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“Surprised?” He chuckled, stepping up behind her and cupping her shoulders.
“W-What’s going on?” I whispered, unable to believe what I was seeing. Mason and Tenise, together, working as one. The pieces suddenly started falling into place.
The crank phone calls. The fire. There was no way that Tenise could have done it alone. She was probably the one who called Luna too just to throw us off her trail.
“How did you get in?” I asked, taking another mouthful of pasta.
“Rory had a key from when he stayed here a while ago. I was never given one, so I stole it and had a copy cut for me. I had Rory’s key back on his set of keys before he even noticed it was gone.” She laughed. “He was so oblivious.” The way she spoke, it was like she was talking about the weather and not the fact that both her and Mason came into the apartment unannounced.
“What do you want?” Maybe if I could get them talking, she would forget about the gun and doing whatever it was she had intended to do with it.
“What do I want?” Tenise sat back in the chair, watching me. “What do I want, Mason?”
He moved to the end of the table between us, picking up a dinner roll off a plate, and began breaking off pieces. He popped one into his mouth before looking at me. “Did you know that we had a pact that we wouldn’t let a woman come between us?”
“Looks like you broke that pact,” I mumbled.
Mason’s grin grew. “I guess I did.” He leaned over Tenise, cupping her cheek and placing a hard peck on her mouth. “But honestly, it’s been worth it.”
She giggled.
“I thought you were with Rory,” I said. “And I thought you wanted Vince.”
“I was with Rory, but he was only a ruse to get me closer to Vince and yes, I wanted Vince. Still do.”
“And you’re fine with this?” I asked Mason.
He shrugged. “As long as I get her, I don’t give a shit.”
Tenise sat forward. “I want them both. I want them all.”
“Vince will never go for that. He doesn’t share,” I told her, still unable to believe what I was hearing.
A dark shadow passed over Tenise’s face. “You see, that’s where you’re wrong. Vince will want me when he has nothing left. When you die, he’ll be all alone and I’ll be there to pick up the pieces.”
“Why?” None of this made sense. “What’s in this for you?”
“Something was taken from me. Because of his family, I lost everything. I tried getting through to his sister, but her boyfriend is too damn protective.” Tenise looked up at Mason. “You should have broken into their home like I suggested.”
“I tried.” Mason huffed. “But they were always together. I couldn’t get Luna alone.”
Tenise scowled. “No matter. This is actually better.”
“I don’t understand what’s going on. Why are you doing this?” I wanted answers but at the same time, I feared what they would be and how this would play out.
“Vince’s parents took something from me and now I’m going to take something from them.” Tenise lifted her arm. “Oh look at the time, Vince should be home soon.”
I swallowed hard when I realized that she wasn’t actually wearing a watch. She was unstable. “What did his parents do?” I needed to keep her talking, hoping that Vince would come home soon before she did anything else.
Tenise’s brows narrowed in the center. “They took my father from me.”
My stomach sunk. Shit. “How?” I was vaguely aware of Mason pulling up a chair.
“My father was Vince’s Uncle,” Tenise said, waiting. For what I wasn’t sure but when she didn’t get the reaction she wanted from me, she continued. “His mother had him killed. I was just a baby but because I never got to know him, my life was hell.”
“So, now you’re avenging him?” I asked, trying to process the information she was giving me. “That would make you and Vince cousins.”
“No.” She shook her head. “My father and Vince’s mom weren’t blood related. Her family took mine. Her father had my grandparents killed and raised my father as his own. He was supposed to be heir to everything, but Vince’s bitch of a mother was a greedy whore and took that from him.”
