His Shortcake

Chapter 30

Surprise flickered through me as Alec's name flashed on my phone screen. "Excuse me for a moment," I said to the presenter, stepping away. My first thought was that it had something to do with Mara. The second thought brought back memories of our last encounter—he'd gotten so drunk that Emil had to haul him from the bar. I still couldn't make sense of the cryptic things he'd said that night. Lately, he'd been unusually secretive, especially regarding his life and the investigation into Amelia.

"Are you busy, Dustyn?" Alec asked, his voice urgent as soon as I answered.

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes at his lack of greeting. "A simple hello would suffice. But yeah, I've got about seven people behind me wondering who I'm talking to."

"Ass. I need you to stay with Mara. I'll be gone for a few days." The sound of a car engine roared to life in the background.

"Sure, I can do that. But where are you headed? May's death anniversary is coming up," I reminded him. Before college, we'd made it a tradition to take Mara to the cemetery each year to honor May, celebrating her birthday along the way.

"I know. I'll be back in time for Mom's anniversary. I just need to go to Spain to sort some things out."

"Spain? That's where May was born. Is this a family thing?" I asked, stepping out of the conference room to avoid prying ears. "Does Mara know?"

"Of course not. She knows I'm going, but that's it."

"Does this have anything to do with what you mentioned the last time we met?" I pressed, sensing more beneath his sudden trip, especially since Alec usually brought Mara along for family visits.

"Yes. No. Maybe." He sighed heavily. "I don't know yet. I'll call to check on Mara." With that, he hung up.

"Asshole," I muttered, returning to the meeting room. All eyes were on me. "Sorry about that. Couldn't ignore my future brother-in-law," I said with a grin. They all nodded, smiling back.

When I arrived at Alec and Mara's apartment late that evening, I found Emil pacing in the living room, looking stressed and on edge. A woman came down the stairs from the bedrooms, carrying a tray of untouched, cold food. Her worried expression mirrored Emil's unease.

"Emil," I called, breaking him from his trance.

He quickly stood, stepping forward to take my coat. "Sir, Miss Mara is in her room."

"Was that for her?" I asked, nodding toward the woman as she began reheating the untouched food. "How long has she been in there?"

"Yes, it's for her. The housekeeper prepared dinner before leaving for the night. Nica's been waiting outside Mara's room for three hours," Emil explained, neatly placing my coat on the couch.

"Did something happen?" I asked, trying to piece together what could've caused shortcake to lock herself away.

"Mr. Alec and Miss Tamara had an argument before he left. On top of that, one of her classmates has been bothering her," Emil replied smoothly. "And by that, I mean Noah Natividad."

I raised an eyebrow, and Emil shook his head in response. This guy clearly crossed a line with Mara; she wasn't the type to get worked up over minor annoyances—she wasn't that petty.

"Can I go up?" I asked.

Emil looked surprised but nodded. "Mr. Alec told us to let you handle it, though he mentioned you should sleep in his room."

I almost laughed at that. Even in his rush, Alec managed to subtly remind Emil to respect my boundaries in his place. Only Alec.

Without wasting any time, I headed upstairs to Mara's room. Her door was closed, but when I tried the knob, it wasn't locked. Light spilled out from under the door, a sign she was still awake.