Page 23

Mason

The buzzof the alarm jolted me out of my thoughts. I wasn’t sleeping—there was no way I’d be able to fall asleep with everything that was on my mind. I was worried about Jennifer. I was pretty sure she’d gotten away undetected because the police still seemed to believe I’d been alone, but now Jennifer was by herself. And what would she tell Mom? Eventually they’d figure out who I was. Would Jennifer be safe? Would they find out she wasinvolved?

Icouldn’t standto think of Mom finding out what I’d been doing, let alone the both ofus.

I’d really fucked up,bad. I’d gotten cocky. I’d come up with all the precautions to keep us safe, and in the end, it was me who’d decided to ignore them. If only I’d just ignored that damnsafe…

The worst partwas that we had nothing to show for it. And if they found out we were responsible for the Blackwood robberies…? What would happen to Mom if Jennifer and I were no longer around? She had no oneelse.

It washot in the cell, so I’d removed my shirt. My right hand throbbed painfully beneath the bandages. They told me that it would take more time to heal because of how badly I’d mangled it in my attempt toescape.

“Wake up in there.”

What the helldid they want at this hour? Was this part of their interrogation game? Never ending questioning, no time torest?

Iturned,and was shocked at who I saw standing with the chiefinspector.

What was he doing here?Christophe. That was his name. I’d thought he might’ve been on the security team or something like that, but seeing him again now changed my mind. He didn’t have that vibe. And judging from the immaculate way he dressed… He was someoneimportant.

Damn.Was he aLuna?

With that realizationcame a much heavier one. If he was an alpha Luna, then that meant he had a direct influence on what my punishment wouldbe.

“You,”Isaid.

He lookedlike he was judging me, looking down at me, and it pissed me off. And I hated that I still found him attractive, even after all of this. It was like my body and my mind were clashing with each other. He looked fucking perfect, especially seeing him up close, almost overwhelmingly so. I felt a deep, aching hunger inside, like I wanted to eat him up. I could feel blood rushing to my cock, and I did everything I could to fight away the fantasies that had begun to swirl around in my head. This smug son of a bitch was the enemy. And he was the reason why I was sitting in this damncell.

He straightenedhis cuff links and said something to the chief, who nodded and left us alone. We glared at each other, a thick silence settling between us. The man standing on the other side of the glass seemed to be slightly different from the one I’d spied on the balcony. That one had been lost in his thoughts. I remembered seeing something in his eyes, a longing for something that’d piqued my curiosity. There was none of that here, now. This man was allbusiness.

“My name is Christophe Luna,”he said, his voice a velvety baritone that I could feel even through the glass that separated us. “First alpha of the Lunafamily.”

So,he was a Luna, the firstalpha.

“Given I just introduced myself,it’d be the polite thing to give your name,too.”

Ilookedat the ceiling and scratched my nose with my middle finger. He snorted. Was that alaugh?

“Doyou know who it was you were stealing from?” heasked.

“Yeah.People who wouldn’t have missed any of thatshit.”

“You stolefrom members of some of the most powerful clans in the country, under my roof. Do you know who the Crescent Moon Clanis?”

Ipretended to think.“A bunch ofassholes?”

He sighedand thrust a hand into his pocket. His eyes lazily scanned me up and down, and he rubbed his chin. I suddenly felt strangely self-conscious. Frowning, I picked up the white prisoner’s uniform top from the end of the cot and pulled iton.

“I’ve been giventhe authority to decide on behalf on my clan, who you offended, what your punishment will be. Do youunderstand?”

“Sure, I do,”I replied gravely. “What will satisfy the clan’s call for blood? That’s what you’re gonna decide. In fact, I bet you’ve already made up your mind. So why the hell are you here? What do you want from me? You want me to beg? Get down on myknees?”

Ichased awaythe thought of myself getting on my knees in front of him as he undid his belt. Hounds of Hell, what was wrong withme?

“No,”he said. “I wanted to see you in person. I didn’t want you to just be a faceless mark on a piece of paper when I decide what they’re going to do withyou.”

“Got it.You wanted to see what kind of awesome badass could sneak into your house right under your nose.” I spread my arms. “Here Iam.”

His eyes driftedto my bandaged hand. “That must hurt,” hesaid.