Page 67 of Kade

We didn’t intend to harm Zeke, not any more than we already had, but I wanted to scare him.

The most logical person to call would be Channing, because of his profession. He might know this system or a way to get around it. But my gut wasn’t telling me to call Channing. I grimaced but called Nate.

He answered on the third ring, growling into the phone. “I’m going to murder you, Mase. You better be in the hospital or the police station or—” He cursed. “God. Sorry. I didn’t think. I’m hoping you’re not in either.”

“That’s Mason?” I could hear Quincey in the background.

There was rustling. “Yeah.” He said to me, “Hold on.”

More rustling. A door shut. He groaned. “Fuck. I’m tired. Why are you calling me at—seriously? It’s… What? That doesn’t make sense.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re being dramatic. It’s not even midnight.”

“I’m in Pacific Standard Time.”

“We’re in the same time zone.”

“Still fucking tired,” he mumbled. “What’s up, though?” His voice grew more alert. “Please tell me you’re not in the hospital.”

“Uh, no.”

He was quiet for a beat before he cursed. “What’d you do?”

There was no way around this one. I just said it, “There wouldn’t be any reason you might know how to re-arm Zeke Allen’s security system?”

There was silence on his end.

I tucked my chin down. “You know, since you’re practically family with him.”

“I’m not family with him. Andwhat the fuck are you talking about?”

Yeah. He wasn’t happy about this call.

“Whythe fuckare you asking how to arm his security system?”

I laughed a little. “Maybe I decided to turn the tables on him for once? See how he feels being stalked.”

“Cut the shit. What’s going on? Why can’t you ask Zeke himself?”

I sighed. “It’s better if you don’t know. I thought maybe you’d dropped by his house or something over the years and maybe he rearmed it in front of you, but I can see I was wrong—”

“No. Wait.”

He went silent again, but I waited.

I knew what he was thinking. I was in Allen’s house, and I couldn’t ask Allen himself. Everything about this call indicated I was doing something illegal. Highly illegal. I’d called him for information because I trusted him, and I was asking him to choose which side he was on.

He wasn’t like us, as I’d been reminded the other night with the bikers at the warehouse. I’d been hurt at first, thinking he was judging us. But I’d realized Sam was right. I needed Nate because he balanced out whatever was inside of us that surfaced when we were in Fallen Crest. If I didn’t have friends like Nate and Matteo, and if we stayed too long in Fallen Crest, I didn’t know who I might become.

I didn’t want to think about that.

He sighed. “Goddamn you, Mason.”

I straightened, my voice going cold. “Forget it.”

“Wait.” He cursed again, but I heard more rustling sounds on his end. “My sister goes over there all the time.”

I closed my eyes. He was going to ask his sister how to arm the system. I knew Nate well enough to know that if she asked the reason, he would lie for us. A part of me regretted asking, but another part of me didn’t. I needed to know. That was the ruthless side of me. The same side that had chosen to call Nate, because it would put him in this exact spot.

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