Page 72 of Spark

“No.” he said finally, Mia looking to Mac but although he was standing only feet from her, he was nowhere to be seen. “No cops, Mia.” Aurelio said it calmly but Mia wasn’t interested in listening. Her phone was already in her hand.

“Too late.” She shoved the phone back to Mac who fumbled with it for a moment, his head shaking as if he was waking from a dream. Mia hit the number for Detective Daniels and heard Aurelio roar her name, making Mac pull the phone from his ear, a look of fear on his face. Mac opened and closed his mouth several times before words tumbled out.

“Aurelio, I—” Mac started.

“Give her the phone back!” Mia could hear Aurelio roar, but her feet were carrying her through the mess already. Shedodged into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. She heard Mac give chase and jiggle the handle.

“Mia,” he said, his voice pleading. “Please.”

“I will be out after I do this.” Her phone rang.

“Detective Daniels.”

“Hi, Detective Daniels. It’s Mia.”

“Ah, Mia. How lovely to hear from you.” He sounded pleased that she called. “What can I do for you?”

“I’m sorry to call you with this, but I didn’t know who I should call. I just got home, and it appears someone broke into my loft.” She let out a sigh, her eyes threatening to water as she let the words sink in.

“Mia, okay…” Detective Daniels’ voice became harder, the friendly nature disappearing. “Are they still there? Are you safe?” He sounded like a cop now.

“No, I mean yes. Well, no, they are not here, and yes, I’m safe,” she clarified. “But my stuff is in a mess, and my door was wide open.”

“Okay, exit the loft and wait in the hallway.” She could hear him walking fast and a car door beeping. “I’m on my way, and I will call this in. Don’t touch anything and try to just retrace your steps on the way out.”

“Okay, yeah, I can do that.” She gave a head nod, and stood from her perch on the bathtubs lip.

“I will be there in about 5 minutes. Just hang tight.”

The call clicked off, and Mia unlocked the bathroom door. Mac held his phone out for her. She sighed, grabbed the device, and walked past Mac towards the door.

“Yes?” she said, tone annoyed.

“Did you call the cops?” Aurelio’s voice was full of agitation.

“No, I called Detective Daniels.”

“Same thing, Mia!” His voice boomed. She could picture him, pacing and red faced, but she knew she had made the right call.

“Do not yell at me. It was the right thing to do!” She looked to Mac, anger rising. Mac’s wouldn’t meet her eyes.

“Mia!” Aurelio yelled again, and she clicked the phone off, handing it back to Mac as they walked into the hallway.

“Did you just hang up on him?” Mac said, finally looking at her. The teen’s face was paler than Mia had ever seen. Poor kid, she thought.

“No one speaks to me like that,” she said simply, leaning against the wall opposite her loft. Mac began to pace, unsure what to do.

“Why did you call him? I had this handled.” She asked him, her arms crossing over her chest.

“I had to.” Mac paused for a moment in his pacing and looked to her. “If he found out we came here and saw this, and I didn’t call him, he would have my head.”

“Mac, he has enough going on.” She sighed, sick of all the stress. “I get it, I do.” She placed a hand in his as he resumed his pacing. “But I need you to have faith and trust in me, too.” Mac stopped and looked to there hands, joined gently. He let her fingers linger in his hand.

“I do.” He said with a sigh, letting his other hand cover their joined ones. “But if anything happened to you, Aurelio wouldn’t survive it.” Mac looked to Mia, his eyes pleading with her to understand. And she did.

Mia smiled sadly at the thought. “Me either.” Her hand fell away from his. “Why don’t you run downstairs and buy us a coffee?” She reached into her bag to pull out $20. Mac nodded, took the money, and disappeared down the stairs. Mia’s phone began to ring, and Aurelio’s name popped up on the screen. She slid the answer bar and waited.

“I’m sorry.” His voice was calmer. “I... I’m just sorry.”

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