Page 185 of The Reluctant Hero

Gabriel stands up, and the rest follow his lead quickly. Jake pulls out the chair across from Gabriel at the head, and I stare at it for way too long, debating my options.

“You couldn’t put a shirt on?” Cade asks Jake in a mutter.

“Amanda prefers comfort over flash, Cadey,” Jake gives him a pointed glare. “Have you learned nothing yet?”

Gabriel clears his throat sharply, fixing them with his cold gaze. He’s a little older than Cade and Jake but younger than Ace and Mikael. But he quells them all with a simple throat clearing. That’s respect.

I choose the option least likely to get myself shot and take the seat without a word. Cade is on my right with Mikael farther down, and Jake is on my left with Ace. They sit down as soon asI settle like they’ve been trained in etiquette. Maybe they have. Who knows anymore?

Jake takes my empty plate and fills it up with a meal I don’t recognize. Only the string beans are familiar. He sets it down and takes a sample of everything, looking thoughtful while he chews, and the rest of them stare at him in disbelief. He even sips the water and whatever wine they set out by my plate that I’m not touching. It isn’t until he hands it to me with a smile and says, “Nothing poisoned. We’re good,” that pained surprise covers Cade’s face.

Cade looks away with a frown. Mikael’s lips tighten, and his eyes drop. Gabriel clears his throat and takes a drink of whatever alcohol he’s chosen to pair with his fancy dinner. Ace is the only one that gives him a flat glare for the show.

“You all done bein’ dramatic?” He leans back with his arms crossed defensively.

“I’m just being careful,” Jake gives him a sweet smile. “You never know who to trust these days.”

Cade meets his eyes across the table and the sorrow there isn’t fake. I don’t think.

I set the baton across my lap to poke at my food. Yeah, Blake is well off, but I’ve never seen such a fancy spread for dinner at home. I usually cooked dinner myself, and there’s no way I would have something like this, even if I knew what it was. It was more a diet to keep Blake’s cholesterol levels down. I wish I hadn’t bothered now.

I take a few bites, and it’s good. Maybe veal? I don’t know. Then I end up uselessly twirling my fork around as my brain kicks into gear.

Blake is out, hopefully in the hospital and drugged on enough pain medication to keep his mouth shut for a little while. Either way, I need to get a move on before someone figures out I wasn’t there for divorce papers and wifely vengeance. If anyoneknows, I was there to begin with. The secretary does, but no one else seemed to see me. Not until I was outside the office and a decent amount of space away from South.

That was still enough for a shove into traffic and a more professional attack later. They knew I would be there at some point, and they were waiting for me. They might know which direction I’m headed to next, but it doesn’t really matter in the long run. I’ll keep fighting as long as I can. If I have to crush some skulls to keep going, so be it.

And the fuckers surrounding me know I was there too. I wonder why they were visiting Blake in the first place if they aren’t on a team together. Maybe they know more about this than they’re willing to admit. For their own safety.

They’re all giving me subtle probing looks as they eat. Ace is blatantly staring, his food forgotten. I’m doing my best to pretend I’m alone.

If I can find the account, I can close it and see what roaches start crawling out. There has to be more than one. Having a ton of money in a single account is idiotic.

I can get to the house and search through his files on his laptop. There has to be a trail somewhere. All I have to do is look and don’t stop.

I need to get out of here for a little bit and hit up the lawyer for more—literally.

“You seem to be feeling better,” Gabriel says stiffly. He’s cutting up his dinner in an overly delicate way that’s weird and stiff.

“Is the food not good?” Mikael frowns as he looks at my mostly full plate.

Just shut up. They’re making useless small talk, and I’m gearing up to go on a rampage. Our conversations aren’t going to mesh well. Unless this is some kind of soft approach toquestioning me. I can’t forget that they want something, and they’re watching me like hawks.

Ugh, I just thought about Jake and his camera fetish. The likelihood of my room being covered in the damn things is almost one hundred percent. Not to mention the rest of this place. I don’t have a South handy to take care of that, damn it. I wonder if expert Tera would have any good ideas.

“If you would talk to us, we could help you, darlin’.”

If Ace walked up to me and stabbed me in the chest, it would hurt less than hearing him say that pet name.

I want to tell him never to call me that again, but I keep my lips shut. If I start talking, there’s a good chance I’ll keep going.

“She’s thinking like she always is. Shut up,” Jake tells him in a mutter.

“The arrest,” Gabriel starts and clears his throat again. His voice stays the cautious, frigid tone it normally is as he continues. “It was a mistake, and I apologize. They hit us in a vulnerable area at the best time. We weren’t ready for it.”

“We want to help you,” Mikael says intently. “Withanything. Please let us in.”

Yeah, I don’t see anyone here being willing to jump up and give me a ride to go assault someone. It would be,hey, stay home, and we’ll take care of it. That’s not helping. It’s taking over. I don’t have enough faith in them to do that anyway.

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