Chapter Two
London
“What do you mean I’m not allowed to leave the room?”
Katia spares me a quick bored look before glancing away again. “I know you’re not deaf, princess. You heard me.”
I throw my hands up and scowl. “I’m not a princess.”
“You’re certainly getting treated like one, so if you want my advice—”
“I don’t.”
“—enjoy it while you can.” Katia’s bright eyes linger on me for a brief second. “It’s not every day someone like you gets to enjoy these perks.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Katia steps into my field of vision, dressed in head-to-toe black, her dark hair twisted into a tight braid. “It means we both know you’re not going to last, so do yourself a favor and milk it while you can.”
I fold my arms over my chest. “I’m not that kind of woman.”
“I don’t care,” Katia replies. “We’re both stuck doing things we don’t want to do.”
“I want to talk to Mason.”
“He’s not here.”
I step outside the door and raise my voice. “I’ll go and find him then.”
Katia swings back to me and raises an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t try and leave this floor if I were you.”
“Are you threatening me?”
Katia throws her head back and laughs, and it makes me want to throw something at her. “When I threaten you, you’ll know.”
I take another step, and Katia moves quickly, her eyes flashing in warning. “You can’t stop me.”
“How much you want to bet on that, Princess?”
I narrow my eyes further. “Stop calling me that.”
The corner of Katia’s mouth twitches with amusement. “Why would I do that?”
“Because it’s fucking annoying.”
Katia’s eyebrow climbs. “Mason’s little pet has a potty mouth. Maybe you’re not that spineless after all.”
“Fuck you.”
Katia laughs again, and it makes me clench my hands into fists. “I know you aren’t a fan, but trust me, I’m the best option you have right now.”
I picture Mason’s father towering over us, the unmistakable promise of pain and rage in his eyes, and it makes me pause.
“He’s not going to lay a finger on me.”
Katia gives me a look that borders on pity. “I wouldn’t underestimate Jack Payne if I were you. He’s not the kind of man you want to piss off.”
“Too late,” I say.
Katia steps toward me. “He’s nothing like Mason. Whatever you think you know is nothing compared to what happens in the shadows.”
I stare at her. “I’m well aware of that.”
Being in the man’s presence has left my stomach in cold, hard knots.
I’ve been trying to shake the feeling for the past hour, but the harder I try, the more worried I become.
I know I need to be strong, especially if I’m going to survive in this world, but I have no idea how to do that when there’s danger around every corner.
Without Mason around, who will have my back?
Katia might be on watch duty now, but I know she won’t hesitate to turn the other cheek.
All Mason’s father needs is to promise her Mason on a silver platter, and she won’t hesitate to throw me to the wolves.
I almost wish Mason had left me to fend for myself.
I’ve heard enough whispers about Katia to know she’s not the kind of woman you want to mess with.
You wanted to be a part of Mason’s world, remember? You can’t get cold feet at the first sign of trouble.
Mason needs someone smart and strong who can hold her own.
But I can’t stop thinking back to the ice in his voice when he left me in the room, and the dismissive look he gave me.
It reminds me a little too much of the ruthless man who made me sign the contract.
Don’t forget that he’s still there, lurking underneath the man you’re trying to pull out.
Katia gives me another infuriating smile, prompting me to step back into the room and slam the door in her face.
When she laughs, I toss her a dirty look through the wood and begin to pace.
I know I don’t have a lot of options, especially when Mason’s father could be waiting for me to be left vulnerable.
He looks like the kind of man who would slice my throat without batting an eye and then drag me out to be made an example of.
How is Mason even related to him? He can’t be his father.
A sliver of fear winds its way up my spine as I wonder just how much trouble Mason is in, and how I can help if I’m being kept under lock and key.
How am I supposed to prove myself if I’m not being given the chance?
How can I keep Mason’s father from driving a wedge between us?
Jack Payne has only been here a few hours, and he’s already pierced our little bubble and shoved us, unceremoniously, into the real world.
I shudder to think of how far he’ll go to get rid of me.
As soon as the thought crosses my mind, I reach for the phone Mason left behind and dial my father’s number from memory. My heart is pounding and my palms are sweating as I wait for him to pick up. The entire time, I’m imagining a car driving by the house and opening fire on anyone in the vicinity.
I picture my father knifed in his driveway, calling out to me as he bleeds out.
Then I see them drag him here, binding his hands and legs as he is forced to his knees for my mistakes.
