"You brought me to your room," I said after a few minutes, realizing he was watching me carefully. Not wary or worried, just...careful.
"I did."
"Why?"
"I—"
His pause made me look at him and snort softly at the confusion on his face. “You don't know."
Annoyance flashed over his face, though I didn't know whether that was because he really didn't know or because I’d figured it out. "I guess I don't. Seemed like the place to go. Anywhere else in the building, and someone else could come in. Housekeepers can walk into occupied rooms by accident, it happens. But no one comes into our private rooms, especially staff. And everyone in the family knows where we are, and they're not going to bother us."
"Moira?" I wondered, remembering the way I'd practically flung her off when she'd tried to get me away from the bar.
He smiled a little at that. “She's madder than hell that you made her break one of her heels, but she's not hurt if that's what you mean."
She'd tried to lead me away from the bar, I remembered now. Probably to keep me from making more of a scene, but also because under all her attitude, she still cared about people. No one had been able to get me to calm down, at least until?—
"Micah?" I wondered.
"At school, so he didn't see anything, and I don't see the point in telling an eight-year-old."
"Right. Good call...thanks."
"I'd say that it's not about you. A kid doesn't need to know about that shit, which is accurate but...it might be because I know that the fewer people who know about that, the better."
"No point in trying to save my dignity. I think that's dead and gone."
"Dignity is overrated anyway."
"You've got an answer for everything, don't you?"
"Well, that's giving me more credit than I deserve."
I rolled my eyes, patting my pockets. "Where's my phone?"
"Charging. After it kept ringing for half an hour, I took it out of your pocket and answered it before plugging it in."
"Fuck. Kayden, I need to?—"
Mason raised a hand and shook his head. “It wasn't Kayden. He called Moira to see if you'd come to the hotel. I guess he figured there were only a few places you'd go. She told him where you were, and he calmed down. Moira texted me earlier to say he was here, but he wanted me to tell you you don't have to go 'tend to him' as he put it. I guess he thought you'd be more worried about him than yourself."
"I know I freaked him out," I said, wiping my face. "I wasn't supposed to take off on him, and that's exactly what I did."
"I don't think there's anyone who's going to pretend like you were in your right mind," Mason said with a shrug.
I looked at him. “What did he tell you guys?"
"All I know is that you were on a call, and that something involving a kid happened. That's the only details I was given, and honestly, considering what cops see on the daily, that's enough for me."
"Oh."
"And I'm not going to ask either, don't worry."
"Okay," I said, and found that against all logic and sense, I wanted to tell him. Not right now, but at some point. "Wait, who called then?"
"Ugh," he said, wincing. "Your captain."
My eyes widened. “What? What the fuck did you say to him?"
