Page 45 of Beneath the Surface

He’s still technically my boss, after all.

“My bad, old man. I’ve been busy.”

There’s a pause, the line so quiet it makes me shift in my chair. I can picture Don with his slicked-back graying hair, probably in some tiki bar on the coast while his girl soaks up the luxury that years of working on the edge of the law has provided her.

“Define ‘busy.’”

Sighing, I run a hand through my hair. I grab a toothpick from where they’re stockpiled on the desk in my motel room and shove it in my mouth, the edge pricking my lip. “Just busy. Working. You know.”

“Mmhm,” he grunts. “You still hanging around the mark?”

“Lily.”

I cringe as soon as I say her name, knowing my slip of the tongue is equivalent to a giant red flag, waving in front of Don’s face.

He groans. “I know her name. For fuck’s sake, Mase. What the hell are you doing? Are you fucking her?”

My jaw clenches, stomach turning. “Don’t come at me with bullshit. I just… I know it looks bad, okay?”

“It does look bad. It makesmelook bad. I may not be there in person to run things, but it’s stillmyname you’re representing. My company that cashes your checks. It’s stillmethis all comes back to when things don’t get done.”

My teeth grind. “I know.”

“Then do your fucking job.”

Irritation snaps at my back like shark teeth, puncturing my insides until my defenses are rankled. I know that he’s right. I’mnotdoing my job. I haven’t been since the moment I saw her—the moment I found her—and didn’t immediately wrap things up and let her brother know where she was.

“When have you ever known me to not do my job, Don?”

He blows out a breath. “That’s what has me worried. Up until now, you always have.”

“Right. I always have. And Ialwayswill, so just let me do things my way.” Guilt slams into my stomach. “This girl… she’s different. I just want to make sure we’re not sending her and her kid back to a bad situation.”

He huffs. “You’ve never cared before.”

“Yeah, well…” My chest pulls tight. “I care now.”

“We don’t get paid tocare, Mason.”

Nodding, I roll the toothpick from one side of my mouth to the other, frustration welling up inside of me. It feels almost dirty to talk about Lily like this, like she still means nothing to me.

Like she’s a means to an end.

IknowI need to wrap this shit up. Need to make a decision about what the hell I’m planning to do.

“What do you think’s gonna happen here, Mason?” Don continues. “You’re gonna tell her brother where she is and then stick around? Quit working for me and start a brand new, fresh life, less than twenty-four hours away from the one you’ve been running from all these years?”

I run my hand through my hair, tugging on the roots. “No,fuck.”

“You gonna come clean to her then?”

My stomach jumps to my throat. “I don’t—I haven’t thought about it.”

“I’ll answer for you. You arenotgoing to tell her. You’re gonna get your head out of your ass, and do your fucking job, or else I’ll come and do it for you.” He heaves a heavy breath down the line, the seconds stretching until they feel like hours, his words sinking into my skin and mixing into my veins, making me nauseous from the invasion.

“You watched the news yet?” he asks.

My brows furrow at his question. This is the second time we’ve talked, and both times, he’s brought up the news. “No, should I?”

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