Page 13

13

MASON

K ai looked down at his feet. “It’s nothing.”

“It’s obviously not nothing. Someone’s left you a note about this twice now.”

At least there was no property damage this time. But Kai couldn’t keep pushing this under the rug.

“I don’t know,” he protested. “It’s not like I killed anybody.”

He looked up then, scrutinizing me, like he was wondering if I had. I didn’t react. I didn’t want to see his face if he ever found out the answer was yes.

“Well,” I said, “someone clearly thinks you did something. And you didn’t want the cops to know about it, since you hid the first note. But if you want me to help, I need to know what’s really going on.”

He flinched, and I felt a pang of guilt. He was stressed, scared—more than he wanted to admit—and I understood what it was like to carry around something you never wanted to talk about. Still, what I said was true.

I softened my tone. “Please, Kai. Let me help.”

I half expected him to bite my head off and insist he didn’t need me. But maybe we were past that now, because he sighed and said, “Okay. But at least let me put some clothes on first.”

Only then did it hit me that he was still naked. I’d been so focused on his face that I hadn’t registered the rest of him. Which was saying something, because the rest of him was…yeah. Flawless. Those sleek lines, those soft and hard places all at once. I felt myself start to get hard again and cleared my throat, redirecting my eyes.

“Yeah. Of course.” I turned quickly and walked into the kitchen to give him privacy—and myself a second to calm down.

Add ‘ getting a hard-on during a blackmail debrief ’ to the ever-growing list of things I never thought I’d do in this life. Kai deserved so much better than me. I started making coffee, giving him space. My cheeks burned just thinking about last night. The way he’d pushed me, teased me—and the way I’d wanted it. I still did. More than I should.

Was I bi? Gay? Or was it just…Kai?

Because yes, he could be insufferable, but he was also sharp, fearless, and loyal. Funny, when he wasn’t roasting me alive. I admired him. Honestly, if things were different, he was the kind of guy I’d want as a friend. Maybe that was what we were now—friends with badly defined and deeply questionable benefits.

I shook my head. No time for a sexuality crisis. My job was to keep him safe. The rest I could figure out later.

He finally sat across from me at the kitchen island, coffee cup in his hands, breathing in the scent like it might help steel him.

“I think,” he said slowly, “that the notes are about something I did in college.”

I blinked. “College? That’s a while ago.”

“I know.” He took a sip. “But it’s the only thing I can think of. I’ve been wracking my brain, and I really can’t think of anything else.”

“Alright,” I said. “So what happened? Did you join a hate group? Kill a puppy to get into a frat? Assassinate all the members of your group project team when they couldn’t meet your standards?”

“Cute,” he deadpanned, shooting me a look. “No. Nothing like that.”

“So then…?”

He winced and took another sip. “It’s embarrassing. And I’m not proud of it now. I thought better of it pretty quickly. I’m just shocked anyone found it.”

Now I really was intrigued. Kai always seemed so straight-laced. What the hell could he have done that he was this nervous to admit?

“Okay,” I said gently. Bella nudged my hand under the counter, and I rubbed her ears, waiting.

“Promise you won’t judge me?” he said, voice quieter now. Shaky.

“I promise. Whatever it is, I’m sure I’ve done worse.”

That much had to be true.

“I made a sex tape,” he blurted out. “With this guy I was hooking up with junior year. We put it online. I don’t even know why. I think I was trying to rebel against my parents? Their rules? Their whole perfect image thing? I know that’s not a great excuse. It was stupid. Kevin wasn’t even my boyfriend, just a guy I was sleeping with. And now he’s ‘ not gay ’ anymore.” He did air quotes. “He found Jesus or whatever and went through ‘ conversion therapy ’—” more air quotes “—and now he’s got a wife and six kids. So I don’t even have the excuse that I made it with someone I loved. I did it, it was dumb, and I’ve regretted it ever since.”

I stared at him, still processing. Kai made a sex tape?

That was a hell of a twist. But I guessed people did dumb things in college. I’d joined the Marines at twenty-one. I wasn’t sure that was any smarter. At least Kai’s video hadn’t come with mandatory push-ups and a strong chance of heatstroke.

“See?” Kai said, pointing. “Now you’re judging me. That’s your judgement face.”

“I’m not judging you,” I said, and I meant it.

I wasn’t judging Kai. Not even close. Nothing he’d done could compare to the worst of what I’d been responsible for. I had no right to judge him.

What I felt, stupidly, was jealousy. That tape he made—years ago, with someone who wasn’t even in his life anymore—made something inside me burn. It was absurd. I’d barely known Kai back then, and even now, I didn’t have the right to feel possessive. And yet, I did.

