These Boots Were Made for Stomping (8 page)

“Don’t quit your day job,” she said, the fire in her voice clear. “I’m thinking evil thug’s flunkie is going to do you much
better than percussionist.”

“And here I thought I’d found my calling,” he said, delighting when he saw the fire in her eyes change to a different kind
of heat. She’d recognized him. And then his heart sank again when she pulled back into herself, her face turning to steel.

“So do you believe me
now?
”

“Lydia, I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

She cocked her head. “You
do
believe me.”

“Of course.”

“Why? Because your little lie detector said so?”

“I believe
you
, Lydia. And I’m sorry I doubted you even for a second.”

Her expression softened. “Yeah?”

He couldn’t help his smile. “Yeah. But I’m not so sure now’s the time to talk about it.”

She pressed her lips together and nodded. “Right.” She drew in a breath. “So you’re going to rescue me, right? I mean, I’m
a mortal and you’re a superhero. And that’s what superheroes do, right?”

There was a new harshness in her words that stung. “Lydia?”

“It’s okay. I know you were only interested in me because—well, because you thought I was like you. And I know it’s absurd
to tell you this right now, but I’m pretty attached to this thing, and I don’t think I’m getting out of here alive. So I’m
going to do something I never would have done a few days ago, and that’s tell you that I like you. A lot. I’ve probably even
fallen in love with you. Or, I don’t know, I think maybe I’ve been in love with you my whole life. But it’s okay. You don’t
have to love me back. I get the difference between us. I’m not stupid.”

“You’re acting it,” he said, her words flowing over him like honey.
She was falling in love with him
.

She blinked. “What?”

“There’s something between us. It’s not going away because you weren’t born a Protector.”

Surprise and hope filled her eyes, and he expected her to shout out joyously that she loved him. Instead, hesitation crowded
her eyes. “There’s not . . . it wouldn’t . . .” She drew in a breath. “You have to know, it would never work between us. I’m
not like you. I’m a fraud. Without the shoes, I’m a total wimp, and—”

“I don’t care,” he said firmly.

Her smile was wobbly. “Maybe you do and maybe you don’t,” she said. “But I care, Nikko. I do. And I don’t want you to have
less of a woman than you deserve.”

“I deserve you.”

“You say that now, but—”

A loudspeaker crackled, and Nikko searched the area for something to throw at it. Not because that would help his mission,
but because he was so damn frustrated.

“Touching, touching, touching,” Ruthless’s voice crackled over the speaker. “But I’m afraid you’re going to be dying alone
and apart. No time to make up before the end of the world as you know it. Unless perhaps you’d like me to teleport you back
to Manhattan? You can live your life the size of bacteria in the snow globe on my desk. No fake snow, of course. That wouldn’t
be healthy for my little inhabitants.”

“Do you mean that, Ruthless?” Nikko shouted.

“I—what?” Some of the confidence had left Rex’s voice, replaced by confusion.

Nikko hid a smile. “I said, do you mean that?”

“Eh . . . er . . . what exactly?”

“That you’ll teleport us to Manhattan? Shrink us? Let us live together forever.”

“Nikko!”

“I don’t care,” he said to her. “I just want to be with you.” He looked her in the eyes, hoping she was understanding his
message. “Come on, Lydia. Toss caution to the wind and come with me.”

“But—”

“She’ll do it,” he shouted to the room. “She’ll do it because she loves me. Let her go, and she’ll leave the shoes behind.
That’s my offer, Rex. Take it, or suffer the consequences.”

A snort blasted over the loudspeaker. “You’re hardly in a position to bargain.”

“It’s the best deal you’ll get. You need her shoes, and you don’t know that the machine will work with her in them. Give her
freedom. Give her to me. The game is yours for the winning.”

“And how do I know this isn’t some trick?”

“Um, hello? I’m trapped in your lair, remember? Just me and the girl, both of us essentially helpless. And no Council to come
to my rescue.” He looked around to illustrate the point, his eyes falling on the dozens of technicians who’d pulled weapons
out from under their lab coats and were now pointing them at him.

“It is true,” Ruthless said, thoughtfully. “That ridiculous tracking device embedded in your arm won’t work in here. My exterior
walls have all been specially treated to block the beam emitted by your tracker.”

