Page 42 of Rejected Pretend Mate

Cayden raised an eyebrow at me, and I scowled. "It was Ivan. He was here. I mean, who else would do this?"

Just then, Riley came into the space, her eyes wide. She covered her mouth as she looked around. "What the hell happened?"

"Fire," Cayden said simply. "And do not message my sister."

Riley crossed her arms, looking at Cayden, pissed. "What do you mean don't message her? This is her apartment, Cayden. She has a right to know about what's going on here."

Cayden shook his head. "No, it's under my name. This is my apartment, and she doesn't need to know what's going on."

Riley scowled at him, clearly irritated. "You can't be serious. Cayden, April has a right to know about this. This is dangerous."

"I'm aware," he said, "Which is why we don't tell her. She already knows she's in danger, but this will only make her more uncomfortable after all her progress."

Riley narrowed her eyes, and her nostrils flared. "So, you want me to lie to her?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "Just don't say anything to her. We don't know who did this. Once we know a little more, we can let her know."

Riley snorted, waving her hand at the mess. "Oh, come on! We know who did this."

"We don't have evidence," Cayden said, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall. "Which means we can't do anything. We have to sit and wait."

Riley growled at him. "Yeah, that seems to be working really fucking well for you, Cayden." She turned, storming out of the apartment.

I glanced at Cayden, knowing there was more to that fight than what I was seeing. He sighed. "We had a fight earlier. There is a house we both really like that is up for sale, and she doesn't want to buy until April is better."

My eyebrows went up. "That could take a while."

He nodded his head. "That's what I told her. I said we can't put our lives on hold because she's sad and my sister is having a hard time. I could have probably said it in other words at the time. She started to cry, and plates were thrown, and then silence followed."

I frowned, realizing he was really worried. It was clearly affecting everything.

"You know I have your sister, don't you?" I said, thinking back to last night. “You said you were grateful for everything I was doing."

"I am," he said, "But this." He waved a hand at the space. "This…this was just below my home. It's affecting my entire family, not just my sister."

We both fell silent, and he sighed. "Ayden and I already spoke about this, but with no proof, there is nothing he can do. I wanted him to have a meeting with the alpha since April was more invested in the town now, but he said we needed evidence for it. And we don't. It's a sitting game at this point."

I scanned the apartment, feeling even more determined to protect April. I knew that Ivan was dangerous before and that he'd hurt her, but this was another level. If April had been here, she could have been injured in a way that couldn't be healed.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked. "Please tell me you thought of something."

He shook his head. "The cameras are down, so there is no footage of him. There are no witnesses. I was going to Viv, but she wasn't home. Whatever he is doing or where he is going, he's good at it." Cayden turned. "Just…keep her safe, Weslie. That's all I ask. I don't want to find her hurt or worse..."

"I am," I said. "And I will continue to. I have her, and she's not going anywhere."

"Thank you," Cayden ran a hand through his head. "At least I have that going for me. I don't have to worry about her being safe."

I left the apartment and felt rage on the drive home. I wanted to find him and snap his neck. But we had no idea where he was. Whenever we got a little information, it was wrong. No one seemed to see him in town, and I didn't understand how that could be.

When I returned to the apartment, April was sitting on the couch. She smiled as I entered. "Hey, can you help Cayden out?"

I nodded as I slipped my shoes off and walked over to her. "Yeah, we're good."

"What did he need help with?"

I thought of the burn marks on her floor, and I swallowed. "Just needed help moving some boxes and didn't want to ask Riley."

"Aren't you sweet. You want to watch this movie with me?" She pointed towards the TV.

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