Page 94 of Last Chance Love

“What’s up?”

“Can you chase the onlookers out of the waiting room? They’re not getting answers anytime soon and just clogging the whole place with their nosiness. I’d do it, but I’d probably end up biting someone’s head off.

“But me doing it is completely on brand,” he finished with a chuckle. “Sure, I haven’t had the chance to bark at someone in a while. Almost makes me miss Riley.”

“Yeah, because you don’t totally miss your boyfriend,” I snorted. The two men left the room with an exchanged glance, closing the door behind them.

“Leon,” Mona began, but I cut her off before she could get into whatever protest or chew out she was preparing.

“Look. They were attacked, and clearly something is wrong with Elliot,” I said, feeling an uncomfortable twist in my gut. “And if it’s enough to make Elliot act weird, weird for him anyway, then maybe having the woman who scares the shit out of him in the room isn’t what he needs right now.”

“I need their account to be as fresh as possible,” Mona said, surprising me with her calmness.

“If you’re willing to trust me with the ranch reports, then you should be willing to trust me to take their account of the whole thing down as accurately as possible. These aremy guys, Mona. Maybe you’re right, maybe this is guilt pushing me, but I also know that’s the right thing for them now. By the way, that was the bitchiest thing you could have said to me, not cool.”

Once again, she surprised me, this time by laughing. “It was, but you don’t get, keep, and excel at this job by being nice. And for what it’s worth, you were right. If you’re responsible for this, then so am I.”

“I guess it’s a good thing Max stepped in and said it wasn’t my fault, which means it’s not yours.”

“Yes, very convenient for both of us. Of course, he would be grumpy if he found out he was also letting me off the hook.”

“I’m sure he would.”

Mona pulled out her phone and began tapping. “Well, if you’re hellbent on being the one that talks to them, then I don’t have a reason to argue with you.”

“That would be a first.”

“Don’t push it.”

“You’re only having this candid conversation with me because we’re alone, aren’t you?”

“Of course,” she said with a smirk. “I’m going to need you to either take notes while you talk to them or remember the details of what they say. You think you can do that?”

“Believe it or not, I’ve always been good at remembering things people say,” I said with a shrug. “Came in handy when I was younger.”

“Alright, I’m trusting you to do this,” she said. “I’ll follow up with them in a few days, though.”

“That’s fine. I just don’t?—”

“I know what you don’t want, Leon, and I’m not blaming you. Perhaps they don’t need me in the room while they recount their story. And having a familiar face around will help. I’m trusting your instincts as I have with everything else I’ve let happen, and I suspect it will have the same results.”

The door opened, and Reed stepped in. “I’ve got Elliot with Reno, and Max is currently chewing out the people who thought they were slick and would wait around to sneak back in.”

Mona chuckled as she made for the door. “You certainly put the right man on the job. No one’s getting past him.”

“And he’ll enjoy himself,” I said, thinking that was the other reason I’d asked him to do the clearing out, well, and because I’d wanted to talk to Mona alone for a moment.

“I’ll let him have his fun. It’s been a few weeks since he last saw Riley, and I’m sure he’s…pent up,” she chuckled. “I expect to see you in my office after you talk to them.”

“Understood,” I said, waiting until she left the room before turning to Reed. “Thank you.”

He smiled, reaching up to place a hand on my neck. “Watching you give Mona all that was impressive.”

“You say impressive like you’d say sexy.”

“That was the connotation, yes.”

I managed a smile finally, leaning in to kiss him. The kiss was the final requirement for what his presence had already started, calming me down. After all that near panic and worry, it was nice to have a moment to take a deep breath and simply enjoy myself.

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