So some asshole killed me, most likely, and I’m leaving you everything. I don’t doubt two things, at all. One, that you’ll probably end up giving most if not all of it away, because that’s just the way you are and I think you’re nuts. And two: that you’re wondering why I left it to you.
I’m leaving it to you because I owe you. Your life isn’t the way you were planning on it being, and that’s at least partially my fault. You were a better friend to me than I ever was to you, and for that, I’m completely, eternally sorry. And, I guess, I’m leaving it to you because I know you always did all of your crazy Robin Hood-type crap. Maybe this is the one way my life will ever have a positive impact on this world. You’ll donate it, and it’ll help. It won’t be enough, but it’s more good than I ever would have done on my own.
For what it’s worth, you were a great thief. But I think you’re a better hero. It looks good on you.
Your Friend,
Damian Rutherford
Jenson and I exchanged a glance when I was finished reading, and I shook my head and put the note back in the envelope.
“Do you remember him?” she asked.
“Not really.”
“There’s news footage and stuff, if you want to look at it sometime.”
I nodded, and my gaze shifted to the closet doors, the letter, the person who wrote it, already floating away the same way most of my memories seemed to.
“Jarvis finished my new uniform. Want to see?” I asked Jenson, and she nodded.
I stood up and opened the closet and pulled out the new uniform Jarvis had created for me. It had all the same tech as my old StrikeForce uniform, but a totally different look.
“White? Really?” Jenson asked dubiously.
“Well, I’m a ghost, right?” I asked. I set the uniform down on the bed and we both looked at it. Crisp white body armor, a full white mask, the eye holes reminiscent of the eyes a child would draw on a picture of a Halloween ghost. Stitched into the cuffs of the sleeves in white thread, a repeating pattern of my old five-pointed star insignia, a nod to the woman I’d once been.
“You’re morbid,” Jenson muttered, and I laughed. She stood studying the uniform. “You’re not going to be invisible,” she said, thinking aloud. “Otherwise, why bother with a uniform at all?”
I nodded. “I’ll be invisible when I help you guys out. But for my own stuff… ” I nodded toward the white uniform.
“White is not very subtle. You won’t be blending in the way you did in your old uniforms.”
I smiled. “Good. I want the bastards to see me coming.”
She took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay. So, Ghost. What’s next?”
“Well. We know Eve is the one who took all of those super powered kids. We know she’s not just doing it for fun. She’s smarter than Killjoy, trickier than Killjoy, and she has an army of super powered kids. I have no doubt that she’s going to use them at some point. Probably soon, since the hero community is so weak after Killjoy’s destruction of all of the city teams.”
“Your memory is getting better,” Jenson said.
“Only sometimes. I read my notes like twenty times a day,” I told her, and she shook her head.
“And the voices you said you kept hearing when Killjoy had you?” she asked.
“Still there. There’s nothing like conversing with people who don’t exist to make you feel a little extra crazy.”
She looked at the uniform again. “Well. Let’s go hit a bitch.”
I laughed and pulled the uniform on while Jenson tested all of my monitors and other tech. I glanced at myself in the large mirror near the closet and saw a specter looking back at me. I smiled under my mask.
I wasn’t there quite yet. But I was becoming who I was always meant to be.
THE END
Jolene will return in
Haunted: StrikeForce Book Five
coming in late 2016.
* * *
Never Miss an Update!
