**Mason''s Pay**


    After watching the reunion between Josie''s childhood friend to danger, my twent had even there for Harper, I can''t imagine going over two years without seeing her fike Rottle hard. There''s no way I''m going to les


    Portelle


    gráng, that happen


    Josie, Lake and Then had gone to rest for a while, leading e, Dand Axe to continue here acon and Axel re helping relocate the rogues we had reened and tam helping find the modes witching our ranks


    We know for sure that we have a feast one in our assessment offices and we are waiting on test results to see if Armie and L''s food had been poisoned. If ites back that it had the definitely have one in Kaff''s writ


    we too. The rogue children had eaten the food given to them, and he been fine. So it can''t her been all the food that was contaminated if it even was.


    I look over all the personnel files of all our assessment staff over thest few years. It seems they are alged random posts in different locations each day, which makes linding a pattern with a particr staff member difficult. For now, I am focussing on only the males, as L had said it was a male who had overseen her assessment. Antile had apletely different story and had not been to an assessment office, so we only have L''s statement to work from for


    now.


    After what feels like hours of reading over files and finding nothing, I lose my temper andunch the papers across the room. They don''t hit the the opposite wall with a satisfying thump as I''d hoped, instead, they flutter around the room,nding softly likerge confetti.


    "Fuck!!" I roar, gripping thepoots of my hair in frustration


    "Are you okay?" A soft female voice asks and I look up to see everyone in the room has stopped what they are doing to look at me.


    "Peachy," I say sarcastically before turning to leave.


    I stomp up the stairs, through the kitchen, and out the back door to the garden. I need some air and some time to have a fucking breakdown without an audience. A life-sized marble statue of a woman holding a basket of grapes looks at me, her nk gaze seems judgemental


    "Fuck off, Grape Lady," I shout, making her head crumble into sparkling gravel at her feet. That will teach her to look at me like that.


    I turn away from her, only to see her twin sister giving me the same nk stare. I crumble her head too as I stride past her to sit on the curved stone bench behind her and I lower my head into my hands.


    "Come on Harper, help me find you. Give me some kind of clue kid," I mutter.


    Silence is the only answer I get. My mind travels back to her first day of school. She had been so excited to go, right up until we had gotten to the gates and she had seen all the other children. Her small arms had wrapped around my leg as she peeked at the kids all running around the yard, waiting for the bell to ring


    "Don''t you want to go y with the other kids before you go in?" Josie had asked.


    "No. I want to stay home where it is safe," she had said, her voice sounding so small.


    It is safe here. You are going to have so much fun," Josie reassured her.


    "But what if they don''t let mee home again?" She had asked.


    28 BONUS


    They will, we will be back in a few hours to pick your up, sie told her.


    "It''s giving me a funny feeling in my tummy," Harper whimpered.


    "They are called nerves, and It''spletely normal to feel his way. I promise you have nothing to worry about," Josie had crouched In front of her.


    "Don''t worry, no one will keep you from us. We wille back for you soon," I had told her, cing a hand on top of her little head to stroke her dark locks.


    "But it''s so big, what if you can''t find me?" She asked, sounding so vulnerable.


    "Listen, I will always find you, no matter how big the ces, because I''m your dad, and that''s my job," I''d told her, leaning down to pick her up.


    She had wrapped her arms around my neck, squeezed me and said, "I love you, Daddy."


    "I love you too, Princess. Now go and show us what a brave girl you are," I''d said as the bell rang


    Harper had given us all a hug before going to stand in line with the other kids. She had looked so small in her uniform, her backpack almost as big as her. She had turned and given us a little wave before following the others into the ssroom and it had taken a lot of willpower not to chase after her, scoop her up and take her home. I hadn''t been ready for her to go to school, I still wanted her at home with us, and that feeling had never gone away, especially now.


    "I hope you are going to fix those," Deacon''s voice pulls me back from my trip down memoryne as he sits beside me on the bench.


    I look up at the headless statue with a frown.


    "I think they look better like this, they were kind of creepy Axel shrugs as hees to sit on my other side. "That may be so, but they look expensive, and I think the owner of this house probably prefers them with their heads intact," D sighs.


    I focus my gift on the stupid statue and reassemble the head, before doing the same to the other.


    "There, now can we go and do something productive before I lose my mindpletely? I can''t sit in there looking at papers any longer,” I grunt.


    "Let''s see if Sage is ready to take another unbonded out," Deacon nods and Axe and I follow him back into the house.


    Today''s Bonus Offer