Valerie was convinced this was the most humiliating moment of her life. She hadn’t decided which part was worse. The itchiness on the ropes she had the ability to get out of. The pair of goons playing cards in the back, like she was wasting their time. The pounding headache between her ears. Or the knowledge that she had been just a bit too careless. She’d walked that way home too many times and did have her guard up.

  The one thing she’d done right all evening was not have her gear in her bag. Not that her purse was really big enough for that, but the last thing she needed was incriminating evidence floating around.

  The leader, because it was always the leader, was rifling through her purse. She couldn’t do anything without risking revealing herself. If they even suspected her other identity this was going to go from inconvenient to a disaster.

  “Phone’s locked,” he commented. She stared at the charm dangling from the phone case. A little green bunny with feathered wings.

  It had been a gift. A token to remember a summer day at the boardwalk.

  If Henry ever found out about this, he was going to flip and probably never let her go anywhere alone.

  “Hey, what’s the pin?” Leader asked.

  She could just not tell him. She’d probably get slapped for it, but that would hurt him far more. But if he broke his hand on her face, these three jerks could tell about it. And there goes her big secret.

  “Zero six one four.” She hated how her voice sounded. She needed a drink or something.

  “Cute boyfriend you’ve got. How much do you think he’ll pay for your return?”

  “Probably not enough for this to be worth it. And he’s not my boyfriend. Sorry but there’s no one in my life I would describe as ‘loaded’,” she said after swallowing a couple of times to remove the sandpaper from her voice. A side effect of being tased? Her whole body was sore from it.

  She knew who he was talking about. Her background image was the two of them at the convention center. A big Halloween trade show. His favorite, but as his best friend she wasn’t going to force him to go alone. Besides, where better to learn more tips about costumes?

  “How about we call him? Gotta verify these things.” Leader’s tone of voice made her want to hit him. She couldn’t, if she wanted to keep her secrets safe though.

  “Or. You can let me go and we all pretend this never happened,” she mumbled. “I promise, there’s no ransom you’re going to be able to get that will be worth this.” She needed to escape somehow, what tricks did she have?

  “They all say that.” They. Plural. How many times had they done this to someone?

  “Get better at research, then.” She probably shouldn’t be quipping. But what could they do to her? Not much.

  Henry, however… him they could hurt. A knife could do a lot of damage to someone who could bleed.

  Not that she couldn’t, but steel tended to bend rather than pierce. There were exceptions, of course.

  If they attempted anything with those switchblades, the jig would be up and cause a lot more trouble than it was worth. How to disarm them without her hands? Make him get close enough to headbutt?

  That’s when everything went from bad to worse. Her phone buzzed in the hand of Leader.

  “Who’s King?” Leader asked. “Your boyfriend?”

  Her worst nightmare right now. Of all the times Henry had to call her, it was now? His timing was always spectacularly bad.

  “What happens if I answer this you think?” Leader was trying too hard to be intimidating.

  She opened her mouth to tell him not too but it was cut short by the buzzing stopping. He’d answered her phone.

  “Hey Val,” Henry’s voice came out of her phone. She probably wouldn’t hear it if she was a normal woman.

  Leader turned up the volume on her phone. “I’m sorry, Val’s not here right now. She’s a bit…tied up at the moment.”

  Did he think he was funny or clever? She pulled at her binds, weighing her options.

  A moment of quiet.

  “Who are you and where is she?” Henry’s voice didn’t sound scared. It was a touch deeper and there was an anger there she’d never heard before. Just the sound of it made her gasp. He almost sounded like Grim like that.

  “Have you heard of the Black Locusts?” Leader’s voice was taunting and smug. Which for a group she’d never heard of was a bit ridiculous. The name was good to have though, it was something concrete should could ask people. Their options would be limited in cells.

  Henry didn’t respond. If she hadn’t heard of these people before, he definitely hadn’t. It hopefully meant Henry would stay out of this. She’d need something to tell him, but she’d rather deal with a worried Henry than a hurt one.

  “He hung up,” Leader sounded shocked, like no one had ever dared. “Not a very good boyfriend you have. Is that why you think he wasn’t going to pay your ransom?”

  He…hung up? That…wasn’t really like him. But maybe it was better. Henry keeping out of it was her preference. And it wasn’t like these guys were a real threat to her.

  “I told you I wasn’t worth the trouble.” Not that they’d seen the amount of trouble she could cause. Not yet.

  “That’s almost sad, to think no one wants you enough to pay a ransom.”

  Them not getting paid was something she couldn’t bring herself to feel bad about.

