Page 77 of Unmask
God, who would have thought I’d have multiple guys fighting over me? Brothers, nonetheless, and it wasn’t even like they all wanted to sleep with me. At least I was pretty sure. “I don’t know how. You literally hated me a few weeks ago.”
He leaned in, resting his forearms on the table, his expression turning more sincere than I’d expected. “Inever hated you, and I think that was the dilemma we all faced. Wewantedto hate you, but you made it impossible.”
I blinked, the power of his words sticking harder than I thought they would. “Why are you telling me this?”
Mason’s hand moved across the table, his knuckles brushing against mine in the briefest of touches before pulling back. “Because I want you to know you’re not alone. You matter to all of us, not just to Kreed. Turns out, we like living with a girl, and we’ve got your back. He isn’t the only one who’d take a knife to keep you safe.”
“Wow,” Poppy whispered dreamily. “Where do I get one of you?”
Mason grinned without missing a beat. “I’d say I’m one of a kind, but my twin’s literally glaring at us from across the room.”
I followed his gaze to where Maddox stood, his eyes fixed on our little group with an intensity.
“This is literally history in the making,” Poppy declared as she reached for her bag sitting on the floor. “Where’s my phone? I need to document this moment.”
“Have we ever hooked up?” Mason asked Poppy, tilting his head to the side as he checked my friend out with a glint of interest.
“Absolutely not,” I cut in before Poppy could respond. “She’s off-limits.”
Mason’s eyebrows shot up, and his grin turned wicked. “No one is off-limits. Well, except for you, of course.” He winked.
I fixed him with my best don’t-even-think-about-it glare. “She’s hooking up with Nash, remember?”
Mason waved a dismissive hand. “Minor detail.”
“You’re unbelievable. I doubt he would feel the same.”
“Nash isn’t serious about anything, let alone anyone,” he replied offhandedly.
I was too emotionally drained to deal with this. “Don’t be a dick.”
“It’s true. He isn’t saying anything that I don’t know.” Poppy caught Mason’s gaze as she paused, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. “I might be interested.”
The conversation had somehow spiraled completely out of my control. “What is happening? No more sex talk. Where’s Kreed?” I quickly shifted to what I hoped was a safer subject.
Mason shrugged, finishing the last bit of his apple. “Who knows. Doing Kreed shit probably.”
My eyes narrowed. “What does that mean?” Just as I was about to launch the crust of my sandwich at Mason’s smug, dimpled face, a shadow fell over the table. I glanced up, spotting a guy standing near the table, nervous, twitchy, maybe a freshman? He was rail-thin, his backpack slung low off one shoulder, and his eyes darted everywhere but my face. He held something out in his hand. A small, crumpled scrap of paper. Not a note from a teacher. Not a hall pass. Just a torn square like it’d been ripped from the edge of a notebook.
“Kaylor?” he asked, voice cracking as he zeroed in on me.
Mason straightened, dropping his apple core onto the table with a soft thud. His voice lost every ounce of humor. “Who wants to know?”
The kid flinched. His grip on the paper tightened before he quickly thrust it toward me instead. “This is for you, I think.” His voice came out in a rush, and his eyes flicked nervously toward Mason as if he’d already decided this had been a huge mistake.
I didn’t reach for it. Not right away. “Who gave it to you?” I asked.
The kid swallowed, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “I-I don’t know. Some guy in the parking lot. Said it was important.”
My heart slammed once, every muscle in my body tensing.
Mason reached for the note at the same time I did, his fingers brushing mine before closing around the paper. “Let me,” he insisted.
I didn’t argue. Couldn’t. A coldness was already coiling in my stomach.
He unfolded it slowly, brows furrowing as he read, and the playful tilt of his mouth vanished. His jaw flexed once. Then again.
“What?” I demanded. “What does it say?”
