“I agree, but we’re checking anything and everything that could be Howler. I’ll get another team going on this, and we’ll get back to work on ours.”

Justice didn’t wait for her reply; instead he stalked off to meet a group of heroes who gathered at a slightly safer distance away from the scene. She recognized them; The Jumper, StrongArm, and Char. Moving back, Brenda gave her friend a small smile and wave. She grinned back openly but didn’t move to meet her. Instead, she nodded at something Justice told the group, and then followed StrongArm as he and Jumper jogged down the street away from the bank.

Justice met her with serious eyes as she approached.

“So, what now?”

“Now we stick together,” he said. “I think it’s best we arrive on scene together, just in case. Until then,” his gaze moved up and down her body, eyes seeming to slow down over her chest and legs, “let’s go get you a real uniform.”

“I have real uniforms, thank you very much,” she replied, more irritated with herself for forgetting her uniform after wearing one he deemed so inappropriate the night before than she was with him. She was a professional, damn it. Even if she wasn’t usually required to be a professional superhero, she was a professional and that extended to every part of her life. Forgetting something so important riled her.

“Hey—” she began, but the ringing from her cell phone stopped her explanation, and she was grateful for the interruption because she hadn’t been entirely certain what she was going to say.

“This is Brenda,” she said, raising a finger at Justice. His lip drew back in a grimace, but her attention stayed focused on Maria.

“I’m sorry, Brenda, I know you’ve got some family stuff going on this week, but I can’t get hold of Rachel and Ben’s school just called. He’s sick, and I need to pick him up.” Maria’s tone was pleading.

Brenda glanced at her watch. Only two hours until closing time. What was the likelihood Howler would strike again in the next couple of hours? And if he did, well, the pharmacy would just have to close early.

“I’m on my way,” Brenda said, and then clicked her phone shut.

“You’re on your way? Where do you think you’re going?” Justice growled.

“I have a job. A real job. One that needs me to be there for a couple of hours.” She took a deep breath and met his gaze. “I wouldn’t go if it wasn’t important.”

His eyes didn’t leave hers for a few moments, and he stared at her as if searching for some hidden meaning in her words. Finally, he nodded. “Fine. But I’m going with you.” He raised a hand at her before she could argue. “As a member of The Council, I already know your secret identity.”

Of course he did. But that didn’t mean she wanted him traipsing around her work. But he was probably right—they should stick together. No matter how much the man irked her. “Okay then, let’s go.”

***

He kept his face carefully blank as he pulled his Porsche into a parking spot next to Silencer’s red Lexus IS350 at Pranier Medical. One of the nicest hospitals in the city, it wasn’t one he frequented. His jobs—both human and superhero—took him to county hospitals and city morgues, rarely to private facilities like Pranier.

Silencer met him at his Porsche and raised an eyebrow at his expression. She reached up to her face and with a quick flick of her wrist, removed her mask. Her simple action forced his breath from his lungs.

Taking off a mask, especially a small one like she’d been wearing, shouldn’t have made such a difference in her face. But as his gaze traced the fine line of her jaw, the soft sweep of the blonde hair across her brow, the contrast between her pale skin and dark eyes, for a moment he imagined superhero masks were magic. A relic that could so change a person’s facade that when one’s true face was revealed, the effect was shocking.

She was breathtaking.

“You got that?” she asked.

She’d been talking, but he’d missed it. What had she said? It had been important. “Um….” he said, brilliantly.

“B-R-E-N-D-A.” she said, punctuating every letter as clearly as if she’d written the word down for him. “Brenda. That’s my name. Don’t slip up and call me anything else. Not like anyone has heard of Silencer anyway, but I don’t want them to know anything about my other…pseudo life. Got it?”

Something had changed. The woman standing in front of him with one hand settled on her hip while the other waved at him seemed like a stranger. But her direct gaze was the same, as was her matter-of-fact speech. He couldn’t put his finger on the change. But he would. He was Justice after all, the hero of the Millennium Park attack, the man who tracked down and defeated the super villain IronClaw, not to mention the people he helped during his day job.

His mind settled by his thoughts, he said, “How are you going to explain me?”

“Oh, don’t you worry your pretty head about that.” She grinned, and his feeling of being off-balance about her grew. But before he was able to think too far into it, she strode toward the hospital, leaving him to follow in her wake.

