Page 50 of Mason

“You fucking checked into Josephine?” Mason’s voice went soft as silk, and Nikoli sat down beside him. He shook his head at Mason, but Mason wasn’t listening. “You fucking went through her accounts? She has nothing to do with this shit. She has enough problems with a fucking stalker. She doesn’t need this shit.”

“Of course, they checked into Jo’s background.” Kade tilted his head, his eyes warning Mason to shut the hell up. “The money ended up in her account. It was only natural they would investigate her.”

“I…”

Nik kicked him. Hard.

“Shut up,brat. Let them talk.”

“Mason, I believe you didn’t do this. The evidence says otherwise, though.” Archer took a sip of his coffee. “It’s not my case, but Harper has to investigate every lead. And that includes your girlfriend. I understand she’s been through a lot, but that doesn’t mean we can back off. We will figure this out, with or without your help.”

“I’ve had his laptop open and running since he brought it to me. I’ve also been recording everything. On camera and with a program on his laptop. Your techs will find a spy program installed that allowed the hacker to remotely access his computer and gain access to his bank account.”

“Or you or him could have done that yourselves and are blaming it on an unknown hacker,” Harper countered.

This time it was Nikoli who got all hotheaded. “You want to say that again?”

“Are you two twins?” Archer asked. “You look so much alike, it’s uncanny.”

“No, they’re not.” Kade turned his attention to Harper. “My brothers did not do this. We grew up in a military family and were taught respect of the law. It’s why I was an FBI agent and two of my brothers joined the Marines. We believe in service to our country. I brought you here not to make accusations, but to figure this out.”

“If he’s going to continue to make accusations, he can get the hell out of my home.” Nik stood, and Mason did as well. Nik had three inches on him in height and a bit more muscle, but they did look identical with mirror images of outrage.

“Sit,” Kade barked like a drill sergeant. “This isn’t helping anyone. The goal is to not have our brother arrested and to find a way to prove who really did this.”

“Who have you pissed off, kid?” Archer asked once he and Nikoli were seated. “Who would want to frame you?”

“Fuck if I know.” Mason slouched against the back of the couch. Man, was he tired. “I don’t piss people off, and I’m probably the most laidback guy I know.”

“That’s true,” Kade said. “Mason doesn’t get mad often, and he’s usually over it in five minutes.”

“If someone went through all the trouble of trying to set you up, then you have to have done something to someone.”

Mason reviewed everything he’d done over the last few months. “There are two things that I could have done.”

Harper leaned forward.

“My girlfriend’s ex might blame me for the breakup, but that was all on him. He’s shit. But I don’t think he could pull this off. He worked in construction, so I don’t think he’s tech savvy.”

“You’d be amazed at the number of closet hackers out there.”

Mason was one, so yeah, he understood not everyone was who they appeared to be.

“You said two things?”

Mason told him about the other night with Cara.

“I find it highly suspicious we got them arrested and kicked out of the frat, and then the money magically appeared in my account and transferred to Jo’s. I’m not saying they were the original thieves. Hell, I doubt any of them would be smart enough to pull that off, but they might know who is.”

“Now, that makes more sense than anything else you’ve told us,” Harper said, sitting back. “It’s an angle we can work.”

“And it puts the perps right back into the fraternity.”

“Maybe you should arrest him,” Kade said thoughtfully.

“What?” Mason sat up startled. Had Kade lost his mind?

“Well, if you don’t arrest him, the real perp will wonder why. The best way to ferret out a weasel is to set a trap. Let him think Mason’s on the hook and…”

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