Page 38 of Unmask (Crew of Elmwood Public #2)

“If you need me to be the voice of reason on your shoulder, reminding you what an asshole Kreed Corvo is, I’m your girl.” She took a bite of her sandwich.

“Thanks. I might take you up on it.” Forcing myself to eat, I followed her and took a bite.

“I know it’s probably the last thing you want to think about, but I have to ask…” Poppy reached over and gave my arm a gentle squeeze. “Any word yet?”

I shook my head. “Nothing.”

A heavy silence fell between us, punctuated by the clatter of trays and the distant buzz of other conversations.

I was about to change the subject and ask Poppy about Nash when a tray thumped down in front of me.

I glanced up, watching Mason drop into the seat across from me.

Half an apple dangled from his fingers, teeth marks sunk into its side, and that signature smirk, the one that looked like it came with a warning label, tugging at the corner of his mouth.

I stared at him, taking in the full effect of Mason and the damn dimples he threw around so carelessly. “What are you doing?” I asked flatly.

“Watching you,” he said, casually biting into his apple.

“For fuck’s sake,” I muttered, pressing my fingers to my temple. “I can’t even eat in peace.”

“Wow.” Mason turned the apple, the raven tattoo on the back of his hand flashing at me. It was identical to the one Kreed bore but on a smaller scale. All the Corvo boys had one. The crew’s mark. “You and Kreed really have trust issues.”

“You think?” I huffed, leaning back. “I don’t need a bodyguard. Or a babysitter.”

Mason’s eyes danced. “Au contraire, you need both, my little kitten.”

I groaned. “So we’re back to that ridiculous nickname.”

“It’s adorable. You know it is.”

“It’s demeaning.”

“That too,” he said, unbothered. “But more importantly, it annoys Kreed. So it’s a win-win.”

I shot him a dull look.

Poppy blinked between us like she’d stepped into a completely different conversation, and maybe she had because beneath the banter, under the sarcasm, was this unspoken tension I didn’t know how to navigate.

And I didn’t want to admit that having them here, even when it pissed me off, made me feel slightly less like the ground was falling out from under me.

Maddox loomed by the wall, pretending to scroll through his phone, but I caught his eyes flicking to me every other second.

“Do you guys take turns or something?” I asked, jerking my chin toward Maddox. “Is this part of some babysitting schedule I should be aware of?”

Mason’s grin stretched wider. “We drew straws. I won.”

“You didn’t win.” I rolled my eyes. “You volunteered.”

“Semantics,” he replied, winking. “If we’re going full truth here, Maddox and Kreed would’ve fought me for the seat.”

My chin rested on my head as I eyed him, my half sandwich forgotten. “I thought we were being truthful.”

“You underestimate your appeal,” Mason said, swallowing a bite of apple. “It isn’t just Kreed who’s fallen under your spell. We all have.”

Poppy coughed, choking on her drink.

God, who would have thought I’d have multiple guys fighting over me? Brothers, nonetheless, and it wasn’t even like they all wanted to sleep with me. At least I was pretty sure. “I don’t know how. You literally hated me a few weeks ago.”

He leaned in, resting his forearms on the table, his expression turning more sincere than I’d expected. “ I never hated you, and I think that was the dilemma we all faced. We wanted to hate you, but you made it impossible.”

I blinked, the power of his words sticking harder than I thought they would. “Why are you telling me this?”

Mason’s hand moved across the table, his knuckles brushing against mine in the briefest of touches before pulling back.

“Because I want you to know you’re not alone.

You matter to all of us, not just to Kreed.

Turns out, we like living with a girl, and we’ve got your back.

He isn’t the only one who’d take a knife to keep you safe. ”

“Wow,” Poppy whispered dreamily. “Where do I get one of you?”

Mason grinned without missing a beat. “I’d say I’m one of a kind, but my twin’s literally glaring at us from across the room.”

I followed his gaze to where Maddox stood, his eyes fixed on our little group with an intensity.

“This is literally history in the making,” Poppy declared as she reached for her bag sitting on the floor. “Where’s my phone? I need to document this moment.”

“Have we ever hooked up?” Mason asked Poppy, tilting his head to the side as he checked my friend out with a glint of interest.

“Absolutely not,” I cut in before Poppy could respond. “She’s off-limits.”

Mason’s eyebrows shot up, and his grin turned wicked. “No one is off-limits. Well, except for you, of course.” He winked.

