Page 194 of The Reluctant Hero

“I just found out. His body was stiff enough that he died hours before it was reported. Congratulations on your loss,” he quips.

“Who visited him?” I demand as quietly as I can and start uselessly pacing.

“One doctor that wasn’t a real doctor. I think they’re cutting their losses, and they’ve called in a few professionals.”

“Fuck,” I grind out, my hand aching as I clench the baton. “Since he’s out of the picture they’ll be heading to the house for any records he kept there.”

“Unless they found something in Fullerton’s place. My money is on her-”

Ace snatches the phone out of my hand and puts it to his ear. “Who the fuck is this?”

He pauses and stiffens up, his eyes meeting my sneering glare. He steps back, lowers the phone to the cracked coffee table between the couches, and sets it on speaker. After a pause, Shade says, “Amanda?”

His voice has darkened into that deathly threat he had the first time I heard him speak.

“You’re on speaker,” I warn him flatly and back away from Ace, too. The move seems to hurt his feelings. He reaches for me, hesitates, then drops his hand. I realize I unconsciouslybrought the baton up, ready to swing. Ace swallows hard and takes several steps away.

“Nosy asshats,” Shade sighs in resignation.

“What do you know, Shade?” Gabriel asks in a frozen tone. I start to pace, my hands squeezing over the stick as I wait for Shade to throw me under the bus.

“Seems like you left somethin’ out when we saw you earlier,” Ace’s teeth grind as he watches me.

Shade ignores him to talk to me. “Amanda, you need to stay at Gabe’s place. They’redefinitelylooking for you now. With professionals in the mix, you’re no match.”

I spare the phone a dark look but don’t answer him.

“They blew the site. It’s a sinkhole they’re claiming is a natural collapse of an underground cavern,” he tells me with a grunt of frustration. “I watched the video. I heard the recording. We still have some leads, Amanda. Don’t drop the ball.”

I stop and stare at nothing. Blake said they could wipe everything out easily. That point has been made loud and clear. It would mean a lot more to me if I was planning on going to the cops. Good thing I know better. I wonder if Loser realized they would wipe him out, too.

“No cops. The video is worthless,” my voice shakes wildly as I digest new information.

Mikael catches me around the waist, startling me. He lifts me until my feet dangle in the air with an arm wrapped around both of my biceps. I start to spin the baton back to smack him in the head. Either end would do when he drops onto the couch next to Cade and pulls me into his lap. The abrupt move ruins the spin as my legs flail. I barely manage to catch it. The rubber tip bounces off my collar. I grunt at the pain and try to stand, using my weight to move him. He wraps the other arm around me to keep me still and clamped to his chest. Onearound my waist, the other above my breasts. Cade takes the opportunity to yank Jakob out of my hands and set it aside.

“Do they know anything?”

I scoff at Shade’s question.

“Am I dead?” I grit back, struggling to get away from Mikael.

“They aren’t going to touch you,” Shade tells me in a tone that dismisses my concerns.

I glance down at the arms holding me and mockingly mutter, “Sure they won’t.”

“Gabe, it’s bad. Worse than what you were looking for.”

Jake pauses and looks at the phone. Shade has everyone’s attention like he’s the big boss about to hand out orders.

I don’t want to be sitting here when he tells them everything. I look longingly at the open doorway. Mikael is an immovable object, keeping me safely fastened to him.

“We’re listening,” Cade says with narrowed eyes focused on me. His expression says this is my last chance to come clean.

I sneer back in mutiny. I’m not saying shit.

“Amanda,” Mikael mutters. It isn’t the demanding tone he normally uses when I’m doing something he doesn’t like; it’s more of a plea.

I lean forward to try and use my weight as leverage to break his grip. He pulls my back to his chest and nuzzles against my ear as if he has the right to do it. My shoulders hike up defensively as I try to twist away.

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