Brody
Chase and I made a deal. I'd tell Mason while he dealt with the nanny. Bracing myself, I called Mason's cell phone.
Sounding more pissed off than usual, he answered with a terse, "What?"
He was obviously in a shitty mood. But hey, what else was new?
Whether he realized it or not, his mood was about to take a serious turn, and not for the better.
I got straight to the point. "Listen, I've got some bad news."
"I bet."
I didn't know what he meant, but I'd called for a reason, and I wasn't about to be sidetracked. "Before I tell you," I continued, "I want you to know, we're already working on it, alright?"
With a humorless laugh, he said, "Funny. Me, too."
I wasn't following. "What?"
"And here'smynews," he said. "Your girlfriend – she's gotta go."
I frowned. "Who do you mean?"
"Cut the crap," he said. "I know you're fucking her. And before you ask, yeah, I mean Arden Weathers."
I didn't like the way he said thatorthe realization that I hadn't been as discreet as I'd thought. And if we weren't facing a family emergency, I might've taken the time to inform him that Arden and I weren't a thing.Not anymore.
But I didn'thavethat kind of time, so I ignored the now-familiar ache in my gut and said, "Forget that. Listen, Willow's missing."
With a scoff, he replied, "Nice try, asshole."
What the hell?"I'm not kidding."
"I don't know what you're playing at," he said, "but that chick's messing with your head."
I felt my eyebrows furrow. "What?"
"So I'll say it again." His voice hardened. "She's got to go. Not tomorrow. Not next week.Today."
"Hey,asshole," I said. "Aren't you fucking listening? I just told you, Willow's missing."
"Are you at the office?"
"No. I’m at your place."
"Good," he said. "I'll be there in ten minutes." He paused. "WithWillow."
"Wait, what?"
"I've got her." And with that, he ended the call.
Confused as hell, I shoved my new cell phone back into my pocket and looked to Chase. "He's on his way."
Next to Chase, Veronica was still crying. Through choked sobs, she said, "She must've been kidnapped. That's the only thing that makes sense."
I gave Veronica a long, irritated look. She was a leggy brunette with a hard mouth and roaming eyes.I didn't like her.Or maybe I was pissed off because she'd failed at the one thing she'd been hired to do – and itwasn'tto look pretty.
Alright, so Willow was safe.She was with Mason, not missing.
