Page 78 of Ravenous

“Opie! Right on time.” Standing, Finn gave him a quick chest-bump hug and Owen glanced between him and Ellie.

“Hi!” Gregarious as usual, he pulled out a chair, extending a hand as they sat down. “I’m Owen Parker. And you’re?”

“Ellie.” Her eyes shot to Finn before quickly shaking Owen’s hand, appraising him with a small half-smile on her face. Since their relationship was short, she’d never gotten to meet Owen, who used to live an hour away, but Finn had certainly told her a lot about him. “And since I know that you two arebesties,I’m pretty sure you knowall about me and my brother.”

“Yeah.” Owen had a good poker face but he wasn’t the best liar. “But, don’t worry, I’m here to help Finn fix things.”

If she had eyebrows, one would have arched. “How?”

Determination blazed in Finn’s eyes as he leaned in, lacing his fingers together on the table. “We’re going to break in and talk to Ollie.”

“You were right. Not only did Ellie take that in stride, she even offered to help!” Owen stated in surprise, his voice filling Finn’s car, which was currently parked in Ollie’s driveway. His small purple hatchback was gone but that didn’t dissuade Finn; Ollie could be running an errand, Mason could’ve borrowed it, it might be any number of things. But if Ollie was out, at some point he’d come home, and Finn would be waiting.

“That’s Ellie for you.” Finn studied the windows, but it was midday so there were no lights or silhouettes, and all of the shades were drawn. “I’m glad I told her. I wanted her to see that I’m serious about…” Finn almost couldn’t say it. She hadn’t been wrong; this entire thingwasweird. “About her brother.”

“I think she already knows you’re serious. It’s a messy situation no matter how you look at it.ButLiam and I had our own mess-terpiece and we’re doing just fine,” Owen pointed out, face serious despite the pun.

Finn groaned. “Save your humor for Liam, he’s the only one who appreciates it.”

“You wound me!” Owen chuckled, gazing at the house. “All right, what’s the plan?”

“This place is secluded from the neighbors and Mason is always downstairs doing his weird photography stuff, so I think we’re free to roam and look for another way into the house.”

“Won’t he come up if he hears us?” Owen’s eyebrows rose as Finn snorted.

“You know Mason. Do you think he’d care?”

Grinning, Owen shook his head. “I guess not. By the way, Liam says we have some legal wiggle room if a door is unlocked. It’s still breaking and entering but it’s not as bad? At least that’s what I think he said while he huffed around.” That grin turned wobbly. “He’s upset that he can’t be here.”

“I don’t blame him. I know he cares about Ollie but he can’t risk his career by doing something illegal. Even though it’s frustrating, he’s doing the right thing. Besides, we might need someone to bail us out” Finn cracked his neck. “I’m banking on a different entrance, a hidden door somewhere because I never see Mason coming and going. That’s probably how Ollie got by us.”

“Okay. Where should we start looking?” Owen asked as they quickly got out of the car, locking it up.

Finn pointed around back. “Anywhere Ollie would’ve been out of sight.”

They circled the house twice, checking nooks, loose panels, and anything that might look like a door, finding only a cranky bat and spiderwebs. The third time they changed direction, going clockwise, and that’s when Owen saw it; the small mound of land that sloped up from the back left corner of the house. Going one way, it appeared to be part of the landscaping but, going the other, a recessed door appeared if one looked through the flora and grass that curved around it.

Biting his lip, Finn nodded at Owen, unable to believe that it was real until he grabbed the knob.

And it turned in his hand.

The door swung inward and they were met with a luxurious apartment that stretched the length of the house above it. Black and white with touches of gray, the furnishings and knickknacks were minimalist, sterile, but there were touches of Mason in the photography equipment scattered about and the gorgeous portraits on the walls.

Stepping inside, Finn glanced past the stainless-steel kitchen to the doors at the back. One of them sported a red sign that statedDarkroom: Do Not Enter.

“So, this is where Mason hides out. Not too shabby.” Despite the lack of windows and natural light, the apartment was gorgeous.

“Do you think he’s here?” Owen glanced at the darkroom and Finn nodded as he heard movement behind the door.

“What do you think we should do?” Finn gestured in that direction. “It’s one thing for him to ignore us upstairs but it’s another if we have to use a doorrightnext to-”

Before either of them could think about hiding, the darkroom opened and Mason strolled out, absorbed in the black and white photos he held. He took several steps before he froze, realizing that he wasn’t alone, and his expression stayed placid despite the anger in his eyes.

“Owen.Finn.” His usual monotone held distaste. Looking past them, he squinted at the front door. “Why are you in my house?”

“I want to see Ollie.” Finn kept his voice light but firm, appealing to any humanity Mason might have. “I’m worried about his safety. Things went south with us and I don’t think he’s taking it well.”

At that, Mason’s features fluttered.

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