Previously on Without Villains…
October Sky interviews people about the contaminated water situation and discovers more than she bargained for. Nearly an entire apartment complex of people who are affected. And she talks to one of the fathers of the missing kids her cousin, Mateo, mentioned at breakfast.
Meanwhile, Victoria is trying to figure out how to gather the right people to investigate both the water and the missing people. Her boss drops a bomb on her and an offer she can’t refuse. But she and her wife are given bad news that will change their lives forever.
“Vee,” Rosa said, setting her small purse next to the door and kicking off her low-heeled shoes, “say something.”
Victoria didn’t know what to say. She didn’t have any solutions yet, and until she did, anything she might say would be wrong. So many emotions churned through her. Anger at Rosa for not telling her. Upset with herself for not paying attention enough to notice. What kind of partner was she if she hadn’t noticed that the love of her life was sick?
Her mind clawed to maintain its hold on the one viable solution.
The water.
If there were this many cases, then it was likely it was the water, which meant they could pinpoint the source, figure out what it was, and find a solution. And cancer was beatable. People did it all the time.
“Vee.” Rosa set her cold fingers on Victoria’s arm.
She stopped and looked at her wife for the first time since they’d gotten her diagnosis, and Victoria’s heart nearly cracked. What would life be like without this amazing woman? What would—
No. She couldn’t go down this road. Not now. Not, possibly, ever. “I have a dinner with Wendell I have to get ready for.”
Rosa clicked her tongue and took a step back, surprise and hurt registering over her face.
Hurt bloomed in Victoria’s chest, but it just blended in with everything else she was feeling. “He’s running for senate.”
“Of course he is.”
Victoria moved to the bedroom, pulling off her business jacket and laying it on the bed as she took off her shoes and walked into the walk-in closet. “Can you imagine the world with him as senator?”
“No,” Rosa said, following, her tone tight. “I really don’t want to.”
Victoria knew she needed to talk to her wife and see how she was doing, but she couldn’t do that just yet. If she opened herself up to her emotions, she wouldn’t get the walls back in place in time.
“Did he tell you to annul our marriage again?”
“Yes.” Victoria looked through her dresses. Which one said “I’m not going to be bullied by your man-focused politics” the best? She pulled her black Roksanda power dress down and turned to Rosa, holding it up to her. “This one?”
Rosa quirked her lips and reached up to pull down a vivid blue and white dress with stark lines that cut across the bodice at an angle, with tow black buttons at the top of the blue lapel. “Let’s not mess around here. Just wear this one.”
That was the dress Victoria wore when she didn’t feel strong because it showed her what a lie her emotions were telling her.
Victoria put the Roksanda back on the rack and took the power dress from her wife, gripping her fingers for a brief moment. “I can’t feel right now. Not yet.”
“I know,” Rosa said, lowering her gaze. “I wish I had that luxury.”
“It’s…” The words stuck in Victoria’s throat until she finally swallowed them and tried again. “It’s not a luxury, babe.”
“Yeah.” Rosa turned to leave. “When you’re ready, I guess I will be too.”
Victoria spent the rest of her time going over what she might hear and what the information Sky had found might offer or mean. She was making herself mad with all this internal dialogue, but it was the best way for her to stay focused. And she would stay focused.
The question she had was, if the water issue was this big, did he know about it? And if so, what was he planning to do or what was he doing?
Her driver took her to Giavanno’s so she’d arrive ten minutes early. She hated being late. As she walked through the door of the high-end restaurant, the two men closest to the door stopped to look at her. One woman turned and raised an eyebrow, vexed. Another woman at the table next to her nodded with an appreciative smile and saluted with her champagne flute.
Acknowledging none of them but taking the power of their attention, Victoria walked toward the podium.
The maître d’ greeted her. “Welcome back, Mrs. Armstrong. Mr. Walton is waiting for you at your table. Would you like an escort?”
“I know where it is, Richard. Thank you.”
“Of course, ma’am.”
Power rolled through her as she walked past the maître d’ and maneuvered through the tables in the soft yellow light of the table lamps.
He smiled as his eyes landed on her, raising a dark eyebrow as he stood. “Have a bad day?”
