“Do I need to get your ears checked?”
“Is that Kane’s dad?” I ask, peering around him.
“Yes.” He grabs my elbow and tugs me away.
“I think I know him.”
Mason stops cold. “What did you say?”
“I don’t know where I have seen him, but I definitely know him,” I murmur, still staring at Mr. Berkeley’s long face, gray eyes, and that unnerving scar that’s clearly visible even from a distance.
“You’re mistaken.” Mason’s dark eyes scan my face. “Now, move it.”
He doesn’t wait for me to use my legs; he half-drags, half-carries me to the car and then lifts me in by the waist, and buckles me in.
“Is he okay?” I ask as he gets in the car.
“Yes.” He looks over his shoulder and starts reversing.
“I definitely heard a scream.”
“Maybe you fell asleep and had a nightmare.”
“I’m not crazy.”
“Never said you were.”
That’s all I get. Clipped responses.Why is he so mad?
And then the answer is staring me in the face.
“Mason,” I gasp, clutching his thigh as the car swerves toward the front door. He follows my gaze and finds the source of my reaction.
Kane Berkeley stands at the door with his hands in his pockets.
Dark eyes glare me down, then flick to Mason, his face unreadable.
Shit.
I don’t know why this is bad, but it feels bad. There is areason Mason didn’t take me inside. And I’m guessing it’s something to do with him.
For a moment, Mason is locked in a hard stare with Kane, his hand on the wheel, the car revving, the engine growling in protest. Then he reverses harshly, a little too close to Kane’s Jeep, a subtle warning. Kane doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t look away.
With the next roar of the engine, Mason drives us away, leaving Kane frozen at the door.
20
MASON
WatchingEva sleep is like watching a broken-winged dove teetering on the edge of the rooftop.
Ma caught one once, its feathers tied. It couldn’t fly, but wouldn’t let anyone save it either. Eva’s just like that fractured little bird. Leaping off the rooftops as if gravity doesn’t apply.
Too proud to fall. Too shattered to fly.
Her mourning, the muttered whispers, lips trembling with unspoken words, tears marking her beautiful face, it’s getting harder and harder to watch.
There is nothing I want more than to rip that broken piece from inside her and replace it with something stronger. Mine.One that’s warm and pulsing, that answers only to me.
