The only people I wanted to be sexually intimate with were my boys. The four men who owned my heart. The thought of Mason trying to kiss me, let alone touch me, made my skin crawl.
I’d remained obedient since I’d been here. Perhaps that was why he hadn’t tried anything with me. It didn’t mean the whole experience hadn’t creeped me the fuck out. The way he talked about this place being ours and how we’d live the rest of our days out here was unnerving, to say the least.
I took a seat next to him on the sofa, turning his way as he fiddled with something on his laptop. I wasn’t allowed to touch it. He kept it locked up in his office when he wasn’t using it. A place he’d refused to show me.
There wasn’t exactly much I could do in the house. I couldn’t go outside as it had been raining non-stop, battering the house with its intensity. It made this whole experience even more miserable. I had to hand it to him. If you wanted to hold a girl against her will, what better place? It was remote and the nearest neighbours were miles away.
“Mase?”
He glanced at me.
“Mmm?”
“Can I ask you something?”
He put his laptop on the arm of the sofa and turned to me fully.
“Of course.”
I fiddled with the hem of my jumper, rubbing it between my fingers. Having to wear the things he’d bought gave me an icky feeling, but I had no other choice. At least it was my style and not skimpy dresses or underwear. I didn’t know what I would have done if I’d found that in the wardrobe. Maybe run away screaming.
“Are you taking me back to Stuart?”
“No. He wants to kill you. I can’t allow that. You’re too precious to me.”
I wanted to look up at him, but I didn’t. Better he thought I was scared and meek right now. He might be more inclined to be candid if I wasn’t confrontational.
“When did he tell you?”
“The day I rescued you.”
Rescued me? You didn’t fucking rescue me. You kidnapped me like a fucking thief in the night. Drugging someone doesn’t make them compliant.
I had to stay calm and not alert him to my real feelings.
“What else did he tell you?”
I glanced at him under my lashes. His brow was furrowed, but he didn’t seem put out by what I was asking.
“You remembered.”
“The past?”
“Yes… have you?”
I nodded. There would be no point keeping it from him. I didn’t want to hide it either. I was me again. Perhaps a different version of the Scarlett from ten years ago, but I was her. And I wasn’t going to pretend I was someone else.
“Do you know what happened to his sons?”
“No.”
My answer was automatic. There was no way in hell I was telling Mason I knew what my men had done to Ray and Ryan. They were his friends, according to the boys. I couldn’t put them in danger by revealing the truth.
“Are you sure about that?”
“Yes.”
“Stuart seems to think you do know.”
“Well, I allowed him to think that. It doesn’t matter, anyway. You’re not taking me back to him, so I’m safe, aren’t I?”
Mason reached out and patted my thigh. It took everything I had not to react. Not to flinch and move away from him.
“Yes. I won’t let anything happen to you, Scar. Not like what he did before.”
My eyes met his.
“Why did you let him hurt me for all those years?”
Mason’s eyes darkened and his expression turned grim.
“You know why. I couldn’t do anything about it. What did you want me to do?”
“You could have told me the truth.”
“The truth is complicated.”
I dug my nails into my thigh.
“Trust me, I’m aware. The truth is way more fucked up than I could have ever imagined.”
There was a wariness to Mason’s face I hadn’t been expecting. Like he was trying to work out if I knew everything or not and he wasn’t sure whether to ask me about it.
“You didn’t want me to take you away from them.”
He knew the answer to that question. It was obvious. I wanted to stay with the Horsemen. They were my family. The loves of my life.
“Why did you?”
“You’re not safe with them. Not with Stuart planning to come after you.”
I almost laughed, but then again, Mason had got to me at Fortuity. What’s to say no one else could have? I didn’t blame the boys for what Mason had done. They couldn’t predict that someone would manage to get into their building given all the security they had in place. I hoped they found out how. Asking Mason didn’t seem like a good idea right now.
“Are you sure it’s not because Stuart promised me to you?”
My tone came off accusatory. I couldn’t help it. The knowledge had stung. It drove the knife in further. Mason wasn’t on my side. He was on his own.
“You weren’t supposed to know about that.”
“Well, I’m so sorry Stuart decided to spill your sordid little secret.”
He didn’t exactly look pissed off at my sarcasm, but I could tell he wasn’t happy.
“That’s not the only thing I know about you, Mason. Oh no, I’ve found out many things and you’re going to be honest with me about them.”
As much as I wanted to launch myself at him, tear his fucking face off and give him hell, I would settle for the truth. I needed to know if everything the boys and Stuart had told me was accurate.
“What else did he tell you?”
“Stuart? Nothing. Though, I suppose he doesn’t know about you and Phoebe, does he?”
Mason sat up straighter, retracting his hand from my thigh and giving me a pained look.
“What about me and Phoebe?”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Your affair with her. And don’t try to deny it. I’ve seen evidence. How long has that been going on, huh? Real smart to fuck his wife behind his back. Oh, and let’s not forget she was your best friends’ mother too. I mean, that’s just the icing on the cake.”
Perhaps I shouldn’t have said it like that, but I didn’t care. If he was going to attempt to hide the truth from me, I wasn’t going to give him a fucking inch. Whilst this was playing a dangerous game, the ten years I’d known Mason had to count for something. We’d been friends. Or at least, what counted for friends under the circumstances. He knew way too much about me, and I knew nothing about him.
“She came on to me.”
At least you’re fucking admitting it.
“Right… that makes it so much better and explains everything.”
His eyes drifted away from me to the window, where the rain was still hammering down.
“It happened after the twins disappeared. She was lonely. Then there was you to contend with too. The fact you didn’t remember. And Stuart’s decision to pretend they were your adoptive parents. She didn’t want to go along with it at first, but he was so determined to find out the truth. He knew those four had something to do with the twins going missing.”
Mason rubbed his arm.
“He became so single-minded about the whole thing. It’s like his need for the truth and revenge was fuelled by his grief. He directed all of that at them. And… took it out on you.”