CHAPTER ONE
The answer to his prayer came in bright purple leather.
He hadn’t been expecting that.
Alex didn’t know if the woman was supposed to be a superhero or what, but he was definitely in need of a little saving.
Along with the leather pants and vest, she wore a black tank top and black boots that went to midcalf. And then there was her big stick.
The guy she was battling had an equally big stick. Of course it was a staged fight, which was a part of a bigger demonstration of the techniques taught in the classes at Active Imagination Martial Arts and Fitness Studio. Still, the strength and skill it took to wield the weapons was obvious.
Even to Alex, who had never give two seconds of thought to what it would take to use a weapon.
A flyer had been thrust into his hand at the mall entrance. When he’d seen the words kids and superheroes, Alex had assumed the kids would be the ones playing superhero. But not one of the fifty or so young people gathered around the stage, ranging from about age four to nearly twenty, was dressed up.
The seven adults demonstrating various martial arts, stage fighting, and weaponry techniques were, however. One guy looked like an Indiana Jones impersonator, another was clearly a Superman knockoff, cape and all. A couple others also wore leather, though none as well as the woman in purple.
“Self-esteem is how you feel about yourself, no matter what other people say,” the woman said, finishing the battle and addressing the crowd as she had been doing periodically throughout the demonstration.
Alex glanced down at the pamphlet in his hand. Maya Goodwin. She was the owner of the studio and taught a few of the classes. They offered classes to adults too, but it seemed that Maya specialized in working with kids. The Super You class, where the kids dressed up as superheroes, was apparently her specialty.
Which made her exactly the person he needed to meet today.
“It’s knowing who you are, no matter what’s going on around you,” she went on. “It’s the person you want to be in good times and in bad.”
Her voice was as sexy as her ass in the tight purple pants. And that was saying something. She couldn’t have been more than five six or five seven. Her hair was nearly black, with deep-red stripes through it, and stopped at her ears. Her eyes were also dark, shining brightly from swoops of black and purple that looked like a mask but were clearly painted on. She was trim, the pants and her sleeveless top and vest showing off the contours of muscles that spoke of regular workouts. Her outfit also did nothing to hide the jagged scar that ran from below her jaw on the left down her neck, disappearing under a few inches of leather and then reappearing to join three others traveling down her upper arm to her elbow.
Alex could have told himself that it was his medical degree that made him curious about the injury that had caused those scars, but he knew better. That was the kind of disfigurement that made everyone curious about what had happened. But the scars simply joined the list of things he found fascinating about her.
For instance, she seemed so much bigger than she was. Her voice was strong, her smile confident, and the way she moved her body and handled her weapon, though choreographed, was mesmerizing. Or something.
Alex couldn’t explain it. He’d stopped at the demonstration because it made him think of his ten-year-old daughter, Charli, and her obsession with the huge movie franchise Galactic Renegades. Something Alex knew next to nothing about. He’d intended to grab a registration form, ask a few questions, and be on his way. That was twenty minutes ago. During that time he’d found himself moving steadily closer to the raised performance platform.
Now he stood at the front of the crowd, only a few feet from Maya, probably blocking the view of a bunch of little kids, unable to take his eyes off of her.
He’d known when she first noticed him. Their eyes had met, and for just a moment, she’d faltered in what she was saying.
This woman didn’t falter. He had no idea how he knew that, but he did. The big-stick battle might have been part of a show, but her passion and confidence were not. And ever since he’d come to the front of the group, she hadn’t made eye contact with him again. Alex found that as intriguing as the rest. Did he fluster her? And if so, why was that the best thing that had happened to him in some time?
“You can be anything, but first you have to imagine it,” Maya said to the crowd. “And that’s what our classes are about. Yes, it’s martial arts and self-defense and weapons work, but it’s more than that. It’s about figuring out what makes you feel strong—not just physically but emotionally. That answer is different for everyone. We all get our strength from different places. Some of the kids will come and find a group of friends. Some will come and find an adult mentor to look up to. Some will come and find their inner strength from doing something that’s hard that they never thought they could. And some will come and find their strength in letting go, in having a safe place to play and imagine and pretend.
