Page 191 of Boom


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Chapter 72

Arden

From the front walkway, Cami called out, "Guess who called me on my way to work."

While she'd been gone, I'd been painting the spindles of her family's front porch. "Who?" I asked.

It was two in the afternoon, and Cami had just returned from her part-time summer job of tutoring grade schoolers at the local learning center. When she reached the front steps, she stopped and gave me a significant look. "Mason Blastoviak."

At the sound of that name – thelastname in particular – the paintbrush slipped from my fingers and tumbled off the porch into the nearby shrubbery. "Crap!"

"No kidding," Cami said.

Already, my stomach was in knots. "What did he want?"

"Twothings," Cami said. "First, he wanted to know the name of my dad."

I frowned. Cami's dad was away at work, much like the rest of the family, who were either working or at school.

Her dad's name was Engelbart, but I had no idea why this concerned Mason Blastoviak. "Why would he ask such a thing?"

"Do you remember when you and I were walking Willow home, and we were trying to figure out where she lived?"

At the memory, I almost cringed. "How could I forget?"

"Well, the thing is," Cami continued, "I promised to tell hermydad's name if she told me hers."

"Ohhhhhh. That's right." In all the commotion, that little detail had totally slipped my mind. "So he called because Willow still wanted to know?"

"Yup. Crazy, huh?"

Crazy was right.I didn't like Mason, even now. His hostility had been a huge source of friction between me and Brody. And then there was the matter of everything he'd done to cost me the only home I'd ever truly wanted.

Still, I had to give him credit where credit was due. In spite of his many other flaws, he truly did seem to care about Willow.

But he didn't care aboutme– not that he should, I guess. Bracing myself, I asked, "What was the second thing he wanted?"

"Well,that'swhere it gets interesting."

"Why?"

"Because it was about you."

I feared as much. Whatever Mason wanted, it couldn’t be good. "Oh yeah?"

Cami nodded. "He wanted to know if you were still here."

In my stomach, the sick feeling only grew. "Did you ask why?"

"Sure," she said. "But all he said was, 'You'll see.'"

It sounded like a threat.Probably it was. Mason had a reputation, and it wasn't great.

Or at least, it wasn't great if you were on the receiving end of his wrath – as I knew all too well, considering how ruthless he'd been in acquiring the house.

If I were smart, I decided, I'd brace myself for a nasty surprise.

It didn't take long for it to arrive either – less than five minutes, actually – except it wasn't nasty. And didn't involve Mason at all.