Lava lamp firmly in her grasp, Summer made her way back out to the lobby with Kayla. She still couldn’t get over everything that had just occurred. Most embarrassing of all was the fact that she hadn’t been able to meet Ned’s eyes when she expressed her gratitude. Hopefully it was enough to let their last little meeting with MysteriousMaskz go down without a hitch.

  The lobby was far more crowded than it had been when Summer had arrived earlier, and it was soon easy to see why. Arguing at the front desk was a man with a familiar face, or rather, a familiar costume. What was RepliKtion doing at Heroix? Wasn’t he one of the fake villains from SI?

  “Don’t even try to bring up that contract,” he was arguing, “All you have to do is tell your bosses I quit. I’m gone and there is nothing Heroix can do to stop me.”

  “Sir, with your reputation it will be difficult for you to find other work,” the poor front desk worker pleaded. Summer could feel the desperation from where she stood. “Please reconsider.”

  RepliKtion snorted. “As if I don’t know Heroix helped make that nasty reputation,” he scoffed, “You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll pay the fine for breaking contract if it means I never have to set foot in this place again.”

  Wow. This was intense. Was this what Ashton had felt like when he announced he was quitting villainy that day? This kind of spectacle was a rare sight, and it was already Summer’s second time witnessing it. At least this time it was someone she barely recognized. She would probably never see him again.

  The bodyguards were waiting on the far side of the lobby near the exit. Summer clutched her lava lamp and recited once again what she needed to say, making sure Kayla was still right beside her. Kayla was still following, but she seemed to be far more interested in the continuing argument between RepliKtion and the Heroix staff. It looked like a manager had gotten involved now.

  A familiar tune started to play, drawing Summer’s focus away from everything else in the lobby. She pulled out her phone to see who it was and couldn’t stop the smile from growing on her face.

  “Ashton?” Summer answered, internally wincing at how confused she sounded, “What’s up?”

  “I just wanted to talk to you,” Ashton admitted.

  “I’ve only been on vacation for a couple of days,” Summer joked, “Already feeling lonely?”

  Her heart started pounding as she asked this question. It had just been meant as a joke, but part of her wanted him to say he had missed her. That wasn’t something Ashton would say, though.

  “A lot has happened,” he told her, “Things may have changed a bit when you return.”

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  Of course this call was prompted because he had business. Fine, then she would treat this as a report, too. A lot had happened there? Well, it was time for him to be shocked about what happened here.

  “Really? Me too. I got stalked by this crazy reporter and met a fan who gave me a lava lamp,” Summer replied. That was close. She had almost told him about meeting MysteriousMaskz with the guards right there. She needed to be careful not to let anything slip with them around even if it meant lying to Ashton.

  “You met a fan? Where?” Ashton asked.

  Of course he had caught on that something was off. As for where she was, what was the best way to deliver the news that she had met a suspicious fan at the headquarters of a potentially dangerous hero agency?

  “About that,” Summer began, trying to make her tone light, “You won’t believe where I am right now.”

  There was a pause of silence over the line. Summer couldn’t blame him. Instead of sounding lighthearted, she had definitely sounded just like a kid whose hand was caught in the cookie jar. Way to advertise she was somewhere she definitely shouldn’t be.

  “Is it Maskz again? Did you go to that club of his?” Ashton demanded, his voice filled with tension.

  “No, no,” Summer quickly denied. It definitely was Maskz, but this meeting was with the fan, Ned and a secret. She was also possibly somewhere worse than the Golden Club. “Actually, I am at Heroix Headquarters right now.”

  “What?’ Ashton asked, definitely shocked, “What in the world possessed you to go there?”

  “It is a long story, but I am in public right now,” Summer told him, “Call me a bit later? Or I can call you once I am alone.”

  There was a long sigh. “You had better have a good explanation for this,” he warned.

  “I will,” Summer promised.

  As the call ended, Summer was internally panicking. Just how much could she actually tell him? She had planned not to tell him anything about meeting Maskz at first, but things had spiralled a bit out of control and those guards might report the whole thing anyway. It was probably better for her to just tell him herself. Then what about this meeting? The secret one where she lied about a fan?

  “Summer,” Kayla whispered, catching her attention, “Do you know that guy in the costume?”

  Summer glanced back and felt a chill as she spotted RepliKtion staring right at her. She had definitely never met him before, whether it be as Summer or Golden Reign. There was no reason for someone like him to be staring her down like that. Maybe he just really liked her new lava lamp?

  “Let’s get out of here,” she whispered back to Kayla.

  Luckily, her phone conversation with Ashton had served its purpose of fooling the guards so they asked no questions when they escorted the girls out of the building. It looked like RepliKtion wasn’t following them, either. Thank goodness. Summer already had a potential reporter stalker. She didn’t need an ex-villain stalking her, too.

  Once they were in the car, Kayla spoke as if she sensed all of Summer’s internal dilemma. “You can tell him. Ashton deserves to know, and he isn’t stupid enough to blab about it,” she assured, “Just not over the phone.”

  Summer definitely agreed with that. They needed to find a safe place they could talk without worrying about prying ears. With her and Kayla away from their apartments during their suspension vacation it would have to be somewhere outside. Why was it that the first place Summer thought of was the Golden Club? Had she gotten too comfortable with Maskz over the last couple of days?