CHAPTER 2 The Truth Between Enemies #3
“You’re Noah’s rival.”
“I know.”
“He hates you.”
“I’m painfully aware.”
“I promised him I’d stay away from you.”
That made Mason stop.
Something hardened in his expression.
“He made you promise?”
“After the game.”
“Of course he did.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing.”
“Stop saying nothing.”
Mason looked at me.
Then his eyes dropped to my mouth again.
“This,” he whispered, “is definitely not nothing.”
My breath caught.
His hand lifted.
Slowly.
He touched a strand of hair beside my cheek.
Nothing more.
But the contact sent heat through me.
“Mason.”
“Tell me to stop.”
I opened my mouth.
Nothing came out.
His thumb brushed lightly along my jaw.
Every reasonable thought disappeared.
I leaned toward him.
So did he.
Our mouths were almost touching when my phone rang.
We jumped apart.
For one second, neither of us understood the sound.
Then I grabbed the phone from the floor.
Signal.
One bar.
The screen showed a name.
NOAH.
My stomach dropped.
Mason saw it.
Whatever had existed between us disappeared instantly.
“Answer it,” he said.
I stared at him.
“Mason—”
“Answer.”
I accepted the call.
“Noah?”
“Emma?”
My brother’s voice exploded through the phone.
“Jesus Christ, where are you? I’ve been calling for hours.”
“I’m okay.”
“Where are you?”
“My car broke down.”
“What?”
“I’m safe. The storm closed the road.”
“Where are you staying?”
I looked at Mason.
He looked away.
“A lodge.”
“Which lodge?”
“I don’t know. Somewhere north of Portland.”
“Are you alone?”
The question hit me like a slap.
I hesitated.
Too long.
Noah immediately noticed.
“Emma?”
“I’m not alone.”
Mason closed his eyes.
“With who?”
“Noah—”
“Who are you with?”
I could lie.
For one second, I genuinely considered it.
That frightened me.
I had never lied to my brother about something like this.
But telling him the truth suddenly felt like lighting a match beside gasoline.
Mason stood.
He walked toward the window.
I watched him.
“Emma.”
Noah’s voice became sharper.
“Who is there?”
I swallowed.
“Mason.”
Silence.
Complete silence.
Then Noah said one word.
“Cole?”
“Yes.”
The silence afterward was worse.
“What the fuck is Mason Cole doing with you?”
“He found me on the road.”
“I told you to stay away from him.”
“He literally rescued me.”
“I don’t care.”
My temper ignited.
“Well, I do, considering the alternative was freezing beside my car.”
“Put him on the phone.”
“No.”
“Emma.”
“Noah, stop.”
“Put Cole on.”
Mason turned toward me.
I shook my head.
His expression told me he already knew exactly what Noah wanted.
“Where is he?”
“Standing right here.”
“Put him on.”
Before I could answer, Mason crossed the room.
He held out his hand.
I stared at him.
“No.”
“Emma.”
“No.”
His eyes softened.
“It’s fine.”
“It clearly isn’t.”
“I can handle your brother.”
“That is exactly the problem.”
Mason almost smiled.
Then he took the phone gently from my hand.
“Bennett.”
Even from several feet away, I could hear Noah shouting.
Mason’s expression remained completely calm.
“She’s safe.”
More shouting.
“No.”
Pause.
“I said she’s safe.”
Another pause.
His jaw tightened.
“Careful.”
The single word changed the room.
No teasing.
No humor.
Only warning.
Noah said something I couldn’t hear.
Mason’s face went cold.
“Don’t bring Lily into this.”
My heart stopped.
Silence.
Then Noah’s voice became quieter.
Mason listened.
His expression changed.
Pain flashed across his face.
“Fuck you.”
He ended the call.
I stared at him.
“What did he say?”
Mason handed me the phone.
“Nothing.”
“Mason.”
“I’m going downstairs.”
“What did Noah say about Lily?”
“Leave it alone.”
“You don’t get to decide that.”
His eyes met mine.
For the first time, I saw anger directed at me.
Not cruelty.
But anger.
“You want the truth?”
“Yes.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
He stepped closer.
“Because once you know what happened, you don’t get to unknow it.”
My heart pounded.
“Tell me.”
Mason stared at me for a long moment.
Then he shook his head.
“No.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Unbelievable.”
“Be angry.”
“I am.”
“Good.”
He grabbed his coat.
“Where are you going?”
“Downstairs.”
“Why?”
“Because if I stay in this room right now, I’m going to do something stupid.”
My pulse jumped.
“What does that mean?”
Mason stopped at the door.
He looked at me.
Really looked at me.
Then his gaze fell to my mouth.
“You know exactly what it means.”
The door closed behind him.
I stood frozen.
My lips still tingled from a kiss that had never happened.
My phone buzzed.
A message from Noah.
**Stay away from him. I mean it, Emma. You don’t know what he did.**
I read it twice.
Then another message appeared.
**Lily died because of a choice Mason made.**
The air left my lungs.
I stared at the screen.
Outside, snow continued falling.
Downstairs, somewhere beyond the dark hallway, Mason Cole was carrying a truth neither he nor my brother wanted me to know.
And for the first time since climbing into his car, I wondered whether Noah’s warning had nothing to do with protecting me from a notorious hockey player.
Maybe he had been protecting me from something much worse.
The truth about Mason Cole.