Page 229 of The Reluctant Hero

“Ha. Ha,” the voice deadpans back. “You’ve got a giant mess here, from what I see. Where do we fit in?”

“I have a little imp that needs a few extra guards,” Jake hands his phone to the man in front of us.

He takes it, glances for a brief second, and hands it back.

“Jefferson, Amanda,” he says in a tone devoid of feeling.

The fact that he already knows her name has me tensing in my seat.

“The redhead stashed at Matthias Jr’s place? Big surprise,” the voice on the phone scoffs.

“I won’t tolerate mistreatment ofmeine Seele,” Jake’s voice drops into a low threat as he looks at the phone.

“How active do you need us to be?” Blue asks as if Jake never spoke. I can hear some clicking in the background as if he’s typing on a computer keyboard.

“As active as necessary. She has a temper, and it’s leading her into rough territory,” Jake’s attitude flips back into happiness quickly. “Is that one new?”

I follow Jake’s pointing finger to see a toy in the man’s hand. It’s where the incessant ticking sound is coming from. A small metal block that has a metal switch that he’s flicking back and forth.

“No.” He replies in a raspy, deadened voice. It makes my head tilt. He sounds just like Ace when we first met. Two steps away from committing suicide and uncaring about whatever could happen to him in the meantime.

Jake lets out a resigned sigh. “One of us will be with her at all times, but you know how iffy that is. I’d like a little extra piece of dynamite in my pocket.”

“Fine,” Blue agrees.

Heretic’s head tilts up until he’s looking me right in the eyes. The blank black irises have an eerie effect that bothers me. He looks like death if the entity was a few minutes away from giving up his job.

“In return, we disappear.” The mouthpiece for them both insists.

“You’ve already disappeared,” I tell them coldly.

“Away from Matthias Sr. Wiped clean. We’re both old enough that he’s practically forgotten us already, and everyone knows how that goes.”

“Blue wants to be a real boy now, and he’s dragging his bestie with him,” Jake says with a smirk. “And I may or may not owe them a little. They are the ones that maneuvered things for me to be paired with Cade. So Heretic here wouldn’t have to kill me. He finds me funny.”

“I got paired with you because my team fell apart,” Cade protests warily.

“And look where they landed,” Jake holds out a hand to point at Heretic. “I doubt he was gentle when he caught them.”

His eyes move to Cade, causing him to stiffen. “You were the only good recruit in that team. Clean record getting rotted around the edges by filth.”

“He’s a sympathetic soul,” Jake nods happily.

Blue scoffs from the phone.

“You both want out. To do what?” I ask with narrowed eyes.

“To live,” Blue says simply. “Or figure out how to.”

Silence falls around me. We all know what that’s like. To be trapped in a life that’s boxed you in without notice. There are a few problems, though.

“If you stay like this, you won’t blend,” I shake my head at Heretic. “It won’t be possible unless you’re a hermit.”

Blue lays out his thoughts. “Buy the building across the street, and we’ll purchase it from you once our new identities are set. It’s currently under renovation. If you take it over before that ends, it will be cheaper. We’ll take over from there.”

“You need these two windows blacked out,” Heretic points to the panes facing the building Blue is talking about. I know it would be a tight shot from the angle, but I haven’t been very concerned about it—until now.

“You have a plan in place already?” Ace says in surprise.

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