  “Everyone’s got a sob story,” she said in response. Could she buy time? Wait them out? If they tried to kill her it would get messier.

  “Your phone’s full of pictures of him, and I don’t think he loves you at all,” Leader said. She couldn’t see the screen from here, but she could see him swiping. “All a bunch of sappy ones too. Not even beach pictures.”

  Gross.

  She wasn’t bothered by his words, she’d known Henry for years. This guy had never met him.

  “You know, if we can’t get a ransom from anyone. We’re going to have to cut our losses and that throat of yours.”

  That’s what she was worried about. He couldn’t hurt her, but she was going to have to clean this mess somehow.

  He kept scrolling. “No parents? No siblings? Man, what a waste of a night.”

  On that, she couldn’t agree more.

  He put her phone on the table he was sitting on. Forgotten and useless now that he hadn’t gotten the information he’d wanted.

  She braced herself for anything. She was going to defend herself. It wasn’t like she had options at this point.

  Leader was stood up and half of the way towards her. Blade drawn and in hand. Twirling it for flair. What movie did he think he was in?

  The door to the room flew open with enough for it to slam loudly against the wall.

  She snapped towards it, forgetting the guy with a knife for a moment.

  Tall. Was he always that tall? But then again, she’d never seen him from this angle. He looked like a comic character. All slick lines and long leather trench coat over some kind of bulletproof vest. On his hip was a holster with a gun. She was never sure what kind, he’d never drawn it against her. Probably because it was useless. He was wearing his visor like always. It covered most of his face, leaving only his mouth exposed.

  Silence. Not a word of banter. These clowns didn’t know who she was but if anyone in this room was capable of figuring it out, he would.

  Well. This night just went from awful to a complete disaster.

  “Grim?! What are you doing here?!” Leader exclaimed.

  That was what she wanted to know. Could this night get any worse? She was taking a bubble bath when she got home.

  Too bad for both of them Grim wasn’t much of a talker. Though that kind of worked in her favor. If he didn’t speak to her, she could get away with not speaking to him.

  Grim, being business as usual, drew his gun without a word.

  She’d seen him draw his gun before. She’d always assumed the reason he never used it against her was because it was pretty common knowledge that she was bulletproof.

  She wasn’t entirely, but most handguns barely left bruises. She’d take not getting shot at though.

  But even now his gun was pointed elsewhere. It was aimed right at her captor.

  Was…was he here to save her? That didn’t make sense. Why? Since when did Grim save people? He was the mafia’s enforcer, he got rid of people.

  Did he have some other problem with these guys?

  She didn’t how she felt about him having other enemies she didn’t know anything about. Wasn’t there some kind of rivalry rulebook? A code of conduct for heroes and…whatever Grim was doing right now.

  Grim fired the gun. She only saw a splatter of red before it occurred to her he had just killed the man.

  Leader was on the ground. The knife clattered to the floor loudly. Right through the heart. She wasn’t sure if he deserved that, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it now.

  Grim finally spoke, but he was facing the two goons who’d been frozen in shock since he came in. “Either of you two move or speak of this, you die.” That deep gravelly voice she’d heard so often she’d know it anywhere. That was the real Grim.

  But what on Earth was he doing here?

  Grim lowered his gun then turned to finally look at her. Was…was he shaking?

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  It was barely a tremor in his free hand. Clenched into a tight fist. She couldn’t really see the look on his face, that visor covered so much of it, but she could swear there was far, far more emotion in the set of his mouth than she’d ever seen before.

  Even after three years of knowing each other.

  “Are you hurt?” Grim asked. That tremor. It was there in his voice too.

  “No?” It was the truth. And she wasn’t sure she wanted to see what he’d do if she said yes. That didn’t stop her from being very confused by all of this.

  The tremor in him stopped. Was that it then?

  That’s when he approached her. His movement was strange, stiff and awkward. Like he wanted to run but was forcibly holding himself back.

  Instead, he was slow and deliberate. Careful with every step of those thick soled boots. It reminded her of animal shelter workers approaching a new arrival.

  Was he trying to avoid scaring her? He was going around calling himself Grim and here he was trying to be gentle. This behavior wasn’t like anything she’d seen before from him.

  What was he trying to do here?

  He finally reached her. His gun still drawn but kept at his side, he only moved his other hand. “I’m going to untie you now, okay?” His voice was still gravely and deep. But there was something there. Something just a bit lighter.

  She wasn’t surprised to find he was putting on a voice. She did it too. Another level of identity protection.

  “Sure. I just want to go home,” she said with a swallow.