“Yes, we dress up,” she said, with a light laugh that made Alex feel as if he’d just taken a shot of brandy. She gestured to the people in capes and spandex. “And we encourage the kids to become that character in class. We want the character to represent the things they love most about themselves, along with some traits they want to develop.”
Maya was moving across the stage, addressing the crowd, talking to the kids as well as the parents. Her enthusiasm was clear and contagious, and she was obviously quite comfortable as the center of attention.
Alex knew what it was like to have a hundred pairs of eyes on him at once. He was a nationally renowned expert in genetic disorders and regularly spoke to groups of patients and caregivers as well as lecturing to medical students and colleagues from multiple fields. But he was never completely at ease in front of a crowd.
Maybe because he was always hiding something.
Maybe he needed a costume.
“We spend the first two classes helping them develop their character,” Maya continued. “We have teachers and a counselor on our staff that work with the kids by asking them questions about what things they like about themselves, what they admire about others and why, what powers they most wish they had, and more.
“Then our amazing artist, Kiera”—she pointed to another woman, who was dressed as some sort of warrior princess, and the princess raised her hand and smiled—“sits with each child and helps them sketch how they want their character to look.
“Then one of the top costumers in Boston, Sophie”—this time she pointed to a curvy blonde dressed in a white jumpsuit—“comes in and helps us put the costumes together. Their time and expertise make this program truly unique and utterly wonderful.”
If her words hadn’t been enough to get people pulling out their pens to sign up and write checks, the smile she gave them would have been.
Damn. Alex shook his head. If she ever turned that smile on him, she could have anything she wanted.
“Kiera and Sophie are going to bring around some sign-up sheets while Ben and I do another bo staff demonstration,” she said, as the man she’d been battling before stepped forward. “And then we’ll take some questions.”
Bo staff. That was what the big stick was called. Alex pulled his phone from his pocket and made a note. He’d have to look that up later. Right now his eyes and brain seemed unable to do anything but watch Maya Goodwin.
She and Ben positioned themselves several feet apart on the platform. She was on the side closest to Alex, which meant he couldn’t see her face. They did a little bow and then they went at it. The sticks clacked against one another as they moved together, then away, thrusting and blocking and turning. It was almost like a dance—if you were constantly trying to knock down your partner while you tangoed.
Alex watched her intently, noticing that there was a limit to how high she could raise the arm with the scars and that she most often swung and thrust with her right arm, perhaps due to a lack of strength on the left. She continued to use the arm, wincing as she did, but not giving Ben a single advantage. They turned in a wide circle and finally she was facing Alex’s direction.
As far as marketing techniques went, this was brilliant. Put the hot girl in leather to get the dads to pay attention. Show off her kick-ass bo staff techniques to get the kids’ attention. Have her use buzzwords like self-esteem and fitness for the moms. And then pass out sign-up sheets.
Alex was ready to sign up himself.
His head and heart had been spinning for the past two months, since he’d found out that not only did he have a ten-year-old daughter with a woman he remembered only as “the cute blonde who liked butterscotch schnapps” but that his daughter was sick. Because of him.
Ironically Rachel, who hadn’t touched schnapps since that night, had found him only because of Charli’s condition. She’d read an article he’d written about hemophilia for a parenting magazine. She’d recognized him from his photo and tracked him down at Boston Children’s Hospital with the help of his bio at the end of the article. Otherwise he still wouldn’t know his daughter.
And if he could untangle his emotions about missing ten years of Charli’s life and the guilt over being the reason for her condition in the first place, he could get closer to her and be a real dad to her.
His first step in showing Charli that she was the most important thing in his life was bonding with her over the things she loved. Galactic Renegades and superheroes, to start. He could ask her all about them, of course, but he couldn’t deny that a part of him wanted to impress her by already knowing a few things when they talked.
