Page 94 of Sins & Secrets

“What?” I say, licking my lips although in the cold air it only makes them feel chapped. “What exactly did he do?” I ask Liam, taking another step back. I watch as he looks toward the door and then takes another step closer to me, his hands slipping into the pockets of his slacks. “Business partnerships don’t always?—”

“I’m going to make him pay,” he says, cutting me off and raising his brow as he reaches in his pocket for something. I involuntarily tense up, but it’s only a pack of cigarettes. He takes one out, then offers the pack to me as he slips a cig between his lips and tilts his head back.

“No thank you,” I tell him, “I was just heading inside.”

“No you weren’t,” he says as he lights the cigarette, the tiny flame illuminating his face. He takes the cigarette out of his mouth, pinching it between his forefinger and thumb as he says, “You just came out here.”

“I made a mistake.” I’m quick to answer and it only makes him smile.

“Yeah you did,” he says and the smile morphs from cocky to something else. Something sinister.

“I have to go,” I say and turn my back to him, heading for the door. But I only take a single step before his hand is wrapped around my hip, pulling me backward and into his hard chest.

“Get off me!” I yell out and drop my clutch as I try to pry his fingers away from me. He’s holding me with a bruising force, the tips of his fingers digging into the flesh at my hips.

“Hey now,” Liam says, nearly laughing the words as he spits out the cigarette and covers my mouth with his other hand. “Hush, hush, it’s okay,” he whispers against the shell of my ear. The cocktail of smoke and lingering alcohol mixes and fills my lungs as I heave in a breath. This is not happening.

I yank my elbow back with everything I have and shove it into Liam’s gut. He releases me and I don’t waste a second, I run for the door straight in front of me. My shrug falls off and I’ve already lost my clutch, but as far as I’m concerned, it can stay wherever it is forever.

My palms slap against the glass door, forcing my body to come to a halt and the doorman looks at me with complete surprise as I stand there doubled over and desperate for air.

I’m shaking and completely wrecked. I’ve dealt with drunken men and roaming hands before. But never from a man angry with my supposed fiancé. I can barely wrap my head around what happened. He grabbed me. He held his hand over my mouth.

The door opens and even though I feel like I’m going to be sick, I walk in, trying to hide what’s happened, but completely unable to compose myself. My legs are shaky and I still struggle to come to terms with being grabbed like that. I don’t know what to do. I grip onto the man’s arm and try to clear my head from the fog of shock, but I’m not given long before a strong grip pulls me away from him.

I yell out in surprise and fear until I realize it’s Mason. He holds my forearms and forces me to look at him, and I lose it.

“Jules?” He says my name, compassion and worry evident. I shake my head, and say the only thing I can think of. “Liam—” I say but then my voice croaks, unable to get out the rest of the words. Unable to express what just happened moments ago.

Tears leak from the corners of my eyes, and his concern turns to anger. I can’t say for certain what he was going to do, but there’s not a chance he didn’t know I was scared. He knew he crossed a boundary. “He… he?—”

Mason releases me quickly, slamming his arm into the door and forcing it to fly open as I nearly fall to the gleaming marble floor.

“Jules!” I hear Kat call my name from behind me. I hear the commotion around us. I can see from the reflection in the glass a crowd’s come to watch.

I can’t respond, I can’t even turn to her or form a single thought concerning all of them.

Even as she pulls me to stand straighter and puts her face close to mine, grabbing onto me and trying to get my attention, I can’t give it to her. All I can do is watch Mason disappear and wish he’d just come back.I need him.

Kat grips my face with both her hands and forces me to look at her. I stare into her worried eyes and confess in a ragged breath, “I’m not okay.”

MASON

Anger cannot be denied,

It cannot be contained.

Carnal sins and violent ways,

Its brutality cannot be chained.

It’s passion that drives the fist,

It’s fear that leaves the cage.

Every movement desperate,

Pain seeping through the rage.

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