Sign Up for Colleen’s Newsletter.
http://bit.ly/colleensnewsletter
For backstory material, news, and upcoming events be sure to check out http://www.colleenvanderlinden.com
Cast of Characters
Code Name Real Name Powers
Beta David Fendrath Speed (Intellect)
Caine Ryan Lucas Super senses
Chance Jamie Sciotto Change probability of random situations
Daystar Jolene Faraday Strength, flight
Jenson Karen O’Donnelly Create multiples of herself
Monster Max Draper Shape shifter
Portia Portia Jones Teleportation
Screamer Dani Whitehall Super scream
Steel Amy Li Turns entire body to steel
Swoon (Deceased) Monica Simmons Telekinetic
Toxxin Adriana Torres Toxic skin; debilitates/kills with a touch
? Lindsey Davenport Firestarter
Mayhem
Code Name Real Name Powers
Alpha Michael Fendrath Strength
Crystal Unknown Invisibility
Daemon Salvatore Giannotti Mental manipulation
Dr. Death Joseph Sciotto Speed (Intellect)
Electro Unknown Electric blasts
Killjoy Connor ?? Self-healing and strength, plus enhanced powers
Maddoc Sergei Kovalchek Strength
Midnight Unknown Teleportation
Nightbane Unknown Flight
Raider Unknown Strength
Red Scare Unknown Strength
Render Unknown Telekinetic slice
Thing One Unknown Mental manipulation
Thing Two Unknown Mental manipulation
Virus Damian Rutherford Control/communicate with electricity/computers
The Tribunal
Code Name Real Name Powers
Blademaster Unknown Strength, agility
Eve Unknown Flight, other enhanced powers
Fireball Unknown Firestarter
Icer James Green Freeze
Ms. Thunder Unknown Strength
Letter from the Author
As we come to the end of the first arc of Jolene’s story, I just want to thank everyone who has taken a chance on my misfit superheroes. When I announced that my next series would be my own personal take on superheroes, some of you were excited, and some of you were completely unsure about whether you’d be into this series or not. I’m happy that over the course of this first story arc, I’ve managed to convince some of you that superhero stories are worth reading. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading, for loving Jolene (even at her worst), and for your enthusiasm. There are no words for how much I appreciate it.
Thank you to my wonderful husband, Roger, for being just amazing in general and being the best husband and partner in the world. I love you.
Thank you to my lovely group of beta readers, whose input never fails to make my books better. Hugs to Danielle Calleja, Susan Cambra, Jo Dawson, Samantha Hamilton, Sarah Leenart, Jayna Longstreet, and Kari Powers. You ladies are the best.
Thank you, finally, to everyone who reads, reviews, and talks about my books. Your support means the world to me. Thank you.
Colleen Vanderlinden
Detroit, Michigan
May 9, 2016
* * *
Never Miss an Update!
Sign Up for Colleen’s Newsletter.
http://bit.ly/colleensnewsletter
For backstory material, news, and upcoming events be sure to check out http://www.colleenvanderlinden.com
About the Author
Colleen Vanderlinden is the author of the Hidden and Soulhunter urban fantasy series, as well as the Copper Falls paranormal romance series and the StrikeForce Sci-Fi/Romance series. The third Hidden novel, Home, was a finalist for RT Book Reviews’ Editors Choice Awards for best self-published urban fantasy novel of 2014. Her books have consistently received positive reviews, and RT Book Reviews has called
her storytelling “electrifying.” She lives in the Detroit area with her husband, kids, demonic Basset hound, and two lazy cats. You can find out more about Colleen’s books at colleenvanderlinden.com, or follow her on Facebook, or on Twitter, where she’s @C_Vanderlinden.
Books by
Colleen Vanderlinden
The StrikeForce Series
A New Day
One More Day
Darkest Day
Day’s End
The Copper Falls Series
Shadow Witch Rising
Shadow Sworn
The Hidden: Soulhunter Series
Guardian
Betrayer
The Hidden Series
Book One: Lost Girl
Book Two: Broken
Book Three: Home
Book Four: Strife
Book Five: Nether
Hidden Series Novellas
Forever Night
Earth Bound
* * *
Never Miss an Update!
Sign Up for Colleen’s Newsletter.
http://bit.ly/colleensnewsletter
Table of Contents
Title Page
Books by Colleen Vanderlinden
Table of Contents
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Epilogue
Cast
Letter from the Author
Books by Colleen Vanderlinden
About the Author