The first time Charli had initiated a conversation with him, it was to ask him who his favorite Galactic Renegades character was. His initial reaction had been, Well, shit. His second had been to answer Beck Steele, the tough-guy fighter pilot Alex had heard of only because one of his favorite actors played the character. But he knew that she suspected he was lying.
He knew nothing about superheroes or sci-fi space sagas and was apparently no good at faking it. He’d been watching one Galactic Renegades and superhero movie after another ever since. He was still unclear about whether the renegades were considered superheroes, but he wasn’t sure it mattered. If Charli liked Renegades, then Alex was going to become a Galactic Renegades expert.
He watched the woman in purple and wondered what she knew about Galactic Renegades and Piper, the newest young heroine in the movie franchise. The first three movies had come out about five years ago, but now they were doing a next-generation kind of thing, and Charli was all in. That meant Alex needed to get all in.
Just then Maya pivoted and lifted her staff into the air. But just before Ben struck, her gaze swung to Alex. They made eye contact for less time than it took for him to suck in a deep breath. But it was enough to cause a reaction.
Ben’s staff came down swiftly, but instead of blocking with her staff, the woman flinched. Ben’s stick hit her on the shoulder, and she went to her knees.
There was a moment of stunned surprise from the audience and the performers alike before she got to her feet and swung to face them with a big smile.
“We work on things like concentration and focus as well as getting up again after you’ve been knocked down,” she said. “And with that, I’m going to let Sophie take my spot, and she and Ben are going to show you some sword work.”
The blonde in white looked around quickly, and someone thrust a sword and scabbard into her hand. It seemed obvious to Alex that Sophie hadn’t been prepared to step in, which made him think that Maya was taking herself out of the demo unexpectedly and might be hurt.
She moved to the side with the rest of the demonstrators, rolling her shoulder forward and back. But she didn’t seem to be in distress, and Alex made himself stay put. He wasn’t her friend, and while he was a physician, he certainly hadn’t done any acute injury care recently. Or ever. He’d gone to medical school for a very specific reason, and his focus had gotten him the residency at Boston’s Children’s Hospital. He’d been there ever since.
Though she talked and smiled at her fellow superheroes, Maya was also scanning the crowd—and avoiding looking at Alex again. He smiled. He was either distracting her because she was attracted to him or because she thought he was a stalker. And he’d be very happy to get close enough to assure her he was not stalking her. Which would seem stalkerish.
He should just focus on the whole Active Imagination presentation and staff. Any one of them could probably help him with the plan he’d started forming for Charli’s birthday.
But if he’d been thinking about what he’d need to do to keep Charli safe while she took part in a class where she could be the one who got smacked by a bo stick, he would have missed Maya slipping off the edge of the stage and making her way around the side of the crowd of people.
Alex turned and saw two teenage boys talking to a girl about their age. The girl didn’t seem pleased. She yanked her arm out of one boy’s hold and tried to pass them, but they stepped together, blocking her way. Alex frowned and noticed Maya heading in their direction. He slipped to the side and then headed around the back of the crowd, who were oblivious to any drama unfolding behind them.
The girl finally managed to push past the boys, and she walked quickly down the east corridor of the mall, turning into a clothing store after about twenty yards.
The boys followed. And so did Maya.
Alex headed in that direction as well, picking up his pace. She probably knew the kids or something. Maybe they’d been in one of her classes. Still, something told him to follow.
Or maybe it was just that he wanted a few minutes of time to talk to Maya privately. Or that once she left the stage, the demonstration had lost most of its appeal for him.
Maya made it to the storefront a few strides in front of him. She glanced at him, startled, as he came up beside her. She opened her mouth, but before she could say hi or ask if he was a stalker, something in her peripheral vision inside the store drew her attention. Her brows slammed together, and she headed in.
Alex was right behind her.
* * *
The last thing she needed was the hot guy from the demonstration distracting her in here. But Maya couldn’t take time to get rid of him. She had to make sure the girl she’d seen being harassed was okay. So she headed into the store and tried to ignore him.
