Page 86 of The Reluctant Hero

“You know she can kill you, right?” The tall man asks with a smirk.

“You know that would end all the bullshit I deal with on the daily, right?” I return sarcastically.

“I won’t kill you,” she tells me flatly.

“I’ll look elsewhere then,” I shrug.

“You won’t,” her tone gets gritty as the tiny bit of emotion drops out of her face.

I give her the finger and a smug smirk, “You can’t stop me.”

“You need a better outlet for your rage, Amanda,” she tells me firmly as the other guy pulls up a chair and sets down shot glasses and a bottle of alcohol.

“And here my savior is. Goodbye, liver,” I pour myself the first shot and slug it down. I suck in a breath as it burns through me. Everyone stares as if I’ve lost my mind.

“Shit, sorry.” I pour myself another and salute Shade. “Congrats on getting tied for life with someone. No escape.Forever.”

I slug that one back, too. The happy expression he gets at the words should be concerning, but it makes me wonder why he has abandonment issues in the first place. I pour another shot to wash that bullshit sympathy away.

“Divorce is an escape.”

I slam the empty glass down angrily to glare at South. “Stop being a fucking idiot. Do you know how hard it is to get one? I might as well pan for gold in the Mariana trench with no scuba gear.”

I turn to Shade with a grimace. “Seriously, it will take a fuck ton for her to get out of it. You’re solid.”

“I thought Gabriel was helping you with that?” Shade returns and pours himself a shot.

“Your precious bro is a raging, iced-over dickhole. Listen to this shit,” I lean back, going into rant mode immediately. It doesn’t matter that it’s three assholes and one psycho listening. This has been building all week, and I need some sort of relief. They’re the lucky winners.

I go down the laundry list of bullshit I’ve been dealing with all week, minus the new pictures and highlighting. Shade nods along as if he’s taking mental notes on what to do if South backs out of marriage.

I end it with, “Your brother is a complete dick, and I want to stab him in the eyes with his specially bought highlighters.”

South raises a brow, and Shade says, “Tell me more. I like where this is going. I’m down for a team-up wedding planner.”

After that, it’s more food and alcohol, some singing, a few deleted texts, and a ride home I barely remember. Other than yelling at South to keep her hands on the wheel at one point.

19

Lovesong

Jake

It’s easy to pass by Ace. He’s disappointing me. How is sitting in his truck watching her bedroom window guarding her? Is he being the polite version of a stalker? If that’s the case, why bother?

I’ve been to the complex several times but never gone inside. A little tease to myself to take my time. It was a mistake.

She left Friday and arrived at her apartment without leaving. Cade has finally caught on that I’m shadowing her and demanded I return home. He’s likely afraid I will scare her off if I get caught, as if I would let that happen.

Things have taken a downturn all week. At first, it was clear that she was instigating a ploy to get under Gabe’s skin. Playing meek and mild with a dash of innocence attached. But Gabe’s insistence on winning has pushed things too far. Though we haven’t met Blake since the lunch on Tuesday, Gabe has been telling her they have outings every day.

While she believes we’re having lunch, we have been investigating all of her current woes. The landlord claims he has no idea what she is talking about. Blake has not purchased the complex, and the only reason he knows the name is that the police were called out for his damaged vehicle.

The officers on site were easy to call away, and the report disappeared. None of us did that, and I haven’t been able to locate the hacker who wiped the system. Due to South's influence, I’m assuming it was Shade.

Checking into the lawyers she’s called has netted similar results. No one has heard from her. If I hadn’t seen her clear defeat in the library, I might have believed it. When I mentioned this, I got several thoughtful looks but no decision on whether she knew I was following her.

So many things aren’t adding up, and Gabe has been taking his frustrations out on her. He thinks she’s lying about it all, which seems plausible due to the instant rebuttal of her claims from multiple parties. Something isn’t right here, and he’s too infatuated and furious about it to see it.

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