The idea of someone else seeing him like that, touching him, having him—it made me want to stomp all over the whole damn internet and claim Kai as mine. As if I had the right.

I shook my head, trying to push it down.

“Then what’s that face for?” Kai asked.

I couldn’t tell him the truth. That I was judging myself for wanting things I could never have. For daring to think I ever had a shot.

“I’m trying to figure out next steps,” I said instead. “Honestly, I’m surprised this hasn’t come up before, if the video’s been out there ten years.”

“It hasn’t,” he said quickly. “I made Kevin take it down a month after we uploaded it. And we only ever put it on one site. We both deleted it from our phones. I’ve been running regular searches on my name for years—nothing’s ever shown up.”

“Are you sure it couldn’t be Kevin behind this?” I asked. “If he went through conversion therapy, maybe he thinks being gay is a sin. Maybe he wants to stop the Butterfly Center from opening.”

“Maybe,” Kai said, his mouth twisting. “But the center is for all queer kids. Not only for the gay male ones. And I doubt he’d want to expose himself in the process.”

“He might see it as punishment for his sins. Or maybe it’s some kind of twisted fantasy. Maybe he gets off on the idea.”

Kai’s eyes narrowed. “That’s a pretty big leap.”

“I’m spit-balling,” I said, lifting a hand. “But he might’ve kept a copy. Or someone else could’ve downloaded it. Once it’s online, it’s never really gone.”

Kai set his coffee down and rubbed his eyes. “Fuck. I feel so fucking stupid. If I hadn’t made that video, everything would be fine.”

“Maybe. Or maybe whoever’s behind this would have found another way to intimidate you.”

“I’m not intimidated,” Kai snapped, looking up at me. “I’m trying to protect the center. If that video gets out, it’ll be a scandal. No one will want to be associated with me.”

“It won’t come to that,” I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt. “We’ll tell the cops, and—”

“No,” he said, sitting up even straighter. “It’s too embarrassing. And they already hate me.”

“Cops hate everyone,” I said. “It’s kind of their whole thing.”

“No, they hate me specifically. You’ve seen Detective Myers. The way he says ‘ Mr. Jacinto ’ like it’s an insult.”

“That’s not personal. He treats me the same.”

“No,” Kai said again, more firmly. “I can’t tell them.”

I met his eyes. Dark. Steady. I felt like I was falling into them.

“Fine,” I said with a sigh. “We’ll try another way.”

“Really?” he asked. “What way?”

“First, we check the security footage. See if it caught anything. Then, we bait them.”

“Wait—what?”

“We’ll put out a press release about some fake construction snag. Say the center’s opening is delayed. Whoever’s behind this is watching. They’ll think you’re reacting to the threat.”

“Okay,” Kai said slowly. “But I still don’t—”

“Then we leave a note on your front steps. Tell them to delete the video.”

“You think they’ll listen?”

“No. But that’s not the point. I’ll be staked out in a car nearby. The moment someone shows up to leave or collect anything, I’ll follow—or stop—them.”

“How do you know they’ll come?”

“Because Myers is right about one thing. Whoever this is, they want to get under your skin, and they want to get up close to see it. They won’t be able to stop themselves from pushing further. It might take a few nights, but they’ll show.”

To my surprise, Kai didn’t argue. He just nodded. “Okay. Yeah. I can do that.” He gave me a small, genuine smile. “Thanks.”

“It’s nothing,” I said. Compared to what I owed him, it was less than nothing.

“It’s something,” he said quietly. “Really, Mason. Thank you. I think I would’ve lost my mind by now if you weren’t here.”

Later, we checked the security footage. It didn’t give us much—just a blurry figure in oversized clothes walking past and dropping something on the doorstep without even looking towards the house.

Smart. Whoever they were, they were being careful.

But it was something. Proof Kai wasn’t making it all up, or doing this to himself for attention. The person was way too tall to be him.

It took Kai the rest of the day to get the press release out. Apparently, it had to go through his internal team, then the Butterfly Center’s team, then back to his team, and he had to somehow get everyone on board with announcing a delay in the opening when there wasn’t an actual problem. He spent most of the day glued to his phone and laptop, and by five p.m., it was done.

That night, I returned the rock to the front steps, along with our own note: Construction halted. Send proof video is deleted. I doubted we’d get any response, but it didn’t hurt to ask.

I camped out in the backseat of Kai’s rental BMW—his car was still in the shop—armed with snacks, water, and a piss can. I waited, watched, and waited some more. Nothing happened all night. I came back inside frustrated, even though I’d known it was a long shot.

Kai looked at me as I stepped through the door, his eyes grainy, concern etched across his face.