“See? And, honestly, if you’ve done your homework, you should know that the Council isn’t exactly number one on my favorite
persons list. The chance to live my life in peace—even inside a snow globe—well, that’s damned appealing.” He frowned, considering.
“Guess there’s no chance of you shrinking some of Florida’s beaches and moving them in with—never mind. The point is that
you’re the one with the power here.”

“Actually, I believe that honor resides with your girlfriend. You may be happy to negotiate on her behalf, but I have seen
no evidence that she is willing to remove the shoes.”

“She will,” he said, turning to look her in the eye. “Come on, Lydia. Throw caution to the wind. Hell,
throw
your insecurities to the wind. To the sky, even,” he added, glancing up. “We don’t need to worry about saving the world. Just
ourselves,” he lied. “Get rid of them and come with me. I want you with me forever. Tell me,” he said, and though the words
were a ploy, his heart meant every word. “Tell me you want to stay with me forever, too.”

For a moment, he thought she was going to protest. That she didn’t understand his ruse. She licked her lips, looking up at
the largest loudspeaker. Then she nodded. “All right,” she said. “Because I do want to stay with you, Nikko. I want that more
than anything.”

“We’ll make it work,” he said, meaning a life together more than the unspoken plan of escape.

“The shoes,” Ruthless shouted. “Take them off.”

“Unstrap my arms,” she said. “And my waist so I can bend over.”

“Hang on,” Nikko said. “Unstrap all of her. You’re teleporting us out of here, right? She doesn’t give up the shoes until
I see a show of good faith.”

A pause and then, “Oh, all right. She’s mortal, after all, and without those shoes, she’s nothing.
Release her
.”

The moment Ruthless spoke the words, Lydia felt her bindings loosen. She bent over and unfastened her boots, her heart beating
so loud she was sure Ruthless could hear it. Hopefully, he’d think it was because of Nikko’s protestation of love and not
because of their risky plan. A plan she could only hope she was interpreting right.

For that matter, she hoped that she was reading the truth in Nikko’s words—that he really loved her and wanted her, and that
it wasn’t all a clever ploy to defeat the bad guy.

Because the truth was, no matter what she’d told him, she wanted him, too. And though they might never have forever, if she
could squeeze a few more minutes out with him . . . well, surely she could store up enough to last a lifetime?

She pulled off one boot and tied that lace to the lace of the boot she still had on her left foot. Then she took the connected
boots off and stood up, holding them tight. “They’re all yours,” she said loudly, wondering where exactly Ruthless was. “The
key to your stupid machine.”

“Excellent,” the voice called—was he
really
named Rex Ruthless? “Put them down in the machine well and step away.”

“Right,” she said, drawing in a breath. Now or never. She leaned down, pretending to place the boots, then swung back and
let them fly, tossing them backward and into the air above Nikko.

Things happened in slow motion, then. He reached up with his super-duper cell phone and fired a laser blast that not only
destroyed the shoes—good-bye superpowers—but also blew out the glass panel in the roof above them.

“Noooooooooo!”
Ruthless cried. “You fool! You absolute fool!”

“Am I?” Nikko asked, as men in lab coats rushed to cover him with their weapons. “I destroyed the part you need and saved
New York. I’m actually feeling pretty good about myself.”

“Enjoy it,” Ruthless said. “You’ll be dead in moments, the girl soon after you.”

“No!” Lydia screamed.
No more
. It was suicide, maybe, but she wasn’t about to stand back and watch as those cretins harmed the man she loved. If she was
going to die, she was going to do it on her terms, trying her damnedest to rescue him.

And with that thought fixed firmly in her mind, she jumped into the fray, kicking and biting and shoving and doing everything
she could to get the thugs off Nikko. And, in the process, actually giving him room to maneuver, room to fight back.

Best of all, miracle of miracles, they actually seemed to be making some progress.
Some
being the operative word, because the truth was, they were outnumbered, and though she’d tried her best, without her shoes
she wasn’t much use in the fighting department. And Nikko, with all his powers, couldn’t fight five armed thugs with Council-issued
weapons designed to keep Protectors at bay.

They ended up trapped and surrounded, Nikko’s hand closing over hers. “You did great,” he said. “You were perfect.”

