1. Chapter 1
Cameron
Present day
Hartwood, Maine
Mason Albright is going to die.
Those words ricocheted off the insides of my skull as I watched Dale’s truck disappear around the curve of our driveway.
Our conversation had been short, given that I didn’t have a damn thing to say to him.
He’d fed me some line about how he “came to town to see how I was doing,” but I knew that was a load of crap.
He was here to destroy my family once again.
The crushing weight of my guilt was almost too much to bear. I had thrown Mason’s entire life off-course with my carelessness, and now her execution would be carried out by the same cruel hands that shaped my past. She’d be condemned to hellfire for carrying my child.
I squeezed my eyes tight, trying to dispel the images from the past that threatened to gnaw away at my sanity.
The screams of past lovers all desperately pleading for my help, the blinding light and oppressive heat radiating from each roaring inferno, the way Dale would pat me on the back after every merciless execution and say, “ Not to worry, son. We’ll welcome our savior in due time. ”
After years of hiding from Dale’s master plan, I had foolishly dared to dream that I might get to meet my daughter. I had allowed myself to fantasize about raising Rosie, being there for her first steps, and watching her grow. Now all those plans were one wrong move away from going up in smoke.
If Mason died, I’d be going with her. The cycle of death and suffering that had plagued my existence would end, and the world would probably be better off.
The winds of late October nipped at my nose, reminding me it was too cold to stay outside much longer.
But what other choice did I have? If I walked inside and saw Mason sitting there, I was afraid I’d collapse.
Or, even worse, tell her everything . She already knew who Calvin Waters was—not only that, she was sympathetic toward him.
But would she remain that way if she knew he was me ?
My thoughts were once again derailed by the flicker of the porch light, followed by the shrill echo of bats. But as their chittering call destroyed the stillness of the night, something in me shifted.
For the first time in my life, I wasn’t afraid of Dale.
Actually... that wasn’t true. The man still scared the living shit out of me; I had scars to prove the rationality of that particular fear.
But the thought of losing my little family terrified me more than that wicked son of a bitch ever could.
I wouldn’t give up my perfect little life without a fight.
To protect them, I would become the monster that Dale had always wanted me to be.
His blood would be the only one spilled this time, and I knew just the right person to help me.
With that in mind, I headed back inside.
The rose-red door protested my return, squeaking loud enough to let the whole damn house know I was back.
The warmth from the forced air enveloped me, batting away the cold that clung to me like a second skin.
As I passed under the upstairs landing and emerged into the living room, I found Mason snuggled up in the reading nook with a blanket and a new book.
Her mismatched gaze drifted back up to me, and her lips parted slightly .
“That was quick.” She dog-eared the corner of her current page, carefully folding the paper between her delicate fingers.
“I got to the restaurant and realized I forgot my wallet... sorry, Sweetpea.”
Mason seemed to believe me as she settled back into the chair and reopened her book. God, I hate lying to her. Ironic, considering everything she knew about my life was a lie. Cameron Cole, the all-American farmer, the one born and raised in South Carolina, never existed.
Mason looked up suddenly, a quizzical look on her face. “What did I ask you to get again?”
Mason had been struggling with a condition Lucian liked to call “pregnancy brain.” Her short-term memory was pretty much wiped out, meaning she was constantly losing things and forgetting what she’d done moments before.
More than once, I’d seen her walk into a room and freeze in the doorway, trying to remember why she was there.
Most times, I didn’t mind it; it was strangely endearing, and I loved being able to help.
“Pizza,” I reminded her.
Her nose scrunched slightly.
“If I ask you to get something else, will you be mad?”
Even with my heart still racing from Dale’s sudden appearance, Mason drew a genuine chuckle from me.
“Guess it’s a good thing I forgot my wallet. What would you rather have?”
She thought for a minute, rubbing the curve of her stomach and eliciting a kick from Rosie that was strong enough to move the blanket.
“She says she wants tacos.”
