Free Reality Hero by Ashlynn Monroe Page A

rag. In her opinion, it was unworthy of lining a birdcage. She unfolded it and gasped. There was a big article with a full color picture. It was full of lies about how he’d saved her life during the fire that claimed Aaron’s life. Worse, the story stated that she’d consoled him after he’d lost his comrade and that’s when he’d spilled his tale of woe and loneliness. Bridget would be pissed as hell.
    “I had nothing—absolutely nothing—to do with this.”
    His eyebrow rose and so did her temper.
    “You know me better than anyone, even better than my sister, how could you think I would say this crap?”
    His silence only added gasoline to her fiery rage. Someone in Public Relations was going to lose their job—if not their ass—for this. She was ready to march down there and start knocking heads together.
    “At least this will guarantee they’ll all want to comfort you after reading this garbage. You’ll have a nice selection to choose from, promise. I picked them myself.”
     
    * * * *
    Zane didn’t want any interesting women. He wanted Dina. But he didn’t tell her that.
    They sat in silence for a moment, then Zane spoke from his heart. “Di, I know that things have been different for you, and you’ve worked hard to carve a life out for yourself and be successful in your career. I just hope it hasn’t changed who you are.” He watched her face turn red and wasn’t sure if it was from anger or embarrassment. “You’re the most special woman I’ve ever known. I can’t stand by and watch you lose yourself to this hype-filled, corrupt, careless world you’ve immersed yourself in. Is this really what you want...this job?”
    “I’m not like the rest of you. I don’t have a higher calling. I’m ordinary. I’ve been able to claw my way into my current place at the network with nothing but that ordinariness. I just can’t give it up. I have nothing else.” She frowned.
    “You have me. You have your sister. You have Bridget. She could have really used your support when we lost Aaron. I just wish you could see what you do have.” He reached out and covered her hand with his. She looked down at his hand, but the frown didn’t leave her face.
    “I don’t have any of you anymore, and you know it. I’m nothing but a danger to you all, and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if you died or were hurt because of me—any of you. So please, don’t talk like I can step back into the past. We can’t ever have the old days back.”
    “We can have today, and tomorrow, and make a new life together.” He squeezed the hand he held. She tried to pull hers away, but he held on tightly.
    “Zane, please don’t do this again. We’ve had this conversation before, and you know my answer already. What are you going to do about your job? Filming will take at least five hours of your day and possibly a few hours each night. For the contestants it’ll be twenty-four-seven, but for you I’ll be able to scale it down to the essential interactions between you and the contestants. We should be able to begin on the sixteenth. I’ll let you know if that changes. If you’re going to keep poofing in here, do it in your costume. I don’t want your identity to be uncovered because you’re helping me. I don’t want anyone connecting Mind Man and Zane Blair with each other.”
    “Can you really watch me date strange women?” he asked. He held his breath in anticipation of her response.
    “It’ll be Mind Man dating the women, not Zane Blair. I’d only be jealous if Zane went on the dates.”
    He couldn’t help himself, he liked her answer. She always had a way of reminding him that he was more than his abilities. He stood next to her in an instant. He wanted to take her in his arms. He could see that his rapid shift in location unnerved her. He ran his hand over her long blonde hair, which wasn’t as soft as he’d remembered. The difference was probably from all the times she’d dyed it to disguise