Page 169 of Bang

"But wait, you just said she was cheating."

"Yeah, well. I guess Mom got bored."

Ouch."So she took up with someone else?"

"Yeah. This fighter from Miami. A real has-been."

From Arden, I already knew much of the story. Still, I was dying to hear Mason's version.

He continued. "But to her? The guy's a celebrity, someone exciting to see on the sly." With a sideways glance, he said, "You'd be surprised how much that means to some people."

I wouldn't bethatsurprised. After all, I'd known Mason long enough to see that fame could be a real aphrodisiac. Wherever Mason went, women stopped to stare, and not only because he was so ungodly sexy. "So the fighter –that'swho you caught with your mom?"

He nodded. "And that's what busted up the family."

"But wait, how could that beyourfault?"

"Oh, you're gonna love this," he said in a tone that suggested otherwise. "See, my dad, he gets suspicious, thinking my mom's up to her old tricks. And he starts asking questions."

I could only guess where this was going. Bracing myself, I said, "You don't mean he's askingyou?"

"Who else would he ask?" Mason gave a hard scoff. "See, I'm not a kid anymore, right? So he's asking me 'man-to-man' if there's anything going on."

I couldn't even imagine how awkward that would be – or what I'd do in the same situation. "So…you told him?"

Mason's voice grew quiet. "Yeah. I told him. Not flat-out, but let's just say I didn’t cover for her." Mason shook his head. "And hell, he probably knew already."

"But then it's not your fault at all," I said. "And even if youdidtell him, that's your mom's fault for cheating, not yours."

"Maybe. But you haven't heard the rest."

I frowned. "There's more?"

Again, Mason nodded. "So later that same night, my mom announces she's pregnant. And my dad – he flies off the handle, because he knows damn well it's not his kid."

The way he talked, he'd seen this with his own two eyes. "And you were there?"

Mason blew out a long, unsteady breath. "Yup.

"How about Brody and Chase?"

"They were gone. I don't remember where, but it was a good thing, because things got ugly – more than usual, too. And one thing leads to another, and Mom's yelling at my dad, telling him it'shisfault she's stuck making money on the side–"

"Wait, what kind of money?"

Mason's jaw clenched. "The old-fashioned kind."

I sucked in a horrified breath. "Oh." But then, hoping for the best, as if thereweresuch a thing, I said, "So…that's why she was cheating? I mean, for the money?"

"With the fighter? No."

I was still trying to figure it out. "So, with other guys then?"

"Some," he said.

"What do you mean some?"

"Some for the money and some for the fun." He grimaced. "After a while it was easy to gauge who was who."