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“When I’m strongly emotional, yeah. A little.” With a smirk, Joan added, “I don’t incinerate equipment sheds anymore, so progress.”

“Very good progress.” Though the metal tumbler might not agree. It wasmelted.

She nestled her arm more snugly through Joan’s. “I appreciate you telling me all you have. And I’m sorry you’re having problems at work. With your coworkers.”

“Thanks,” Joan said.

“It’s nice you have Mark and Perry to turn to.”

“It is.”

“And…” Sadie glanced up through her lashes. “You have me. I like you for exactly who you are. If the other Supers can’t see how great you are, well, that’s their problem.”

Joan stopped walking again. Her lips parted like she was about to say something.

She drew Sadie into a tight hug instead.

Sadie rubbed her back, feeling the tension knotted in Joan’s muscles. Her work problems were really weighing on her. That could explain why she wanted to open a food truck. And why it’d be an unobtainable dream. It was hard to be ordinary when everything about you was extraordinary.

“I really like you,” Joan murmured against her ear. “For exactly who you are.”

Her heart swelled. “Maybe I can help you be more average while you help me climb out of mediocrity.”

A balmy breeze of laughter rushed out of Joan’s mouth and traveled down Sadie’s neck. “That would be great.”

“But you still have to save dogs,” she teased.

“I will always save a dog.”

Joan kissed across her cheek, landing a soft one on Sadie’s lips. She claimed Sadie’s hand and said, “Let’s get you to work. Making you late won’t win me any favors with Amit.”

They stepped off the stone path onto the sidewalk. Joan’s palm was abnormally warm. Not in a painful way. Just a…

Sometimes when my emotions run high, stuff melts.

Had that story about melting office equipment been about her? Another unfortunate error by young Joan? She’d said she’d caused a lot of damage. Things had been bad enough for her parents to send her away.

Sadie wanted to ask. Should ask. Like,reallyshould ask. It wasn’t too nosy. But all she did was ask Joan questions about being a Superhero. And about the other Superheroes. There was more to her than that, and she was probably tired of talking about all that. It wasn’t the only part of her, and Sadie didn’t want her thinking that was the only thing she found interesting.

Joan kissed the back of her hand. “So the thing about liquids is their instability. They’re hard to control in terms of temperature…”

Sadie half listened as a tiny sliver of doubt threaded through her. Why would Joan have these problems? Too much excess energy stored in her body from being Catch? And how did she know so many details about what the Villains did?

She shook that away.Come on, Sadie.

Past hurt was making her suspicious of a literal hero. Joan wouldn’t lie to her. She wouldn’t have risked injury—or revealing her true identity—to save a dog’s life. And it was her duty to know the goings-on of the Supervillains. She was a kind, sympathetic person who saw them as more than just the enemy.

Joan was amazing, and she really liked Sadie, and she needed to be supported. Fussed over.

Joan Malone deserved only the best, and Sadie was going to give that to her.

CHAPTER12

Joan Malone was a coward. A lying, villainous asshole of a coward. Because she couldn’t tell Sadie the truth.

Even though they were enjoying a lovely impromptu Thursday morning brunch, reality screamed at her from all sides. The apartment paid for with ill-gotten funds, the keypad on her office door in her periphery, the picture of her and Mark and Perry on their annual blowout Christmas trip to the Caribbean stuck to the side of the fridge.

And Sadie sitting with her socked feet on the bottom rung of Joan’s barstool, nibbling on eggy frittata, happiness personified as they chatted about Sadie’s Café. Thinking she was hanging out with the most noble Superhero around.