Page 48 of My Secret Santa Mason

I’d thought being cheated on by my fiancé and my best friend having an affair was the worst thing that could happen to me.

I was wrong.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked softly, my voice trembling even though I tried to stay calm.

Viktor chuckled, a low, sinister sound that crawled over my skin like insects. “You know why, Camille. You’re going to help me find Dylan.”

“I don’t know anything,” I said in a low voice. “I already told you that.”

“Sure you don’t,” Wallace said from the other side, his voice mocking. “And I’m Santa Claus.”

I bit my lip, forcing myself to keep smiling as a group of kids ran past, their laughter echoing through the streets.

Every fiber of my being wanted to scream for help, to grab someone—anyone—and tell them what was happening. But I couldn’t with Viktor’s men watching my every move. If I made one wrong step, someone would get hurt.

We walked past Hank’s general store, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw him wave. My heart stuttered in my chest and for a split second I thought about calling out for help. But that would just put him in danger. I couldn’t stop walking, stop acting like everything was perfect.

“Hey, Cami! The parade looks amazing!” Hank called out, his voice full of cheer.

I forced a smile, nodding. “Thanks, Hank. It’s such a great day for a parade!” My voice was thin and tight. I kept moving, too scared that if I stopped to chat, something awful would happen. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep up the act, either.

Viktor’s breath was hot against my ear. “You’re good at this,” he whispered. “Pretending everything’s fine… So here’s how this works—you give me what I want, and no one gets hurt. Understand?”

I swallowed hard, my hands shaking at my sides, so I pushed them into my pockets to try to hide it. “I don’t know what you want from me,” I said softly.

“I want Dylan,” Viktor growled, his tone sharp. “You remember him, don’t you? He seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth and I’m not letting that rat get away.”

My stomach twisted painfully at the mention of Dylan’s name. I hadn’t thought about him lately—not since things had been so good with Mason. I’d tried to push everything about my past life out of my mind, but now it was all rushing back, hitting me like punches. The business deals, the long nights, the excuses he’d always made—I hadn’t thought anything of it then. What had it mattered? None of it made sense. None of it explained why Viktor was after me.

“I haven’t seen him in months,” I said. “Why would I know where he is? He’s out of my life. I don’t know anything about him anymore.”

“Bullshit,” Wallace snapped, his filled with venom. “You were with him for years. You know more than you’re letting on.”

“I don’t!” I said, panicked. I’d been so blind, looking at the man with stars in my eyes. “I swear, I don’t know anything. He never talked to me about his work.”

I’d always thought he was so great, not bringing work home, so that when we were together nothing came between us.

Viktor’s grip on my arm tightened, and I winced as his nails dug into my skin. “He worked with some very important people. People who had connections. He was in deep, Cami. And you? You were right there beside him. Don’t tell me you didn’t see something.”

I shook my head, tears stinging my eyes. “I didn’t,” I whispered. “I swear, I didn’t know.”

“Then explain this,” Viktor hissed. “He worked with a company that was tied to some very lucrative smugglingoperations. You think that’s just a coincidence? That he didn’t know what was going on? And you? You expect me to believe you were just along for the ride, blind to everything?”

I stared straight ahead, my body cold, my stomach twisting with dread. Smuggling? Dylan had been involved insmuggling? The words didn’t make sense to me. Dylan had been so straight-and-narrow, an upstanding guy. The type of guy I’d introduced to my parents, said yes to marry. I’d wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. How could I have missed something that big?

“I didn’t know,” I whispered again, my voice cracking. “Please, I didn’t know.”

Viktor let out a low growl of frustration. “You’relying,” he said through gritted teeth. “You had to have known. And if you didn’t, then you’re even dumber than I thought.”

I flinched at his words. But I didn’t have time to process them. We were still walking through the parade, people waving and smiling at us as if everything was normal. As if I wasn’t trapped in this nightmare.

Laken appeared in front of us, her face lit up with excitement as she caught sight of me. She wore a red Christmas hat with two blonde braids over her shoulders and a bright smile on her face. “Cami! This parade is amazing!” she gushed, clapping her hands together. “You did such a great job with everything!”

I forced another smile, feeling like my face might crack from the effort. “Thanks, Laken,” I said, trying to keep my voice light. “Glad you’re enjoying it. I justloveChristmas!”

She beamed at me, oblivious to the fact that Viktor and Wallace were standing right beside me, their presence looming like a dark cloud over everything. “I’ll see you later, okay? We have to drink some hot cocoa and catch up!” She waved before disappearing back into the crowd.

As soon as she was gone, Viktor’s hand tightened on my arm again. “Tell me where Dylan is,” he snarled. “Or I start hurting people. Do you really want that on your conscience?”

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