Page 36 of My Secret Santa Mason

“I don’t know anything!” I cried, the panic taking over. “Please, I swear, I don’t know anything!”

The men exchanged glances, and for a moment, I thought they might actually leave. But then the older man took another step closer, grabbing my arm in a vice-like grip. “We’ll be watching you,” he growled, his breath hot against my cheek when I turned my head and tried to back away. “You’d better hope you’re telling the truth. And if you’re not, we’ll be back.”

He shoved me back, and they marched away, leaving through the front door. I collapsed into the chair again, my body trembling as the tears welled up in my eyes. I could barely breathe, my chest tight and my mind running in circles.

How had my life come to this? One moment I’d been deliriously happy, and the next… this. How had I gone from trying to build a new life in a small, safe town to being terrorized by men who thought I had answers I didn’t even understand?

One thing was clear: this wasn’t over. They wanted Mason. My posts, my connection to Dylan, had somehow brought these people to town. Mason had been hiding out here for years, alone. He’d finally opened up and let me into his home and his life, and now he was being hunted.

And it was all my fault.

16

MASON

Imoved silently through the forest, the cold biting at my toes as I trudged on, my careful steps muffled by the thick undergrowth. I knew how to look for the right place to step, and the places to avoid.

The air was crisp and biting, the kind that cut deep into your lungs if you weren’t used to it.

But I was.

It was all I’d been used to for fucking years. I’d spent more time in the woods than most people could stomach. Out here, everything was quieter, clearer, and safer.

That had become the definition of my life and I’d been happy with it until now. But today, it pissed me off.

What the hell was I doing it all for?

I mean, Iknewwhat I was doing it for. I’d been hiding out here after my life had become a colossal fuckup with Wallace betraying me. But what would happen from here on out?

Would this be all there was for me for the rest of… forever?

It just didn’t seem right anymore. I’d never had an issue before, but now it was all I could think about andthatpissed me off, too.

Today, I was tracking a deer—its hoofprints fresh in the snow, the slight disturbance of the branches where it had passed giving me a clear trail. Hunting was survival out here, not just a skill but a necessity.

Not that I needed it. I had more than enough meat. I just needed something to do so my mind wouldn’t drive me crazy.

Sike.

My mind was driving me crazy anyway.

My life had been fucking perfect untilshe’dcome along.

Cami.

Her name floated through my mind like an intruder, forcing its way into every thought, making it harder to focus on what was in front of me. I couldn’t stop thinking about her—the way she smiled, the way she laughed, the way she made everything feel… real.

I crouched low behind a bush, my breath steady as I scanned the area ahead of me. The deer was close—I could sense it—but my mind kept wandering away from my task. This was supposed to be my time to clear my head, to focus on something other than the complications life had started to throw at me. But now, the woods weren’t enough to keep my thoughts straight.

They kept circling around and around.

And around another time.

Hell, I’d never been one to think this much. There hadn’t been a reason to, and I’d stopped myself from focusing on anything other than purely surviving.

But that was the thing about nature—which I’d submerged myself in for the past decade.

Change.

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