That’s when realization dawned on me.
“Her mother,” I whispered.
Ivy Callaghan disappeared right around the time her daughter was in the hospital. I remember people talking about how horrible of a mother she was for not visiting her sick child, but that wasn’t the woman I remembered. Hell, half the band-aids I wore were put on by her.
Micha’s brow rose. “Have you ever looked into where she went?”
“No.” I was too busy hating her daughter to give a shit.
“Maybe you should?” Logan suggested.
A new voice interrupted us. “That can wait.”
The annoyed grunt Micha let out told me who it was before I turned around.
Gramps stood in the doorway with sternness glimmering in his dark eyes and his arms crossed over his suit jacket.
He looked right at me and said, “I have a job for you.”
My brows knitat the white house Mason pulled up to. “We’re going to Lana’s?”
“No,” he ground out while pulling the car to a stop. “You’re going to Lana’s. I have shit to do.”
When he first found me, I thought that he knew I was eavesdropping and was in trouble. It wasn’t like I was trying to listen in. I was just too afraid to walk past. Micha, Logan and Mason were in that room.
Getting by them without being seen would be like trying to sneak past the Devil’s office while he was talking to Death and War. And the outcome if I got caught would be better in that situation than it would with Mason and his friends.
So my first instinct when Mason came in to my room was to hide. Until he told me to get my sweater cause we were going out. It wasn’t even cool enough for that, but I took it anyway. I wasn’t about to argue. Not after what I heard.
Ryker Hudson was a bad man. The entire time we were driving all I could think about was how terrified he must’ve been. That sweet little innocent boy, cornered by a monster. I couldn’t imagine the things he went through. For me.
I looked over at the scowl on Mason’s beautiful face. This man had literally walked through hell for me. And what did I do in return? I threw him right back into those fiery pits.
I should tell him. He deserved at least that.
“Mason,” I reached out and placed my hand on his arm. “I…”
“Look Freckles, I don’t want you to mistake this shit for kindness. I’d rather lock your ass up in a closet at my house than bring you here. But,” he let out a huff and cocked a brow my way, “I can’t trust you not to take off.”
That didn’t make sense. “But this is Lana’s house?”
If there was anyone in this town that would tell Mason to go to hell and help me hide, it was Lana. And her Nan, of course.
“I’m well aware that this is your friend’s house. But her father’s men know how to listen to instructions.” He got out of the car and grumbled, “Unlike Lou’s.”
Oh yeah, I forgot about that.
Being surrounded by a bunch of armed men wasn’t exactly a comforting thought. I looked out the window at a man walking around the side of the house. Lana didn’t like them either, though she said they were necessary – which I understood. Her son was heir to the Russian mob and had enemies from the day he was born. I couldn’t imagine how terrifying that must be for her.
Mason stopped outside my door and cocked an impatient brow, spurring me to quickly hop out of the car and join him.
I was excited to see my best friend, but dreaded it at the same time. For weeks I’d been avoiding her, because it hurt to lie to her. That look she gave me when I refused to answer her questions was permanently burned in my brain. Through all this stuff, she was the one person I had. The only one who never turned their back on me, and she paid for it. It wasn’t just me that Mason picked on. Lana got the brunt of his wrath too, and therefore everyone else’s. She just didn’t know why.
My stomach flipped when we walked through the door. But it wasn’t Lana that greeted us.
“Hey.” Parker tipped his chin at Mason.
Mason tipped his chin back. “Hey.”
