AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It’s past one now and though I’m exhausted, I’m not ready to sleep yet. I don’t know if I can, even if I tried. My nerves have been all over the place since we got home. I’m either calm and tired or so high-strung, I feel like I’m going to bounce my leg off.
There is no in-between.
“Why do you go?” he asks suddenly, turning back to look at me from the sink. I pause for a second. He should really start wearing a shirt if he’s going to be asking me questions.
“Because . . .” I stammer. I don’t really have a good reason. “I just have to. Or had to, I guess. I don’t think I’ll be going to another one.”
“Why go at all? You don’t like the food. You don’t believe in politics. You definitely don’t like the people.”
I’m ashamed to admit, I never thought ofnotgoing. It was never an option.
“It’s just what was expected of us. You never had to go to any functions for Parker?”
He takes his seat, downing half his beer in one drink.
So I’ve struck a nerve . . .
“Parker didn’t own me. He couldn’t control me like he could my sisters.”
And then it dawns on me. I want to know everything about him.
“Mason . . . why did you choose to go live with your grandma over your family?”
He’s quiet for a moment, calculating.
“My grandmother was a good woman. You would have liked her.”
“She took you in.”
He shakes his head. “She gave me everything. This house. The garage. She made sure it stayed with the family. And she made sure Dad wasn’t forgotten.”
“How did your sisters feel about that?”
He chuckles bitterly.
“They went to live with Mom and Parker. They had no need for this place anymore.”
“And you were . . . left behind.” Tears well in my eyes, but I don’t let them fall. Not right now when he’s finally opening up to me.
“You want to know why Savannah was so against you when she first met you?”
My heart bottoms out in my chest. Of course, I always thought it was because my sister had an illicit affair with her stepfather,but it never occurred to me that there could be something deeper.
“Parker was a part of a club,” he murmurs darkly. “Some fucked-up, high society sex club. I’m talking politicians, people you see on TV, CEOs. It was invitation-only and the best-kept secret in LA until last year.”
“Like the Inner Sanctum?”
“Worse.”
I suck in a deep breath, reaching for the bottle of wine.
“I have a feeling I’m going to need another glass.”
“Probably.”
While I pour myself another glass of wine, Mason continues.
“One of the requirements of long-standing members was to bring someone to auction. Called party favors. Most of the time, they were brought in like slaves. It wasn’t consensual and the things they’d do to people were horrific. Like a cattle trade. They’d pay big money to fuck whoever was auctioned and the auctioneer, or whatever the fuck you want to call it, would keep that money.”