  “Of course you do,” he said it lowly. She could hear him behind her messing with the ropes. His gloved fingers brushed against her arms as he untied the ropes, freeing her arms.

  She let them fall and waited until he stepped back before standing and rubbing at her wrists.

  “You sure you’re okay?” He asked.

  “I’m fine, they didn’t hurt me.”

  Grim turned back to the guys still on the far side of the room. “That’s the only reason you’re still breathing. If anything had happened to her you’d all be dead.” Back to the full gravelly rumble of a voice.

  “Look man we didn’t know she was your girl!” One of them shouted, she wasn’t sure which was which.

  Grim went stiff at the implication. That she was his in some way, which even without her other identity was ridiculous. She’d never been in a room with him before.

  “That’s no excuse. You’re operating in mafia territory without their permission. Which I intend to tell them about.”

  “Wait, we can explain!”

  “Details are irrelevant. There’s rules, and you’ve broken them. Consider this a slap on the wrist.”

  She knew some of this. Not everything, just that it existed. There were boundaries and lines. The one thing about the Mafia she respected, there were rules with them.

  “Of course, that means you also can’t tell anyone about any of this,” Grim was reveling in this. That these guys were screwed regardless.

  All of this only made sense if he…

  Did Grim somehow her? How? When? Did he know she was Einherjar? No. He’d asked if she was hurt, he wouldn’t do that if he knew she was basically indestructible.

  She was too lost in thought. She almost didn’t notice when Grim had tossed her purse, with her phone, at her. Her honed reflexes got it so hopefully he didn’t notice.

  “Come on. We’re leaving.”

  “Okay,” she mumbled.

  He grabbed her arm, just above her elbow to pull her along outside. Gentle, but firm. Again, this made no sense with what she knew about his behavior. She’d never seen him gentle before.

  Something wasn’t adding up. The only real answer she could think of was that the person behind that visor was someone she knew. Or someone who knew her. A coworker? But she didn’t really interact with them. Not on the level that they would risk themselves for her sake. The only person she could think would be willing was…

  Wait.

  No, it couldn’t be.

  But it would explain how he knew she was in danger.

  They were outside now. The Scythe was sitting on the sidewalk. Looking far more hastily parked than she was used to seeing. He was in a rush.

  Like someone he cared about was in danger.

  “Henry?” Valerie whispered, even as she desperately wanted it to be wrong.

  The hand on her arm tightened. A gun clicked into a holster. “I can explain. I promise. Just…let me get you somewhere safer first.” That was not the deep gravel. That was Henry’s normal voice.

  Nothing to hide anymore, she supposed.

  “Maybe not my front door dressed like that,” she commented. This…this was too much as it was. Grim in full costume in her kitchen was not something she was okay with seeing right now.

  “I have…a place. I’ll take you there and take off the tacticals and we can talk. It doesn’t have a lot but I can get you a drink,” he sat on the bike like it was second nature.

  She’d never seen Henry on a bike. She’d seen Grim on this one so many times though. She watched him settle and look to her.

  “Oh. You want me to get on. That. You know I haven’t even ridden a normal bike right? Nothing to say for one that has an engine.”

  “Right. I…uh didn’t have anything else and I was…in a rush.” He took a deep breath. “It’s like the coaster on the boardwalk. Just hold on to me and you’ll be fine.”

  Hugging Grim Reaper from behind was not on her bingo card for the year. But she really didn’t want to stay around here and she needed answers. Desperately.

  “It’s only a couple of minutes away from here on bike. Promise.”

  The distance wasn’t the issue. It wasn’t even getting on a motorcycle. It was getting on this motorcycle. She hesitated a moment longer before stumbling a bit to get on.

  It wasn’t uncomfortable, it reminded her of sitting on a carousel horse. Only instead of holding on to a pole she was wrapping her arms around Grim. Around Henry. Maybe she should just think of this like Henry taking her home from a costume party.

  She wasn’t sure if that was her heart pounding wildly in her ears or his. The engine roared to life beneath them. Scythe wasn’t quiet. She always could hear it whenever he came onto the scene. It was the sound of her needing to prepare quips and banter for Grim.

  He wasn’t her enemy. Not really. They’d fought a few times, never anything serious and there was always a bigger fish to fry. They’d never worked together though.

  She’d never had this much contact with Grim before. She closed her eyes and pressed her forehead into his back as she clung to him. The city was whirling by, she could feel the wind.

  There. Just beneath the smell of the faux leather coat was something a little more familiar. A hint of pine tree body spray. Henry’s favorite.