The store was deserted other than one young female clerk at the register on the far side of the store. The boys had the girl in a corner behind several racks of clothes. The one in the green hoodie had a hold of her wrist, and she was clearly trying to get loose.
Maya went straight for the kids, but the guy who had followed her hung back. He pretended interest in a table of T-shirts, but he was close enough that he could hear everything. She didn’t know what his deal was, but as long as he stayed out of the way, it would be fine.
“Leave her alone,” Maya said firmly as she approached from behind the boys.
The boy in the black denim jacket glanced over his shoulder at Maya. “This is none of your business,” he told her. Then he got a good look at her. He straightened and turned. “It’s not Halloween, babe.”
Maya planted her hands on her hips, her feet spread. “I said leave her alone.”
The other boy and the girl both stopped struggling and focused on Maya.
The first boy, who couldn’t have been more than seventeen, laughed. “You a big, brave superhero or something?”
Maya’s eyes narrowed. “Or something. Like Boston PD.”
“Yeah, well, everything is fine here,” the kid in the black denim said, disdain dripping from his voice. “We’re just talking to her. We’re not doin’ nothin’ wrong.”
“I saw you stop her outside and then follow her in here. Guessing she’s already turned you down,” Maya told him. “So how about you back off?”
“I’m not hurting her. We’re friends.”
“I don’t care if you know her or not,” Maya said. “No means no.”
“Tell her that you didn’t say no to me,” the kid said to the girl.
The girl winced, and Maya assumed the boy had squeezed her wrist. Maya started to step forward when she heard, “Can I be of some assistance?” from right behind her.
She turned. It was the guy. It made sense that he had a sexy, deep voice. It totally fit.
She shook her head. She could not be distracted by him right now.
The boys swung to face him, which drew their attention away from Maya. She took the opportunity to move in closer.
“No, you fucking can’t,” the first kid said. “You can mind your own damned business.”
“How about you lower your voice and let go of the young lady?” The guy’s tone was authoritative, and he drew himself to his full height—which had to be at least six two—and his gaze hardened.
She wasn’t getting distracted. But damn, he looked good being all big and bad and heroic.
The kid in the hoodie straightened as well and took a step forward, dragging the girl with him. “How about you stop harassing me?” Green Hoodie asked. He looked at Maya. “I’d like to file a complaint.”
“Too bad. I don’t have any forms with me, and my memory is terrible if I don’t write things down,” she said blandly. She also wasn’t active duty right now, but he didn’t have to know that. “I guess it would end up being your word against mine about what happened.”
“I’m not afraid of you,” the kid said.
“That’s because you’re stupid,” Maya told him bluntly. “Which is also, no doubt, one of the many reasons that she wants nothing to do with you.”
“Okay, everyone relax,” her hot hero interrupted, stepping closer. “Do you know these guys?” he asked the girl, who had been standing there, her eyes wide.
She glanced at the boy holding her, but then looked at Maya. Maya gave her an encouraging smile.
“No,” she said. “They just came up to me outside.”
“And do you want to be with them?” the guy asked.
Her eyes still on Maya, the girl shook her head.
“Let her go.” He delivered the words in a tone that should have made the two teens’ knees shake. Even Maya felt her eyes widen.
Green Hoodie’s hand loosened on the girl’s wrist, and he took a step forward. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”
“I’d like to be the guy who’s going to make you understand that you can’t put yourself into other people’s space just because you want to,” he said. “But no matter what else, I will be the guy who’s going to make sure this girl leaves the mall without you.”
The girl suddenly jerked her arm and pulled free from Green Hoodie’s hold. Maya moved quickly to put herself between the girl and the two boys. “Are you hurt?” she asked the girl.
“No.”
“You need help getting home?”
“No.” The girl worried her bottom lip. “I still need to buy what I came for.”
Maya glanced at the boys. “I’ll make sure they don’t come with you. If you want, I’ll shop with you.”
The girl looked at the boys, her expression hardening. “You don’t have to.” She took a deep breath and looked at Maya again. “But I’ll be at Daniel’s looking for a dress. If you have time.”
