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You also thought there was no way she would open up a trafficking ring, either . . .
Mason doesn’t say anything, though his eyes burn with an intensity I’ve never seen before.
I fall back a step.
Everythingmakes sense now.
“Because of me.”
He chuckles, though it lacks any humor. “Imagine her surprise when you ran right back to me.”
I shake my head. There’s no way. The. Fucking. Cartel.
My mother sent the fucking cartel after Mason because I . . .
Mason’s eyes flash with a caustic black glint, his jaw tight and his muscles tense. Something violent radiates just beneath the surface of his icy exterior. It’s then I realize why Mason Carpenter has tried so damned hard—and failed—to keep me at arm’s length. Why he disappeared.
He cares. Way more than he or I will ever be willing to admit.
I thought I had problems. Now, I’m seeing he’s being haunted by ghosts, too. Only his are a lot bigger and a lot more dangerous than just my psycho sister.
. . . And now they know about me.
The ground shakes with the force of the thunder rumbling outside and then, like the sun got sucked away from the Earth, all the lights in the garage go out, plunging us into near-darkness. Shadows lurk in every corner, the only light a pale green glow that shines through the windows.
Mason looks like a mercenary in this light. A bioweapon sent to drag me back to hell with him. Dark. Huge. Devastating in this light.
My body hums in the heavy silence that follows, my heartbeat the only sound despite the rain and our heavy breathing. Only now, for the first time in God knows how long, my pulse is fluttering for an entirely different reason than what could be hiding in the shadows.
It’s him.
“You’re being harassed by the cartel because of me,” I breathe. “Because you won’t walk away from me.”
He doesn’t say anything, but his jaw ticks.
“Why . . . why would you do that?”
“Because you’re mine.”
My chest tightens with something harsh and ugly and sweet and beautiful.
Then it crashes to the floor at my feet.
My mother will kill him.
“We . . . we can’t do this anymore.” I’m not even sure if I’m speaking to him or myself at this point. Still, it tastes like I swallowed bleach the moment the words leave my mouth.
Mason’s nostrils flare, his eyes caustic. “What?”
I suck in a deep breath, willing my voice to find the words. “It’s not safe. You and me. This is a dangerous game.”
Tears well in my eyes, but I refuse to cry. Not here. Not right in front of him.
“You think this is a game?” My heart drops to my stomach when he steps forward, closing the distance between us until his front is barely touching mine. Then, he presses closer until my back hits the wall and I’m trapped. Distantly, I’m aware of his cock pressing against my stomach and it stokes a fire in my core, low and indomitable.
Slowly, like he’s calculating his next move, he places his hands on the wall on either side of my head until we’re at eye level.
“You think I didn’t try?” He dips his head until his lips are pressed against my ear. The stubble on his cheeks against the soft skin of my neck sends a shiver down my spine.
