Page 66 of Rival for Rent

“The point still stands,” I said. My chest burned with fury. Every attack made me more determined to move forward.

“Okay,” Myers said, his voice deliberately calm, like I was on the edge of a meltdown. “Have you thought of maybe delaying the opening? Just until things cool off?”

“No!” I said at the same time Mason said, “We tried that.”

We looked at each other. Mason gave me a look that said it was time to come clean. I didn’t want to—but I knew he was right.

“Which is it?” Myers asked.

I took a breath and let go of Mason’s hand. “It’s complicated,” I said, then launched into the whole story—about the notes, the video, how we’d tried to throw them off.

“You really should have brought this to us sooner,” Branscombe said gently. “We can’t help you if we don’t have all the information.”

And she was right. I felt like shit. If I’d gone to them earlier, they might have...I didn’t know what, exactly. Arrested someone? Called in Batman? Handed Mason a nail-studded rolling pin and told him to go wild? Anything would have been better than thenothingI’d insisted on.

“So let me get this straight,” Myers said. “Your press release about delaying the shelter was fake? You’re not actually halting construction?”

“Of course not,” I said, still annoyed he’d suggested it. “Even if I wanted to—which I don’t—we’ve signed contracts. The board would never agree to pay people without expecting the work to be finished.”

“Alright,” Myers said, absorbing that. “We’ll need to see those notes. They’re evidence. Officer Branscombe is right—you should have told us sooner. But at least we know now.”

The cops left soon after that, but the doctors weren’t ready to release Mason yet. They wanted to run more tests, X-ray his ribs, check for a concussion, and do a bunch of other things I didn’t entirely understand.

“Go home,” Mason said, grimacing as a nurse helped him into a wheelchair. “There’s nothing you can do for me here.”

“I’m not leaving you alone,” I said firmly. “Not when they didn’t even leave someone to guard you.”

“Kai, I’m surrounded by nurses and doctors. No one’s sneaking in here to stab me.”

“They might try.”

“They won’t.” He met my eyes. “Bella must be starving. And she needs to go out. Go take care of her.”

I frowned. He wasn’t wrong. Bella did need attention.

“Do you have your phone?” I asked.

He nodded towards a chair where his clothes and shoes had been neatly folded.

“Call me the second they say you can go, alright?” I said. “I’ll come get you and take you home.”

“Alright, Mom.” He rolled his eyes.

“I mean it. Don’t you dare try to get home on your own.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

The nurse wheeled him away for his X-ray, and I stood there, watching him go.

I picked Mason up from the hospital a few hours later, with Bella in the backseat. The second she saw him, she started scrambling up between the front seats like her life depended on it. He patted her awkwardly with his left hand while she licked the side of hisface and the top of his head—he couldn’t move enough to push her away.

“Bella, stop being a goober,” I said, nudging her back as we hit a red light. I glanced at Mason. “The only other time she’s been in a car with me was the day I brought her home, and she definitely wasn’t this excited. She’s obsessed with you.”

“Not that I don’t appreciate the appreciation,” he said dryly, “but why’d you bring her if we’re going home?”

“Because we’re not,” I said. “Not to my home, anyway. We’re going to yours.”

It felt weird saying it—yours. Mason hadn’t been staying at my place for long, but it already felt like I should be sayingourhome. I shook my head, reminding myself that whatever was happening between us, it was just physical. Just a byproduct of being cooped up together. Mason didn’tfeelanything for me.

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