Page 259 of The Reluctant Hero

“Why?”

He takes in my emotional withdrawal, his smile dialing down a few notches.

“He apologized to me. To all of us.”

“For what?” I probe. To me, he has dozens of things to apologize for, but they have nothing to do with me.

“He saved us all, you know that?” He watches my expression closely. “Just because he sucks at it doesn’t mean he hasn’t put in the effort.”

“Have any of you?” I ask pointedly.

“I thought I was before. With the move here. The gym class to get to know people. Be normal when I can’t even function. And then you came, and I realized it was just more fake shit. I wasn’t trying at all. None of us were.”

He pauses, and I poke his side to get him back on track. His wandering, sad eyes quickly return to my face.

“Ace and Mik are up Gabe’s ass twenty-four seven. No breaks. They’re like fucking gargoyles at the door of the temple. Me and Jake are dangling in the wind. Yeah, we aren’t as active as before, thank God. But that comes with a cost.”

“You’re bored,” I raise an eyebrow in wonder. “Seriously? I wish I could go back to worrying about bills at this point.”

“Vigilante justice has paid my bills for the most part,” he tells me grimly.

I keep my scoff light. “Bullshit. Gabriel pays your bills.”

His brows go up in surprise. “Gabe pays forhishouses. I have mine in New York. The estate in Philly. One in grand old Deutschland for Jake.”

I blink, my smile dropping. “So, you’re rich.”

“We all are,” he insists like I’m an idiot. “It just doesn’t make sense for us to be separated when there could be an emergency.”

“You’re. All. Rich.” I repeat it slowly, my frown becoming a scowl. “Every one of you.”

“That’s not the normal reaction,” Cade says warily.

I ignore him. “This is some bullshit. I get away from one money-hungry dick and fall in with five of them instead. What the fuck is wrong with me?”

“A lot of things,” Cade presses his nose to mine and narrows his eyes. “At the top of the list is comparing any of us with Blake.”

“Tit for tat, fucker,” I grit back. “I’m not a gold-digging slut either. Sucks to be accused of shit you’d never do on your worst day, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, it does,” his glare dials down, replaced by guilt.

“If I want you dead, you’re going to see me coming. I’ll be the one grinning like I just won the lottery and a baseball bat. Now stop looking sad, asshole,” I hiss and poke his side. “This is revenge time. Chin up and deal with it. I want to feel victory while you grovel, not pity.”

“You are so fucked up,” he whispers with a light chuckle.

“Really,” I deadpan with a raised brow. “Let’s start a list and compare notes. I’m pretty sure that the only person to come out of this competition unscathed would be Mikael.”

He scoffs softly. “Yeah, right.”

“Don’t tell me,” I hurry to add. “Don’t ruin his image.”

“His best friend isAce,” Cade reminds me.

“I’m not listening. Ace is a wonderful masseuse, and that’s where this stops.”

He starts laughing, softly at first and then louder. I put a hand over his mouth to quiet him down, but he’s shaking the mattress.

“Shut up,” I whisper harshly. “You’re going to wake Jake up.”

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