Free Reality Hero by Ashlynn Monroe

reason. She’d left him—walked away. He should be over her. Should of, would of, could of, was a game he knew all too well. He wished he’d been able to make her feel safe with him. She’d run because she didn’t think he could keep her safe and protect the city. Sometimes he wished he’d just walked away from being a vigilante. When he saw how much people needed him he knew he’d done the right thing, even if it’d cost him everything.
    “Zane?” Ella’s voice had softened.
    “Yeah.” His hadn’t.
    “Call her.”
    Ella hung up the phone. He looked down at his contact list for a while before scrolling to her name. Her Facebook page profile picture popped up. He smiled. She was hugging her cat and making the fat, marmalade-colored creature wave at the camera. His heart swelled. He just couldn’t hate her. He’d tried.
    Zane clenched the fist that wasn’t holding his phone. “What the fuck?” he mumbled, then hit send .
    “Zane? Oh God, I didn’t say what they made it look like I said,” Dina rambled quickly.
    “I know.”
    “Ella?”
    “Yeah.”
    She was quiet and so was he. He thought he heard her mumble the words “meddling brat”, but he wasn’t sure. His lip quirked up at the side. Even pissed as hell, Dina had that effect on him. Damn it.
    “I’m still doing your show,” he finally said.
    “Zane, I don’t want you to do this anymore.”
    His heart beat wildly. He wanted the excuse to see her. “Why?”
    “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
    “I’m superman. Remember?”
    She chuckled softly. “I… Thank you.”
    “Did they hurt you?” he asked with deadly serious vehemence.
    “No.” If she’d said yes, he’d have gone paparazzi hunting.
    “Good.”
    “I… It doesn’t matter. Goodnight, Zane.”
    He wondered what she was going to say, but didn’t push her. “Goodnight, Dina. Sleep well.”
    “After the day I had that won’t be a problem. Just promise me you won’t hate me when this is over.”
    As if he could. He’d tried hard to when she’d left. “I won’t,” he said confidently.
    “I’m glad. Goodnight.” The line went dead.
    He sat for a long time in the dim light looking at her picture while wishing like hell he could hate her. There was a cry in the distance. He stepped out of the shadows. His work wasn’t done for the night.
    * * * *
    Dina came into the office early and began working right away. As soon as it was an acceptable hour, she began to call her ten contestants with details about the filming. Her plan was to assemble them to sign the many forms and explain what they could expect as contestants. Her day was spent making calls and arrangements, and her focus was so complete she didn’t see Zane when he poofed into her office. Glancing up, she gave a startled shriek when she saw him sitting in a chair across from her desk..
    He didn’t look too happy.
    “What’s going on?”
    Zane said nothing. It was extra annoying because he’d chosen to come to her. Why show up, if he wasn’t going to talk? He should’ve stayed away. Dina looked at him for a long time. Her desk phone rang, but she ignored it.
    “Aren’t you going to answer that?”
    “No, this is more important. What is making you so angry right now?”
    He sighed and ran his fingers through his thick hair, pushing it back away from his face. Dina made a mental note to make sure he got a haircut before filming began. She liked his hair like it was, but his image required him to be clean cut, and shaggy hair would never work. Seeing him as a product made her inwardly cringe. As much as she wanted this show to be a success she hoped, deep down, he was there to tell her he wasn’t doing this anymore.
    Zane’s voice was raw when he spoke. “Have you seen the paper? I love the front page article about how you met me when I saved you from a burning building. When was that again?”
    She gaped at him. “What are you talking about?”
    He handed her The Diamond Gazette . The thing was a