He expected her to head for the elevator, so when she swung toward the pharmacy door, he changed direction awkwardly.

The woman behind the counter smiled at Silencer in obvious relief before disappearing to let them into the pharmacy area.

As they slipped through the doorway, the woman said, “Thank you so much, Brenda. I’m sorry about this, but he—” She stopped talking abruptly as she took in Justice, frowning at the reassuring smile he shot her.

“This is Justice. He’s doing some surveillance of the hospital, and we’re letting him use the pharmacy as his base. Justice, this is Maria, she’s one of our pharmacists.”

Maria took the hand he held out and shook it gingerly. “One of the local superheroes?” She didn’t sound overly impressed.

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied.

“Hmph,” was Maria’s only response as she pulled off her lab coat. She grabbed a purse from the small office set in one corner of the pharmacy. “Thanks again, boss,” she called over her shoulder as she let herself out.

“You, wait there,” Brenda said, pointing to the office.

Justice followed her instructions; he seated himself and then peeked out to watch her deal with customers.

She was efficient, not brisk, but quick in the way of a person completely comfortable in her job. Questions from customers were met with compassion and direct answers, and it was obvious she knew several by name. After the first hour rolled around, realization hit him.

She’d changed when she took off her mask, changed in the way a superhero usually did when donning her uniform. For Silencer—Brenda—it was like putting on the uniform reduced her, removed a bit of confidence that, for some reason, a blouse and white medical coat granted her.

Suddenly, a blouse and slacks looked sexier than anything he’d seen in a while.

“So Maria didn’t seem exactly impressed to meet a superhero,” he said when the steady line of customers disappeared.

“Well, she wouldn’t be,” Brenda muttered, more to herself than to him. Shooting him a sharp glance, she explained, “Her ex was a superhero. Some hotshot out of Denver. I think he’s a big part of the reason she moved here.”

Unsure of what to say to that, he just nodded.

“Figures, though.” She tucked a chunk of blonde hair behind her ear and turned away to sort through a small stack of paperwork.

“Why?”

“Because she’s a normal human, of course. What kind of a chance did she have to hold onto a superhero?” She glanced at him before returning to her sorting. “A real one, I mean.”

“You think only some superheroes are real?” he asked, shock rushing through him.

“Justice,” she said, after glancing around to make sure they were alone. “There is a difference between real superheroes like you who have the power to save people from villains on a regular basis and people like me. My powers, such as they are, don’t make me any different from Maria and other normal people. Yours do.”

“You think it’s the powers that separate us?” Before he realized what he was doing, he was up from his chair and standing only inches from her. Her face was turned away, and she had to look at him so he could make her understand. He touched her soft skin with his fingertips, tipping her chin up. A scowl cut across her full mouth at his touch, but she didn’t move away.

“Isn’t it?” Her voice was soft, caressing.

It took a moment for him to remember what they were talking about.

“It’s not our powers that separate us—make us heroes. Yes, us,” he added as she started to shake her head. “It’s the willingness to put on the uniform. To face things that might be stronger than ourselves in order to save other people. And the lack of power you’re talking about?” Her skin brushed against his as he leaned in to whisper. “That lack of power is what makes you a real superhero, Brenda, because you’re willing to fight in spite of that fact.”

She turned her head, mouth parted to argue with him, to deny what he could so clearly see. Bringing his face down inches from hers, he grazed her jawline with his knuckles. She swayed toward him, gaze fixed on his mouth. She licked her lips, and the last bit of control he’d clung to broke.

Her lips were soft—so soft—and after a moment’s hesitation she kissed him back with a zeal he hadn’t expected. The sweet smell of strawberries filled his nose, and it occurred to him on some level that the intoxicating scent was probably her shampoo. He reached for her, touching her back with his hand, needing to get closer, to feel her body on his. She pressed against him eagerly, and her mouth opened. Soft and wet, her tongue caressed his.

Suddenly he couldn’t think about anything but her. The way she’d filled out her tight, little uniform. And the sexy confidence she donned with her conservative blouse and slacks. He hardened painfully in his uniform, and she moaned. The small sound made every muscle in his body tighten. He didn’t care that they were practically in public. He had to have her. Now.