Maya relaxed slightly and smiled. “I’ll meet you there.” There was no reason this girl should have to leave the mall just because these two jackasses had insinuated themselves into her day.
As the girl left the store, the boys started to move too. Maya spun, her smile gone. “No way. You’re not leaving yet,” she told them.
“The fuck if we’re not,” Black Denim said.
“You’re going to wait until security gets here to throw your asses out of the mall,” she told them.
“We’re not leaving this mall until we’re damned good and ready,” Black Denim said.
Maya was unfazed. “I’ll follow you around the entire time you’re here.”
“And do what?” the boy challenged.
“Nothing. Unless you decide to be assholes again.”
The kid balled up a fist and took a step toward her.
Maya braced herself, readying to block any attack.
But she didn’t need to bother.
“Stop right there.” Hot Hero grabbed the kid’s shoulder.
The kid swung around and pulled his arm back, but as soon as his attention and center of gravity shifted, Maya moved in. She wrenched his arm behind his back and put him on his knees.
“Goddammit!” The kid started to turn. “I’m going to—”
Maya put a knee in the middle of his back and pushed him onto his stomach. She pulled his other arm behind his back and held his wrists pinned together.
“I’m pressing charges with the Boston PD!” the kid shouted.
“Well, good luck with that. They can’t fire me twice,” Maya told him.
She hadn’t been fired. She’d been given a desk job after her injury. But she simply wasn’t made to sit in an office all day, so she’d left and started the studio. But she didn’t owe this kid any explanations.
“You’re not even really a cop?” Black Denim asked, writhing underneath her.
She put more of her weight onto him. “Well, consider this a lesson in consequences. You mess with someone who doesn’t want you, and you could get messed with by someone you don’t want.”
Maya lifted her head to find Hot Hero again. He was talking to the store employee. Maya started to shift, but suddenly there was a sharp pain in her side. “Dammit!” The kid in the hoodie had punched her. The dick. The surprise of it made her let up on her pressure on Black Denim. He tried to roll, but she leaned on him again, as Green Hoodie turned toward Hot Hero. She opened her mouth to yell at him, but the kid kicked him in the side of his knee before she could make a sound. Holy shit.
The guy swore, and his leg buckled. Maya instantly started to move toward him, but Green Hoodie swung around and grabbed her hair, pulling her off his friend. He shoved her, and she went to her butt, her head colliding with the display stand behind her. Stars danced in front of her eyes, and she had to work for her next breath.
Just then two security guards showed up. “Alright, what’s going on?” one asked, coming around the racks of clothing.
Hot Hero immediately got to his feet. He grabbed Green Hoodie by the front of his sweatshirt and lifted him onto his tiptoes before turning and shoving him toward the security guards. Then he lunged for Black Denim as the kid spun toward Maya. He got a hold of the denim jacket and started to pull, but Maya drew her leg up, kicking out and sending the kid sprawling.
She scrambled to her feet, and she couldn’t avoid gasping and grabbing her side. She started forward, but one of the guards and two other teenagers who’d come into the store were on Black Denim first. The teens helped get him onto his stomach while the guard handcuffed him.
But she forgot all about the kid when the hot guy tried to put weight on his leg and grimaced. “Hey, you okay?” she asked, ignoring the stabbing pain in her side. Son of a bitch. She’d fractured ribs less than a year ago at Comic Con, and it felt as if the kid had hit her in exactly the same spot.
The guy opened his eyes. “Yeah. I’m good.”
“Doesn’t look so good,” Maya said. He had his leg straight now, but he had sucked in a quick breath as he’d extended it.
“I’m fine. You could have a concussion,” he told her. “Let me take a look.”
He was going to take a look at her? She shook her head, then winced at the pain it caused. “No nausea, no dizziness, no ringing in the ears, and I remember everything that happened.” She frowned. “Even the first time you distracted me and I stuttered, and the second time you distracted me and Ben got a shot in, and the third time when that kid was able to get a hold of me.”
