by Jenika Snow
Glancing over at her father again, she glared at him.
The media went into a frenzy, but she didn’t care. Her life was going to be her own, and she was going to find Mason.
Three weeks later, Olivia made her way to the cemetery. She held a large bouquet of roses that didn’t help to ease the pain in her heart. Mason had disappeared, and she had gone to a private investigator to help find him.
But nothing had come of it.
There was no trace of Mason.
She didn’t want to think of what her father was capable of.
The shit storm she’d created at that press conference had caused several problems for her father and the police department. But with the media surrounding this, she was safe … at least for the time being.
The only problem for Olivia was the reason she was going to the cemetery. Since her father had stepped in before she could arrange to help Mason’s sister, poor Laura hadn’t made it. Alone in the hospital, she had passed away. Just thinking about it broke her heart, and tears started to fall. Olivia hadn’t even known Laura aside from what Mason had told her, but that had been enough for Olivia to feel the pain of her passing.
She had been too late to save Mason’s sister, but she had made sure that she had a proper burial. She came to the same spot every single day, carrying roses, feeling connected to Mason this way.
Moving toward the angel that rested on Laura’s tombstone, she wiped away the tears once again.
“Hey, Laura, it’s me again, Olivia. The stranger who keeps visiting.” She let out a breath. “I’m trying to find him. I am. I have this private investigator, but so far, we haven’t come up with anything. I won’t stop trying though.”
Since leaving her father’s house, she’d gone back to the place where it had all started… Mason’s cabin. No one knew about it, as far as she was aware, so she’d been staying there. The solitude had done her good.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t get there sooner for you, Laura. I know Mason would do anything to protect you, and I failed him. I promised I’d help you, but I didn’t, did I? I made it worse.” Placing the flowers down, she let out a breath. “I suck at this. I really do.”
Rubbing her hands together to try to warm them up, she forced a smile to her lips. “When I find Mason, I’ll take care of him for you.”
“And I’ll take care of you.”
The sound of Mason’s voice made her start. Turning around, she saw him. Admittedly, a very thin, frail looking version of Mason, but it was him. It had to be.
“Am I seeing things?” she asked. She was tempted to rub her eyes and check.
He opened his arms. “I’m here, baby.”
She stepped toward him and hesitated. What should she do? Would he even want a hug from her? Duh, his arms are open, hug him!
“What happened?” She had so many questions for him, but right now, she just wanted to absorb that he was here.
Did he hate her?
Nothing made any sense anymore.
Mason held her tightly. She couldn’t take her eyes away from him. What had her father done to him? He kissed the top of her head, and she breathed in his scent, loving the way he held her. Everything was okay now so long as his arms stayed wrapped around her.
18
Two weeks later
He was getting stronger every day. No more was he the frail man she’d seen in the cemetery, but Mason still wouldn’t tell her what had happened.
He said he wanted to protect her, but she saw the vengeance in his eyes. She saw the hate that he harbored and knew it was because of her father.
Olivia watched Mason as he lifted weights. He’d been so weak when she saw him two weeks ago, and although she never said that to him, she was glad to see him looking like his old self again. He had a ways to go, she knew this, but he’d made a lot of progress.
He’ll never be the man she’d met; they’d broken part of him.
He blamed himself for his sister’s death; Olivia knew that. She felt it come from him in waves.
She glanced down and stared at her hands. They’d gone to Laura’s grave together a few times, and although Mason didn’t speak or show emotion, she’d seen the darkness coming from him.
Olivia took over a protein shake and set it on the table. He’d been drinking three of them a day, as well as massive meals. Those first few days he hadn’t been able to eat much as his body adjusted to everything. Olivia had known he’d been starved, and it would take time for his body to adjust to taking in solids.
God, what else had happened to him?
What had her father done to him?
“Are you still hungry?” she asked. He set the barbell down and stood. Sweat gleamed off his body, and she felt pride he was getting better every day. There was also sadness that while he was getting better and not letting what affected him shape who he was; he shouldn’t have to work to get better. He just should be … better, but her father ruined that, tore his life away.
But I can see the darkness in his eyes. He can act like what happened didn’t break him, but it definitely changed him.
She just sat there across from him and watched him. His hands were strong, big, just like his body. He still wasn’t one hundred percent, but she looked forward to the day when he was.
Maybe then he’d give her answers.
“Can we talk?” she asked. Her food sat uneaten in front of her, and she pushed the plate away.
“Of course.” He straightened and set his fork down.
“You know what I want to talk about.” She asked him often about what had happened, hoping he’d finally tell her. She needed to know.
He exhaled and ran his hand over his hair. “I don’t want to go there with you, Olivia.” The pain in his eyes flashed for a moment. “I don’t want to tell you the grisly details, because in the end, it doesn’t matter.”
“It does.” She didn’t want to cry. “It matters because it was my family that did this to you—”
“To us, Olivia,” he said and leaned forward. “They did this to us, and they’ll pay. They’ll all fucking pay for what they put us through.”
