteria. “Kim?”
    “I’m
okay. My ex thinks I’m a mass murderer, but I’m fine.”
    “He
doesn’t think that anymore.”
    “No,
good point. Now he thinks I’m a slut.”
    “Kim?”
    She
lifted her gaze to his and when she did, her eyes were surprisingly clear. “Little
Vic?”
    “Alive.
But in critical condition, along with two of the TV people. One of them died
instantly.”
    She
cringed. “Jesus. I never should have gone there.”
    “This
isn’t your fault.”
    “Yes,
it is. Someone is trying to get to me, to frame me . Or stop me from
learning more about the man who hired Vic. Why else would they go after him
like that?”
    “They
might not have known you could teleport to safety. The real target could have
been you. Or me.”
    She
glowered at him. “That isn’t comforting, Frost.”
    “Right
now the only comfort I have is the fact that we have proof that you didn’t do
it.”
    “What
do we do now?” she asked, a stark vulnerability in her eyes.
    “We
tell the police that you’re innocent, set them on the trail of the real bomber,
and then we do everything we can to figure out who the hell is behind this.”
    “Right.”
She sorted through the pile of her clothing until she came up with her cell
phone, not seeming to notice that she was still in her underwear. “I don’t even
know who to call.”
    “Maybe
we should get dressed first,” he urged, but she was no longer listening. Kim
was frozen, eyes wide, staring at her phone. “Kim?”
    “He
called me.”
    “Wha—”
    “Little
Vic. He called me. It must have been right before—Oh my God, there’s a
message.”
    Her
hand was shaking. He wrapped his own around it, steadying her. “Put it on
speaker.”
    She
called up the message, still clutching her clothes, and he moved to stand
behind her, wrapping his arm around her waist and tucking her against him. She
leaned into him, though he doubted she was even conscious of the support, as
focused as she was on the automated voice announcing the time of the call.
    “ Kim? ”
They both sucked in a breath. It was Vic all right—with a panicky edge to his
voice that hadn’t been there even when Kim had a gun on him. “ Shit, I don’t
know who you’ve been talking to, but I got a call right after you pulled your
little vanishing act. The Boss, the one you were asking about, wants to see
you. Tonight. Two a.m. Pier 42.” He sighed heavily into the phone. “Listen, I had to give you the message—I didn’t have a choice about that—but
don’t go, Kim. I know you don’t have any reason to trust me. Shit, I’ve given
you a lot of reasons not to, but you gotta believe me. I always liked you. It
wasn’t my call to kidnap you like that. I didn’t want to, but I was scared not
to and the perks—fuck, it was a good deal for me, everyone knows that, but I
always felt bad about nabbing you like that and now I’m begging you, just
ignore this, okay? Don’t go. This woman, she’s dange—”
    Static
crackled on the line and the message cut off abruptly.
    Kim’s
grip was white-knuckled on the phone. “Was that the explosion? Did we just hear
him get blown up?”
    “He
wasn’t blown up. He’s still in surgery or something. Critical.”
    “But
that was the bomb. We heard the bomb.” She twisted, pulling away from him
enough to turn and meet his