Runaways by Beth Szymkowski Page A

thanked his own dad. He may have been uneducated and downright gruff, but he was a good man. “Here’s the thing . . .”
    “We’re done here.” Abernathy was accustomed to calling the shots, but Mason wasn’t accustomed to listening to anyone.
    “Here’s the thing. I’m not breaking up with Kaylee.”
    “Maybe I wasn’t clear. You’re breaking up with her. One way or another, I will make it happen. I didn’t have to offer you anything.”
    “Add generous to all those great things people think about you.” Mason shook his head.
    “If I see you with Kaylee, hear about you with Kaylee, anything. I will call the police and say you stole that money.”
    “No. You won’t.”
    “You little self-righteous shit. You seem to be mistaking me for some powerless sap like your father.”
    Mason nearly hit him then. He made a fist but fought the urge. This had to end with him in control. “You won’t report me, because if you do, to anyone, I’ll tell them what I know.”
    “Make up any story you want. No one will believe you.” But the man clearly was uncomfortable. Mason let the silence sit. The prick probably had several big secrets and wasn’t sure which one he was talking about. But Mason knew the one he had was a game changer. Screw this asshole for thinking he wasn’t good enough for his daughter. Screw him for thinking he could be bought like a whore. Screw him for underestimating Mason Henry.

20. STALKARAZZI
    “It’s sort of unethical, really, if you think about it,” Glinda reasoned. Kaylee’s dad offered money to Mason to break up with his daughter, and Mason took the money but refused to hold up his end of the bargain. “If I gave money to someone to buy a really great fringed leather jacket, and they took the money but gave me a jacket that didn’t have fringe, I’d be hellza angry. And this is way worse. I mean, he didn’t even get the jacket. Forget the fringe.” Glinda was sure William Abernathy must have felt the same way. “Do you think this might be what led to his getting killed? Like, the old man went after Mason and they fought?”
    “So people at school knew what happened with her father?” The old detective sounded impatient.
    “Of course. Word got out. And it was obvious when Kaylee started avoiding Mason.”
    “They were still together as of last night.”
    “But they almost broke up before over it. I saw the whole thing. I was on a balcony at school.” Again, very Ruliet.
    “So they fought. . . .” The older detective was also tired.
    “Right. Mason was sitting on the steps after school. He wasthrowing rocks at a fire hydrant, looking all angsty. I waited around to see what was going on. He has a total crap arm, by the way. Couldn’t hit the hydrant to save his life.”
    “Go on.”
    “What else can I say about it? He wasn’t a jock.”
    “Go on about the fight.”
    “At this point, everybody knew something was up with the two of them. Kaylee had missed a few days of school, and when she came back, she was always getting to class late or leaving early. Totally not like her. Word on the street was she was doing that so Mason never had a chance to be alone with her and to talk to her. Apparently, he was getting tired of trying to track her down, so here he was, sitting and waiting like a stalkarazzi for her to walk by. When Kaylee came out of the building and saw him waiting, she was all ready to turn around, but for whatever reason, she didn’t. She walked down the steps, right by him, and he called out to her. He asked why she hadn’t answered any of his calls or texts. Kaylee had to hear him, but she pretended she didn’t. Then he chased after her. He said he wanted to show her something.” Glinda paused. “That really got my interest.”

    Kaylee had been avoiding Mason after the incident between him and her father. The last thing she’d heard was Mason taking the money to break up with her. She was furious and heartbroken. She almost turned around when