He wasn’t going to tell her right now all the fucking depravity her father had inflicted on him. Her father might not have done the dirty work himself, but he was to blame… and he’d pay.
He watched the tears roll down her cheeks and hated she was so upset. These past few weeks had been fucked up beyond belief. He was a strong man, had plowed through a lot of shit, but a part of him had been ripped out.
It was only the fact he still had Olivia in his life that made him move on; that made him want to try to be happy.
But the darkness he felt, that pain over everything that happened, not being there for Laura or Olivia in those final days, ate away at him.
He’d lost his sister. He hadn’t been there for Laura when she needed him most. Fuck, what had she thought those final days? Did she ask why he wasn’t there? Did she think he’d abandoned her?
No, she’d never think that. She had to know she was important to me, and if I wasn’t there, it wasn’t because I didn’t want to be.
That ate away at him, the unknowing of what was to come, of what had already passed.
Then there was Olivia.
He’d watched her get taken away. Mason hadn’t known how she was, or if she was safe. For weeks he’d wondered, thought about all the things he’d do to avenge the two women he loved the most.
And that time was coming.
“Telling you would only instill that darkness in you, baby.” And he didn’t want that. He didn’t want her thinking about what had happened.
He didn’t want her worrying about what would come next.
He stared at the woman he loved. He’d failed at protecting her, maybe even from himself.
He failed at being there for Laura.
Things would change. He’d make sure of that.
He’d bring down Olivia’s father and make him pay for the pain he’d caused.
/> And he’d do it with a fucking smile on his face.
19
One month later
Olivia would give anything to have the man who had taken her back. The Mason who had taken her before had been a fighter. There had been a passion inside him that had made her think she’d found what she’d been looking for.
Sitting up in bed, she stared down at the man he was now. He was stronger, more muscular, but he was cold. He was colder now than he’d been at the very beginning.
Climbing out of bed, she wrapped her body in the robe and left the room. She tiptoed toward the kitchen and grabbed herself a glass of milk. She glanced at the laptop on the table. Mason’s search history was everything to do with her father. She had stumbled onto it while looking at something else. She’d never seen a man so obsessed before, but then again she understood why. This went beyond obsession, and she knew without a doubt that he was going to do something that could get him locked up or killed.
Just the thought of Mason behind bars, or worse, had tears filling her eyes.
It was hard to breathe, and she touched her chest, trying to inhale, but nothing was happening. The fear, it was stifling her, threatening to take over completely so there was nothing left. Unlocking the front door, she opened it and rushed outside. The ground was so cold under her feet, and she collapsed, trying to grasp her surroundings. The impact of hitting the ground was exactly what she needed, and she gasped just as the first tear started to fall.
He’d lost Laura, the focus of his life, and now he was losing his life.
She was going to lose him as well. There was no way he was going to be able to go up against her father and win. He was trying to fight a force that was unbeatable.
“You shouldn’t be outside,” Mason said, making her gasp as he gripped her shoulders. “It’s freezing.”
“I just need a minute, okay. I’ve got to… be alone.”
She took another deep breath, expecting him to walk away, to leave her alone, but he didn’t. He held her shoulders, and she found it hard to focus on anything else other than his touch. Closing her eyes, she basked in that simple touch. They hadn’t made love, nor shared any kind of touch other than the occasional kiss.
This was the most comfort she’d had had in weeks.
“Olivia, you’re going to end up sick.”
“I can’t go back in there.”
“You can’t stay out here either. It’s too cold.”
“If I go in there, I’m not going to be able to breathe.”
He sighed. “You’re having a panic attack. I’m right here. Things will be okay.” He stroked her hair. “It’s not safe to be out alone, especially after all that happened.”
“My father…” she exhaled slowly. “He’s always watching, waiting, prepared to strike.”
Mason released her, and she missed his touch. “I don’t want to go through this.”
“You’ve not gone through it once. It’s always about what you want, not what anyone else wants? It’s about what you think is best.” She glanced behind her, letting him see the tears, the pain she felt.
He stood, rubbing his eyes. “Get inside.”
“No.”
She wrapped her arms around her knees and drew them up.
“Stop being like this. I’m concerned for your safety. That’s all I want right now, for you to get your fine ass inside where I can make sure you’re protected.”
She shook her head, her emotions so confusing, her fear tangible. She needed to be alone right now.
“Olivia.” His voice was hard, and she heard him getting angrier.
Standing up, she rounded on him, unable to control her temper. “Why do you have to let him win?”
“I’m not.”
“Yes, you are. You’re not living. Look at you. You’re dying, Mason. All do you to train, letting revenge control you. This is not what I want for us, for you.”
“This is the way it has to be.”
“Why?”
“He’s a motherfucker, a demented bastard, and until I finish this, I can’t let it go.”