“Upstairs,” he said, pointing towards the second floor.

“Hm?” I mumbled, heading automatically for the kitchen to make coffee.

“You’re going upstairs,” he said firmly. “And you’re taking a nap. In the guest room. Since the couch needs to be, um…cleaned.”

We both glanced at it. I tried to shove down the memory of thrusting between his thighs, his ass pressed against me. Stroking his cock, his skin slick in my hand. This was the closest we’d come to acknowledging that night. Kai was clearly pretending it didn’t happen. Which was probably for the best. Even if that knowledge only made me want him more.

“I’ll be fine,” I said, stifling a yawn. “I’ve stayed up all night on plenty of missions. All I need is some coffee and I’ll be good as new.”

“That’s bullshit. Sleep deprivation is a torture tactic for a reason. You need rest.”

“Kai, I’ll be fine,” I said again. “I did this all the time when I was on tour.”

“Well, you’re not on tour now. You’re supposed to be keeping me safe. How are you going to do that if your reflexes are dulled and your thinking’s all foggy from exhaustion?”

“How am I going to keep you safe if I’m asleep?”

“Because I solemnly swear I’ll work from home today,” he said. “I’ll stay upstairs, so if anything happens, you’ll be right there.”

I studied him. This assertive version of Kai was new. And kind of hot. Or maybe I was simply too tired to find it annoying.

Whatever the reason, I let him steer me upstairs to the guest room. It was mostly empty except for the bed—an unpainted wood frame from IKEA, covered in a Pokémon comforter.

I tilted my head. “Pokémon?”

“What happened to not judging me?” Kai asked.

“That was about your sex tape,” I said with a tired grin. “I made no promises about Pokémon.”

I didn’t plan on sleeping. I figured I’d rest my eyes for half an hour, then get up and lie to Kai that I wasn’t tired. But the second I lay down, the mattress sucked me in. It was infinitely better than the couch. Bella jumped up and whoomfed down next to me, pressing her warm back against mine.

Just a short nap, I thought—then passed out cold.

When I woke up, I had no idea what time it was. I felt groggy and dehydrated, and disoriented by how deeply I’d slept. I stumbled to the door and spotted Kai at his desk, typing away.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” he said. “Or should I say afternoon? It’s after one.”

Damn. I’d meant to nap, not hibernate. And I still felt like I could sleep for another twelve hours. But instead, I nodded and made my way downstairs. I needed to move, to keep my hands busy, so I started baking.

When Kai came downstairs at the end of the day and saw the apple pie and raspberry sandwich cookies cooling on the counter, he blinked like I’d summoned them out of thin air.

“Do we really need more carbs?” he asked, sounding half appalled. “We still have all the leftovers from the party.”

“You can bring these into the office,” I said with a shrug. I didn’t care what he did with them. I just needed the distraction.

“I’m not sure when I’ll be in the office next,” he said. “If I need to keep working from home while you catch up on sleep.”

I rolled my eyes. “We can go in tomorrow. If I need to sleep, I’ll do it on your office couch. Scout’s honor.”

“Were you a Boy Scout?” he asked, tilting his head.

“It’s a figure of speech.” I glanced out the sliding doors. “I should probably get back in the car.”

Kai followed my gaze. “It’s still light out.”

“Exactly. I want to get settled before our stalker shows up.”

Kai shivered and hugged himself. “I felt more exposed last night, with you outside the house than in it. Is that dumb?”

“Not dumb,” I said. “But I’m right out front. I’ve got my phone. If anything happens, you can call.”

“I’ve never realized how open my backyard is,” he said, still staring out.

“In a way, that’s a good thing,” I told him. “No cover for someone to hide behind. But I’ve been meaning to ask—have you thought about landscaping?”

He blinked at me. “Landscaping? Why?”

I shrugged. “Like you said. It’s a little barren. You could plant a tree, some shrubs, put in a bench or a water feature. Wouldn’t have to be expensive. I could do it for you.”

“So now you’re not my bodyguard, you’re my bodyguard-slash-chef-slash-gardener?”

I snorted. “I like working with my hands. Plants relax me.”

“So if I stop you from baking, I’ll wake up one morning to find you installing a waterfall outside?”

“Not necessarily a waterfall,” I said. “Could be a pond. Maybe a creek system. I’d run everything by you first, obviously—”

“I was kidding, Mason.”

“Oh.” I felt my face heat. “Okay. Nevermind then.” I looked at the front door. “Well, like I said, I should go.”

