Page 174 of The Reluctant Hero

“Did he offer divorce papers?” Jake interrupts with glee, making Cade glare at him.

“We have bigger obstacles than that right now,” Gabriel interrupts with a frigid tone.

“Did you see who trashed my place?” I ask Jake and drop my eyes to the baton. He hasn’t moved his foot yet. I’m not sharing anything with these assholes, no matter how wonderful anyone else thinks they are. Fool me once and all that.

“I did,” Jake rolls with my lack of answer as if we’re the only two people here. “Marcos, something. I can’t remember. He was paid by Judge Fullerton. His charges were dropped on his upcoming case like magic. His first day of freedom got used up trashing your things.”

Good for him. Now he’s free for me to beat the shit out of him for ruining my panties and my sanity. A mental anguish lawsuit with broken bones as a payout, no corrupt lawyers necessary.

“I hope you don’t mind but I took point on that one. If I overstepped, I apologize. I’ve already spoken with him. His hospital room is 337 if you feel like you need something more from him,” he offers blandly and untangles our fingers to pull out his phone.

My brows furrow at the notes app he opens and the paragraph he’s looking at. It’s angled so that I can’t read it but it doesn’t seem intentional. He put him in the hospital. And he’sapologizingfor not letting me get a few swings in? Why haven’t I been paying more attention to Jake again?

“Marcos Perez. The room number is 335. Ander Springs Emergency Hospital, critical unit. Entry is tight but doable. He won’t be able to say much for a few weeks, though, if he manages to survive, so perhaps we should wait.”

I slowly turn to give him a look of disbelief that he ignores as he continues reviewing his notes.

“Next up is the Matthias tech that planted the virus. Nicholas Hall was paid by Blake. I think he and Fullerton are working independently on isolating you, even though they’re linked through the property purchases. None of these plans arecoordinated. Most of your assailants have been untrained. Until today, that is.”

This means that Blake and Fullerton were trying to box me into returning to Blake’s side for the money and the pictures. She’s in some of them, after all. Low-level attackers that can be released from jail easily and put back in without much fuss. Now that I have a major player’s attention, the attackers are becoming professionals. How awesome.

Jake’s thumb scrolls down to another paragraph. “Next, we have Lance Anderson, Chris Dunn, and David Bethesda. All paid to make it convincing to Gabe and the rest that you were guilty of theft. They were paid by Fullerton as well, but I turned them over to the real Matthias with big pink bows in your honor. Again, I apologize for taking liberties in your name.”

“Youwhat?” Gabriel breathes in icy fury.

Pink bows? How hard did I hit my head?

“I needed to get an old friend’s attention, and that was the fastest route,” he tosses back without remorse. “Matthias would like you to answer when he calls, Gabe. I made sure to leave your phones intact at home for easy use. You’ll likely find several messages by now.”

“Jake,” Mikael starts in a voice rumbling with anger.

Jake’s head slowly rises to pierce the big man with a blank-eyed stare.

“Yes, Mikael?” He sounds sweet, but the look on his face says he’s ready to stab him fifty-eight times if he isn’t careful. “You can’t possibly blame me for searching for a friend to back me up. He would listen to my arguments without protest, unlike some.”

Cade winces and looks away.

I’m so confused. But not enough. Does this prove the mafia theory? Is Gabriel the spoiled son of a Don and these are his henchmen? Maybe they’re the drug angle of this. It doesn’t feelright, though. He said he hates the mafia. Not to mention, I don’t think sweet Tera would believe drug dealing wasinnocent. Then again, she’s best friends with South. What do I know anymore?

“Since none of my fellow team members wanted to listen to my defense of Amanda, the rest falls to me and people I can trust at my back.”

“Jake, I didn’t mean to-”

He cuts into Cade’s protest with a raised hand without taking his eyes off Mikael. “I get it, Cade. Your issues I understand better than anyone else here. We’lldiscussit. Until then, I’d like everyone to take a moment to pull their heads out of their asses while Amanda and I compare notes.”

He turns his head, casually dismissing their furious expressions. “Where was I,meine Seele?”

Jake is looking at me expectantly, but I’m frowning at his fluid slip into German. It keeps happening, leaving behind a faint accent that disappears quickly and returns without warning.Meinemeans my or mine, I think. I have no idea what the other word is.

“Oh, yeah,” the American accent returns in a blink. “You’ve handled Blake. Can I assume that I’ll be visiting the hospital to ask him my questions?”

I don’t answer him, my chin dropping so he can’t see my expression anymore. He makes a thoughtful sound and continues.

“I have feelers out to find anyone else in Matthias LLC that’s involved. I’ve run out of people to question other than the Judge. What have you found? What questions have you been asking?”

My brain slowly processes what he’s telling me without showing on my face. This is a curveball, and I’m not sure what ballpark I’m in now. Mafia Central Fields?

He’s freely offering his help, and he’s steps ahead of me. And behind at the same time. He hasn’t mentioned the golf course or anything more. He’s focused on the people who made it possible for me to get arrested.

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