The Price of Mason (Forbidden Men 10)

“So, I got a B on my last calculus test. Did I win our bet?”

She hugged herself. “We never actually bet anything.” Then she glanced over and a spark of her usual self illuminated through the pain. “But yeah, I totally kicked your ass with a ninety-eight percent.”

My lips quirked up with a grin. “Show-off,” I murmured.

Her toe slowly swung over across the seats to bump into my leg. “You know it.”

Relief shuddered through me. We were going to make it, I realized then. Somehow, we’d eventually be okay again.

Maybe not tonight. Maybe not even soon. But someday.

“And I’ve been taste testing different flavors of those fancy drinks you like,” I went on.

Reese snorted. “I don’t know why you would bother. You’re never going to find anything better than my white chocolate mocha espresso.”

“My favorite so far is the Triple Mocha Frappuccino.”

She huffed out a sound of disgust before muttering, “No taste. You have absolutely no taste at all. I don’t know why I put up with you.”

I clucked my tongue and nodded in fake mourning. “That is a mystery. On the other hand, I think I figured out who put Harry’s name into the goblet.”

“Oh?” She perked to attention, twisting in her seat to face me. She even tucked her foot under her and bounced her knee in excitement. “What’s your theory?”

I pulled into the Mercers’ driveway and parked in front of a closed garage door. “Well, it has to be a death eater, or someone working for Voldemort, because Dumbledore is completely not happy about him being in the games.”

Reese snickered as she pushed open her door and came around to meet me at the driver’s side so we could walk up the steps in the dark together. “Not even close,” she told me, taking my hand.

I gripped her fingers firmly and glanced around, on the lookout for anything out of place or suspicious. There was no logical way her ex could make it here from Illinois that fast, even if Patricia had called him as soon as I’d walked out the door. But I felt on edge anyway. I hurried us toward the steps and stayed by her side the entire way. “Really?” I answered as we moved, frowning over how wrong my guess was. “And here I was sure it had to be—”

“I’m just kidding,” she butted in cheerfully, popping forward in front of me to unlock the door. “You’re totally right. It is a death eater.”

She swung the door open and entered the apartment before I could grab her waist and stall her. I’d kind of wanted to enter before she did so I could check the place out. But my fingers only caught air as she disappeared inside.

Darkness engulfed her, and for a split second I panicked, thinking he already had her and it was all my fault. But then she turned on a light, and I huffed out a breath, quickly stepping inside and closing the door at my back so she wouldn’t notice anything wrong with me.

“How’d you figure it out?” she asked, pocketing her keys back into her purse and hanging the whole bundle on a nearby wall hook.

I watched her, glad she didn’t seem worried or nervous. I doubt she’d be this undaunted right now if I’d told her the truth. Comforted by that thought. I followed her to her bedroom.

“Well, Snape just noticed ingredients for polyjuice missing, which makes me think someone bad is pretending to be someone good. You know, like someone close to Harry.”

“Wow, you are good.” Reese sent me an approving nod before opening a dresser drawer and pulling out a wad of clothing. “I’m going to go change into some PJs in the bathroom, okay?”

Nodding, I watched her disappear into the small bathroom, though I didn’t en

vy her for her choice of changing spots. How many times had I bumped into a wall in there myself?

As if on cue, I heard a thud on the other side of the door preceding Reese’s outburst of, “Ouch! Son of a bitch.”

I grinned and shook my head. “You okay?”

“Fine! Just fine,” her muffled voice returned before scuffling and more muttered curses followed.

Not about to change in that deathtrap of a cubicle myself, I stripped down to my boxer briefs right where I stood, figuring it would be okay to wear just that since she’d already seen me in them at my place.

I was bending over to take off my socks just as I saw a spider scurry across the floor. Knowing Reese would not like knowing it was squatting in her bedroom. I grabbed my shoe that was lying abandoned on its side not far away and I quickly slapped it down over the arachnid, hissing, “Yes!” when I caught it on the first try.

“What was that?” a worried voice asked from the direction of Reese’s bathroom.