COUNTING ON HEROES, the first story in my SUPERHERO DAUGHTERS series, will be coming out later this week! Curious what it’s about? Read this excerpt to get an idea!

When you’re nervous as hell, sometimes the only thing that helps is a murder walk, just so you can hear your high heels click against marble.

Or maybe that’s me.

A side benefit of a murder walk: you look very regal and elegant when you open the first press conference you’ve ever given. I might be the vice-president of operations at Mills Military Technology, but normally my dad handles the press. Yeah, he’s the president of MMT, but he’s also so good at getting the press to eat out of his hand.

“Good afternoon,” I say, gripping the sides of the podium, feeling like it’s the life preserver keeping me from drowning. I allow the camera flashes to die down and hope I wasn’t squinting too much, then I smile and relax a little as I remind myself that at least I didn’t trip on my way to the podium.

“Thank you for coming to this very exciting announcement,” I begin, grateful I memorized the beginning of my speech. “For those of you who don’t know, I am Maggie Mills, Vice-President of Mills Military Technology, and it’s my pleasure to welcome you to our headquarters for a demonstration of our newest innovation.”

I pause to take a breath and a small sip of water, then smooth down my navy-blue blazer. “For centuries, man has sought the best way to protect himself on the field of battle. Chain mail, suits of armor, bulletproof vests: all have had their place in warfare. And today, we’re ready to show you the near future of combat for today’s soldier.”

Right on cue, the doors behind me open and three soldiers march out, wearing the product of five years’ of research and testing.

“Our soldiers deserve body armor that will protect them against anything they might encounter,” I say. “Not just weapons of all sizes and types, but against the elements and from their own fatigue.”

I nod to the soldier closest to me, who draws a knife and engages with the other soldiers. It’s choreographed, but in a way to let a few glancing blows land in order to demonstrate the body armor’s capabilities.

“Big deal!” a voice in the crowd calls out. “So it can stand up to knives.”

Amelia, the head of the public relations department, told me she had the perfect intern to plant in the crowd and feed me the opening for the next stage of the demonstration. And she was right: whoever it is, they truly sounded unimpressed. I hold back my grin and do my best to sell it: I let a flicker of annoyance show in my eyes, put a touch of steel in my spine, and add some ice to my voice.

“I suppose you’re right,” I acknowledge. “Let me see if we can find a real challenge.”

A voice chuckles in my ear. “Get ready, Magpie.”

I look up at the sky, almost immediately spotting the small gray dot in the sky. The dot grows larger by the millisecond, forming itself into a humanoid shape wearing a suit of armor.

With a loud boom and a swirl of wind, because he loves to show off, my father lands in front of the platform before the soldiers and me. He drops to one knee, then stands to accept the applause of the crowd.

“It’s time for Major Damage!” Dad calls out as he takes off his helmet, revealing his wide smile. It’s all I can do to not groan at the cheesy dad-joke of his superhero identity.

“Seriously, Dad, don’t you think you’re too old for that?” I ask him through the small microphone attached to my neck.

He turns and gives me his best wounded expression, one I know for a fact is modeled on Han Solo. I raise my eyebrows and gesture to the soldiers, standing at attention.

“Spoil my fun,” he mutters to me as he puts his helmet back on.