She nods, looking up at me through her brows. I want to go to her, but something tells me to keep away.
I can’t read her right now.
She strides to me confidently, and I instantly regret not going to her first. She shows me her strength in her actions again and again. The fact she is here after I told her to walk away says everything about the woman that she is.
I take her chin as she steps up to me like it’s the most natural thing in the world, but she already has it held high. A silent demand to hear the truths I don’t want to give her.
“I know about Charlie’s sister, and I know what happened to her rapist.”
My hand drops along with my stomach, and all the blood inside me drains to my feet, leaving me light-headed.
“Say that again,” I rasp out.
“I think it’s best we don’t repeat it all that often, don’t you?”
I frown at her words.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
“Is that seriously all you have to say right now?”
“Nina—”
“Tell me everything, and so help me God, Mason, if you lie to me.”
My skin prickles as I try to trample my emotions.
She is here. She knows the worst of it, and she is here.
With hope in my heart, I search for the right words. “You know about Phoebe?”
“Yes. And about what happened after. Behind Charlie’s back,” she arches an accusing brow at me, but her eyes don’t hold the same conviction. “I want to know what Charliewon’ttell me. I want to know why your mother’s piano was in Erin’s studio.”
I snigger and look down. “Her name isn’t Erin.” My eyes burn into the ground at our feet as I take myself back to that night.
Only this time, I drag Nina through it with me.
Fourteen months earlier…
Rarely will I pick up at Melders. I try not to mix business with pleasure. But where my father’s lack of self-control lies with the bottle, mine seems to lie in the redhead that is currently on her knees, sucking my cock.
The smell of her cheap perfume assaults my senses, giving me a headache. She is hot, though. Damn, she is fucking stunning. She has that natural Jessica Rabbit vibe going on with her bouncy red hair and hourglass figure.
I’m not fooled, though. She is just like the rest of them. Following me with their eyes until I settle on one of them to take home for the night, just to fulfil a need. That’s all it is—emotionless sex at its finest.
She starts to moan around me, and I pull out of her mouth, finding her eagerness to please me fucking pathetic.
I just need to fuck.
“Out,” I demand, hitting the button to open the elevator doors. My patience has been wearing thin all night.
I haven’t heard anything from Vinny yet and I should have by now.
She climbs to her feet as I tuck myself away. The hunger in her eyes only grows when she sees my home, confirming my initial judgement of her.
“Wow. Becks said you had money. This is next level.”
She walks into the room, past the sectional sofas and over to the piano. It stands between the lounge and the dining area, the perfect view of the London skyline beyond it.
