Just in case Claudia intended to follow them, Summer and Kayla decided to go to a restaurant where they could ensure their privacy. Summer was lucky enough to know one that always had a private room open. Always except for right then. Worse than being followed, Claudia had somehow beaten them there, and she didn't even bother to hide her smug expression.

  "Sorry, Summer," the host apologized, "You haven't been by in a while so we just gave that room to this lady here."

  "I can't just steal your special room," Claudia told them, still as smug as ever, "Feel free to join me. I'm sure we could have a riveting conversation."

  Situations like this instantly made Summer think of MysteriousMaskz. Her first real day of suspension and he was already messing with her? Was he mad she wasn't sticking to Ashton? What could she do about that? Against her better judgement, Summer pulled out her phone, scrolling through her message history until she found a conversation with Maskz that she hadn't deleted.

  "Did you send her after me because I stopped playing along?" she demanded, too frustrated with the situation to think better of it.

  His response was almost immediate. "You are playing along just fine," he assured, "Who is bothering you? I can always help you take care of it."

  The reporter wasn't sent by Maskz? He wasn't the most trustworthy guy, but he had never lied about his plans. If he had really sent Claudia he was more likely to gloat and mock her than deny it. If Ned hadn't sent her, then how had she found them, even going so far as to arrive before them?

  "I don't believe in coincidences," Summer shot down, "Especially not this close together."

  "You must have really liked listening to our conversation, since you knew exactly where we were going," Kayla added, "Let's go somewhere else."

  That was the right call. Sticking around would only end with her being hooked by an ambitious reporter or trapped in a situation where she owed MysteriousMaskz a favor. It had been a mistake to contact him. Summer really didn't like the way Claudia was watching them. It was like she knew they were hiding something and was eager to uncover what it was.

  “Then as an apology for eavesdropping, why don’t I buy you dinner?” Claudia pressed, not one to give up after a refusal or two, “You can order whatever you would like, completely on me.”

  As if to add onto the pressure, a new message appeared on the screen of the phone still in Summer’s hand. She hadn’t even had a chance to back out of her conversation with Maskz yet. Was she really not allowed one relaxing day out with a friend?

  “Do you want my help? Just say the word and I can get you out. I can get rid of the reporter too, but that would take a bit longer.”

  Two very generous offers, each with their own astronomical price that might just end up ruining her life. Both offers could be equally dangerous if turned down. She could avoid it and potentially have two dangerous enemies on her tail, or she could choose one. Unfortunately, Summer didn’t know anything about Claudia, and there was no guarantee she would leave Summer alone once she got what she wanted.

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  As for Ned, she knew she couldn’t risk trusting him. Definitely not with her life. However, what she could trust were his control freak tendencies.

  “That depends on how you can help me,” Summer typed, ignoring Claudia for the moment, “If you really are as thankful as you claimed to be on that rooftop, you should make it so I don’t have any interruptions while playing along, right?”

  Even as she sent it, Summer knew it was stupid, but she had done a lot of stupid things recently. She was tired of always having to be on her toes and think everything through. If Maskz didn’t want her dead anymore, couldn’t she use him back just once? Just before she could send the message, a hand shot out and blocked her view of her screen.

  “What are you doing?” Kayla hissed, “Let’s just ignore both of them and go. We can figure this out once we are home.”

  “Both?” Claudia asked, not missing a beat. Great, now she knew Summer wasn’t texting a friend. “Being a reporter might not seem like the most reliable profession, but I can help you if you are in a tough situation. You would be surprised how much a little media leak can do.”

  Another offer for help, but in reverse this time. If she were dealing with any other criminal, Summer might have bought it. Maskz was different. He would never be intimidated by a measly article or two. If they got published, it would be because he wanted them to be. It was too late to go for it and hope he wouldn’t notice since Summer had been the one to call his attention to it herself. She gently moved Kayla’s hand aside and pressed send.

  “Thanks, but I have the situation under control,” she told Claudia, “I was just hoping to actually relax on my vacation.”

  The awkward greeting of the host as a new customer walked in reminded Summer of where she was standing right now. She couldn’t ruin one of her favorite restaurants with a petty battle of words like this. Kayla was right, they should leave. With any luck, Maskz would view her message favorably and they would never run into Claudia again.

  Once they made it out to the car, Kayla grabbed Summer’s arm. “What are you thinking?!” she demanded, “What are you going to do if he takes that message of yours seriously? He isn’t afraid to use brutal methods to get things done. I know reporters aren’t exactly nice, but she hasn’t even done anything to us yet.”

  “Yet,” Summer repeated, “You weren’t there on that rooftop. My only choice is to play along and make MysteriousMaskz happy until he lets Ashton catch him. Until then, I can’t risk putting my family in any more danger than they already are. It is just like Claudia said. One media leak and lives can be ruined. I just… I can’t deal with more right now, Kayla.”

  “So you being overwhelmed is enough of an excuse to sentence a woman to death?” Kayla snapped.

  The reality of what she had just done snapped into focus with those words and Summer immediately felt sick. She had been ignoring it the whole time, but the easiest way to make a problem reporter go away was to make them disappear. If Claudia’s murder ended up on the evening news, it would be her fault. Kayla had even given her a chance to rethink her decision, but she had gone through with it anyway.

  “I’m sorry, I went too far,” Kayla whispered, pulling Summer into a hug. As her arms wrapped around her, Summer realized there were tears running down her face. How pathetic she must look for the one who had been scolding her just moments before to feel the need to comfort her.

  “No, you were right,” Summer admitted, “I think I am in over my head. They were right to suspend me. They would even be right to fire me. I don’t think I can do this.”

  Even as she was breaking down from guilt and overflowing stress, the very fiend they were speaking of shattered the moment. His message was as demanding as usual, but it also gave her foolish hope.

  “Come to the place we first met. I don’t mind if you bring your friend. We have a lot to discuss.”