Christian didn't know what Nox's ultimate goal was. Only that he was after Nolan Hunsacher for some reason or other and his motives weren't always sinister. He never hurt anybody and went as far as getting insulin to diabetics in need every month.

He claimed that Hunsacher was the most powerful man in the country even if nobody else knew about it. Christian had brushed it off as nothing more than a conspiracy theory but he had to wonder if Nox knew more than he was letting on. If there was more to Hunsacher than met the eye.

Would a whole gang of conspiracy theorists really focus on taking down one man without having some sort of proof? As far as he knew, those types were paranoid and typically didn't band together.

He wished he understood what the deal was with Nox and Nolan Hunsacher. But some mysteries could never be solved.

At least it functioned as a somewhat sufficient distraction for about a week while he tried to keep doing research in his free time and see if he could figure out a connection. He felt like he was missing too many pieces of the puzzle.

It would be nice to have some sort of sounding board for this but the only one he could think of was Liam. Who probably wouldn't be helpful in the slightest.

Still, he found himself inviting his brother over when Avery was gone overnight yet again because he needed to talk about this with someone before he went insane. He was pretty sure Liam only came because there happened to be cupcakes she made lying around.

"Why are you even worrying about this?

" he asked once Christian finished telling him.

"Nox has been keeping his end of the bargain. I don't think he's going to do anything to you at this point.

"

"I'm not worried about me! I'm worried about what he might be planning. I get the feeling it's a whole lot bigger than simply stealing insulin and causing trouble for Nolan Hunsacher. He has to have allies, Liam! How many people are in on this?

"

Liam frowned.

"You thought he might be a hacker. What if he isn't but someone working with him is?

"

Christian's eyes widened. He hadn't even thought of that!

"Do you think someone else might know about my secret identity then?!

"

"Hard to tell. Even if there is someone else they haven't said anything either.

"

That was true. It had been more than half a year since he retired. If someone else did know they weren't telling either because he had been holding up his end of the bargain not to interfere with whatever Nox was up to.

"Fair point. Like I said, that isn't what I'm worried about right now. He's been more active blowing things up. I read articles about all of that and apparently some of the scientists that worked at those labs and their families have gone missing. The timing couldn't be coincidental,

" Christian insisted.

Liam frowned and swallowed another bite of cupcake.

"That's weird. I didn't think kidnapping was Nox's style. Haven't you always said he steals things or does vandalism?

"

"Yeah. I couldn't see the connection for the longest time but knowing he's after a specific person I'm willing to bet it all connects back to Nolan Hunsacher. He did say the man had more reach than people thought. There could be a lot more Nox is doing to companies supposedly owned by Hunsacher that doesn't end up in the news and I have no way of knowing because he isn't my problem anymore.

"

"Even you admit he isn't your problem anymore so why do you care?

"

"Unfinished business drives me crazy. I fought him for more than three years and never figured him out. Then he had to go and blackmail me. Why wouldn't I care?

"

Liam licked some frosting off his fingers and sighed.

"I really don't think it matters, Chris. Shouldn't you be focusing more on your wife than your old nemesis? Where is she, anyway? I haven't seen her since Mom gave her a hard time about grandkids.

"

Christian groaned. He hadn't wanted to think about all of the stuff going on with Avery. That was why he let himself get sucked back into whatever what going on with Nox. He didn't want to admit he might be having marital problems so soon to his brother. He would never let it go.

"She's out with some friends. I can't believe Mom did that.

"

"Oh, I can! And I doubt she's going to stop either. I get not wanting to have kids right away but you can't reason with a woman who wants grandchildren. Mom really needs to get a hobby.

"

She better stop! Avery was stressed enough as is. Christian might have to talk to her one-on-one to make sure nothing like this happened again.

"Why is she like this?

"

"I think grandchildren help older women command a certain amount of respect in their social circles. That and she hates being an empty nester. You'd think she'd be used to it by now since it's been so long since I graduated,

" Liam said with a shrug.

"You're just glad she's on the grandchild train instead of the girlfriend one,

" Christian replied bitterly.

"You bet! I've been waiting for this. Now I'm free to do as I please without being lectured half as much. The only way I'm getting a girlfriend is if she's a gamer too. I'm done dating high maintenance women who only ever want to go out when it's so much better inside.

"

"Good luck with that.

"

"You never know! There's this one girl I've been teaming up with in Call of Duty who lives in Long Island and is pretty cool.

"

Christian raised an eyebrow.

"You sure you aren't being catfished?

"

Liam looked incredibly offended and threw his cupcake wrapper at him.

"Positive! I've heard her voice tons of times. You can't really catfish people when chatting into a headset.

"

"Have you ever seen a picture of this gamer girl?

"

"Yes. We're friends on Facebook and I follow her on Instagram too. Her profiles on both check out. Why do you always have to doubt me?

"

"Because you finding a gamer girlfriend seems too good to be true,

" Christian pointed out logically.

"So when are you going to meet Gabriella in person? How long have you been teaming up?

"

Liam rolled his eyes.

"Ugh, you sound like Mom! Not a compliment. We've only been teaming up for two weeks. I'm sure we'll meet eventually.

"

"Good for you.

"

"Hey, we can't all meet people in person! You're one of the lucky ones.

"

"You'd be able to meet people in person if you went out more,

" Christian pointed out.

"But I did get lucky.

"

"Seriously! Avery turned my stick-in-the-mud superhero brother into an actual guy. That takes real talent. I'm glad you have her even if I do question her taste,

" Liam said right before he got smacked. He glared and stuck his tongue out before getting another cupcake.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with Avery's taste in men. She was happy with Christian, okay? It was external factors that were currently making her unhappy.

If he had to guess she had bitten off more than she could chew but felt obligated to see it through to the end. She certainly seemed frazzled these days and refused to talk about it because of the nature of her volunteer work.

He just wanted her to be happy. To figure things out and be at peace. Was that so much to ask?

The woman he loved was having a hard time and it seemed like there was nothing he could do about it. There were few things he hated more than feeling helpless and he was feeling that on two different fronts right now. Avery and Nox.

There wasn't anything he could do about either one of them and it was killing him. His hero days were over because he wanted them to be but the unfinished business with his archnemesis had reared its ugly head again right when he was having issues at home.

Why had he bothered looking into this when he knew it wouldn't end well? As much as he might not want to admit it, Liam was right that he shouldn't care. That part of his life was behind him.

But his life right now wasn't going the way he wanted it to either. What kind of man was he if he couldn't help his struggling wife? And why did she have to be so closed off when she was having a hard time? She rarely let him know how she was feeling and kept it hidden behind a smile.

Nothing he did was working.. He had thought he would be okay with anything as long as he was able to stay by her side but her combined busyness and unwillingness to let him in was seriously trying his patience. What was going on inside his wife's head?