Crashed (Mason Brothers 2)

“Ha ha,” she said wryly. “Here, I brought you a present.”

She dropped a gift bag in my lap, and I opened it. Inside was a statuette of a Hawaiian girl in a grass skirt and coconut bra—classic kitsch. I pressed the button on the bas

e and she started to gyrate, her hips circling mechanically as a few notes of tinny music played. “Welcome to Hawaii!” came a high-pitched recorded voice as the girl danced. “Welcome to Hawaii!”

I sighed and turned it off. It really was hard to be in a bad mood when Evie was around.

“What did Dr. Arnaud say?” Nick asked, dropping onto the sofa.

“He said that after two weeks without you here, I’m healthier than ever,” I replied. “I should probably move to Montana.”

“Did you work on Lightning Man?”

“A little bit.”

Nick’s eyebrows went up. I usually worked on Lightning Man for hours a day, escaping into the comic-book world I loved so much. I’d still done a good amount of work in two weeks, but I’d been distracted by Tessa.

“So that’s it?” Nick said. “You just hung out here and worked?”

“What?” I was distracted again. The air conditioning guys were finished across the street. I watched the feed as they locked Tessa’s door and put her key in her mailbox, like I’d told them to. I noted the time. I’d offered to send Tessa updates, but she told me that models whose phones are constantly pinging on set look unprofessional. Instead she’d call me when she had a break.

Nick repeated himself. “I said, nothing happened while we were gone? Nothing at all?”

I pulled my gaze from the security feed and looked at him. Even though he was sort of scowling at me, he looked happy and relaxed.

It was good to see my brother. He was bossy and rude and he gave a shit about me, even when I was being a dick. The push and pull of his presence had been an essential part of my life. But he was married now, and I remembered the panic I’d felt the day he left, the fear that I had no idea how I would get through two weeks without him. And yet it was two weeks later, Nick was back, and here I was, just fine.

Was that a good thing or a bad thing? I had no fucking idea. Who was I if I didn’t depend on Nick as my lifeline?

“No, nothing happened,” I told him. “I don’t have a very eventful life.”

Nick glanced at Evie, and a knowing look went between them. The kind of married-people look I’d have to get used to for the rest of my life.

“That’s bullshit,” Nick said, looking back at me. “I already talked to Mom, and she says you have a girlfriend. Named Tessa.”

Eighteen

Tessa

* * *

I’d never been a comic book reader. I liked books—mostly thrillers and romances, and I’d read The Thorn Birds a dozen times. But comics had never been my thing.

Maybe it was because I’d never read The Electric Adventures of Lightning Man.

I was reading it now. Andrew had given me access to all of the issues online. I’d started with Volume 1, Issue 1 and read them on my phone, scrolling from panel to panel. I was some fifteen issues in now, and I’d never been more engrossed in anything in my life. Lightning Man was funny, fast-paced, and actually kind of moving. And the illustrations… my God. Andrew was so freaking talented, I was amazed by it over and over again.

“Hold on, Tessa. We need to adjust the fill light.”

I stood in the middle of a stark, cold photo studio, wearing nothing but a bra and a pair of panties. This set was of matching violet lace. Cardi B was playing on the sound system, a strategically placed fan was lightly blowing my hair, and several people stood around the edges of the set: the photographer, the assistant, one of the execs from the lingerie company, the stylist. I had my makeup professionally done and I looked like a million bucks. It was a great gig. And as I stood there on autopilot, I kept thinking about whether Lightning Man was going to find the potion that would give him his powers back.

He’d lost his powers when Temptus had slipped a potion into his nighttime cup of tea. Thunder Boy and Judy Gravity had made another potion to restore them, but they’d had to hide the vial in the lab when Temptus’s goons had broken in. Now Thunder Boy and Judy were kidnapped, tied up in a warehouse while Lightning Man searched for the potion. What was going to happen next?

“Okay, Tessa, we’re back in action. A little to the left, please.”

The stylist came onto the set and adjusted my bra strap. You’d think something as simple as a bra and underwear wouldn’t need a stylist. You’d be surprised.

I did my thing, giving the camera a few different angles to choose from as the photographer snapped away. I knew exactly how to place my shoulders, what angle to tilt my chin, how to position my thighs to the most flattering effect. As I did it I thought about Lightning Man again.