Page 49 of My Secret Santa Mason

Terror flooded through me, and I shook my head frantically. “I don’t know where he is,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “I haven’t seen him since we broke up. Please, you have to believe me.”

Viktor’s lips curled into a sneer behind his Grinch mask. “If you’re lying to me, Cami,” he said softly, “there will be consequences. For you and for everyone in this godforsaken town.”

I swallowed hard, fear clawing at my throat as we continued walking through the parade. I tried to focus on the music, the laughter, the festive atmosphere around me. But all I could feel was the icy grip of terror tightening around my chest and Viktor’s fingers digging into my skin where he would leave blue marks.

Would I be alive to notice the bruises later? Would I live that long?

I had no idea where Dylan was. I didn’t know anything about the smuggling, or the business deals, or whatever the hell Viktor was talking about. But none of that mattered. He wasn’t going to believe me I had no idea how to get out of this without someone getting hurt.

All I could do was keep walking. Keep pretending. Keep hoping that somehow, by some miracle, I’d find a way out of this nightmare before anyone got hurt.

22

MASON

Rage surged through me, and I slammed my fist into the wall of Tanner’s garage. I didn’t even feel the crack of my knuckles through the burning fury boiling in my gut. Cami was in danger, and it was my fault. I should’ve seen this coming. Viktor was a fucking snake, and now he was using the parade as cover to pull his shit.

Tanner stood nearby, arms crossed, watching me with his usual calm demeanor. “I scouted around town,” he said, his voice calm. He wasn’t as emotionally invested in this as I was. “They’re still here. Blending in with the parade. Viktor’s using the costumes to move his men into position.”

I clenched my fists tighter, my mind racing. This was exactly the kind of move Viktor would make. Hide in plain sight, mask his men as harmless participants, and then strike when no one expected it. Nothing changed, did it?

Fuck.

I’d dealt with his kind before. I knew his playbook, and I wasn’t going to let him get away with it. This time, he’d fuckedwith the wrong guy. There was a lot someone could do to a man and it wouldn’t break him, but get to his woman and it was war.

“Rae still wants you to be Santa?” Tanner asked, breaking the silence when I pulled on the red coat and tightened the stupid black belt around my waist. Tanner watched me with one eyebrow cocked.

I probably looked like a joke in this costume, but that was exactly what I needed right now.

I scoffed. “Can’t believe I’m actually grateful for that. Rae has pulled a lot of shit that pissed me off this Christmas, but this…” I grinned at Tanner when I put on the Santa hat. “It’s time to play dress-up.”

Tanner shook his head and chuckled. “Never thought I’d see you like this. There’s a first for everything, eh?”

I snorted. “You’re telling me.” With Cami, there had been a lot of firsts.

“At least you’ll blend in,” Tanner said. “And it’ll give us cover to move through the parade without drawing too much attention.”

I nodded. That was the plan. We needed to be careful, methodical. One wrong move and Viktor’s men could start a bloodbath in the middle of the town. I didn’t put that beneath them—they weren’t hiding in plain sight because they gave a shit about the collateral damage. They were just biding their time before they started hurting people. I wasn’t about to let that happen.

But infiltrating the town was an afterthought. Viktor’s biggest mistake had been taking Cami. He was using her to draw me out. Well, he was going to get a shit ton more than he bargained for.

“Let’s gear up,” I said, stalking toward the back of the garage where I’d added my stash to Tanner’s. He followed, staying quiet as I pulled out my weapons—a tactical knife, a suppressed pistol, and a few other essentials. I strapped the knife to my thigh andtucked the pistol into a hidden holster beneath the oversized red suit Rae had given me.

“What are we dealing with?” Tanner asked as he geared up beside me.

“Viktor’s got a handful of guys,” I said. “I doubt he’s got anyone who’s not hidden in the crowd. His mistake is usually playing his whole hand—everyone has a weakness.”

“It’s a bad thing when your enemies know your weak spots.”

“It counts in my favor,” I said. “But it’s not going to be a party, I’ll tell you that much. I’ve taken down worse. But this time…” I trailed off, the image of Cami’s terrified face flashing in my mind.

“We’ll get her out,” he said. “We’ll get her back.” Tanner understood. If anyone understood, it was him. He’d felt the same about Rae, and it was almost ironic how we were in the same situation, just a mirror image of what had happened before. But this time, it wasn’t in the woods, secluded and out of the way.

This time we had to make sure no innocents got hurt; it was a whole different ballgame.

I pulled the Santa coat tight, adjusting the bulk of it so it didn’t interfere with my movements. I’d laugh at the ridiculousness of it if the situation weren’t so fucking serious. Instead, I just took a deep breath, focusing on the task ahead.

“Let’s move,” I said, my voice hard as steel.

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