to break into his neighbor’s apartment. (In reality, the neighbor had asked her to dog-sit for a few days.)
The more people tried to take matters into their own hands, the more stories like that emerged.
It wasn’t that Renegades never made mistakes, but for the first time since Adrian had donned the Sentinel’s armor, he was beginning to understand why the Council placed so much importance on their code.
“Your staff knows to keep an eye out for him?” said Hugh, drawing Adrian’s attention back to their conversation.
“Just like you asked. There’s been no sign. Though … if he were to come to the hospital, we probably wouldn’t recognize him.”
“I know, but I just have a feeling he will … It’s common heroic behavior, to want to see the people you’ve rescued. I see it in Renegades all the time, how they want to maintain connections with the ones they’ve been personally involved in helping. Something tells me the Sentinel will try to see Max again.”
“Which begs the question, Captain,” said the doctor, sounding a bit hesitant. “How was he able to bring Max all the way here without being affected by the boy’s powers?”
Hugh was silent for a long time, though Adrian sensed it was more because he was debating what information to reveal, rather than mulling over the question itself. Finally, he admitted simply, “We don’t know. There are a lot of things about him that we don’t know. I guess what we do know is that in the course of one night, he managed to capture Ace Anarchy and save my son’s life. In spite of everything … how dangerous he is, how misguided … I can’t help but hope that someday I might have a chance to thank him.”
CHAPTER SIX
IT WAS NOVA’S first time returning to the weapons and artifacts department since the night she’d stolen Ace’s helmet. Her insides were knotted as she rode the elevator up to the warehouse endearingly known as the vault. Her Renegade uniform felt like it was strangling her, the fabric tightening around her limbs, digging into her ribs and throat until she could barely move.
The words on the mirror were etched into her thoughts, and there was a part of her, a big part, that wondered if maybe Honey was right. Maybe it was time to give up. She didn’t really think she could save Ace, did she? Especially not before she was discovered. And now to have some unknown jerk stalking and threatening her made her wonder if it was all worth it.
Though she toyed with her own fate often enough, she loathed the idea that someone else now held her fate in their hands. That simply wouldn’t do.
She had gone over a lot of scenarios in her mind the night before, most of which ended in her discovering who the blackmailer was and dousing them with one of Leroy’s most painful concoctions. Because the idea of giving in to their demands, even if just to placate them temporarily, disgusted her. She was an Anarchist. She was one of the most feared villains of Gatlon City.
She did not placate.
And she certainly didn’t follow the orders of phantoms who broke into her bedroom and left annoying messages.
But every time her anger ran away with her, she gritted her teeth and reeled it back in. She didn’t need retribution right now. She needed time.
The elevator dinged and she squared her shoulders, dragging in a breath until it felt like her lungs would pop.
She was still holding it when the doors opened, revealing the small reception area outside the warehouse—Snapshot’s desk, as cluttered as ever, and the desk that was mostly Nova’s, as barren as ever.
Snapshot wasn’t there, and neither was Wonder Boy, as Nova had taken to calling Callum in her head.
She exhaled and moved toward the desk.
She wasn’t ready to see Callum, though she knew she would have to eventually. Not only because they worked together most days, but because she needed to pretend to pry him for information about Nightmare. It would require a careful dance. Letting him know about Adrian’s suspicions, leading him to believe that, yes, Nightmare might be a spy in their midst, one who may even have had access to the vault. All while keeping his suspicions away from her.
She wasn’t sure she could pull it off. She’d gotten good at lying, but she didn’t know if she was that good.
Maybe it wouldn’t matter today. Maybe she wouldn’t see him. Maybe she wouldn’t have to look