“Are you in love with Mason?” Brian asked suddenly, ignoring my insult.
The question came so far out of left field that I froze.
“You’ve slept with him, haven’t you?” Brian pressed. “I just know it. I can hear it in your voice.”
Shit.
I didn’t realize I’d given myself away just by defending him. But in the end, did it really matter? Who cared what anyone thought about it. It’s not like Mason and I were together anyway.
“Answer me!” Brian yelled when I didn’t respond.
I hung up in his face. There was no use talking to him anymore. He would never see things from my point of view.
What am I going to do now? I thought, setting my cell phone down on the kitchen table and looking out of the window.
I thought for sure that when I sent the video to Brian, I’d at least have a partner. He would see the video, apologize for being such an ass, and then help me.
Instead, I’d just succeeded in making things worse.
Fuck it.
Grabbing my cell, I dialed the number Mason left me. It rang twice, and then I got an automated voicemail recording.
I took a deep breath. “Mason,” I said, holding back tears. “If you get this, please call me. I miss you so much and I wanted to tell you that I’m starting to believe you about Brian—”
A sudden loud boom shook the walls as the front door was kicked in and a large blonde man and a lithe woman with a long braid that went down to her waist walked in.
It took me less than a millisecond to deduce that these two meant trouble.
Shaking off my shock, I lunged for my gun that was on the table next to the couch, but the woman snatched me by the hair before I could reach it, jerking my head back with surprising force and eliciting a sharp cry of pain from my throat.
“Don’t even think about it,” she purred menacingly in my ear as the blonde giant grabbed my gun and pocketed it.
“Who are you?” I demanded, trying to keep my voice level. I could tell that whoever this woman was, she would feed off my fear. “And why are you here?”
“You’ll find out soon enough,” the girl replied coldly. Her voice was filled with venom as if she already hated me. “And as for why I’m here . . .”
She jerked me around to face her. Up close, I got a good look at her. She was about my age, pretty, but with a cruelty stamped on her features that lessoned her attractiveness.
She stared back at me, studying me as well, but with a hatred that I found deeply unsettling. After a moment, she backhanded me across the face, drawing blood and her next words filled me with terror.
“It’s to make you pay for Razor’s sins.”
Mason
“I think that’s it,” Shadow said, leaning back in his chair with a satisfied sigh. “Maddy should be off on a plane to New York in the morning, snooping around in the Bronx for a whiff of the amazing Razor.”
I grinned. I could only imagine the look on Maddy’s face when she found out that I wasn’t there. I was sure Andre would bear the brunt of her unbridled wrath.
Sucks to be him.
“Good job, man,” I congratulated him, clapping him on the shoulder. “I can only imagine what she’ll look like when she realizes that I’m not there.”
Shadow chuckled. “Probably like an evil succubus who will then proceed to suck the life right out of Andre.”
I laughed. “I could totally see that happening.”
“Oh it’s gonna happen,” Shadow said firmly. “You can count on that.” He tilted his head back and yawned, his jaw making a popping noise. “Shit, I’m tired. Been up for almost forty-eight hours.”
“I guess that’s my cue to leave,” I said. “Besides, I need to get out of dodge anyway.”
Shadow nodded. “No doubt. Safe journey, man.”
“Thanks. I’ll be keeping in touch. Let me know if you hear anything.”
“As usual.”
I walked over to the door, but paused with my hand on the doorknob when Shadow called out.
“Razor?”
“Yeah?”
“Remember what you promised if you don’t wind up in jail. Or dead.”
“Don’t worry,” I said confidently. “We’ll get to hack your little game and make you a level one hundred whatever it is that you play so you can beat up on all the other little nerds.”
I opened the door and walked outside of his apartment. I’d made it just two steps before I felt a vibration in my pants.
I pulled one of my prepaid cells out, my heart pounding in my chest. It was the cell I specifically told Carly to call in case of an emergency. There was a voice message left on it.
I stared at the phone, wondering, could she be in trouble? The police should have no interest in her, and Anonymous and Maddy should be on a wild goose chase.
She’s probably just calling to cuss me out, I thought, but of course I had to check and see.
“Mason, if you get this, please call me. I miss you so much and I wanted to tell you that I’m starting to believe you about Brian—.”