The guy actually smiled. “Those were all my fault?”
She nodded, then winced again. “I never get distracted.”
His grin grew but he asked, “You know the symptoms of concussion?”
“I do martial arts,” she said. “We fall down sometimes.” Her whole staff knew first aid and had experience using it. Working with weapons required it. “How do you know how to do a concussion check?”
“Doctor.”
Huh. “What kind of doctor?”
“Pediatrician. So yes, your head is bigger than the ones I’m used to dealing with.” He gave her a cute smile. “But it’s basically the same thing.” He glanced around, then took her by her upper arm and pulled her to a chair that sat outside one of the changing rooms.
“You’re kind of grabby,” she complained, but she found she didn’t really mind. He had nice hands. Big hands. Strong hands. And he had, after all, jumped into the fight with her.
“Yeah, the Hippocratic oath is so inconvenient at times,” he said drily.
That amused her. “You just can’t take my word for it?”
“Sorry.”
He put her in the chair and then started to kneel to look her in the eye. He frowned as he bent his knee, however, and stopped with his hands on his thighs instead, putting his face right in front of hers.
He was really good looking—sandy blond hair, cut short; deep green eyes; a deep voice that rumbled right through her.
And she was suddenly just fine with him taking a look at her. She’d show him whatever he wanted to see. “I’m not familiar with this concussion test,” she said softly as he continued to just look at her.
“This is turning out to be more of a test of my willpower than of the condition of your head,” he told her.
Oh, she liked that. “I thought maybe it was some kind of medicinal magic.”
“Not being able to take my eyes off of you?”
“Well, my head suddenly doesn’t hurt anymore.” Wow, she hadn’t flirted like this in a long time.
They just paused there, smiling at one another in a way she couldn’t remember ever smiling at someone. Just smiling. For several long seconds.
“What about that?” he finally asked, pointing to where she was pressing her hand against her side.
She sighed. “A rib, I think. He punched me in the side.”
Big Bad Doctor’s eyes hardened. “He punched you?”
He straightened and turned toward where they’d left the kids with the security guards. Maya had the distinct impression he wanted to go after the kid who’d hit her. And that did funny things to her stomach. Security was on the way out the door with them, though.
“Let me check your rib,” he said, focusing back on her.
“You’re not in great shape yourself, Doctor Wonderful.” She gestured to his knee, which was clearly bothering him. “I’ve had cracked ribs before. And worse.” She indicated her shoulder with a small smile. His gaze followed along the line of her scars. “Besides,” she said, dropping her hand from her side and straightening in the chair. “I have a dress to shop for.” The girl was probably waiting for her in Daniel’s Boutique.
“That was really nice of you to offer.”
She shrugged. “A girl shouldn’t shop for a dress alone. I don’t know where her friends or sisters or mom are, but the least I can do is be sure she looks for something in red.”
“Red?”
“She’ll look great in red,” Maya said.
“And you’re also going to talk to her about being safe? Not shopping alone?” he asked.
Maya frowned. “No. There’s no reason she can’t shop alone. That’s crap. Those guys had no right to harass her.”
He nodded his agreement. “But you’re not just going to shop and blow it off.” He said it as a statement, not a question.
She had no idea how he knew that, but no, she wasn’t just going to shop with the girl. “I’m going to talk her into coming in for a few free self-defense classes,” Maya admitted. “Next time she’ll be the one with the knee in the guy’s back.”
“Not worried about her cracking a rib?”
“The only reason that happened was because a certain good-looking doctor distracted me,” Maya said. “As long as she stays focused, she’ll be okay.”
That got her a big grin. He almost looked smug. “Maya, I—”
He was cut off by a chorus of “Oh my God!” and “There you are!” and “What happened?” as Kiera and Sophie swept into the store.
But she didn’t miss that the guy knew her name. She had no chance to say anything else to him. Or to find out his name. Or to even say thanks. Or good-bye.
By the time she’d been hugged by her friends and looked around for him, he was gone.