  It really was him.

  Grim was her best friend this whole time.

  She had to tell him now. It wasn’t fair that she knew and he didn’t. This was going to change everything. This could be their last night as friends.

  “Hey, we’re here. It’s okay now.”

  A hand over hers. Always gentle with her even as he was cold and threatening to everyone else.

  “You’ll always be safe with me. I swear,” he said to try and comfort her. Not knowing what she was really upset about, “I’d never let anything happen you.”

  “I know,” she struggled to say as she started crying. She didn’t want to lose him. But she couldn’t keep this from him.

  “Come on, let’s get inside.” He didn’t pull her. He’d barely used any force on her all night. “I can explain everything.”

  Her vision was blurry from the crying and she let herself get lead by the hand into the small single story. It looked like it was all garage.

  The garage door closed, leaving them both entirely to each other’s mercy.

  “Can…can I hold you? You look like you need a hug.”

  She threw herself into his arms. It wasn’t much, and he was the wrong height thanks to the boots, but it close enough to their normal that it made her cry harder.

  “Shh, shh, it’s okay. You’re okay now. You don’t have to be strong for me. I’ve got you.” He kept mumbling in her ear as one arm tightened around her waist and the other rested on the back of her head.

  They stood there like that for a while. Until Valerie regained control of her body again. She took a deep breath and patted him on the shoulder, a sign to be let go.

  “Come on,” he pulled her through the door of garage and into the rest of the house.

  What was this place? Like some kind of hideout? How long had he had this?

  “Bathroom’s through here,” he commented as they passed a door. “Couch should be fine to lay down on, if it helps.”

  “Okay,” she said to mostly inform him she was listening.

  “I won’t be far, I’m just going to change and then I’ll be right back. I’m sure you have all the questions in the world.”

  She did. But she didn’t want to ask them. Not when answers could mean the end of everything she’s ever held dear. She didn’t want to hear him say he hated her. Even if he didn’t know it was her.

  She curled up onto the couch. Barely registering him walking away.

  She had to tell him. There was no way around it now. Nothing was ever going to be the same between them. It couldn’t be. Not after this. Grim and Einherjar couldn’t banter as they did. Not when Henry was under that visor.

  “I want to ask if you’re sure you’re okay, but after all of this I can’t imagine you are.”

  “We need to talk about this,” she said instead of looking up at him.

  “Yeah. I figured. Before we start, do you want anything? I have water and EnergyAide.”

  “Water. Before I lose my nerve,” she said, still looking at her hands. Absent of scars, and deceptively soft. She couldn’t help but think of the night she learned about her abilities. About the glass that had failed to pierce her hands as she pulled herself out of the crash.

  The only person to get away unharmed.

  She clenched her hands and took a breath. She’d rather stare down the barrels of all the guns in the city than have this conversation.

  “Ask me anything,” Henry said as a bottle of water disrupted her vison.

  She looked up at him without taking it at first. He had only taken the tactical gear off. The vest, the trenchcoat, the boots, the visor. He was just Henry. Same black pants and dark grey turtleneck. The blue socks with bunnies ruined it a bit though.

  She giggled when she saw them. They were a gift from her.

  “I need to tell you something,” she said as she took the water.

  He sat down on the floor below her eyeline now. Without the boots he was two inches shorter than her. With them he was four inches taller. Did he put filler in them to make himself taller? It had helped hide his identity.

  She’d never even suspected.

  “I don’t think that’s how this is supposed to work, but sure. Here I was expecting you demand a confession.”

  “I think I need to give one of my own. I like us more on even playing fields.”

  His face twisted in confusion. It was a line she often used with her full gear on after defusing a trap from him. Ein had said it enough that he should be able to guess what she was about to say.

  “Do you remember that car accident I was in? About four years ago?”

  “Yeah. Scared the hell out of me. Thank goodness you weren’t in the car yet.”

  “About that…I wasn’t out of the car when it hit mine. I was in it. Sitting in the front seat.”

  “No you weren’t,” Henry interrupted. “You couldn’t have been. The crash caved the entire front in, you’d have been flattened to a pancake.”

  “I was. I remember the look on the driver’s face. I could see the terror there. He knew he was going to crash into me. That neither of us could do anything about it.”

  “No. You were standing when I got there. There wasn’t a scratch on you.”

  “There wasn’t. Surprised me too, considering the amount of glass everywhere. I crawled out of the car and even though I had to grip broken windshield my hands weren’t cut to ribbons.”

  She could see the heavy breathing Henry was doing. Could see the calculations in his head. “Six months. Six months later Einherjar came onto the scene.”

