Page 114 of Please Open Me
Cameron brushed his hand over my hair like it was meant to calm me, but the truth was, I’d never felt less calm in my life. I’d never say it out loud, but I didn’t think Cameroncouldfix this.
In spite of myself, I tried to cling to the knowledge that he’d surprised me before.
Chapter 28
Cameron
Mason could be a little… high-strung, to put it kindly. But she wasn’t hard to reason with. No matter how upset she got, she’d always sit down and talk it through.
Up ‘til now, it’d only ever been small things between us. Like baby-led weaning. Lord, I about had a heart attack picturing my little girl choking on a carrot stick, but Mason swore up and down it was safer than spoon-feeding. She won that one, of course. And I had to admit, Rosie was still breathing, so I couldn’t complain too much.
The point was, we always talked things out.
But this? In all honesty, I didn’t have the faintest clue how to smooth it over.
Hell, I still needed to sit Sophia down and get the truth out of her—who she’d killed, why, and how in God’s name we were supposed to keep moving after that. I kept hanging onto the one thing I believed with my whole heart: she’d never do me harm. She’d never hurt our partners, and she’d never hurt our kids. That was the rope I held onto, frayed as it might be.
Still, with Mason being pregnant again? Every little conversation was bound to be harder. Hormones don’t take kindly to family drama, and we had more than our fair share of that already.
So I did the only sensible thing a man can do when he’s in trouble with his woman: I offered food. Shot her a text, told her I’d bring her back whatever her little belly demanded. I figured she couldn’t stay mad at me with a plate of something she craved in front of her.
Except… she didn’t answer.
I went to Leona for a little help, thinking maybe she’d soften things and offer me help, but she wasn’t in any mood for me either. She flatly informed me that a forty-year-old had no business dating a twenty-four-year-old. That’s how I found out I’d landed myself in hot water too.
That’s how I found myself desperate enough to turn to Atticus. He wasn’t much help, but he gave me the name of some sushi joint Mason used to love back when she was a teenager. If nostalgia couldn’t win her over, well… I wasn’t sure what could.
I used to know Mason's sushi order by heart; it was her favorite. But, with the way her taste buds had rapidly changed, thanks to the baby, I wasn’t sure what to get.
I figured better safe than sorry, especially with her new appetite, and I was fairly certain I’d ordered half the menu. Cooked sushi rolls, noodles, soup, I even got one of those teas with the little black balls in the bottom.
When I pulled up beside Leona’s house, I was a little shocked to see the driveway empty, but I just assumed Atticus was out and Leo’s SUV was inside the garage.
I wasted no time in getting out before going to grab the to-go bags from my passenger seat, but just as my fingers connected with the paper bags, I got distracted by headlights.
My neck ached, the dull thud climbed up to the base of my skull, reminding me of all the whisky I’d downed last night. Still, I turned to look.
My stomach fell to my feet as my eyes settled on Leona’s black Honda HR-V.
Sand filled my mouth, drying every drop of saliva as the vehicle came to a stop. Leona was a lawyer; she could have been at work, or a trial, or even getting groceries. But the reappearance felt like a threat.
Leona got out of the vehicle, dressed in carnation yellow sweats. Her curls were thrown up in an enormous bun, one that looked one sneeze away from popping the elastic.
My breathing stilled as she jogged around to the other side, and my body moved on instinct. My sneakers pounded the pavement, and before I reached Leo, she was opening the passenger door and helping Mason out.
Mae looked small, smaller than usual. Her body was wrapped in a sweater far too big, and her lips were chapped and bloodless. She hadn’t looked like this yesterday, and that scared me.
My chest cinched, and I stopped dead in my tracks.
“What happened?” I asked, immediately fearing the worst.
Her belly had been hurting; what if she lost the baby?
Mason ducked her head, the shadow of her messy hair hiding most of her face. Leona tightened her grip on her, steadying her like Mason was liable to fold in half right there in the driveway.
“I told you to leave heralone,” Leona growled.
If I weren’t familiar with the Castillos, I’d have been scared. But I knew Leo well enough to know she and Luci reacted the same way to pain. Anything dark or uncomfortable, she hid behind anger.
