Page 193 of The Reluctant Hero

“Who the hell is that?” Cade asks with a scowl.

“A lawyer,” Mikael mutters, reading over my shoulder.

I crumble it in my fist and underhand toss it to Jake.

“Them, too,” I pull out my phone to start looking people up.

“Cade, could you please grab my laptop?” Jake says absently. Cade doesn’t argue as he hurries away.

“You broke out to beat the shit out of someone?” Ace asks with a low laugh. “Is this the first lawyer you called, darlin’?”

It isn’t, but I don’t acknowledge his question.

“Fullerton is out,” Jake turns to me with a frown. “Murder/suicide. Her husband shot her and then himself.”

My fingers stop tapping, and my eyes roll up to meet his.

“When?” I ask in a grim voice I hardly recognize. Are they ahead of me or following the only two people Blake was involved with? I seriously doubt Mr. Fullerton shot anyone, much less the wife he worshiped.

“Around three,” Gabriel chimes in, his own phone in his hands.

I was here by then. With the amount of damage I did to Blake, he shouldn’t have been awake. He would need surgery, at the very least. Then again, knowing my luck, he was singing like a canary and has some bullshit regeneration power.

Cade rushes back in with Jake’s laptop and sets it up for him. It seems like a routine that has happened often enough they go around each other easily.

Gabriel clears his throat, and the phone lowers to his lap. I glance his way to see his tense expression focused on me.

“You’re a widow. Complications after surgery.”

I blink at him in a stupor. I had a vague thought that was next, but I didn’t really think about it. All those times I joked about offing him come back to haunt me. I don’t feel as bad about it as I think I should. But I’m not popping champagne and celebrating either.

I threw away a lead, and they took out the only two people I was sure had more information. I doubt everyone on this list deserves a visit, not that it will stop me. But Blake had so much more in him, andI didn’t get it.

“Oh.” It’s the only word I can come up with as I glance down at the floor.

“Are you ok?” Cade asks with a heavy dose of concern.

“Did he wake up?” My brows furrow. Who knows what he could have said and to who? They'll be looking for me everywhere. Including the house.

“It doesn’t say,” Gabriel’s eyes narrow on me.

“Fuck,” I let out a heavy breath and call Shade. I try to leave the room but, Mikael has taken up a position blocking the doorway. He crosses his arms over his chest like a bouncer who’s spotted my fake ID a mile away.

I hang up immediately, coming back to where I am and who I’m surrounded by. Mikael notes the action and begins to scowl.

My phone rings, and my teeth grit. Why is he calling me back? Doesn’t he realize if I hung up, it was for a damn reason? Then again, if I don’t pick up he might come in to check up on me.

Mikael takes a step toward me, and I step back, answering quickly. I shift the baton, so I’m gripping near the bulb end. I need to keep him at a distance. If I start screaming,Shade might come. After he makes out with South for a little while.

Mikael sees the move, a blatant warning, and his expression goes from stern to devastated.

I don’t give a shit.

“How’s captivity?” Shade asks blandly.

My mouth starts running before I can stop it. The old habit has a new flat tone.

“Did you know Blake died? Fullerton and Jakolski are out, too.”

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