He’s the reason you’re in this mess, remember? And he made a deal with Mason’s enemies in exchange for you. He doesn’t deserve your pity or your worry.
The phone stops ringing, and it slides out of my hands, shame burning a hole in the pit of my stomach.
My father might be the reason I’m in this mess, and a main factor behind me getting kidnapped, but I know I’m far from blameless.
I didn’t walk away when I had the chance, and a part of me knows I should have.
What right do I have to blame him when I’ve only made things worse?
I told myself I was doing this for the right reasons, and here I am, unable to walk away because I’ve seen a glimpse of the man behind the mask.
The kind Miss Deveroux insists isn’t worth saving.
But she’s wrong. She has to be.
I haven’t given up my freedom and normal life for a lie.
I scoop the phone off the floor and dial my father again. I continue to pace the room. When I reach the window, I push the curtain and look out at the afternoon sun, casting a golden glow over the Mason estate.
“Come on, Dad.” My heart is pounding uneasily in my chest. “Pick up, please.”
It stops ringing again, and I throw it against the nearest wall. It bounces off the wall and falls to the floor. I rake my hands through my hair, cross over to where the phone fell, and pick it up again.
Noah answers on the fifth ring, his voice gruff and thick with sleep.
I clear my throat. “It’s me. I know I have no right to call—”
“You have a lot of fucking nerve, London.” Noah’s voice rises in anger. “After what you put me through, what the hell do you want? You want to get me tied up and beat again?”
I wince and squeeze my eyes shut. “That wasn’t my fault.”
“That doesn’t help,” Noah snaps, and I hear a door open and shut in the background. “Nothing you can say or do is going to help.”
“I know that.” My voice grows smaller. “It was never meant to get this complicated, okay? I’m sorry, Noah. I didn’t want to hurt you. I still care about you.”
“Look, I am glad it worked out. At least Mason is good for something, but come on.” Each of Noah’s words drips with exhaustion and confusion.
“He’s using you, London. I don’t know why you can’t see that.
You need to snap out of it. Even if you won’t do it for me, at least do it for your parents. It’s not too late.”
I grip the phone tighter and count backward from five. “I’m not calling to talk about him. I need you to check on my father.”
Noah doesn’t reply.
“I know you don’t owe me anything, but he loved—loves you like a son, and you told me you’ve always thought of him as a father. I can’t tell you what’s happening, but he could… he could be in danger.”
Noah exhales. “Why are you coming to me with this? Shouldn’t you go to Mason?”
“I’m coming to you, not him. I know this is shit, and I know I screwed up, but I don’t think he should have to pay the price. I know you agree with me.”
Noah’s voice is quieter when he answers, and it makes my chest tighten. “You know I do.”
I turn my back on the window and squeeze my eyes shut. “I know I don’t have the right to ask, but I’m doing it anyway. You told me I once meant the world to you. Please.”
I hate that he’s hearing the crack in my voice, but Noah and I have been through a lot.
I refuse to believe that the man I spent all of those years with is gone.
He’s still somewhere inside, buried underneath layers of hurt and betrayal.
Noah is still a good person, and I’m choosing to believe he’ll do the right thing.
Mason is not going to be happy about this. Then again, he’s not here, so how you choose to defend your family is up to you, not him.
Noah lets out a deep sigh. “What am I supposed to tell him? We haven’t exactly spoken since those thugs tied us up.”
I press two fingers to my temples. “You can tell him that I’m worried. I don’t know if that’ll help…”
“Lo….” The longing in his voice is a punch to the gut. “I know I was hard on you when I first found out about the deal you made, but it’s not too late. We can still have the life we wanted. I’m willing to overlook the past few months. Just come home, please.”
I want to grab the lifeline he’s offering with both hands.
Noah is offering me stability and normalcy, and a life I can already picture, right down to the matching Christmas outfits.
But sometime in the past few months, it stopped being what I wanted.
Mason is all I can think of, and all I can imagine for myself.
He’s everything I never knew I wanted, and I ache at the thought of leaving him, even if it means having to look over my shoulder all the time.
It’s a small price to pay for the chance to be with Mason, even if I am scared to admit it.
There’s a lump in my throat when I answer. “I’m sorry, Noah.”
There is only silence on the other end.
I pull the phone away from my ear, check it, and put it back again. I clear my throat and speak again but in a quieter voice. “Are you there?”
“I don’t know what you want me to say.”