Page 94 of Mark & Don't Tell

Sirens blare down the street, and the murmurs behind me blend together. My fingers curl into fists, but I don’t have a way to fight this. At the end of the day, John is right—I broke terms of my lease. And I doubt he’s lying about being able to kick me out. He has to protect himself.

The only problem is . . . I don’t know what to do.

I don’t know where to go or who to ask.

Quinn and her mates would take me in for a while, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable staying for more than a few days. Jane would probably let me crash for a bit too. I hate the idea of asking that of my friends.

No. I’ll have to figure something else out. My dads and Letti might let me come home until I get back on my feet. Mom’s house...no. That’s out of the question. The only thing worse than my life falling apart is my life falling apart while my mom is around to tear me down.

“Thirty days,” John tells me again, stepping back as firefighters rush by and start to put out the fire.

And the sad thing is, losing my home is going to hurt a hell of a lot less than losing the scent matches I just met.

Doing the right thing sucks more than my life falling apart. After spending the weekend throwing a pity party, now that Monday is here, I’m trying my best to keep it together. My stomach is in knots as I climb off the bus, and I’m so distracted, I step directly in front of someone. They crash into me, hard. I squeal, tipping, but strong hands and bergamot envelop me, keeping me safe.

Home.

Still tipped over, like we were dancing and Kai’s paused to dip me, I blink up at him. He’s looking between me and the bus with a frown. His hands are firm against my back, and in the morning sun, the dimension in his brown irises pops.

“Daria,” he says, slowly looking back at me. “Did you take the bus?”

Does he sound mad, or is that my imagination?

“Uh, yeah.” I grip his arms and try to right myself up, but, listen, I’ve never been good at pullups. Thankfully, Kai straightens, bringing me with him. I’m like a feather in his hold, and I love it.

“Why?” he asks, fingers flexing on my back before he reluctantly takes a step back.

“I had some car trouble.” I shrug and glance away. I wasn’t expecting to run into him before we had the talk, and if he keeps looking at me like he wants to eat me, my wanton ass just might let him.

“Hmm.” That’s not a happy hmm. “Can I walk you in?”

And be trapped in an elevator with him? I can’t let that happen. Quick. Think of an excuse. Maybe I could pretend to be sick? No. That’s dumb.

“Oh, no,” I say with a gasp. “My phone is ringing.”

Kai arches an eyebrow. “I don’t hear anything.”

Narrowing my eyes, I grab my phone from my purse and clutch it to my chest, hiding the screen. “It’s on vibrate. You can head in, I need to take this.”

Kai studies me, seeing too much, but he doesn’t push back. “See you inside?” he asks with a questioning smile.

“Sure thing.” My nervous chuckle makes him do a double take, but I spin away and glance at my screen, heart racing and fingers shaking. Lying is literally the worst. I hate it.

Even as his scent slowly fades, I force myself to put the phone to my ear and carry on a fake conversation. A minute passes, and only then do I allow myself to glance over my shoulder. Kai is long gone. My shoulders sagging, I say goodbye to myself—because, manners—then walk the short distance between the stop and Good Vibes.

My stomach is so jumbled, I’m pretty sure I’m going to hurl. I arrived earlier than normal, since I had to take a certain bus to make it on time, but there are still plenty of people milling about.

A few clamber onto the elevator with me, coffees in hand. I press against the back of the elevator, catching the faintest trace of the guys’ scents. At least I didn’t run into all three of them outside. I might’ve spilled the truth as soon as I saw them, and that would’ve been messy.

Once the elevator reaches the right floor, I scurry off, stopping at the break room first for a cup of coffee and a bagel. The nice thing about Good Vibes is they always have food and drinks for their employees.

I’ll miss that.

Wait. What will I tell Mandy? This matrixed position was originally scoped for a year, but when the guys cut it short because they no longer want to be around me, what will she think?

My mind is a mess of worries as I head to my cubicle. The lights are on, and my pulse flutters at my throat. They’re here. I mean, of course they are, it’s their business, but I didn’t expect to see them so soon.

I thought I’d have time to prepare.

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