“She’s gonna turn into a taco,” I teased. It seemed like all Mason ever wanted to eat was tortilla chips, hot sauce, and vegetarian “meat” crumbles wrapped in a tortilla.
As I leaned in to kiss Mason’s forehead, I savored the sweet scent of her shampoo, trying to commit it to memory. Mason always smelled like some sort of red fruit that I could never place.
“Baby girl knows what she wants. ”
I was pretty sure we were going to end up on some kind of list, given how often someone in our house was at the Mexican restaurant. But I’d do anything to take care of my girls.
“And she’ll get whatever her tiny little heart desires. Just text me your order.”
She shot me a smile so dazzling it would’ve outdone most diamonds. Normally I would’ve been overjoyed seeing her so happy, but an undeniable heartache filled me instead. If she knew what kind of danger she was in, she wouldn’t be smiling.
Attempting to hide my emotions, I turned to head toward the steps.
“Wait!” Mason called.
I looked over my shoulder. “Yes?”
“Can you see if Seb wants anything? He likes that restaurant too.”
My shoulders slumped slightly as relief washed over me.
She’d just given me the perfect excuse to go consult with the one person I could tell the whole truth to.
I nodded and shot Mason a small smile before retreating up the steps, through the winding hallways, and into the white oasis that was our game room.
We used the space for weekly board games, and Lucian had his computer set up in the corner to play StarCraft.
The space didn’t see much use otherwise, but near the couch in the very back of the room stood a white door that led to Sebastian’s apartment.
For obvious reasons, I hadn’t been inside the apartment in a while.
Before I left for France, though, I spent a fair bit of time fixing the place up with Sophia.
Lucian refused to help, of course, so I ended up doing most of the heavy lifting while Sophia handled the interior design.
At the time, I was miffed at Lucian for being so cold to his own brother.
.. But as I approached the door, I found myself regretting the hard work I’d put into giving this slob a cozy place to hang his hat.
I knocked on his door with a fair amount of hesitation.
My hatred of Sebastian was no secret ; the creep had lied about having a crush on me as an excuse to dig up my past, and more often than not, he looked at Mason like a piece of meat.
Either one of those points would’ve been enough to keep me away from him under normal circumstances, but nothing about tonight had been normal.
“Mason?” Sebastian called .
I swallowed hard as I tried to shake off any remaining nerves.
“Uh, not quite—”
“No one’s home!”
Seriously?
“Mason told me to come ask if you want me to grab you anything for dinner.”
I heard shuffling behind the door, followed by the sound of the deadbolt unlocking. Sebastian opened it just enough for one of his icy blue eyes to peer out at me.
“Where are you going?”
“Pueblo Fiesta, that Mexican place near Lucian’s tattoo parlor.”
The door creaked open just another inch.
“Did she pick the place, or did you?”
I couldn’t remember the last time I didn’t let Mason pick, and normally I got her a little something every day. It was the least I could do, considering everything I was putting her through. But of course, Sebastian wouldn’t know any of that; he’d been doing his best to avoid speaking to any of us.
“She did… but it might change again before I actually leave. She originally wanted pizza.”
Sebastian finally stepped out of his apartment, sealing the door behind him.
I could say he looked like shit, but that’d be an insult to feces everywhere.
The lilac circles framing his eyes told me the story of about a hundred sleepless nights, his golden hair fell to his eyebrows in greasy waves, and the only clothes he had on were a baggy pair of sweats.
The barbells running through his nipples caught me off guard, as did the belly button ring.
But... with Sebastian standing before me half-naked, I could almost understand why Mason was attracted to him.
Sebastian normally took pretty good care of himself—Mason told me as much, and from what I’d seen, she wasn’t lying.
He was always clean-shaven, his hair was usually neat, and all of his clothes were pressed, even if it was just a T-shirt and jeans.
Surely his current state was a rare exception.
.. For his sake, I hoped it was. Part of me wondered if he was upset Mason had been sleeping with us every night since she got home from seeing her father.
“If you’re satisfying one of her cravings, can I come with you? ”