Page 50 of My Secret Santa Mason

The parade was in full swing when we reached Main Street. The air was thick with the scent of roasted chestnuts and gingerbread, the festive sound of Christmas music filling the air. It was almost an onslaught to my senses.

Kids ran around laughing, chasing after candy tossed from floats, while families huddled together, enjoying the warmth of the holiday spirit despite the chill in the air along with the freshly fallen snow.

It was picture-perfect—except for the fact Viktor’s men were hiding among the crowd, waiting for the right moment to strike.

I scanned the area, my eyes sharp. I’d been trained to pick out the slightest hint of danger and after a decade in the forest, I was still sharp as a tack. I hadn’t let my senses go, and the military training never really went away.

Viktor wasn’t stupid.

He’d blend his men in perfectly, but there were tells—subtle movements, the way they held themselves. It didn’t take long before I spotted them. One by one. Standing near the edge of the crowd, just enough space between them that they looked like sentries. They were watching, waiting for Viktor’s word to unleash hell upon Silver Ridge.

And he was using that as a way to pressure Cami for something, no doubt. He was a piece of shit if I ever knew one. Wallace, too.

The pair of them were wastes of space, and it was time to end this once and for all.

I motioned to Tanner, nodding toward one of Viktor’s men who stood near the hot cocoa stand.

Tanner nodded back almost imperceptibly, slipping into the crowd with the ease of a predator stalking his prey. We moved in tandem, silent, methodical—just like the old days when we used to hunt together.

Back in the day when I’d been in the army, I would have loved to have Tanner on my team.

One by one, we took them out. It was almost too easy. The Christmas cheer drowned out the sounds of bodies hitting the ground, and the crowds made it easy to drag the bodies out of sight without someone noticing. Everyone had their eyes trained on the parade, the floats, and it was a piece of cake doing our thing behind their backs.

My knife slid through the air silently, striking precise and true. Tanner’s hits were just as clean. We moved like ghosts, taking out Viktor’s men.

To the rest of the town, we were just another pair of Santas enjoying the festivities.

On the inside, my blood was pumped with a different kind of energy. I kept my eyes open, but I couldn’t spot the one person I was looking for.

Cami was out there, somewhere in this crowd, with Viktor at her side. Every second she was with Viktor put her life at risk. He wouldn’t hesitate to hurt her—kill her, even—as soon as he got what he needed.

I hoped she knew that and that she would stall for time. But she wasn’t stupid. I was sure she wasn’t just going to roll over for someone like Viktor.

I hoped to God this would work out.

I clenched my jaw and focused on the moment, pushing forward, following the faint trail of Viktor’s men, picking them off one by one.

Then I saw her.

Cami stood near the large Christmas tree, her face pale, her eyes wide with fear. And beside her—looming over her like a shadow—was Viktor, dressed in a fucking Grinch mask, with Wallace at his side. They had her pinned in the middle of the crowd, acting like they were just a couple of guys enjoying the parade, but I could see the tension in Cami’s body.

She was terrified.

I moved in closer, my hand tightening around the grip of my knife. Tanner flanked me, his eyes locked on Wallace. He’d followed my eyes and spotted them, too, and without a word, we stalked our prey.

We crept closer, slipping through the crowd unnoticed, but Viktor spotted me before I could reach them. He pushed up his mask, finally showing his face.

A slow, twisted smile spread across his face as he pulled Cami closer, wrapping an arm around her neck. “Don’t even think about it,” he growled, his voice low enough that only I could hear. “I’ll snap her neck before you can even blink.”

My heart stopped.

The world around me blurred as I focused on Cami—her wide, terrified eyes, the way her body shook under Viktor’s hold. For a split second, I froze, every instinct screaming at me to protect her, to get her out of there. But one wrong move and Viktor would kill her. I couldn’t let that happen.

“Let her go,” I said, my voice dangerously calm as I inched closer. “This is between you and me, Viktor. She has nothing to do with it.”

Viktor chuckled, tightening his grip on Cami. “Oh, but she does,” he sneered. “She owes me a couple of answers. I’m not here for you, but two birds with one stone never hurt anyone. She brought you out of hiding, didn’t she? And now, here we are. All thanks to her.”

Cami whimpered, her eyes locking onto mine, pleading for me to do something to get her out of this.

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