Page 117 of The Ruthless and the Strong

Lizzie

I didn’t thinkanyone was awake this early in the morning when I sneaked back inside the house, but I ran into Mason on my way to my bedroom.

“Hey,” he said, taking in my disheveled appearance. I must look like a mess. I was still wearing Max’s shirt without a bra and my skirt from last night, which might have been ruined. “Is everything okay?”

I opened my mouth to tell him yes, everything was okay, but what came out was a small “No” and tears sprang to my eyes.

I blinked away the moisture and looked off to the side, not wanting to look at him, look into his blue eyes that were identical to Max’s.

Mason was quiet for a bit, before he said, “Why don’t you freshen up? I’ll make us some coffee and we can talk out in the backyard before the whole house wakes up?”

I should tell him no. I didn’t have anything to say to him. Not about Max. I wondered if Mason knew about what Max had done. If I asked him about it and he didn’t know, would I have exposed Max unintentionally?

I didn’t know. But I nodded and Mason walked past me to the kitchen, squeezing my shoulder comfortingly on his way.

I waited a beat before I slowly made my way upstairs to my room, brushing my teeth and changing my clothes. After I looked and felt more human again, I slowly made my way out to the backyard.

Mason was already sitting there, and despite the early hour, he looked like he was ready to go to work.

I took a seat next to him and looked out at the huge yard. There was a small kid’s playground that Hunter had immediately taken to. He and Emma hung out here on the swing almost every day since we moved here.

Mason handed me a cup of steaming black coffee. I held onto, bringing it close to my chest to let the warmth ward away the chilly morning air. “Thank you.”

“Of course. Do you want to talk about what happened between my brother and you last night?”

I blew on the coffee, watching as the steam billowed away from my face before coming back. “Max told me something.”

If I hadn’t been paying attention, I wouldn’t have noticed the way Mason stiffened from my words.

“What thing?” he asked casually.

I didn’t look at him. “Max has always been so protective, hasn’t he?” I asked, instead of answering him.

Mason paused a bit before he answered. “Yes. He thinks he can protect everyone. Isn’t that naïve? Bad things happen to people all the time. It’s not like he can prevent those bad things from happening if he tries hard enough.”

I let out a small laugh then. “It’s not going to stop him either way.”

“True,” Mason said, and I took a small sip of my coffee.

Mason cleared his throat a bit before he said, “Did he tell you about my experience at hockey camp when I was little?”

“Yes,” I answered because there wasn’t any reason for me to lie to him. “He didn’t go into much detail. I’m sorry if he wasn’t supposed to tell me. He was just trying to explain to me why he gave up the chance at a professional hockey career.”

“That’s why?” Mason asked, sounding surprised.

I looked at him. “He said it tainted the game for him. That hockey was no longer fun. I thought it mostly reminded him that he hadn’t been able to protect you like he’d wanted.”

Mason nodded in understanding. “Yeah, I can see that. And I’m not mad that he told you. It happened a long time ago, and no, I’m not exactly quite over it, but I am getting better with each year that passes. I am determined not to be defined by this terrible thing that has happened to me.”

“I’m glad you think that.”

“Did he tell you anything else? About that, or things that happened recently?” he asked carefully. If I hadn’t thought Mason knew about what Max had done, I did now.

My lips trembled and I looked away from him. “He told me everything.”

“I see. Is that why you look sad this morning?”

“How do you look past it?” I asked him.

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