“I’m a lot of things, but like I said, I’m not immortal. The Cartel has manpower and is out for blood. I killed members of their crew hoping to send a message, but it only incited them. Within two weeks of my killing Ignacio Riviera, they managed to discover the one thing outside of New Rhone that has Hero’s attention. One other . . . weakness.”

After a long silence, she asks, “What is it?”

“Not what. Who.”

“Okay,” she prompts. “Who?”

“I told you when my parents died, I self-destructed. I numbed everything with alcohol, drugs, and girls. Something had to happen to put me back on track. One afternoon, I injected and was smoking quality bud with some friends. I was out of my mind. When we heard about the apartment building fire on the other side of Fenndale, I didn’t react right away. I knew this was the sort of thing I was supposed to fix, but I’d never done anything real up to that point because Fenndale was pretty quiet. I was scared shitless. I tried to ignore it, let the high take over, but I couldn’t stop picturing the burning building. The gravity of the situation began to cut through. I realized that if I saved even one life, then all my work, all my parents’ work up to that point, would be worth it. And I did. I saved one life.”

Tears drip onto her trembling hands. “Mine.”

“I should’ve been there to save them too. I didn’t reach the building in time because I was high and when I did, that slowed me down. You were a child. I rescued you first. I was too late for your parents. Their death is my fault.”

“Why don’t I remember any of this?”

“You were barely conscious. I was discreet because of my secret. Once I knew you were safe and there was nothing more I could do, I took off.”

Her shaking continues while pain and blame are clear on her face. Selfishly, this is why I never wanted her to know the truth. I made up excuses for hiding it from her, but this, here and now, is the real reason. I can handle her hating me for imprisoning her, but not for the death of her only family.

“There’s more,” I tell her, and she sniffles. “Do you want me to keep going?”

“Yes.”

“After that, it all finally connected for me. I understood my place in the world. As penance for that mistake, you would have a guardian from afar. It was for my parents and for yours. You were almost seven at the time, and I would split my time between New Rhone and Fenndale, checking in when I could and watching over you.”

“You—what? Since I was a child?”

“I don’t know if you remember—”

“The Andersons? That was you?”

“Yes. I found you under the bed. Promised you you’d be happy. I wish I’d taken you then instead of letting you grow up with that excuse for a family.”

“I moved to New Rhone,” she says and then looks up. “There was never anywhere else.”

“I told myself when you turned eighteen, my sentence would be served. But you came here, and I couldn’t stop. The deeper I descended into the pits of this city, the more corruption, murder, and rape I was exposed to. Protecting you from that became an obsession.”

She looks away. “I don’t believe you. It’s just not possible.”

“I ensured your job at Parish Media. I came into the office more often. I walked you to and from work, but you never knew it. I’ve kept you from being pickpocketed. Russ—the guy across the hall from you? He made you uncomfortable.”

She swallows loudly. “How do you know that?”

“He used to hit on you, even though he was married. But I was there, Cataline. I would’ve driven him out of town before he could put his hands on you.”

Her head shakes. “Why?”

“In the beginning I felt responsible. But the more I watched, the more you felt like mine.”

“Yours?”

“You had no one else but me. It’s a dangerous thing to feel needed that way.”

“None of this makes sense. You did things to me that . . . you kidnapped me. You’ve kept me here and . . . you hurt me.”

“I know.” I press my fist into my other palm. There’s no mark to show for slapping her last night, and I wish there were. I deserve to see what I did. But that isn’t what she means. “I had no idea that bringing you here would turn out this way. For so long I watched you, thinking you were mine. It’s not that I loved you, but that I felt like you belonged to me. Watching you grow up, saving you—I couldn’t be a part of your life, but I was intertwined with you. And you never even knew I existed. I thought I could keep you at the mansion and foolishly, design it so we never crossed paths. I justified it because I was keeping you safe from them.” I pause, still unable to gauge her reaction. “Having you finally in my possession was too much. I’ve learned to control myself, but you revert me back to the teenager who can’t handle his impulses. And since then, I’ve seen too much evil, killed too many people, and it’s turned me into this.”

“I’m the thing the Riviera Cartel wants.”

“You’re my weakness.” I close my eyes at the admission. Everything Norman said was true. I do care about her just like I care for New Rhone.

“What about Guy Fowler?”

I shake my head. “He’s just a pawn. The Cartel had to send someone after you. The day he asked you out at Taco Shack was planned.”

She gasps. “How’d you know about that?”

“I know everything. I was there—I heard what he said, what you said. You fell right into his trap. The Cartel sent those guys to kidnap you. They were going to do it that night. I got to you first.”

“The men in the forest?”

“I know as much as you. Someone in the Cartel sent them after you. They know who I am because they stole my wallet, but I don’t know how they knew you were there.”

“Why don’t you kill them all?” she asks.

I tilt my head and look into her eyes. “I kill when it’s deserved. I don’t do it on a hunch. I need evidence, and a crime that fits the punishment. The men in the forest were carrying out the Cartel’s wishes. I don’t know the full story, and I acted hastily. I was crazed by what they did.” What I don’t tell her is that I enjoyed their fear, ate it up before I killed them.

“You should’ve told me everything,” Cataline says. “What made you think it would be better to shut me out?”

“The only people who know my secret are the ones who need to. Where it’s life or death. The staff knows I’m Hero, and mostly what I’m capable of, but only Norman knows injections make me that way. Even Carter is painstakingly kept in the dark about the specifics. When I tell others, it becomes their secret. That puts them in danger.” My hands rub together as I clear my throat again. “But that’s not the only reason. I hated the idea of you knowing that I’m responsible for all the bad in your life. If I’d saved your parents like I was meant to, you wouldn’t be here now.” I can’t stop myself from catching the lonesome tear that slithers down her cheek. “I just wanted to give you back what I took. You deserve to be happy, so I kept all the badness away. What I didn’t know was that I’d become the enemy. That in the end, I would be the one to destroy you.”

40

Cataline

In a matter of twenty-four hours, my entire life has changed. The world as I know it has changed. There are superpowers, and people who want to steal me again. What’s supposed to be good is actually evil.

Calvin is watching me, patiently waiting for my response. My eyes dart between his as fast as my brain processes information. “I looked up to Hero,” I say quietly.

He steeples his hand over his nose and rubs his eyes. “I never meant for it to happen this way.”

“How could you do this to me while you’re out there saving everyone else?”

“I’ve always kept you safe,” he says, his voice rising. “I kidnapped you to save you. I know everything about you.” He juts his hand toward the door. “Why do you think the kitchen is stocked with your favorite foods? Everything in your closet is your exact size? Books I know you love, I bought for you.”