Page 34 of Unburied

Vivi bolted upright. “What's wrong?”

“Someone's out back. I need you to stay in here and lock the door behind me.” He swiped up his side piece so he would have it if needed. “If I'm not back in five minutes, call the police.”

The person was still skulking around the backyard, and he slipped outside, then yelled out to him. “Freeze!”

He did, for about half a second. Then he bolted toward the side of the yard. Mason darted after him and tackled him to the ground.

The guy kicked and begged as he fought to get away. “Please, I⁠—”

There was nothing he could say at the moment that would make a difference. They could settle this inside—once he was secure and they had some privacy. Mason cocked back and delivered a jab that snapped the guy's teeth together and finally shut him up. He grabbed him in a chokehold and pulled him toward the backdoor. His feet left twin depressions in the dewy grass as they cut across the moonlit lawn, and he heard the slide of the door behind him.

“Mason?”

Vivi’s soft voice floated over his shoulder, and he rolled his eyes. He swore, arguing with this woman was useless. He should have known she wouldn’t stay in the bedroom. “Grab a chair, babe. We have a guest.”

CHAPTER

NINETEEN

Vivi hurried to turn the light on and watched, eyes wide, as Mason dragged the guy inside, then slammed him into a chair. Her mouth dropped open when the light hit his face. “Tyler!”

He glanced up at her sheepishly. “Sorry, Vivi.”

Anger welled up and took over her. “What are you doing here? Are you crazy, sneaking around my house in the middle of the night? You could have been shot!”

She flicked a look at Mason, who stood just off to Tyler’s side, looking very much like he hadn’t quite ruled out the possibility.

“Why are you sneaking around my house in the middle of the night?”

He threw an apologetic glance her way. “I know it looks bad.”

From her left, Mason snorted. “You think?”

Vivi slanted a glare at him before turning her attention back to Tyler. “You better have a really good excuse for this, otherwise you'll be pleading your case to the police.”

Tyler shook his head emphatically. “Please don't. Just… let me explain.”

Vivi lifted a brow and crossed her arms over her chest. “I can't wait.”

Tyler's face twisted at her sarcasm. “I was adopted as a baby, literally the day I was born. My birth mother had nothing to do with me except for a couple of letters a lawyer sent on her behalf. The first one came on my eighteenth birthday when my parents finally told me I was adopted. The second came just a few months ago on my twenty-fifth birthday.

“When I got that first letter, I wanted nothing to do with it. I didn’t want to know about my biological parents. I was mad that my mother cut me from her life completely and hadn't even tried to get in touch with me.”

“She sent you a letter,” Mason pointed out in his no-nonsense tone.

Vivi couldn’t disagree with that. Still, she kind of understood where Tyler was coming from. “I'm sure that was hard for you,” she offered. “But I'm not sure how that explains anything.”

“I know. I’m getting there, I promise. It’s kind of a long story.” He took a deep breath. “Anyway, the second letter came a couple months back on my birthday. I didn't want to open it, but my parents—my adoptive parents—insisted I should at least give it a try. My birth mother had left me a decent inheritance.”

Vivi's eyes widened, surprised at the turn the story had taken. “Maybe that's all she thought she could offer you,” she said slowly. “I'm sure she wouldn't have given you up for adoption without a good reason.”

“I know that now.” Tyler nodded. “That's kind of what spurred this whole thing. I started looking into her, and I wanted to talk with her, wanted to know what had happened. Why she put me up for adoption. I found my biological mother’s name listed on the adoption paperwork, but there was no mention of my father. It was a good place to start, though, and I decided to reach out to her. Unfortunately, when I pulled up her name, I found out that she died shortly after I was born.”

“That sucks,” Vivi said softly. “I’m sorry.”

He peered up at her. “Apparently it was too much. She committed suicide.”

The way he phrased that… “Wait.” Vivi rocked back on her heels, stunned. “Are you saying…? Is…?”