Page 74 of Mason

I lift my eyes to his. “From what I’ve seen of you, the gentleness you show me… it contradicts the man the world sees.”

Something shifts in his gaze—darkens—but not in a way that scares me. Not in a way that makes me second-guess this moment.

He leans in, close enough that I can feel the words before he even speaks them.

“The world doesn’t deserve my softness,” he murmurs.

The answer comes so easily—like he’s known it forever. Like it’s an irrefutable fact.

But I’m different.

I don’t know when it happened, when Mason decided I was worth something more than just his walls and shadows. But the way he looks at me now? Like I’m his, like I’m the only thing that matters in a world full of bloodshed and brutality?

It’s terrifying.

And it’s addictive.

I slide my arms around his neck, pulling him back to me, and when he kisses me this time, it’s different.

Deeper. Slower.

Like he’s making a vow.

Like he’s proving—with every inch of his body pressed against mine—that he’ll never be the man who hurts me.

No.

Mason Ironside?

He’s the man who will burn for me.

23

SAXON

BREAKING NEWS: LEADER OF THE ALBANIAN MAFIA ALTIN KADRI DIES IN JAIL UNDER MYSTERIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES

Byline: Investigative Correspondent – The Daily Ledger

Seattle, WA– Notorious Albanian crime lord Altin Kadri, the mastermind behind one of the most ruthless international crime syndicates, was found dead in his jail cell late last night. Officials confirm that Kadri, who was awaiting trial on a slew of charges, died from anaphylactic shock after ingesting peanuts hidden in his prison meal.

Kadri, once considered untouchable, was the head of an international criminal empire linked to human trafficking, drug smuggling, money laundering, and violent extortion rings. He had long evaded justice, allegedly orchestrating multimillion-dollar operations across Europe and North America. Despite years of investigative efforts by federal agencies, Kadri was only recently apprehended following a sweeping indictment that finally put him behind bars.

A Death Shrouded in Suspicion

While preliminary reports indicate Kadri’s death was caused by a severe allergic reaction to peanuts, officials have yet to determine how the known allergy was overlooked—or if it was deliberately exploited. A full coroner’s report is pending, but sources inside the facility have described the incident as “highly unusual.”

“There is absolutely no reason why an inmate with a severe food allergy should have been exposed to peanuts in a controlled environment,” said a former prison official who wished to remain anonymous. “Either this was a massive oversight, or someone made damn sure Kadri wouldn’t make it out of that prison alive.”

Kadri’s death has already sparked widespread speculation, with some questioning whether it was a freak accident—or a well-executed assassination. Given Kadri’s long list of enemies in both law enforcement and the criminal underworld, it isn’t hard to imagine that someone wanted him silenced.

There’s a photograph buried under the weight of my case files, the edges curling, the image worn from years of grief and guilt. My sister. Sienna. Sixteen years old. Missing in a city I was sworn to protect.

She vanished without a whisper. Just gone. Like the night swallowed her whole. And it took months—months—of chasing ghosts and scraping the truth from cold, terrified lips to finally learn what happened.

It wasn’t a murder. It wasn’t some clean-cut tragedy with a body and a motive and a killer to cuff.

It was human farming.

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