Page 55 of The Young & the Sinner

I felt him shake his head behind me. “Don’t be. It was a long time ago.”

Mason was quite easily one of the strongest men I knew. It was hard to see how anyone could hurt him, unless… unless it happened before he was strong. Before he was big. I tensed, hating the thought of someone hurting him when he was a child.

“Who… who hurt you?” When he hesitated, I patted the hand he had laid on my stomach. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I didn’t mean to pry.”

I felt his arms tighten around me just a fraction before he said, “It’s okay. My hockey camp coach. I was twelve.”

I took in a stuttering breath. “Does Max know?”

“Yeah. He knows. I think he still blames himself for what happened, even if it was in no way his fault.”

I turned until I faced him. His eyes were shut, making his expression nearly impossible for me to read, but there was just something gentle about him. I moved my hand up and ran the soft pads of my fingers against the rough stubble on his jaw.

He didn’t stop me. “So you see, I know what you’re feeling right now. It will get better. You just have to be willing to work on getting better. Can you promise me you’ll try? To heal from this, and not let it change you?”

I nodded and he mirrored my actions with his own, running his calloused fingers across my jawline.

“Good. Because I love the person you are. I think she’s pretty amazing. And I would hate to see that change because of what that bastard did to you.”

I closed my eyes, relishing his touch. When I opened them, his blue eyes were shadowed with some unnamed emotions. “What happens now?”

“You don’t have to worry about anything. I will make sure the weight of the law comes bearing down on him with everything I’ve got. And Max knows the right people to get his family to comply. You have two very powerful men in your corner, Olivia. We’ll make sure he pays for what he did to you.”

I shook my head. “I don’t want to drag this out.”

“It won’t, I promise. I’ll make sure this goes away as quickly as possible, and that you’ll never have to see his face ever again.”

I hoped that was true. I yawned and Mason smiled. “I think it’s time we sleep.”

“Are you sure it’s okay for me to stay here with you tonight?”

He nodded. “Yes.” He reached over me for the lamp on the bedside table and clicked it off, bathing the room in darkness. “Go to sleep, Olivia. I’ll be here with you the whole night. Nothing can hurt you.”

I snuggled in close to him. I didn’t care if it was inappropriate that I was here. I didn’t care that Mason may not think of me that way. I didn’t care about anything but being here for the rest of the night. He would keep me safe. He would keep the monster at bay. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind.

* * *

I was somewherebetween asleep and awake when I heard voices. They didn’t sound angry, but they didn’t sound happy either.

“This wasn’t a good idea, Mason. You shouldn’t have allowed her to stay with you last night.”

“What would you have me do? Turn her away with everything that happened yesterday? She needed to feel safe, and she obviously didn’t feel safe in her own room.”

“Then you should have woken me up.”

“Do you really think she would be safer with you than with me? You really think I would take advantage of her like that?” Mason sounded angry then, and I had to remind myself to stay still.

Max didn’t say anything for a while. Then, “No, I don’t think you would have taken advantage of her. I just don’t want Olivia’s feelings for you to develop any deeper than they already have. We both know she’s infatuated with you. I can’t have you hurting her feeling in the end when you don’t return the sentiment. Because you can’t.” Max said the last part a little more forcefully.

I wished I could go back to sleep. I wished I had gone back to sleep before Max had said that. Even with everything that had happened yesterday, I could still feel my cheeks warming because both Max and Mason knew I had feelings for Mason.

My reaction told me that Lorenzo didn’t break my spirit like he promised he would. I would have smiled at the thought if I wasn’t feeling so horrified.

“It won’t get that far. But I can’t just leave her alone now. I know what she’s feeling. I just want to make sure she’s okay.”

There was a meaningful pause before Max spoke again. And when he did, I could tell he was trying to keep his emotions in check. “I get why you want to do this. I do. And I know you wouldn’t ever do anything to hurt her.”

“Good.”

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