Page 86 of Rules to Love By

“Eli says the diner was vandalized last night?”

“Oh. Yeah. That.”

Tris was too busy typing to pay any attention to him. A scowl took over his face. “Jesus.”

“What?”

“Did you know about this?” Tris held the phone out for him to see as he scrolled through images of the Egg Basket in all her tattered glory. “What the hell is going on, Marcus?”

“I-I didn’t know until last night. I saw it.”

“You have to call the cops. This is vandalism.”

“What am I supposed to say? I used to work here, and now it’s closed, but someone spray painted it? Why would they give a shit about what I tell them?”

“And broke all the windows.”

“It’s just another abandoned business downtown. There are a dozen like it.”

“This is your business, Marc. This was your home. Iris’s home.”

“Well, it’s Johnathan’s now. He made that pretty clear, judging by what he said to the cops last night.”

“Wait.” Kreed stepped between them. “What about the cops?”

Lucky pulled out his own phone, poked at the screen a moment, then put it to his ear. “Mark Schiffer, please.” He turned away, but Marcus blinked at his back, confusion seeping in to reinforce the chill.

Kreed put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed, which made it easier to focus.

Blinking, Marcus scrubbed a hand through his hair, using the pain of his fingers catching in the curls to center his thoughts. “Cop. Right. Someone broke a window last night. There were cops. Johnathan was there. He told them it was me, which is bullshit. Oh.” He looked over at Lucky again. “That’s why he’s calling a lawyer?”

“Yeah, of course.” Kreed’s hand was still on his shoulder, still tight, and he centered on the grip, at once grateful for it and also wishing it was Eli’s hand instead.

“Here.” Tris approached, holding out his phone.

“Who?”

“Who do you think. Talk to him.”

Marcus took the phone, almost dropping it before fumbling it to his ear.

“Hello?”

“Marcus.” Eli’s deep voice resonated through his entire being. “You’re home.”

“Home?” He looked around the brightly lit kitchen, at the faces all turned towards him.

“Yes, he’s home!” Lucky yelled.

Eli’s chuckle was warm in Marcus’s ear.

“Good deal. You okay?”

“I’m fine, yeah.”

“How long have you been there?”

“I…” He cleared the frog out of his throat. “About half an hour, I guess.”

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