Behind The Mask

By Elizabeth Coldwell

He keeps his true identity hidden, even from the man he loves...

Twenty years ago, superheroes were outlawed by the mayor of Mokum City. Christopher Chase has grown up knowing that he has all the strength and speed of Sprint, his superhero father, who died attempting to save the mayor's niece from being kidnapped. But, unlike his father, he is unable to fulfil his destiny and become a masked crimefighter. Even Christopher's boyfriend, bar owner Jimmy Brennan, doesn't know Christopher's true identity.

A chance encounter with a purse snatcher in the city cemetery gives Christopher a taste of what it's like to use his powers for good. And when Jimmy becomes caught up in a hostage situation, Christopher can no longer stand by. Even if it means losing his own life, he must pull on the costume of Sprint to save the man he loves.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pride Publishing
• Release date: Jul 18, 2017
• ISBN: 9781786515872

Elizabeth Coldwell

Elizabeth Coldwell is a multi-published author and editor whose stories have appeared in a number of best-selling anthologies. She has written novels in a variety of different genres, from paranormal to BDSM and contemporary romance. She is the former editor of the UK edition of Forum magazine and the proud winner of an International Leather Award. When she is not busy writing, she is an avid supporter of Rotherham United Football Club and can be regularly found on the terraces at weekends, cheering her boys to victory (hopefully!).

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Behind the Mask

ISBN # 978-1-78651-587-2

©Copyright Elizabeth Coldwell 2017

Cover Art by Posh Gosh ©Copyright June 2017

Edited by Rebecca Scott

Pride Publishing

This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Pride Publishing.

Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Pride Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.

Published in 2017 by Pride Publishing, Think Tank, Ruston Way, Lincoln, LN6 7FL, UK

Pride Publishing is a subsidiary of Totally Entwined Group Limited.

BEHIND THE MASK

Elizabeth Coldwell

He keeps his true identity hidden, even from the man he loves…

Twenty years ago, superheroes were outlawed by the mayor of Mokum City. Christopher Chase has grown up knowing that he has all the strength and speed of Sprint, his superhero father, who died attempting to save the mayor’s niece from being kidnapped. But, unlike his father, he is unable to fulfil his destiny and become a masked crimefighter. Even Christopher’s boyfriend, bar owner Jimmy Brennan, doesn’t know Christopher’s true identity.

A chance encounter with a purse snatcher in the city cemetery gives Christopher a taste of what it’s like to use his powers for good. And when Jimmy becomes caught up in a hostage situation, Christopher can no longer stand by. Even if it means losing his own life, he must pull on the costume of Sprint to save the man he loves.

Dedication

For Mitch

Trademarks Acknowledgement

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmark mentioned in this work of fiction:

Spandex: Spandex Ltd.

Chapter One

Christopher walked through the cemetery in the gathering dusk, blowing on his hands in a vain attempt to warm them. Snowflakes settled in his short, blond curls and on the shoulders of his worn gray overcoat, and clouded his vision when he blinked them from his eyelashes. Part of him wished he was in his cozy apartment, curled up on the couch with a mug of hot chocolate, waiting for Jimmy to come home from work. But this was his ritual, and he had never missed a year. No snowstorm would prevent him from honoring his father.

Head down, he strode past the grand mausoleums that were the final resting places of the city’s great and good. The powerful, the wealthy, the benevolent. Those who had tolerated the likes of his father for as long as it had suited them, until they had turned around and…

Sighing, Christopher fought to clear his mind of the bitter thoughts that threatened to crowd in. Much as he longed to take a crowbar to these overly ornate tombs, smashing their granite and marble façades to pieces, that wouldn’t solve anything. His father would still be dead, and Christopher would continue to live in the shadows, prevented by the will of those who governed Mokum City from fulfilling his destiny.

He paused by a weathered stone angel, whose wings and outstretched arms were covered with a thick dusting of snow. A young woman wearing a bright scarlet woolen cap stood at a nearby grave, clearly wrapped up in her own thoughts. The headstone appeared newly carved, the soil heaped in a prominent mound, and Christopher realized she must have suffered a recent bereavement. Was it just his imagination, or were her pale cheeks streaked with tears? It gets easier, he wanted to tell her, knowing that was only half a lie. But he moved on, not wishing her to look up and spot him.

His father