Page 29 of Rival for Rent

“No one inside without skull protection,” he said.

“Right. Thanks.” I jogged back, took the hat, shoved it onto my head, and walked inside.

The building stopped me in my tracks.

It was three stories tall, but the center of the ground floor opened up under a soaring, peaked roof, massive beams exposed above. An elevator was set into one wall, and a set of temporary wooden stairs snaked up beside it. The second floor wasn’t finished yet—there were holes in the ceiling that let sunlight filter down in jagged patches.

Workers moved around me, carrying lumber, power tools, and rolls of insulation. Interior walls were going up in a blur of motion. On one side, a team was replacing old, barred windows with sleek, modern panes that rolled up or opened out. In another corner, a jackhammer echoed through the space while ductwork crews ran silver tubing across the ceiling. Two big French doors stood open on the back wall, leading out to where landscapers were laying bricks and planting young trees.

And in the middle of all the chaos stood Kai, trim and formal in a navy suit, a yellow hardhat crushing his perfectly coiffed hair.

He was talking to an older guy with graying hair whose hard hat looked like it belonged there. The guy was holding a pencil and a roll of papers—he had to be the foreman. Kai was nodding as the man pointed at different parts of the building, turning slowly to take it all in.

I couldn’t stop watching him. He looked calm, confident, completely in control—nothing like the guy I’d seen three days ago, who’d looked like he was seconds away from throwing a punch. It was strange, seeing him like this. Not fragile. Not flustered. Just...in charge.

I didn’t even realize I was staring until Kai and the foreman turned in my direction. Kai’s gaze landed on me, shifting fromcurious to sharp in an instant. He straightened, shoulders going rigid, like he was bracing for a fight.

Which, okay, fair enough. I had kind of barged in. But still. It stung more than I wanted it to.

I took a deep breath, told myself it didn’t matter what he thought of me, and walked right over to them.

“What the hell are you—” Kai started, but I cut him off.

“Don’t you check your phone? I’ve been texting you for three days, and you haven’t answered once.”

“I’ve been busy,” he said stiffly.

“Too busy to care about your personal safety?” I shot back. “I take it from your lack of response that you haven’t called another service yet.”

“It’s none of your business if I have or not.”

“It damn well is, if you’re not going to take it seriously. Unlike you, I actually care if you turn up dead.”

“Can you not—” He nodded at the foreman. “I’m in the middle of something, Mason. I don’t have time for this now.”

“I’ll wait.” I folded my arms.

The foreman looked between the two of us and shook his head like he wanted no part of this.

“It’s alright,” he said. “You two sound like you’ve got some talking to do. I gotta check with Billy about when the city’s gonna turn on the gas. Mr. Jacinto, let me know when you’re ready for the full walkthrough.”

He walked off like he couldn’t get away fast enough.

“Great,” Kai muttered. “Now he probably thinks we’re having some kind of lovers’ quarrel. Well done.”

That hadn’t even occurred to me. I blinked after the foreman, caught off guard. “Really?”

Kai made a noise in the back of his throat, pure exasperation. “Relax. I won’t let him think you’re gay forever. Though how I’m going to explain your comments about me dying…”

“I don’t care if someone thinks I’m gay,” I said. He arched an eyebrow, and my chest heated up. “I don’t. And you don’t have to explain anything. He’ll probably think you’re as dumb as I do for not calling a new security service.”

“He won’t, because he doesn’t know that I called you in the first place.”

“He doesn’t—” I broke off, glancing around. “Wait. You haven’t told him about your stalker?”

“I haven’t told anyone,” Kai hissed, stepping closer. “And keep your voice down. No one knows, and no one is going to know. I don’t want to make this a bigger thing than it is. The focus should be on the center, not me.”

“Jesus, what if one of these guys is behind it?” I asked. “Or someone else you work with?”

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