“A nice thought,” she countered, “but considering we’re about to die, I’m thinking I didn’t do so hot.”

“No? You’re the reason we’re about to win,” he said, his curious announcement explained almost immediately by the abrupt arrival
of dozens of Protectors—entering from the hole in the ceiling, the main doors, through the floor. A full-fledged invasion.
And as they secured the bad guys who held Nikko and Lydia at bay, he pulled her into his arms.

“Don’t you need to go fight?”

“I think they’ve got it covered,” he said. “Thanks to you.” He looked up at the gaping hole above them. “Tossing the shoes
so I could blast out that panel saved us. It let the tracking device signal get through to headquarters.”

“And signaled the cavalry,” she said, understanding. “Then, it really is over. . . .”

“It’s over,” he said, swinging an arm around her and pointing across the room where a team of well-armed Protectors was leading
Ruthless out. “I think we both done good.”

It took several hours to rid the lair of its evil bad guys and catalog all the gadgets and gizmos found in the room, and during
that time, Lydia stayed firmly attached to Nikko, dreading the time when it would all be done and they would go their separate
ways.

Slowly, everyone was leaving, and when Nikko stood up, she joined him, feeling the weight of loss pressing on her already.
She didn’t want to lose him, and yet what other choice did she have? They were from two different worlds, and no matter what
he might say, she had to believe it mattered. She wasn’t really a superhero, no matter how much she might wish it were so.
And why would he want plain old Lydia?

“Ah, Nikko,” an elderly man with white hair and a beard said, striding forward. “An excellent mission. Excellent. And you,
my dear,” he added, turning his attention to Lydia. “A true hero.”

He bowed, then kissed her hand as Lydia fought an amused grin.

“I am so sorry about the loss of your precious shoes,” he continued. “However, I believe that the Council can do more than
thank you for your efforts. We can, you see, offer you a job.”

Her brows lifted. “As a superhero? That’s a really great offer, but I’m not sure I’m cut out—”

“I think you have proven yourself most capable,” he said, looking around the room. “You did quite a bit of damage without
powers just now, simply trying to free Nikko from his captors.”

“Well, yeah, but I didn’t actually manage,” she said. “You guys had to come to our rescue.”

“Mmmm,” he said, as if truly considering her counterpoint. Beside her, Nikko squeezed her hand, giving her the kind of smile
that suggested forever. A forever she wanted to grab on to. Honestly, though, she didn’t know how.

The elderly man turned his attention to Nikko. “And what about you, young man? Now that you are off probation—congratulations,
by the way—are you going to return to Colorado and avoid all Council assignments, or do you intend to get back into the thick
of things?”

“I’m back,” he said. “I missed it. I missed doing good. This,” he added, sweeping his hand around the room. “And even the
purse snatchings and cat rescues we did together.”

“Standard superhero fare,” Lydia said with a grin.

“Something like that,” he agreed.

“I wonder if perhaps you would like a partner?” the elder ly man asked with a twinkle in his eye. Lydia did a double-take
remembering another twinkling eye when she was much younger. Surely he wasn’t . . .

“A partner?” Nikko responded. “Not on your life.” But then she saw his hesitation as he realized that the man was looking
right at her. The question was,
why
was he looking right at her?

Surely she couldn’t be his part—

“Then again . . .
that
,” Nikko said firmly, “I’m completely up for.”

“And what about you, my dear?”

“We’re right back at square one,” she said. “I’m hardly qualified. And the truth is . . .” She trailed off, looking at her
feet before drawing the courage to say what she truly wanted. A courage that came far faster than it would have mere days
ago. “The truth is I don’t want to play personal assistant or mortal sidekick. I liked having the powers, and I don’t think
I’d be happy working in your world without them.” She pressed her lips together, not willing to go further with the statement.
Because even though she couldn’t
work
in that world, she did want a man from that world.

She simply wasn’t sure how she could have one without the other, or if he would even want her.

“I think you misunderstood my proposition, my dear. The Council has significant technology at its disposal. You handled yourself
well with your rather intriguing shoes. You can also handle our technology.” Zephron frowned slightly. “Shoestra,” he muttered.
“I will have to look into that.”