Page 146 of The Reluctant Hero

South is on the other side of the room, picking up random objects that have been destroyed and taking pictures. There isn’t much to go through. Ripped clothes and what little food I had were spread everywhere. A few pairs of shoes that look cut up to the point of being useless. The majority of it is the stuffing from the flimsy mattress and the blanket. They even cut up my phone charger. It can remain a dead paperweight for a while longer. I’m not sure who to show the video to yet, anyway.

I check the medicine cabinet and find the banking info is gone. My eyes narrow on the bare surface in front of me. What did they do? Hijack my information and transfer it themselves to prove my guilt? There might not be a point in closing the account. I might have negative three million dollars in it.

I come back out as South holds up a pair of panties. A cold trickle of unease rolls down my spine. They’ve been cut up, mainly around the crotch. The sight of it makes me feel sick. Maybe Ace likesgolf, too.

The click of her taking another picture snaps me out of it before my brain takes it any further.

All my pajamas are ripped to shreds. I find one pair of jeans that seem unscathed and no shirts. Everything has been shredded and tossed. The contents of the purse I left behind are spilled over the floor. It’s a good thing my wallet is safely in my back pocket. The cops didn’t disturb anything in it. Hurray for silver linings.

“Forget it,” I grab an empty trash bag and toss the jeans and some socks into it. There isn’t anything else. I have to let it go.

I don’t want to be here any longer than I have to. Who knows who might be watching? I don’t want to get caught within an hour of being released.

She follows me back down the stairs, and my feet freeze for a second. I slowly turn toward the landlord’s place with narrowed eyes.

The door to my place is hanging on by a hinge. The window is busted. Obvious signs of a break-in. That happened sometime Sunday, and it’s Monday night now. No one has said anything? Yeah, right. Plus, he claimed that he never threatened me.

Hello, random step one.

I don’t say anything, but South follows me without missing a beat. Once I get to the door, I knock placidly. The sound isn’t loud with the cushioning of the gloves, but it’s clear.

“What?” He snaps as he yanks the door open.

I don’t wait for him to say anything else. I plant my foot in his thin stomach and kick as hard as I can. It surprises me when he loses his balance and stumbles back to fall on his butt. Neither one of us was prepared for this.

South steps inside, and I follow, closing the door behind me with a bang.

“Did Blake buy this complex?”

“You’re insane!” He screams.

The high-pitched sound makes me twitch, and then I raise the ‘walking stick,’ bringing it down with both hands over the chair across from his desk. It breaks into pieces with a satisfying crunch that I want to hear again.

“She isn’t,” South assures him with a tilt of her head as she watches.

“Answer me,” I snarl at him, imitating one of my heavy metal bands to excellent effect.

“Get out before I call the cops,” he gets to his feet quickly and advances on me.

“Shade said to hurt them first when you’re questioning someone. Then ask.”

“Could have said that before,” I grumble and brace myself, holding the stick like a golf club.

She leans back against the desk with her arms crossed to watch.

“Answer my questions, and you won’t get hurt,” I tell him staunchly. He laughs.

“I’d rather deal with this head-on, forget the cops.”

“Mistake,” South says clearly.

He rushes me. I got distracted by South’s side commentary, so I don’t resist when he hits me like a linebacker with his shoulder in my chest. The air gets knocked out of me as we both sprawl across the floor, my head narrowly missing the second chair.

I’m coughing and trying to catch my breath when he rolls to his feet and smirks down at me.

“You think you can come in here and what? Interrogate me? This isn’t an action movie, sweetheart.”

Sweetheart. Ihatethat pet name. It was Blake’s favorite.

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