“It wasn’t great,” she admitted, sitting in the chair he offered. One of the reasons she’d always felt he was a decent guy was because he was always able to read people. He could only do that if he was able to relate to them.
“You always wear that dress when you need to feel powerful.”
Was she being obvious now? But of course not. He was just an exceptional reader of people. “It’s a great dress.”
“Yes,” he said, reclaiming his chair. “It is. Tell me about your day. What about that new clerk?”
She shook her head and waved him off, not ready for that conversation. “We’re here for other things.”
Their waiter, Kevin, came by with a bottle of wine. “2007 d’Yquem Sauternes.”
“A white Bordeaux,” Wendell offered. “I ordered ahead.”
He always did. Victoria nodded to the young man who gave her a taste. Lifting it to her nose, she took in its initial taciturn introduction. One of the things she loved about white wine was that it often surprised her. Putting it to her lips, she was relieved to be met with a lemon curd flavor blended with a slight honey finish. It was masterful, blending those two flavors into one wine. She set the glass down and nodded for Kevin to fill her glass.
“You’ve heard,” Wendell said with a pleased smile across his bearded lips, “that I’m making a play for senate.”
Victoria took another sip of her wine, the initial edge smoothing out along her nose as the energetic flavor settled on her tongue. “You told me. You have a hard time keeping certain things a secret.”
He smiled and looked away, biting his lower lip and letting it go. “When you say that, I almost feel dirty.”
“Are you?” she asked flippantly, but as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she realized it was a question with importance.
He looked at her, narrowing his eagle-like eyes and turning serious. “What are you implying?”
She didn’t know. She’d had a hard day, but that was no excuse. She couldn’t allow herself to slip up around him. She had to be soft enough not to be a target, but hard enough to— “I’m asking if you’re dirty, Wendell.” That was completely the wrong play. So, why did it feel so right? “I need to know.”
“You’ve heard something. What is it?”
What did he think she’d heard? If she was more on top of her game, she’d fish for this, but Rosa’s diagnosis was hitting her harder than she could accommodate for. “Nothing.” Calming down was easier said than done, though. She was pushing her anger aside to be the person she needed to be, but it was still there, keeping her soul fires warm and charging her words with innuendos she didn’t intend. “You’re running for senate. We’re in a war you support. What I know about you isn’t the full story.”
“It never is, Vick.” His eyes relaxed as he grabbed his scotch and sipped it before setting it down on the white tablecloth. “You only get to see the parts of me that show up when we meet. Same as you. Same as anyone else.”
That was true. She took her wine glass and leaned back in her chair. “Do you hate people like me?”
He raised his eyebrows, his smile slight and pained. “As a straight white privileged Christian man, you mean?” He rolled his eyes in aggravation and looked away. “I need to know what you’re accusing me of. Do you think I hate you because you’re Black, a woman, or gay?”
“Yes.”
His expression didn’t change as he studied her, breathing in the scent of his scotch.
Kevin arrived and set down their salads, careful not to interrupt as he added pepper to hers and left Wendell’s alone. “Let me know if there is anything else you need.”
“Thank you, Kevin,” Victoria said, not taking her gaze off Wendell.
“Of course, Mrs. Armstrong,” the waiter said with a slight nod and disappeared.
Victoria waited until the young man was out of ear shot. “I need to know, Wendell. Do you have any hate for me? And why is that?”
Taking a deep breath, he set his glass down and picked up a fork, moving his spinach to the side. “I dislike the fact that you feel you deserve more attention for your work because of what you are instead of the effort you bring.”
Bitterness chewed through her as she sipped her wine, but she kept her expression neutral and said nothing.
“You do great work, and you care. That should be enough. But it never is. You always have to be the harder worker or need to be recognized as being the best. It’s tiring.”
“It’s tiring needing to be the best in order to be in the same room with men who are allowed to do less to be more,” Victoria said, leaning forward. “What else?”
He raised his dark gaze from his plate to her. “You’re not gay. That’s not real, and I wish you would stop pretending.”
His honesty hit her like a brick to the face. He’d always alluded before, but he’d never said it directly. “I am gay, Wendell. This isn’t a fad.”
