Page 230 of The Reluctant Hero

“Always,” Blue tells him flatly.

“And that plan is?” I ask with a raised brow.

What he explains to me sounds absurd. Complete strangers living together to keep each other in check. Not clean-up members, which he seems to despise, random people who can’t function in society and any people who want out from under Matthias. I’m supposed to not only make them all normal civilians but also hire any person living there for job security and supervision.

“Where did you get an idea like that?” Cade asks in disbelief.

“A self-help group. Survivors of Tragedy. I’ve made donations anonymously but never joined. If I’m a civilian, I can do that, and we can use them to immerse ourselves into society.”

“I don’t think a survivor’s group would take this on,” Ace says warily.

Heretic looks at him without expression. “I kill anything that looks at the woman wrong, and we get freedom. The rest is on us.”

Jake looks at me, his friendly expression dropping to reveal his cold eyes. Standing next to each other, they could be related, given how little sanity remains between them.

“They saved me from myself instead of killing me. I’m paying them back now that I can.”

I look at the building across the street and let out a sigh. I don’t think we need this type of help, but Jake seems to disagree.

“For the moment, I accept all your stipulations. We can renegotiate after this mess is over.”

The ticking stops. The sudden silence is loud.

“Fair enough,” the line clicks as Blue ends the call.

Heretic acknowledges me with a nod and leaves.

I turn to Jake with a glare. I’m surprised to find him watching the closed door with concern.

“They really did maneuver everything to bring Cade to me. Heretic lied about being unable to kill me and was punished for it. He’s not horrible, Gabe. No more than any of us anyway.”

I’ve helped men with less. The endorsement, from Jake of all people, stifles all the voices saying this is a horrible idea.

“Fine,” I say, pulling a file closer to me. I pretend to work while my mind wanders to Amanda.

49

The Shortest Straw

Amanda

I pace in front of the staircase, watching the front doors anxiously. She’s coming. I know it.

Sure enough, the doors open, and South walks in as if this is her house.

“You felt me coming?” She asks with a raised brow.

“Shade gave me a heads-up,” I roll my eyes. Not everything is a super mystery.

She makes a thoughtful sound and hands me a folder.

I take it and move into the meeting room, which seems to be everyone’s favorite place. I spread out all of the information on the coffee table. Land deeds and a few scattered pictures.

I feel like an absolute idiot as I space them out so each page can be seen clearly. Then I look at them without reading anything, just staring at one piece at a time.

“What are you doing?” South asks like any normal person would.

“Seeing how they feel,” I mutter, hoping she doesn’t smack me on the back of the head.

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