The second night was as uneventful as the first, and I came back inside jittery and restless. I’d really hoped we might get a visit. The longer we went without one, the more I started second-guessing my entire plan. If Kai would just let me go to the police…

I was too wired to sleep, so I tried to convince him we could go into the office instead. He shot that down immediately and pushed me into the spare room again.

“The couch in my office sucks,” he said. “And as you’ve pointed out many times before, it’s out of the way. There’s no way for you to sleep on that and still be between me and the door.”

“Then I’ll sleep on the floor between the two.”

“Like a dog?” he said, raising an eyebrow. “Be reasonable.”

“I’d still be more useful than Bella.”

“I’ll thank you not to slander my dog,” Kai said with mock primness.

“I like Bella,” I said, holding up a hand. “But it’s not slander if it’s true.”

“And the truth is you’ll sleep better here than in my office. Now go.”

So I lay down again, Bella flopping onto the mattress beside me like a furry heat lamp. My brain wouldn’t shut up. Contingencies, scenarios, threat assessments—I was back in mission mode, body humming with alertness. When I finally closed my eyes, it was only light sleep, the kind that didn’t quite rest you, but left you more exhausted when it ended.

Still, I slept until one again, and when I dragged myself up, I was groggy and off-balance. I said hi to Kai and made my way downstairs. I still needed something to do with my hands, so I baked some more. Bella hung out in the kitchen with me while I made bread, blueberry muffins, and a flourless chocolate cake.

Kai came down at the end of the day and stared at the spread like I’d dissected an alien on the counter. “More?”

“If you’d let us go into the office, we’d only have half of this,” I pointed out. “Not so long ago, you were the one complaining about me keeping you cooped up.”

“And now you know how it feels.” He folded his arms, stubborn. “But you were probably right to do it—just like I’m right to keep us here these past two days.”

“Possibly right,” I said, drumming my fingers on the counter.

“Definitely right,” he said. “I guess all this baking is the price I pay for being so correct.”

“Yeah, your life’s real tough.”

“I know.” He grinned. “And I bear it so well. Never complain at all.”

I snorted and headed back out to the car.

The tension in me hadn’t gone away. If anything, it had sharpened. I tried grounding myself with breathing exercises, but my body was still on high alert. I was ready to jump, to move, to act. It was dangerous, really—this much anticipation clouded judgement, made your reflexes fast but your thinking slow.

Settle in , I told myself. You’re in for another long night.

Except this time, at two a.m., I spotted movement—someone turning onto Kai’s block. A streetlight caught them as they moved. They were far enough away that all I saw at first was dark clothing, but as they got closer, I saw the ski mask covering their face.

Same guy, I guessed—and I was pretty sure it was a guy now. He had the same build, same height as the figure caught on Kai’s security camera.

He carried a plastic bag, something small and heavy swinging inside. As he neared Kai’s house, he reached into it with a gloved hand.

The rock we’d placed on the front steps made him pause. He looked left and right, then stepped closer. When he bent down to inspect the note, I saw what he’d pulled out of the bag—a dead rat, gripped by the tail.

Gross. But not the point.

This was the moment I’d been waiting for.

I launched out of the car, sprinting across the yard and tackling him before he could react. He managed to twist halfway around as I collided with him, but I took him down hard, rolling him onto his stomach.

I fumbled for the handcuffs in my pocket, doing my best to pin his arms. He fought hard—elbows, knees, even a backward headbutt that rattled my jaw.

He didn’t shout. No cries for help. He probably wanted to stay quiet in the hopes that he could still get away.

I shouted instead—yelling for him to stay down, that the cops were on their way, that he’d been caught. Anything to rattle him. If I woke the neighbors or Kai, even better. More witnesses.

I’d just gotten his wrists behind his back, one hand already on the cuffs, when something slammed into the back of my head.

I went sprawling forward, losing my grip. Pain exploded across my skull. Then a kick hit my lower back. Hands grabbed at my shoulders, yanking me away from the guy I’d tackled.

I tried to roll, to see who was attacking, thinking maybe—god willing—it was the cops.

But no. Two more figures. Black-clad. Masked. I barely got my mouth open to ask what the fuck was going on when a fist crashed into my face.

My head snapped back. The guy I’d tackled scrambled to his feet while the other two closed in. They kicked and punched, all of them. My arms flailed, trying to shield myself, push up, get to my feet, but I couldn’t. Every inch of me screamed in pain. I had no idea how long it went on. Thirty seconds? Thirty minutes?

I was close to blacking out.

I reached for my pocket, feeling with my fingers for my last-ditch option. Then I lunged once more, made a final effort to touch the original guy’s foot. My fingers grazed the bottom of his shoe as he lifted it to kick me again.

Before he could, another punch caught me across the face, and everything faded to blackness.