Page 47 of Rival for Rent

“Are you grounding me?” I asked, incredulous.

“Huh?”

He didn’t even realize what he was doing. That was the worst part. If hehadbeen enjoying it, I would’ve yelled, started a fight, maybe even—

What? Seen what happenedafterthe fight?

I shook my head and changed the subject. “I have a group of investors coming over for a cocktail party in a week.”

I’d planned the event to help create an endowment for the Butterfly Center—something stable, so we wouldn’t always be scrambling for grants. Carolyn had insisted it would help if I played host. ‘Make them feel important,’ she’d said. ‘Let them feel like they’ve been invited into the inner sanctum. That kind of ego boost goes a long way.’

Mason grunted. “Have they been vetted?”

“I’ve known some of them for years,” I said. “The newer ones are friends of the older ones. No one is coming to this party to kill me.”

“That’s what you think. But you can’t know that for sure.”

“Too bad. I’m doing it anyway. My house, my rules. Take it or leave it.”

I felt oddly proud of myself for saying that, even if I wasn’t sure whether I wanted him to leave or not.

“Give me their names ahead of time,” he said. “I’ll have Dana run background checks.”

He was so high-handed. Like he assumed I’d do whatever he said, just because hesaidit. And okay, maybe background checks weren’t totally unreasonable—if anyone else had suggested them, I might’ve agreed. But since it was Mason, it made me want to say no out of pure spite.

By the time we’d cleaned up after dinner, with Mason instructing me yet again on how to properly load a dishwasher, I was about to explode. I needed space. Time. Air.

So I set my alarm for painfully early the next morning. It was a Saturday—maybe he’d sleep in. But I wasn’t counting on it.

It was still dark outside when I got out of bed and changed into my running clothes. I was buzzing with nervous energy and needed to get it out somewhereawayfrom Mason. A long run would help. Too long for Bella, though—she could handle five miles, maybe six, but I was aiming for ten.

I tiptoed through the living room, making sure not to wake him from where he slept on the couch. Stupid man. He should have been upstairs in the guest room, but he was obsessed with guarding the door.

Well, he could keep other people out, but he wasn’t going to keep mein. I slipped out the front door with a smile, my feet hitting the pavement in long strides.

11

MASON

My dreams were a mess that night.

First, I was back in Afghanistan. Back in that stretch of desert where the air felt like sandpaper and every wrong decision came with a body count. I relived the failure, the loss. That awful knowledge that if I’d been quicker, stronger, better—those kids might still be alive. I woke up twice like that, heart hammering, skin damp with sweat, needing minutes to remember I wasn’t there anymore. That it was over. That there was nothing I could do to change it.

The third time I drifted off, my dreams changed. I was back in high school again. With Kai.

I was pressing him against that wall, and his eyes were wide with fear. They darted around, like he was looking for an exit or for help. For the first time, I could actually see where we were. The school library. Lunch time. No one else around.

And I remembered exactly what had set me off.

Kai had been at a computer two seats down. I was about to head to class when his phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket and smirked as he typed. I don’t know what made me do it, but I craned my neck, curious to see what he was writing.

KAI

Be there soon xoxo

Assuming Mason doesn’t step on me. He’s in here too, stomping around like a gorilla

AVA

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