He shook his head and sneered at his salad. “I really thought this would end when we banned TikTok. That you would abandon this folly and come to your senses.”
“I was born this way.”
“You absolutely were not,” he said vehemently as his fork clattered against his plate. “There is no way God created you like this.”
“Well, he did.” She needed to push the envelope. “And He made paras.”
He snorted. “Are you trying to tell me you’re a para, too?”
What if she was? Would he hate her for that as well? “Some of our citizens are paranormals, Wendell. They have rights.”
“They’re not people.”
They most certainly were. “You can’t be a senator,” she said quietly. “We can’t afford to have someone like you in government.”
He bowed his head. “And why not?”
Wasn’t it obvious? “Because I care. Because our country is divided right now because of people like you trying to make other people disappear.”
“I see.” He rubbed his brow. “I’m not surprised by this.” The tip of his tongue ran along his top lip right underneath his trimmed facial hair.
“I will not be running for mayor as you asked.” Victoria realized in that moment that she had to try something drastic, something that was only possible because of the war.
“You’re running against me.”
She nodded. “I have to.”
He thought about that for a moment and then pushed away from the table. “Enjoy your meal, Victoria. I will give you to the end of the weekend to have your things removed from my office.”
Watching him leave, a quiet storm of enjoyment, trepidation, and anger warred through her.
“Will you continue dining with us?” Kevin asked quietly.
If she’d received any other news than Rosa’s cancer, she would have said yes. “No. I think I’ll be leaving soon, as well. Thank you.”
The waiter nodded, preparing to leave but stayed a moment. “He’s not someone you can trust, Mrs. Armstrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“Only that—” He stopped himself and smiled. “Nothing. I only mean to offer you support. I will have your ticket ready in just a moment.”
Victoria didn’t know if she would be able to successfully run for Senate, but she was going to try. She didn’t want Wendall Walton to win.
Though, in truth, he was just a target she needed to feel better. She needed a win.
And by God, she would get one.
* * *
“Major Reardon,” I say as joy hits me hard, making the sunny world outside my windshield so much brighter and the heat growing inside the enclosed car feel less like an invading force. “I’m glad you picked up.”
“First Sergeant Love,” he answers. “It’s good to hear from you.”
“I’m not a first sergeant anymore.” The darkness flaring inside me makes the bright sunlight dim slightly, but not enough to diminish my mood.
“You will be forever in my book,” he says simply. “Now, what can I do for you, Love?”
I take in a breath to ask what I want to, but there’s a part of me that’s scared. I don’t want to hear what I’ve heard in my head. I don’t want the possibility of a future in the Air Force to become the past of never having it. But I need this. “What can I do to get back in, sir?”
“Back into the Air Force.”
“Yes, sir.”
He was silent for a moment. “I have to tell you there is no way back.”
That’s not what his tone is saying, though. “Sir?”
“But…” He sighs. “Look, if you find evidence of paranormal activities in the city, that could be enough to bring you back in. We could use your skills.”
“I am good at my job.”
“That you are, but you’re not good at following orders.”
I chuckle. “No. I’m not.”
A long breath fills my ear. “You know what? That could be a benefit for you in the civilian world, Love. Going off book out there? That’s not a bad thing. It could actually help you.”
“Off book? Sir, there is no book out here.”
“And that could be very good for you.”
“Sir.”
“Love—Dannika. Just…” His breath fills my ear again, but this time with a slight growl. “You always fought the rules, First Sergeant Dannika Love. I’m not the only person who was surprised as hell that you made it as long and as far as you did. You are chaos. You thrive in it. And when things get too easy, too certain, too stable, you destabilize it.”
“I don’t.”
“You do, but I think you’re the only one who doesn’t see that.”
What is he telling me?
“Your greatest gifts are wasted here, Dannika.”
It’s weird that he’s calling me by my first name and not my last, but it also kind of feels nice. “I don’t understand.”
“Chaos is bad here. The way you see things is bad here. But it could work out there.”
“I don’t want to be out here.”
“Find a way to make it work.”
