Chapter 51
LILY
Am I ready?
My fingers flex in Mason’s hand involuntarily, and his thumb caresses over my knuckles, soothing me.
I take a breath, hold it, and let it out slowly. “I’ve never talked about this with anyone.”
“How is that possible?” He frowns. “Will you tell me?”
Swallowing thickly, I clear my throat. “Thirteen years ago, on a Saturday night, my sister, Mandy, and I decided to go to a movie. We were close even though she was three years older, and she was going back to college on Monday. I was starting college close to home, so we weren’t going to see each other until the holidays.
We were having a lot of fun together. We didn’t see the two guys following us out of the theater. ”
Mason goes still. I can feel how intently he’s listening.
“They snatched us,” I say hoarsely, trying not to relive that moment. I’m not successful.
“Come here.”
Looking up, I see him hold open his arms. I hesitate for a moment, but he just watches me calmly, no pressure, just like he did his mare.
I surprise myself by climbing onto his lap and curling against his chest. He’s careful to keep his arms loose around me, giving me an out.
I don’t want an out. I want to be right here, I realize. Tentatively I put my head against his shoulder, trying not to move too much because I can feel him grow hard against my hip. I keep myself still, waiting to see if that changes anything.
It doesn’t. He just holds me—no pressure to get intimate, no pushing me to finish my story. I’m so grateful my eyes tear up.
“They took us to some old abandoned house,” I say, squeezing my eyes shut against the images of it.
“There were other girls there too. I could hear the men hurting them. And Mandy too. But they didn’t touch me.
Not sexually, at least. I was a virgin, and I was worth more that way. Premium merchandise.”
“Fuck, Lily,” he says softly, kissing the top of my head.
“They put the barcode on me and hit me, but never so much that it marked my skin much. Mandy didn’t have it that easy.
” I press the tip of my thumbnail into my forefinger—hard.
“We were there two weeks when she told me she figured out a way to escape. She made me promise that I had to run no matter what, and that she was counting on me to get out so I could bring help back if she didn’t get away.
So she created a distraction and told me to run. ”
“You got out,” he says.
“But she didn’t.” My chest hurts like it always does when I think about that day. “Patrick Kelly shot her. She died so I could escape.”
The words sit between us like stones.
“I was only there two weeks.” I look at him then—really look at him. “But those two weeks shaped me more than everything that came before. More than my childhood, more than high school or friends or any dream I ever had about who I'd become.”
I pause, gathering myself. “When I escaped, there was an FBI agent handling the case. Wes is the only person besides our parents who knew what happened to me. He gave me a new identity and taught me how to survive in ways that went beyond what the system could offer.” My voice is steady now, factual.
“When I told him I wanted to bring Mandy’s killer to justice, he trained me in tactical operations and started feeding me intelligence about the operation.
Wes is the reason I knew to come to Iron Ridge.
He got a tip that Cole Turner was running the trafficking ring, so I came to find out. ”
He takes my wrist, turning it to look at the barcode. He brings it to his mouth and puts a lingering kiss on it. “Why haven’t you had this covered up?”
“I keep it so I don’t forget.” I flash a wry smile. “Like I could, right?”
Mason's jaw works. His eyes are dark and intense and seeing me. He shifts, his hands careful as he lifts me, turning me to straddle his lap. I'm surrounded by him—his heat and his strength. My hands automatically go to his shoulders.
He tips my chin up. “You're not alone anymore.”
This man. My hands frame his jaw, and I kiss him—slow and deep and certain.