  “I made the mask out of discounted Halloween masks and props. The costume came from heavily modified thrift store finds. And that one comic convention trip we had. The three hour drive was worth it for those cosplay paints.”

  Henry flopped down on the floor, laying there with his limbs spread and eyes closed. “Fuck.”

  “Yeah. That’s basically been my thought since I realized who you were.”

  “When did you find out?”

  “I couldn’t fathom a reason Grim would bother with someone he didn’t know. From there it was figuring out who would care enough and had reason to think I was in trouble.”

  “Fuck.”

  “For what it’s worth, I never even suspected Grim was someone I knew.” If she did, she might have conducted herself a bit differently during their run-ins. How did they not figure it out during the truth serum incident?

  Wait.

  WAIT.

  Henry was still on the floor covering his face with hands like he was wishing for the ground to swallow him whole.

  “Poison’s truth serum,” she said slowly. Watching him freeze in place like she’d just uttered the worst of curses. “You told me you were in love with someone.”

  “I told Ein that because I was desperately trying to change the tide of conversation.”

  “But it was the truth.”

  “I mean…yeah…I couldn’t…it wouldn’t let me lie.”

  “You said it was your best friend.”

  “I was kind of hoping you’d forgotten that part.”

  But…she was his best friend. He’d said it. Multiple times. “Henry. I think you need to say it.”

  “Do I have to?” he whined. Sounding a lot more like his usual self.

  “If you don’t I’m going to come over there.” She wasn’t entirely sure what she was going to do, but it was probably going to be something stupid.

  “Do you remember the meteor shower in our senior year? The night I spent at your place as we looked up at them all?”

  “Yeah?”

  “You told me to make a wish. But the only thought I could muster was that I wanted to know yours. I knew I would do anything for you. And more if you would stay with me for the rest of our lives.”

  “Henry…”

  “I knew I was in love with you then. It’s still true. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to stay in your life.”

  “I guess that makes it my turn for a confession again, huh?” she said as she tried to process all of this. What it meant for both of them.

  “Confess what? What could top being my arch rival?”

  “I feel the same way about you. I knew after the crash. After I saw the driver and realized I was probably about to die, my only thought was not getting a chance to say goodbye to you.”

  Henry sat back up to look at her. “All this time…”

  She couldn’t imagine the look on her face, but his so vulnerable. She wanted to hold him. “What are we going to do?”

  The truth was out there. Both truths she’d been keeping from him.

  “I have no idea. But…I know what I want to do. Can I kiss you?”

  She didn’t respond. Not verbally anyway. She practically through herself off the couch and into his arms. He let out a quiet, “oof” at it.

  It was clumsy, their first kiss. He was too stunned to kiss back and she was at the wrong angle for this.

  She pulled back to settle herself better. Looking down at him just a bit and tracing his face with a thumb.

  His hand tangled in her hair to hold her still for their second kiss. Less clumsy, with him taking charge. Holding her steady in his arms and making her toes curl and body shiver.

  She was going to start sobbing again. This was a terrible, wonderful feeling.

  “You,” she gasped around breaths. He was leaning his forehead against hers, they were breathing heavily in sync. “I knew Grim had a thing for me.”

  “No you didn’t,” he responded.

  “Yes I did. You kept checking me out.”

  “I was a perfect gentleman every time we interacted in costume.”

  “I caught you at least twice in the past month.”

  “You can’t see behind my visor. For all you know I could have had my eyes closed.”

  “You called me beautiful.”

  “What? When? I absolutely did not say that to Ein.”

  “The creepy Frankenstein dude that was kidnapping ladies. You said I was too cute for him to try and kill.”

  “No. I meant he couldn’t go after you because of your power. You’d break all his equipment if he tried.”

  “You were worried about me. It was cute.”

  “I have mafia ties. I’m not cute.” He said that, but he was pouting.

  She put her hands on his cheeks, squishing his face just enough. “Precious.”

  “I didn’t know you could get more insufferable.”

  “And yet, I’m exactly your type.”

  “You are. For better and worse.”

  “I think the line is supposed to be ‘in sickness and in health’.”

  “Careful. Til death do us part might be a bit longer for you than most.”

  “Worried you’ll be stuck with me forever?”

  “No. Just warning you that if we do this, it will be until one of us stops breathing. If I have you, I won’t be letting you go.”

  “Aww…sweet-talker.”

  He laughed. It wasn’t the first time he laughed at one of her jokes, but it was rare. And well…now she had all the time in the world to wear him down with banter.