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for her, she glanced at him but didn’t comment. Her head hurt and her ears still felt stuffed with cotton. She imagined Justice felt even worse, but he didn’t show it if he did.
    They reached her apartment and she opened her mouth to thank him and tell him good-bye, but he pushed past her into the apartment.
    “Please, come in,” she said sarcastically.
    “Don’t mind if I do.” His voice was too loud, but short of a yell that would bother the neighbors. She’d be spared that humiliation, at least.
    “Can I get you something to drink?” Her inner hostess kicked in, and despite her intention to get him out of the apartment as quickly as possible, she ended up sitting across from him at her small kitchen table. A turkey sandwich sat in front of both of them, along with a glass of orange juice by her plate and a soda next to his.
    “You did good tonight.” His voice had come down a decibel or two, and she was relieved as the cotton slowly faded from her ears, but her head still beat like a drum on her shoulders.
    “I didn’t do what I was supposed to. I wasn’t fast enough to get my power up in time to stop him from taking me out.”
    “You distracted him, Brenda. That was your job. You kept him busy while we got the mayor and the shop owners out. No one was killed. No one was seriously hurt. That’s a win.” He took a big bite out of his sandwich and studied her.
    She glanced away, suddenly uncomfortable. She didn’t do much of anything, not really. Certainly nothing worthy of getting congratulations from the real superhero sitting across the table from her. But all’s well that ends well, right? Everyone was okay.
    For the moment.
    “We didn’t get Howler.”
    Justice swallowed his mouthful of sandwich and took a drink from his soda before answering her. “Not yet. But we will.”
    “But I’m not a secret weapon anymore.” A thought popped in her head, and she spoke without thinking. “If I ever was.”
    “What do you mean?” Justice took another bite and, to her amazement, Brenda realized that more than half of his sandwich had disappeared. The man ate as quickly as her brother had in high school.
    “He asked if I was ‘her,’ if I was Silencer.” She scooted her chair back from the table and walked to the counter. “He knew who I was, Justice. He was expecting me. How is that possible? It’s not like our members and their abilities are public knowledge, and I’ve never made the news.” She grabbed a knife from the wooden stand on the counter and walked back to the table. The knife easily cut through her sandwich and she offered Justice half.
    He took the food with a grateful smile, but his frown returned quickly. “I don’t know how he could have found out about you. Unless…” He shook his head. “I don’t want to start making guesses yet, not until I’ve looked into it.” Two bites later, the sandwich half she’d given him was gone.
    “Let me know if I can help. With whatever you’re looking into, I mean.” She shifted in her seat. Should she ask him why he’d kissed her? The timing seemed so inappropriate and the question so inane. No, it didn’t matter how much she wanted to know. She couldn’t talk about it. Not right now.
    “I will,” he said, and then pushed back from the table and stood. “I’ll be in touch. In the meantime, try to keep a low profile.” He bent to kiss her cheek before she realized his intent. Hand on her shoulder, his lips were hot against her skin. “Stay out of trouble,” he whispered into her ear.
    Before she could think of a suitable reply, he was gone.
     
    ***
     
    The scratching woke her, like nails on a chalkboard. The sound grated at her and drew her from a troubled sleep. Confused, she rolled around on the bed to glance at her alarm clock. It read three o’clock, but outside it was still dark, as dark as it ever was in the city, anyway. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, mind still muddled. What was that? It was the middle of the