Page 128 of Beneath the Surface

She inhales a shaky breath. “I’m still mad at you.”

I nod, my hands framing her face. “That’s okay.”

“I don’t forgive you.”

“That’s okay, too.”

Her gaze flickers between my mouth and my eyes. “Does it make me weak if I want you to stay anyway?”

My heart jumps in my chest, spreading hope like ivy. I swallow, trying to find the right words to say. “I think that’s your decision to make, little bird. I could tell you a thousand reasons why I did what I did, but they’d all be excuses.”

“Just tell me the truth,” she whispers.

“The truth,” I repeat, something tugging my stomach up through my middle. “The truth is that I’ve been a PI going by the name Mason since I was nineteen years old. Your brother hired me, desperate to find you. The truth is that the moment I saw you, Ineededto know you. And the first time we met, I knew, even then, I wouldn’t go through with the job.”

Her nostrils flare. “But you did go through with it.”

I lean my forehead against hers, careful to avoid her right side. “My father found me. Threatened you and Chase.” Emotion explodes from my chest, the memory of fear freezing my insides, as visceral now as it was then. “I would ratherdiethan let anything happen to you.”

Another tear drips from her eye, and I wipe it away with my thumb.

“The truth is that I needed to handle my father before coming back to you. That Olivia was my fiancée and pregnant with who I thought was my child, but turned out to be his.” Her eyes widen and I suck in a breath. “Thetruthis that I paid off your landlord to force you out. I went to your brother in his motel and made him promise to take you home.” My stomach churns with my confession.

Her eyes flare and she jerks her head away, wincing. “You didwhat?”

My eyes burn. “My fatherthreatenedyour son, Lily. He isn’t an amateur. He was a powerful man. He could have done anything to either of you. So yeah, I’m the bad guy.” My voice cracks, my fist slamming against my chest. “I’m the asshole who fucked up your world. But I would do it a thousand times over if it kept you safe.”

She opens her mouth, but I keep going, desperate to get everything out in the open.

“Thetruthis that you are anything but weak.”

She sniffles, her palm smacking her thigh. “I don’t evenknowyou.”

I grab her hand, pressing it against my chest, a tear finally escaping, hot as it trails down my cheek. “You know me. Little bird, you fuckingknowme.”

She shakes her head. “I just… are you Alex or are you Mason? I don’t know. I need some time.”

Blowing out a breath, I nod, my insides tossing. “The people who named me Alexander are dead to me. Mason is the nameIchose—the name that makes me feel free. But a name isjusta name, little bird. You can call me whatever you want.” Kissing her lightly on the lips, I stand up and wink. “In case that was the last one I ever get.”

The corners of her mouth twitch. “You’re a prick.”

I move to the door, turning around to smile. “But I’myourprick, whether you claim me or not.”

My heart pounds in my chest as I leave her to shower, hoping she chooses to let me stay.

* * *

Trackingdown Darryl was one of the easiest jobs I’ve ever done. He wasn’t even hiding.Mistake on his part.His rap sheet is a mile long, all of it public record, and after a little digging I have a general idea of where I think he is.

So, three hours after I left Lily alone in her room, her brother and I pull up to the curb of a worn-down house, with chain link fencing around the perimeter, and a rusted-out car on stilts in the driveway.

I glance over at Chase, noticing his tense demeanor. “You good?”

His brows are furrowed, his fists white-knuckling against his legs. “Yeah, I’ve just... I’ve been to this house before.Fuck.” He rips at his hair. “I’ve driven by this placesomany fucking times after she went missing, praying that she’d be around. But she never was.” He huffs out a laugh.

Grabbing the gun from my holster, I pull the slide back to chamber a round, and click the safety off, just in case. “Well, it’s not his house. It’s registered to an Amy Landerson.”

Chase shrugs. “I don’t give a fuck.”

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