Page 34 of The Reluctant Hero

Fucker’s name is Justin Blake. One of the names my girl’s been highlightin’.

Things are addin’ up now. Manda’s address is here, but he’s mouth fuckin’ some woman by her car.

Maybe she’s a jilted lover. Tryin’ to get one over on him with her knowledge? The thought makes my gut hurt. I don’t want to picture him touchin’ Manda. He’s dirty, and he doesn’t belong anywhere near her. I can tell it from a look.

I gotta dig more. I ain’t goin’ to Gabe with this until I can prove she’s not usin’ him for a little side revenge. He won’t take that well on his best day, and she’s left him in a piss-poor mood already.

Some of the comments Jake and Cade made about her friends had me diggin’ deeper with a bad feelin’ in my gut. They claimed her friends were flirty and ready to get some action. That smells like a single lady group to me. But Manda was baffled at my attention, almost embarrassed. That ain’t ready for action. My dick is gettin’ more reasons to be depressed by the minute. So I kept lookin’.

Amanda Jefferson is actually AmandaBlake. That piece of shit is her husband. I want to kill him slowly for it already. The woman he walked out with was not my Manda. It soothes some of the rage in me, but his death is gonna be agonizin’.

I waited until he left, broke into the house, and had a look around. A lot of artsy shit spread everywhere to cover up the stench of a cheatin’ fuck. A closet that had a fuck ton of fancy women’s clothes. Nothin’ like what Manda was wearin’ eventhough they’re all in her size. All pushed to the very front of the rack leaving a lot of hangers barren in the back. Some of them littered the floor, too. She was pissed when she took them down. Several pairs of shoes are missin’ from the little nook where they’re stored. My girl likes shoes with low heels and plenty of cushion. No wonder her feet were hurtin’ in those heels. Her ass looks amazin’ enough without them.

None of this looks good for her in Gabe’s eyes, though. I put off tellin’ him all day, ignorin’ all the phone calls to dig as deep as I can. I can’t keep puttin’ it off.

Gabe went cold as ice as soon as I told him about it all. We got info all right, but it all leads to more questions than answers. She’s a wild card.

She brought attention to some shady shit that got missed. Maybe some revenge against the fucker, which we all agree he likely deserves. If he’s connected to Fullerton and they’re aware we’ve been lookin’ at her, she might be a spy.

I shoot that shit down quick. She ain’t a spy. She wasn’t butterin’ Gabe up and bein’ sweet to get close. Or cuddlin’ up to Cade and Jake in class. It’s well-known that they’re close to Gabe. She doesn’t know them or even care about them, which seems to piss them off to no end. If anythin’ she was spooked to be up in Gabe’s office and then too pissed to give a damn what any of us thought.

Cade’s quick to point out his concern. Maybe she’s after money instead. Fuckin’ asshole. It’s his go-to when it comes to women. Whoever burned him did it good.

Sign two of guilt gets nixed when I casually mention all the fancy shit she left behind when she bailed on Blake. The woman Blake was with that mornin’ and Manda’s lack of flash when we saw her. She left him with barely anythin’, and it’s obvious she gives zero fucks about it.

She ain’t the guilty party in that scenario.

Jake agrees, pointin’ out that she’s always in old sweats when they’re in class. Baggy things that don’t show her body, unlike her friends. A sign of bein’ self-conscious and maybe broke as well.

Once Jake mentions it, Cade gets quiet and grumpy. Then he admits they’ve been givin’ her a hard time to get her out of the class. Somethin’ about her friends tryin’ to prove to her she’s not hot enough for a man to want her. Gettin’ her away from them and workin’ out without worryin’ about her health.

Neither motive makes my temper cool.

They poked her where she was hurtin’ and didn’t let up. No wonder she barely looked at them.

Mikael had to haul me off Cade before I could beat the shit out of him. I do like seein’ his new black eye, though. I hope Manda approves.

Jake watched it happen without a change in his smile. He seemed to relish the beatdown as if Cade did him wrong with the bullying. Yet, he participated. Who knows what goes through that man’s head? I’ll get the tricksy fucker later.

The key takeaway is that she’s out of Fullerton’s influence and pointin’ out random shit that we missed. It relaxes Gabe quite a bit but not enough to keep his mind from goin’ to darker motives. These old money fucks and their gold. I may have cash now, but it sure as fuck ain’t jaded me like him and Cade.

Gabe thinks that she might be havin’ second thoughts about movin’ out. He figures if he offers her more money, she’ll come back. Money does fucked up shit to people. We all know it. But I know in my bones that she’sfightin’.

She ain’t lookin’ for money. She had it and walked away with very little to show for it. Her unease in the office was the fear of bein’ fired and the fancy setup Gabe has. She didn’t like the wealth bein’ thrown in her face, which is why she blew agasket and quit. She sees us as her ex. All money and flirtin’ with no substance, thanks to fuckin’ Cade and Jake, I’m sure.

Blake hurt her with the cheatin’. Her friends belittle her behind her back to force her into returnin’ to him. She thinks she’s less when she’s so fuckin’ far above them all I can’t reach her without climbin’.

I know it without bein’ told. The conflicting emotions splashed all over her face at my reaction to her said enough. She’s never had a man worship her like the goddess she is, and she doesn’t know how to handle it.

She’ll learn how if it’s the last thin’ I ever do.

I just gottafindher first.

It’s been a day’s worth of dead ends, and I’m ready to kill over it. Now I’m walkin’ into the damn gym class on Saturday, and she’s nowhere to be found.Again.

Gabe and Mikael follow me like I’m a bloodhound with her scent in my nose because Iam. I pace around the edge of the mats as they work with partners. Cade and Jake are paired up. I see the women they were talkin’ about before. They’re watching us come in like fresh meat. There’s Max and Shade. Asher.

No Manda.

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