Page 89 of Please Open Me
I swiped my tongue over my teeth, leaving it to linger under my canines as I stared at Mattie. She crossed her arms, leaving her biceps to strain against the tattered sleeves of her ancient Metallica shirt.
“What do you know?” I whispered, already fearing the answer.
Mason was pregnant. That’s why she’d gotten so mad earlier, and I was a fucking idiot.
Mattie smirked. Right now, she was like a hungry cat, and I was a mouse she hadn’t yet finished toying with. Slowly, she lifted a shoulder.
“Information is power,Father Castillo. Right now, I have almost enough rope for you to hang yourself, so why shouldn’t I just let you?”
Yep. That confirmed it. Ireallydidn’t like Mattie.
I blew out a breath through my nose, doing my best to remain outwardly neutral despite the thundering in my chest. I wasn’t a detective, not anymore, but I knew it was best to ignore threats like this. Maybe Dale had tasked Mattie with testingmyfaith, and that’s why she didn’t want to be lumped in with the cult.
I wasn’t supposed toknowshe’d been tasked with watching me, that she was meant to check if I’d intentionally lied to Dale. Her goal was to find any possible reason to punish me, and I wasn’t going to give her that.
I was smarter than her and Dale combined. I could beat this. My job was to play along, and I was a phenomenal worker.
“Because you’re a decent human being?” I suggested.
Mattie tilted her head like she was considering it, then shook her head. “Mmm… no. I’m funnier than that.”
She stepped closer, leaning down just enough so I could smell Mason’s perfume on her.
“Plus, you’ll find out soon enough. And the look on your face? That’s worth way more than ruining the surprise,” she taunted.
And then I did what any rational human would do: I got up and removed myself from the situation.
“Where are you going?” she called, sounding annoyed.
I cast her one final look over my shoulder. “Information is power, remember?”
Her brows pulled together just slightly, like she hadn’t anticipated me throwing her line back in her face.
“Cute,” she said flatly, though the corner of her mouth twitched like she was holding back a smile.
But, I didn’t care. If she wanted to toy with me, fine. I’d played long games before. So I kept walking, grabbed my bag off the floor, and slung it over my shoulder. The ache in my knee flared with every step, but the dread in my chest was worse.
Driving an hour away to buy a pregnancy test would be excessive for most people. But most people weren’t being hunted by an insane old man and his horde of evangelical lapdogs.
If Mason was pregnant, I needed to know. I needed to be ready. I wouldn’t get to be mad at her, or Mattie, or anyone but myself. The first year of our relationship had been consumed by my own selfish intentions. In repentance, I would spend the rest of my life doing right by her and Cameron.
Even if it killed me.
When I got home, I shoved the tests into my hoodie pocket like I was smuggling drugs. In the distance, water rattled through the pipes. Mason only showered either very early or very late, and Sophia was still working, so my bet was that Cameron was cleaning up after a long day. Which meant Mason was somewhere alone, probably hiding from me.
Rosie was asleep in her nursery. No Mason in the reading nook. Which left only one option.
Her bedroom door opened under my hand with a creak. A fuzzy-socked foot jerked out of sight into her sensory swing, rocking like it was empty. Cute. Not fooling anyone.
I walked over and parted the purple nylon.
She looked up from her book, expression like a blank wall.
“There’s my princess,” I cooed.
Her gaze dropped back to the page without a word.
I pulled in a deep breath, then blew it out in one hard puff. No part of me wanted to be pushy with Mason, but she wasn’t giving me a choice. I dug in my pocket and dropped the box right across her pages.