She stared at him. “You won’t let this go,” she said it as a statement.
“I can’t.”
She stared at Mason, and her heart broke. No, it shattered. “Then there’s no point me being here.”
He frowned. “What?”
“You want to live in a way that requires you to put your life at risk. I can’t be part of that.” She pressed a hand to her stomach, the truth of what grew inside of her, of what she hadn’t yet told him, making her feel like she needed to protect this little baby more than anything else. “You don’t talk to me; you don’t let me in.”
They faced each other, and Mason shook his head. “You don’t have to leave. I’m doing this to ensure we are safe and to make things right. He took you from me, he took Laura from me.” His voice rose.
“I know my father. I know what he’s capable of. If you succeed, you’ll go to prison, and I’ll be alone. You don’t, and you’ll join your sister. I can’t do that, Mason. This is not what I wanted.”
“He took everything from me.”
“I’m here!” She slapped her hand to her chest. “I’m right here. He didn’t take everything from you. I’m so sorry that I didn’t get to your sister in time. That is my fault, not his. I should have fought harder and not let him win. I’m a grown ass woman, and I was trapped.”
“It’s not your fucking fault. None of this is. He wouldn’t let me go.”
Stepping toward him, she grabbed his arm. “Please, Mason, please, let it go. Stop this and come back to me.”
He shook his head, and she couldn’t control the tears or the sobs as she kept begging him.
“If you can’t stand beside me, then you’re against me.”
Oh God. What’s happening?
“Be pissed at me all you want. Hate me. Curse me. But do it inside. I won’t lose you too.” He grabbed her arm before she could say anything and all but dragged her inside. Once in, he shut the door and turned away from her, leaving her standing there wondering what in the hell had just happened.
How has it come to this?
She pressed her hand to her stomach. He’d been so busy focusing on his revenge that he’d not even noticed that her body was changing, that she was filling out, swelling with their child.
If he couldn’t see what this was doing to them, and that his need for vengeance was tearing through them and not giving them a chance at surviving, then maybe there was no hope for them? How could he just brush away what they could have because he needed to avenge what he’d lost? Yes, he needed closure, but not at the risk of losing everything else.
She was all alone, just like when she was growing up. Nothing had changed. Only now, she had a baby on the way, and the future looked pretty damn grim.
20
Mason hated that they’d come to this. He hated that he was blinded by his need for revenge.
He loved Olivia more than life itself, but the fact her father had taken so much from him was something he couldn’t let go.
He wouldn’t.
Mason had lost the last remaining family he had with Laura, and although Olivia was his in every conceivable way, this was one thing he couldn’t give her.
This was one submission he couldn’t give.
He’d kill for her, maim for her, and make the fucking world apologize for the shit she’d been dealt, but when it came to going after her father… he wouldn’t relent. That he couldn’t give her.
He knew she wanted to move on, start their lives together. Mason wanted that too, but first he had to tie up these loose ends. First, he had to handle the depravity that had come of it all. The images and memories of those weeks held captive by her father played through his mind on repeat.
The windowless room where he’d been held.
The daily beatings.
The torture.
The starvation.
He’d never talk about any of that with Olivi
a. She didn’t need to know the grisly details of what he’d endured. It had been thoughts of her, images of getting out and helping Laura that had given him the strength to survive. It hadn’t been about killing Mason while he’d been captive, but about breaking him down.
And then he’d found his escape.
He’d waited for the right time, plotted how to do it.
He’d imprinted the schedule of his captors, of them men who tortured him. He had it engrained in his memory until he’d had his opportunity.
Then he did what he had to.
Masson had used all of his strength to escape. He’d killed anyone who got in his way, broke necks, spilled blood. It had all been for the people in his life that mattered. He closed his eyes, imagining the night he’d finally escaped.
Mason stared down at the two men he’d just killed. Blood covered him from head to toe, his strength was on its last reserves, but he was free.
He’d waited, watched.
He’d endured the beatings, all the while thinking about what he’d do when he got out.
Looking down at his body, Mason saw how emaciated he was. He lifted his head and glanced around. The warehouse he was in was rundown… a prison that showed the dark ugliness of what now festered inside of him.
There was no going back. If the motherfucker wanted a fight, Mason would take it right to his front door.
Mason opened his eyes and ran a hand over his face.
He was stronger than ever and prepared to go down fighting. He wasn’t just doing this for himself, but for Olivia and Laura, too, even if Laura was gone and Olivia didn’t care about this. Mason had to do this. He had to. If that fucker weren’t taken out, Olivia would always be compromised.
Mason would never allow that. He’d die before he let that happen.
But first he needed to be with Olivia. He needed to let her know he loved her and that what he did he did for her.
It was all for her.
“Olivia, baby. I’m sorry,” he said as he walked out of the room and into the living room. He stopped and looked around. “Olivia?” he called out, his body becoming tense, his mind on alert. He searched the house and then walked outside and scanned the surroundings.