Page 178 of The Reluctant Hero

“You been watchin’ her this whole time and haven’t told us shit!” Ace yells and helps Cade get Jake off of me. I doubt it was to help me and more to get a few shots in himself.

Ace grabs Jake’s suit lapels and hauls him to the tips of his toes so he can yell in his smiling face. Jake stays relaxed, looking amused at his rage.

“Confession time, you tricksy fuck,” he gnashes his teeth in Jake’s face.

“I’d be delighted,” Jake replies sweetly.

“Everyone sit down,” Gabe’s voice is almost weary but still cold.

We act like the team we usually are, and everyone pulls away from each other to go to our separate corners. Ace drops into one armchair. I take the other. Gabe and Cade take one couch to leave Jake standing since I tossed the other couch into the bookshelf. I glance down at the hardbacks strewn across the floor in confusion. That’s usually Ace’s mess to clean, not mine.

“Allow me to begin by welcoming you to Amanda’s side of the fence, so to speak,” Jake straightens his tie with a smirk that doesn’t reach his dead eyes.

None of us can say anything. I think because we’re all too pissed off and heartbroken to protest. Even Ace looks devastated now that he’s taken a second to breathe.

“Now. She has been diligently working on getting a divorce despite what we’ve been told. All of her actions during her time with us have been clean.Correct?”

His eyes narrow on us as if we’re a classroom full of unruly teens.

“Yes,” Cade replies in a defeated tone.

“Good,” Jake nods, his stare becoming unforgiving as he watches Cade. “While all of you were busily lapping at the teat of lies, Amanda had a very eventful weekend.”

I grimace in disgust at the imagery.

“Manny is the envelope deliverer. Amanda found that out after she returned from the gym. I saw her assault him with some photos before they left the apartment. I’m regretting not rigging the entire building with cameras.”

“Manny?” Gabe says in disbelief. “He’s practically a child.”

“Nevertheless, she caught him red-handed,” Jake assures him. “He was thoroughly beaten with a packet of photos. When she came back, she started making a few phone calls. Since I had all of yours turned off as a precaution, I wonder who else she could have called?”

His dead stare lands on Ace, who wilts in his seat.

“I’m disappointed inyou, especially,” Jake says with a violent hiss of sound that makes me blink in surprise.

Cade is right. This obsession is far beyond anything I’ve ever seen from him. The only thing he really cares about is us, and his need for Amanda eclipses that, leaving us in a very precarious position with him. He’s psychotic and deadly. He’s already wearing his old suit again, and he’s been out ‘questioning’ people on his own without Cade’s more level-headed backup. People always see Ace and I coming. No one ever sees Jake. He’s too slick and practiced. He was brought to Matthias’ attention early and trained before that to begin with.

I guess I’m lucky I’m not already dead. It doesn’t feel like luck with how much agony my heart is in.

“She only had mine and Mik’s numbers. They took my fuckin’ phone,” Ace mutters, completely subdued. I don’t think it’s from Jake’s disapproval though.

“That will be remedied, and her calls will be promptly answered no matter the time,” Jake lets out a disgruntled sigh. “She left early Sunday and stayed away the entire day. She came back to the sight of herrearrangedapartment and ran. I’m guessing that was when she was pushed down the stairs. Iassume she hid somewhere that night and went straight to all of you to get help.”

My lips tighten, and my face falls into my hands again.

We could all tell that something had happened to her. She was filthy, only her arms and face uncovered by dirt. The split in her brow was barely noticeable under the bandages The slight bruises on her forehead and cheek were fresh.

Did any of us ask about it?

No.

We all assumed it was a ploy. That she had figured out the money was gone from her account and she needed to try a different play. A staged threat to keep us concerned for her safety. The distraction of asking about Jake as if she was concerned about him when she’s never paid attention to him before.

“She never even noticed your damning evidence,” Jake tells Ace. “They were placed on her counter, and she never once looked. She had too much else going on. She didn’t eat for the majority of her weekend. I’m sure that hasn’t changed since herarreston Monday.”

“Jake, stop,” Cade says in a firm tone, but it shakes with guilt.

“The question is, what happened when she and Manny left? What did he confess to? And why leave the apartment at all? She forced him to be in front of her as if he was leading her somewhere. She wasn’t afraid when she came back. Concerned, yes, but not frightened.”

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