Page 8 of Flash Fire (The Extraordinaries 2)

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When they reached the living room, Martha and Bob were standing behind the couch, whispering furiously to each other. Dad stood at the window looking out at the street, peering out from behind the curtain like a creeper.

“What happened?” Seth asked, sounding breathless. “Do I need to suit up?”

“Whoa,” Nick said. “Say that again, except slower and with feeling.”

Dad sighed. “Nick, keep it in your pants. We’re about to have guests.”

The doorbell chimed, followed by a heavy pounding.

“Gibby and Jazz,” Dad said, letting the curtain fall back in place.

Nick blinked. “What are they doing here? We weren’t going to meet up with them until later.” They’d planned a double date for Valentine’s Day. He’d been unsure of what was expected of him now that he had a boyfriend, and he’d worked himself into a panic trying to plan the most romantic date he could think of, which involved a picnic in the park and a mariachi band. Gibby had saved him from himself (“It’sFebruaryand you want to go on a picnic? Nicky, you’re a disaster.”) and had invited them out with her and Jazz, which Nick had accepted gratefully.

He headed for the door, Seth following closely behind him. When he opened it, he found his two favorite women standing on the porch, huddled close together, both glancing over their shoulders. Jasmine Kensington frowned as she adjusted her ridiculously expensive scarf, her dark hair falling on her shoulders in cascading waves.

“We have a problem,” Lola Gibson muttered, looking grim.

“Hurray,” Nick said. “What now?”

“That,” Gibby said, jerking her head back out toward the street. She pushed by Nick, pulling her hood down to reveal her shorn head.

“Oh,” Jazz said, turning to look out onto the street again. “Yeah. That. So, you’re going to think this is funny. I hope. Then we’ll all laugh about it and everything will be fine and nothing will be bad.”

Nick frowned as he stepped out of the doorway onto the porch. His skin chilled almost immediately, but he ignored it. He looked out onto the street. Quiet—almost unnervingly so. The coming storm was keeping everyone inside. Cars lined both sides of the street, windows covered in a layer of frost. A panel van idled in front of the house, black exhaust streaming from the tailpipe. Faint laughter from somewhere, bright and happy. Other than that, nothing. No cackling villain cribbing Nick’s fanfiction, no death and destruction raining down upon them from above.

“I don’t get it,” Nick said, scanning the street again in case he’d missed something. Seth came up behind him, hooking his chin over Nick’s shoulder.

Jazz pointed toward the paneled van. “That’s a delivery van.”

“Okay,” Nick said slowly. “And what are they delivering? Is it a Valentine’s Day thing?” Oh, crap. Was he supposed to buy Seth a present? He hadn’t even thought of that. Goddammit.

Jazz shook her head. “Remember how we talked about outfitting Team Pyro Storm with new tech?”

“Yeah,” Nick said, looking at the van with renewed interest. “Did you actually do that?”

“Me and Gibby went a couple of weeks ago and picked a bunch of stuff out. We wanted it to be a surprise.”

He squinted at Jazz as Seth said, “What’s wrong? Did they forget part of the delivery?”

Jazz smiled beatifically. “So, here’s the thing. Daddy gave me his credit card, right? And when I’ve used it in the past, I’ve always put in his phone number when placing orders in case they needed to call him to confirm the charges.”

Nick shivered as Seth’s breath warmed his ear. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“The delivery man is very good at his job,” Jazz said. “So much so that he called the phone number on the order to confirm the delivery.”

Seth made a strangled sound as he stepped back.

“And apparently,” Jazz continued, “Daddy didn’t know what the delivery man was talking about because the address the driver gave wasn’tourhouse, but another address entirely.”

Gibby leaned her head out the door. “Have you gotten to the good part yet, babe? I want to see the look on Nick’s face.”

“I’m about to,” she said before turning back to Nick. “So, Nicky—oh my goodness, look how handsome you are today. Seth, you too! Is that a new bow tie? It suits you.”

“Thank you,” Nick said. “That’s a nice thing to—you’re about to say something bad, aren’t you.”

She winced. “Maybe? So Daddy and Mom were at lunch with Gibby’s parents.” She tapped a finger against her chin thoughtfully. “What were the odds that they’d all be together right when that phone call came? And even though I told Daddy there was nothing to be concerned with, they decided they’re all going to come over and see what’s being delivered.”