Bang (Blast Brothers #2) - Sabrina Stark Page 0,35

anything?"

Willow's confusion cleared. "Oh." She gave a decisive shake of her head. "No."

In a soothing voice, I said, "Never? Not even once? Are you sure, Sweet Pea?"

Willow nodded. "If anyone did that, I would've told on them for sure."

From beside the table, Mason gave a curt nod. "Good girl." And then, he turned his dark gaze on me. "You and me – we need to talk."

Chapter 21

Cami

After he closed the patio door behind us, he didn't waste any time. "So, tell me. What happened."

Night had already fallen, and the air was too cold to be comfortable. But I didn't feel like I could complain, considering that I was the one who'd suggested talking out here in the first place.

Already, I was regretting it. Even though I was wearing a sweater, the cold breeze made me want to kick myself for not also grabbing a jacket on the way out.

On the upside, my story wouldn’t take long to tell.

Sticking with the basics, I replied, "After school, Veronica showed up in the parking lot and tried to talk to Willow. I didn't want to upset her – meaning Willow, not Veronica – so I let them talk for a minute or two, and then I said we had to leave. The whole thing lasted barely ten minutes."

Tonight, Mason was wearing a tailored business suit with a burgundy necktie. His suit was definitely thinner than my sweater, but he didn't look cold, not unless I counted the look in his eye when he said, "Oh, yeah? When?"

I felt my brow wrinkle in confusion. "What do you mean when?" I paused to think. "Do you mean, when did it happen?"

"That was the question."

"But you know when it happened. I just told you, it was right after school."

"And what time was that?"

As if he didn't know. "Around three o'clock."

"Right. Four hours ago."

"Oh." Finally, I got the message. "Uh, yeah. More or less."

"And you never thought to call?"

"You mean you?" I said. "Sure, I thought about it. But since it was handled, I didn't see the point of bothering you at work."

His mouth tightened. "Uh-huh."

"And just so you know, I would've told you if Willow hadn't mentioned it first."

"Right. And now you're gonna mention the rest."

"What do you mean?"

"The part you left out," he said. "I want to hear it."

"But you already did."

"I heard it from Willow," he said. "Now, I'm gonna hear it from you."

"But why? It's the same story."

His gaze bored into mine. "So it's true? She slapped you."

"Yes. But to be fair, that was only after I kicked her."

With a hint of sarcasm, he said, "In the ass?"

Jeez, what kind of maniac did he think I was? "No. In the shin."

"And why the shin?"

"Because she was standing on my foot, refusing to let me leave. And if I couldn’t leave, Willow couldn't leave either."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Unless you wanted Willow to drive off on her own."

"She's eight."

"Yeah, that's my point. And just look at it from my point-of-view. Veronica's standing on my foot, Willow's in the back seat, and I wanted to get the heck out of there."

"So you kicked her."

"Well, yeah, because at this at this point, I figure I've got two choices. I can either shove her away or kick her in the shin. And I figure if I try the whole 'shoving' thing, she might fall down and break something."

Only half joking, I added, "Plus, if she's lying on the pavement, I'd have to back over her to get out of the parking spot."

"Good."

I sighed. "No. It's not good. And besides, it's not like I'd actually do it. I'm just saying, she had me hemmed in, and I was a little short of options. And the last thing I wanted was to create a giant spectacle."

He gave me a skeptical look. "Uh-huh."

"And yes, I do realize there was a spectacle anyway. But trust me, it could've been so much worse. And it's not like I had any advance warning."

"Of what?"

"Of her showing up." I made a sound of frustration. "Like, if I'd known what Veronica looked like, she never would've gotten within ten feet of Willow."

He frowned. "Good to know."

I stared up at him. His words said one thing, but his expression said another. Unless I was horribly mistaken, he saw nothing good about any of this.

I could totally relate.

Still, I went on to make my point. "So maybe you should give me some photos – of the former nannies, I mean."

"Done," he said. "You'll have them tomorrow." He moved