Page 104 of 12 Months of Mayhem

Her smile dropped from encouraging to empathetic really quickly. “It’s him, right? He’s the reason you stopped coming. He’s like the one who got away.”

My heart began to pound.

He didn’t get away.

I pushed him away.

And I did it in the worst way imaginable because I was just a teenage girl, and I was too scared to ask for help.

“It’s really fucking complicated,” was all I managed to say. “I’ll try to brave the wild later.”

She offered me a sad smile but backed out the front door, pulling it closed behind her.

This was what it had been like for the past two days. I avoided my father like the plague so I didn’t have to admit the truth about Mason and what I’d done ten years ago. One day soon, I would have to.

I’d have to tell him how I betrayed his trust.

I’d have to tell him how I’d fallen for the enemy.

And then, I’d have to tell my father how I’d witnessed something horrendous, something that could possibly still get me killed if anyone found out, and instead of going to him about it, and letting him handle it, I faced it on my own.

And I fucked it up.

I. Fucked. It. Up.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

I’d barely made it a few steps from the front door.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

“I swear to God, Shay,” I cursed as I flicked the lock open and reached for the door handle, yanking the old villa door open with force. “Did you forget to take the ke—” I stop midsentence before saying, “Adrian?”

He stood on the other side of the threshold, a small suitcase at his feet, and his arms stretched wide as though he expected me to jump into them. “Surprise.” He laughed, rushing forward and sweeping me off my feet.

I choked on a laugh, holding on tight as he spun me around a couple of times before finally placing my feet back on the steady ground. “Um, oh my goodness,” I spluttered, not really sure what to say. “What are you doing here?” The question, I think, was a little harsher than I intended it to be.

He took my cheeks in his hands and grinned. “When your dad mentioned this Scorch thing, I sent Shay a message and asked if I could have the address to send flowers because it seemed like you weren’t all that happy about coming,” he explained, his face lit up like it was Christmas. “But then I figured, why not just fly down here, be with you while you’re struggling through it?”

My eyes widened. “Wow. I can’t… I’m just—”

He suddenly drew my mouth to his, smashing our lips together in a messy, erratic kiss. I tried to go along with it as he pressed my back to the hallway wall. His fingers lightly brushed a few strands of hair away from my face, and my shoulders slumped as his eyes met mine. “Sorry. I’m fucking this up. I just wanted it to be exciting and crazy.” The apology was sincere, and I instantly felt guilty for not being more enthusiastic about him coming all these miles to see me.

Isn’t that something I should appreciate?

Shaking the thought away, I swiped at a little smear of lipstick at the edge of his upper lip. “No, I’m sorry, you just caught me off-guard.”

His smile lit up again, and he dropped his mouth to my neck, his lips pecking and nibbling at the sensitive skin.

We stumbled together down the hallway until we reached the bedrooms. “This is my room,” I murmured, leaning back against the door frame and lifting my chin, giving him room to explore while I tugged at his collared shirt, eager to get it out of where it was tucked into his pants like a good little professional businessman.

My eyes blinked open for just a second.

A shadow.

The shape of a man standing at the end of the hall.

Watching silently.

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