Page 213 of The Reluctant Hero

I’m starting to notice the ‘if you don’t do A, then B is death’ trend. I’m not liking it.

This is turning into a ‘none of my business’ conversation. I’m going back to bed.

As soon as I turn to leave, the attention snaps back to me.

“Amanda?” Gabriel’s voice has gone tight.

“Not my business. Have fun hashing out your family issues,” I wave with a mocking smile. “Don’t call me back in here when you finalize where you think I should be because I don’t give a shit.”

Mikael chuckles as Gabriel sighs.

I pass Ace in the doorway. He looks beyond pissed and has a pistol in each hand, ready to go.

“Darlin’,” his eyes travel over me, looking for wounds.

I turn back to the room and snap, “If you fuckers kill each other, I’m not cleaning it up.”

Ace looks surprised for a second before his lips curl up in a smirk.

“Don’t smile at me. You’re as bad as all the rest of them,” I glare as I pass on my way to my room.

The door closes quietly behind me. Voices rise in anger, mainly Matthias and Ace. I ignore it to lock myself in my room.

Instead of falling asleep, I lay on my side with my eyes wide open, staring at the door. The fact that any of Matthias’ men could come through at any moment has screwed my sleep schedule more than it already was.

A knock on the door a few minutes later has me sitting up with Jakob at the ready to brain whoever comes in.

“Just me,meine Seele,” Jake calls cheerfully before he picks the lock and lets himself in.

“Are you kidding me,” I grit out, keeping the stick held defensively.

“We should move your bed closer to the window,” he looks around and locks the door behind him. “Tomorrow. We need more sleep.”

I gape at him in disbelief.

He ignores it and gives a huge yawn. It’s like he can’t remember that he was ready to kill his boss’ dad a few minutes ago. He still has the intimidating gun in his hand.

I’m staring without words when he approaches the bed and lays the weapon on the nightstand.

“Scoot over. You’re on my side.”

The flat look he gives me is even worse.

“I didn’t invite you in here. At any point. Get lost.”

“We are sleeping tonight,meine Seele. I can already see you don’t feel safe enough for it alone. That’s why I’m here. Scoot. Over.”

I can’t argue with that. I want to, just to be a pain in the ass. Jake is the one I trust the most in this house based on his recent behavior. That doesn’t mean I trust him a lot, but it’s there.

I let out a sigh and scoot over, keeping Jakob in my hand as I lay back down to watch the door.

He joins me without another word and settles on his side just like I am. I keep a good distance between our bodies with Jakob in between us.

It takes a while, but I manage to fall asleep. Every time I startle awake, Jake is in the same position. His breathing is calm, but I don’t think he’s asleep. For some reason, that helps me get back to sleep every time.

45

Born In Winter

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