Ari knew the feeling. Her own life had been rocked the day her parents had died. “How?” she asked.
“She owned a small boutique downtown. The first few years, my father would meet her every night and pick her up from work, but over time, they got slack, and comfortable. I had baseball practice or football games and my dad would take me when she was at work. The night she died, I begged him to go pick her up. I had a feeling—no, it was more than a feeling. A sense of urgency to be with her. He and I argued and in the end I ran out, riding my bike down to the shop. When I got there, I found her bleeding on the street. She’d been murdered locking the front door.”
Ari brushed a tear away and squeezed his hand. “I’m so sorry.”
“My father developed an obsession with the fact that I ‘felt’ something that day. He hounded me and questioned me over and over again. I had no explanation. It was just a feeling, buried deep in my gut. But what he didn’t know was it wasn’t the first time I’d had that feeling. I had it the day my school bus was rammed by an 18-wheeler on the way to school. The urgency was so intense that I faked being sick to stay home.
“After my mother’s death, my father established a new motto. Vigilance. All the time. Never let your guard down, and prepare. And never, ever ignore your gut. He knew my sense of timing wasn’t random luck. It was a gift I had to cultivate. And if I had a gift like this, then others did, too.”
Davis walked over to the wall of curtains and pushed them back enough to see the gym below. “He watched me closely, and once he started the gym, he searched for signs in the other kids that came in. Who was exceptionally fast or had unusual strength. The first one he found was my brother. His skill wasn’t physical, though. His power came from his mind. Manipulative. He could charm the skin off a snake.”
“But your dad thought he was good?” Ari interrupted.
“He thought he could help him. My dad built this because he wanted to make sure we were ready and that the boys of the city weren’t using their anger for evil purposes. Like Antonio, the kid that shot at you. He had potential, but he squandered it.”
Ari stood next to him as he looked out over the darkened gym. “So you knew I needed your help that day at the hardware store?”
“I knew.”
“How did you know my name?”
He smiled. “I’d seen you around juvenile court. Judge Hatcher is a close friend. People talk about you and the work you do with the kids. It’s my business to know what’s going on in Glory City.”
Ari laughed. “People talk about me?”
“They do. You’ve invested your heart in these kids and people have noticed. I’m wondering if you may have a gift as well.”
“Like your instinct thing?” she asked. He nodded. She ran her thumb over the inked characters. “What does this mean?”
“Vigilance. We got them after my father died. To remind us to be careful with who we let enter our safety zone. We’ll never do that again.”
“We?” she pushed.
“Peter, Boyd, and the others. They’re all my brothers. My father raised us and we’ll raise the next generation.”
Ari considered the implication. “So they all have gifts like you do?”
“Yes.” Davis pushed the hair off of Ari’s face, trailing his fingers down her neck. His gentle touch lit a flare in her chest. “I barely got to you that day. There’s no way you would have left that store alive if Jace had seen you.”
“I thought you were him. Sorry I went so crazy.”
“Yeah, I know. You took a chunk out of my hand.” He laughed. “But I’m glad. Always fight, Ari. Even if you think you can’t win.”
Ari looked around the apartment. “Since it’s not a brothel, I guess a better description would be Bat Cave?”
“It’s on the third floor. How can it be a cave?”
“Lair?”
He shook his head. “I’m not a superhero, you know. No tights. No cape.”
“Uh huh,” she said. Davis moved one hand just under her ear while the other pressed against her hip. Ari shifted her feet and bit down on her lip, playing shy. “You know, I never got to thank you for saving me.”
He raised his eyebrow. “You thanked me. Several times over.”
Fisting his shirt in her hand and pulling him close she said, “I disagree.”
***
Ari led Davis behind the partitioned wall. His bedroom was small, barely bigger than the bed. Her fingers found the hem of his shirt and pushed it upward, revealing his hard, muscled stomach. She ran her hands over his chest while he unbuttoned her shirt, shivering when his fingers met her skin. “God, you’re perfect,” she said like she’d been wanting to for weeks.