As if stressing out about moving in with her boyfriend wasn’t enough for Avery to worry about Nox had been getting attention on the news. Everyone was speculating about the “new hero” who saved Mercury and wondering why he hadn’t made another appearance since then.

Everyone was wondering what happened to Mercury too. Christian hadn’t come forward to make any statements about his retirement but he was obviously serious about it since he wanted her to move in.

Knowing him, he was more the type to want to fade into obscurity than go out with a lot of fanfare. He probably thought his job was done so there was no reason to keep pushing himself and possibly wind up dead. After all, he wasn’t getting any younger.

Things were different for Avery. She had a mission she had to fulfil. One that couldn’t be taken on by the next new hero who showed up.

There would always be new heroes. New villains trying to abolish the corrupt world order because no one else would do it? Not so much. She couldn’t let her dad or this country down.

Or Angelo. Who blew up her phone the moment he saw a speculative article about the “new hero” with a picture of her in the suit online. Honestly, she was surprised this didn’t come to his attention sooner with how internet-savvy he was. He must have been busy.

He yelled into the phone in rapid-fire Spanish the moment she picked up and she had to hold the phone away from her ear to avoid going deaf. “AVERY WEST, HOW DARE YOU GET CAUGHT ON CAMERA FOR SUCH AN INSIGNIFICANT REASON?! WHAT ON EARTH WERE YOU THINKING?”

“I was thinking I couldn’t let someone innocent die,” Avery snapped back.

Angelo didn’t know that Christian was Mercury. He thought she had risked her cover for no reason.

“Innocent? He’s a hero and you’re a villain! The least you could do is act like it. I know you had a big fat crush on him but that’s no excuse, Güera! You’re dating someone else now so there was absolutely no reason to stick your neck out like that!”

If only he knew. Avery couldn’t let the man she loved die. He would have if she hadn’t intervened but she couldn’t explain that to him. It wasn’t her place to tell his secret identity and she would get yelled at more. That was the last thing she needed to deal with right now on top of everything else.

“He’s a good person, Angelo,” she said firmly. “Isn’t the whole reason we got into this to help people? He’s sort of my friend even if he doesn’t think of me that way so I couldn’t just let him die!”

“Your friend?!”

“Yeah. You know the witty banter was my favorite part of interacting with him. But he’s retiring; he said so himself. We don’t have to worry about him anymore.”

At least not in a heroic capacity. From a live-in boyfriend capacity, however…

“When did you find this out?!” Angelo demanded.

Shoot. Avery forgot she hadn’t told him about that last confrontation either because she hadn’t mentioned she knew Mercury’s secret identity for a fact now. Was there a way to get out of this without telling the truth?

“He was curious why I saved his life and came after me when he wasn’t in great shape. We had a little chat and I sort of blackmailed him into leaving me alone and letting me carry on with my plans since he owes me for saving him. It really couldn’t have gone any better,” she said as casually as she could muster.

Angelo let out a heavy sigh. “Why do you do these things to yourself? Honestly! What exactly did he say?”

“He acknowledged that I’m not as bad as he thought I was and decided not to give me a hard time anymore or hand me over to any other heroes. The only reason he was able to find me was because of a sort of sixth sense he had. As long as no one else has that sort of power we’re golden.”

“Not as bad as he thought?”

“Yep! Isn’t that nice of him?” Avery asked cheerfully, trying to get away from the sticky subject of her potentially knowing Mercury’s secret identity.

Angelo made a skeptical noise. “Almost too nice. Though I suppose you did save his life. He isn’t suspicious of you, is he? I mean, it’s not like you know the guy. You just took him to the hospital, right?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! How could I possibly know Mercury? The world isn’t small enough for that.”

Avery knew she was a convincing liar but considering how well Angelo knew her she might still be in danger. He had always been able to see through her better than most. That was one of the problems with growing up together with someone.

“So what are you going to do about this publicity?” Angelo asked with a resigned sigh.

Relief flooded through her. The subject was closed. For now.

“Nothing I can do, really. Though I’m thinking I’m going to have to be a bit sneakier with the monthly insulin runs. You know I only get all flashy because I’m trying to lead anyone off of Jorge’s tail since he has the majority of the goods.”

“And for the benefit of your hero.”

Avery sniffed. She hadn’t cared about that since she met Christian officially, okay? “Whatever. My point is this shouldn’t set us back too much. Most of what we do is from the shadows, anyway.”

“Still…you need to be careful, Güera. We can’t afford for you to get caught. If people know you’re a villain instead of a hero you’re going to get a new Mercury. Maybe even one who can actually beat you half of the time. That would majorly set us back.”

She couldn’t deny he had a point. There might be a hero out there with both super strength and agility. No one could replace her nemesis in her heart but it was entirely possible that someone could physically take his place as the person trying to stop her from what she was doing. She did need to be careful.

“I’ll take that under advisement. Don’t worry about me, Angelo. I know what I’m doing.”

“You, the hothead, know what you’re doing?” Angelo asked doubtfully. “No one else would do something as stupid as save the life of their archnemesis.”

“It wasn’t stupid! He owes me and he knows it. I can cash in a favor any time.”

“…you know how to find him?”

Avery cursed herself for her slipup. “Vaguely.”

“Are you telling me you know his secret identity?! You would have had to have seen his face at the hospital, right? Who is he? Some random guy, right? You said you didn’t know him,” Angelo said suspiciously.

“Some random guy whose name I happen to know. I told you I blackmailed him. Everything is under control. Isn’t it a good thing to have someone like that owe us a favor?”

“I guess. At least he doesn’t know yours. Wait…don’t tell me he knows yours!”

“He doesn’t! He doesn’t have a clue who I am. Still thinks I’m a guy. We’re perfectly safe on that front,” Avery reassured him.

Angelo sighed. “That’s something, I suppose. You have an edge up on him. We could definitely cash that sort of favor someday. I am curious though…did the man behind the mask meet your expectations, Lover Girl?”

Boy, did he! But she could never admit that.

“Christian is better looking,” she deadpanned. “I didn’t like him for his face, anyway, since I never saw all of it until recently.”

“Of course you would think that,” Angelo said and she could just tell he was shaking his head at her.

“What can I say? My boyfriend is a handsome man.”

“He isn’t suspicious of you, is he?”

“Not in the slightest. I told you everything is under control. Can’t you just be happy for me, Angelo? I haven’t been able to relax like this since before our dads died,” Avery confessed in a quiet, vulnerable voice.

She wished her best friend could be happier for her. He had jumped down her throat when he found out she was dating someone. It was only going to get worse when he discovered she had moved in with him. The longer she could put off that uncomfortable conversation the better.

“We aren’t supposed to relax, Güera,” Angelo said in what he probably meant to be a gentle tone. “We have work to do.”

“And I’m doing it! I just…want to do other things at the same time, okay? This won’t get in the way of our plans. We’re going to take down Hunsacher and make the world a better place for the little people like you and me.

“This job goes better if I’m less stressed and Christian makes me less stressed. Maribel hasn’t affected things for Jorge and he won’t affect them for me. You’re making a mountain out of a molehill like always.”