“But if I can come back—”
“Then, you’ll make it work. For a time. Look, if you really are serious about this, find where the paras are hiding. There’s a large group somewhere in Kins City. They’re gathering there. That’s all we know. We think they’re planning to strike soon. Find that? Help us neutralize the threat, and I’ll find a way to bring you back in.”
“Great.” I could do that. “Thank you, sir.”
“Yeah.” He sounds upset, but I don’t care. “Later.”
“Yeah. Later.” He’s already hung up by the time I pull the phone from my ear, but that’s okay. I’ve been sitting in front of the Sturwood Youth Center for the last twenty-eight minutes, not quite sure what I’m doing. I don’t do kids. I don’t understand them. They’re rude and mean and I just don’t like them. They smell weird.
But I need something to do.
And…what if this leads to the group of paras? Somehow? I don’t know how. I mean, there are people missing. We’re trying to eradicate paras, so it would make sense that they’re paranormal. If that’s the case, I really don’t care.
Except that if they are kids of paranormals, this could be the way I get in. This could be what leads me to the para cell in Kins City. That’s worth putting on a show for. Right?
Yeah. Yeah. I like that.
Getting out of the car, I step out of the smothering heat and into the flirting chill. The wind is sweeping in from the lake. I don’t quite understand how the inside of the car can get so hot when it’s still so cold outside, but that’s just the way it is here. And I don’t do science. Well, not life science. Or… this science.
The youth center is just a concrete building with two big windows and a glass door. There are apartments over it and a big sign, and I’m really hoping there’s something more in the back because kids trapped in small spaces sounds like Hell to me.
I really don’t care. I just don’t want to be trapped inside with them.
A tall, bald Black man looks up at me when I step through the door and stands, telling the small boy he’d been talking to to—I don’t know. Sit? Stay? Be quiet? He walks over to me with a smile, his large hand out. “I’m Jamal Wells. How can I help you?”
I take it. “You called me. I’m Dannika Love. You said I have skills you need?”
He looks around and his energy increases, his dark eyes widening. “Follow me.”
I do, skirting around the kids like they’re the plague. There are only three in this area. Small ones with toys. One’s crying over a crayon, I think. He takes me down a short hallway and then takes a left, that takes down a longer hallway. If we’d gone straight, it’d dump us into basketball courts that I can with a bunch of kids playing, yelling at each other, their shoes squeaking.
The hallway we’re traveling down is quiet. How boring.
He finally leads me into an office and closes the door behind me, offering me a seat and taking the one on the other side of the crowded desk. He takes a pile of papers and folders and sets it on the floor beside him, then pulls out another stack, setting them on the desk in front of me. “I want to hire you to help me find some people.”
“I’m not really an investigator.”
“But you are a cyber—” He shakes his head.
“Yeah. I was in cyber crimes.”
“Well, that means you know how to find people with computers.”
“Sure.” It’s so much more than that, but okay. “Why do you want them found?”
“Because they’re my kids,” he said, upset, as if by asking him this, I’ve upended the world balance or deeply insulted him or something.
I hold up my hands. “Okay. Sorry. I’m just asking. So, they’re all children.”
He leans in and opens the top folder. “No. Some are—I mean—” He releases a breath, closing the folder again. “Some are parents. Some are just people. But, yeah. Some are my kids. Look, there are a lot of people disappearing around here.”
“Paras?”
He licks his slips and assesses me.
The best way to get to the big para cell is to get someone to trust me. Someone like him. People trust him with their kids, which is a big thing. So, getting him to trust me? That could be big for me too. So, I lie. “I have friends who are paras.”
He shrugs. “We all do.”
I shake my head. “One of my friends disappeared. Just a few weeks ago. I pushed hard to try and find her. That’s the reason I’m not in the military anymore.” I don’t tell him it’s because of the way I pushed to reveal she was para and that I was the one who’d turned her in.
He narrows his eyes and nods. “Okay. Well, take these. See what you can find. And…” He releases a shaky breath. “I’d really like to see if we can get them back. Alive.”
I don’t care if we find them alive or dead.
But I’m excited to have a new path that could give me everything I want.
A place to belong. Again.