I fixed him with my best don’t-even-think-about-it glare. “She’s hooking up with Nash, remember?”

Mason waved a dismissive hand. “Minor detail.”

“You’re unbelievable. I doubt he would feel the same.”

“Nash isn’t serious about anything, let alone anyone,” he replied offhandedly.

I was too emotionally drained to deal with this. “Don’t be a dick.”

“It’s true. He isn’t saying anything that I don’t know.” Poppy caught Mason’s gaze as she paused, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. “I might be interested.”

The conversation had somehow spiraled completely out of my control. “What is happening? No more sex talk. Where’s Kreed?” I quickly shifted to what I hoped was a safer subject.

Mason shrugged, finishing the last bit of his apple. “Who knows. Doing Kreed shit probably.”

My eyes narrowed. “What does that mean?” Just as I was about to launch the crust of my sandwich at Mason’s smug, dimpled face, a shadow fell over the table.

I glanced up, spotting a guy standing near the table, nervous, twitchy, maybe a freshman?

He was rail-thin, his backpack slung low off one shoulder, and his eyes darted everywhere but my face.

He held something out in his hand. A small, crumpled scrap of paper.

Not a note from a teacher. Not a hall pass.

Just a torn square like it’d been ripped from the edge of a notebook.

“Kaylor?” he asked, voice cracking as he zeroed in on me.

Mason straightened, dropping his apple core onto the table with a soft thud. His voice lost every ounce of humor. “Who wants to know?”

The kid flinched. His grip on the paper tightened before he quickly thrust it toward me instead. “This is for you, I think.” His voice came out in a rush, and his eyes flicked nervously toward Mason as if he’d already decided this had been a huge mistake.

I didn’t reach for it. Not right away. “Who gave it to you?” I asked.

The kid swallowed, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “I-I don’t know. Some guy in the parking lot. Said it was important.”

My heart slammed once, every muscle in my body tensing.

Mason reached for the note at the same time I did, his fingers brushing mine before closing around the paper. “Let me,” he insisted.

I didn’t argue. Couldn’t. A coldness was already coiling in my stomach.

He unfolded it slowly, brows furrowing as he read, and the playful tilt of his mouth vanished. His jaw flexed once. Then again.

“What?” I demanded. “What does it say?”

He frowned. Mason rarely frowned. That was Kreed’s full-time job. “I’m not sure I should show you.”

“No more secrets,” I reminded him.

“Fuck,” he hissed through his teeth, sparing his twin a glance as he slid the paper across the table.

I unfolded it, hands trembling. The handwriting was messy, scrawled as if it had been written in haste or fury, lacking any punctuation.

Ticktock, sweetheart, you’re on a timer

One more day before the stakes rise, and so will the price

No cops No Corvo No games

We’ll be in touch

My breath snagged in my throat, turning to glass. I stared at the ink like I could unwrite it. My fingers curled around the edges, creasing the paper. “They know I’m here,” I whispered.

“Son of a bitch,” Mason muttered, already grabbing his phone. His fingers flew across the screen as he stood. Across the room, Maddox’s posture changed in a second. His back peeled off the wall, his light-green eyes hardening as he started toward our table.

Poppy glanced between us, brows drawn together. “What’s going on? What is it?”

I pushed back from the table, the legs of my chair scraping loudly against the linoleum. I was standing before I even realized I’d moved. My knees wobbled beneath me, but I forced them to lock in place. “They sent me a message,” I said, voice hollow. “They’re watching me.”

Poppy’s eyes widened. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out.

Mason was already speaking low into the phone, voice clipped and hard. Probably calling Kreed. Or Evan. Or someone else on the Corvo payroll.

I stared at the note a second longer before balling it in my fist, my nails biting into the paper. This was their move. Their warning shot. They wanted me off balance. Shaken. Afraid. And it was working. Not for myself but for Kenny. They knew exactly where to stick the knife and twist it.

I couldn’t give them the satisfaction.

I wanted to find out who this fucker was, and if he or they were part of my father’s crew and had betrayed him, I wanted him to hurt as I had, to feel pain and fear. He needed to taste his own medicine.

As Mason filled Maddox in, I slid my phone from my back pocket, fingers flying over the screen, and hit send. For the first time since this whole nightmare started, I meant it more than anything I’d ever said.

I want this asshole to pay. I want revenge.