I turn to Mason, utterly confused by Roamyn comforting my sister, a girl he’s met twice at most. Mason shrugs half-heartedly, apparently as unaware as myself. Whatever calming powers Roamyn possesses, they’re working; Ali rests her cheek on his chest, her tear-stricken face soaking a patch of his shirt. Giving them a moment, I lightly touch Mason’s arm and pull him along to follow me. This needed to be said in private. I didn’t want to worry her. All I wanted was to shield her from hurt ruining this world.

Turning back around to Ali and Roamyn, I mutter, “We’ll be on the rooftop.”

***

The noise of traffic comes as an easy distraction, the beautiful city skyline a slice of momentary peace. Admiring more than just the gorgeous day, I take in the man sitting beside me. His grey button-down shirt hugs his shoulders perfectly, but his thin black tie sets off his look. Immaculate hair, expensive suits, killer body, it’s no wonder the man had women fawning all over him at the bar a week ago. I squeeze my thighs together to soothe the ache throbbing in my core. I won’t allow him the knowledge he has the power to get under my skin. The hem of my dress lifts, uncovering the flesh of my thighs. I try pulling it down but freeze when Mason’s stony eyes shoot to my bare skin. My breath catches in my throat, and it’s all because of that look. Damn him. Why does he trip me up every goddamn time?

Brows wrinkled, he looks the other way, focusing on anything but me. He’s agonizing over something; his intense front is up in full force. Could he really be so concerned over our testimonies?

“Mason, you can stop worrying. You’re going to pop a blood vessel if you frown any harder.”

He breathes deep. He wears intensity like a well-fitting mask. What else is he hiding underneath?

“We’ve been working to get these guys behind bars for a long time, Lindsey. We laid it all out so when the time came, there would be no mistakes. This time, the assholes would go down. But then you showed up in the club that morning. And your sister was still there too. I don’t know what the connection is, but I’m thinking you do.”

Yes, I do. Will I tell you? No.

“Anyone could have been at the club when I was. It was just bad timing.” I shrug, pretending the day wasn’t the total nightmare that it was. I don’t give anything away. The skills I’ve practiced for years come into play and for the first time in a long time, I feel dirty. The lies coat my skin with deception. It itches and burns into my skin. I need to wash it off. I have to wash it off.

Mason’s worried eyes read into mine and hands clench into fists. I cough past the lump in my throat. Keep your shit together, Lindsey. He’s just a man for Christ’s sake.

“It was closed, nine in the morning. No one but the Marinos and Misery’s Angels were supposed to be there. All the girls are normally gone by then. You weren’t supposed to be there and get hurt.” He drops his head, boring holes into the concrete ground.

“You don’t need to worry about me, Mason. I’m sorry it didn’t work out the way you’d hoped,” I offer. I don’t know what possesses me to say it. Am I sorry? Maybe? If the Marino crime family went down, the world would become a safer place. I’d sleep like a baby after visiting their graves. But it wouldn’t matter. There is always someone else bigger and crazier waiting to take their place.

“It is what it is. It’s just not fair for the people who get caught in the crossfire. But I need you to know this.” He loops his arm around my chair, our faces so close if I moved just an inch, we’d be kissing. I don’t pull back. I try, but I can’t. I’m stuck. My limbs won’t follow what my brain’s telling them to do.

“Testifying will put you in their sights. No matter which of them is behind bars, or for how long. They won’t forget you testified against them.” His jaw clenches brutally before he continues. “You’ll have two NYPD uniforms on you for twenty-four hours after the trial. Alison will have two on her for longer given her relationship with Lucio Marino. Months of protection wouldn’t be enough against the likes of them, but it’s all the police department can offer unless they threaten you or we believe you’re in immediate danger.”

The agony in his voice prompts flutters to erupt deep inside of me. Not because I find pleasure in his pain, but because, for the first time in over a decade, I’m cared for and wanted, with no expectation of anything in return.

“You’re underestimating my abilities to take care of myself, Detective. I’m not stupid, or ignorant. They are bad men. But there are far worse beasts out there than Giuseppe Marino. I’m well aware of what will follow if we testify. The last thing I want to do is put my sister or myself in the firing line, but I’ll do it. I’ll do it if it saves her from prison. She won’t live through that. And if she does, she’ll never be the same again.”

He cups my cheek with his free hand, his touch electric on my skin, “I know you understand the weight of the blowback this could have on you and your sister. You’re a smart woman. I just don’t want to see any harm come to you.”

Warmth radiates around me and I embrace the rarity of the moment, because an astonishing thing happens. I actually believe him.

Neither of us speaks for the minutes that pass before we head back downstairs. Risk, threat, uncertainty, it all spins around us day in, day out, but now it’s come knocking on our doorstep and we have no option but to invite it in.

***

Reaching the bottom of the steps, I spot Alison’s one-night stand in the doorway. Roamyn’s voice echoes through the hall, deep and pissed off. “Who the hell are you?”

“Jake, what are you doing back here?” I ask, not giving the guy time to answer Roamyn. Mason stills when I use Jake’s name, his body rigid and expression pinched. Jake glances between Mason, Roamyn and myself.

“The lady asked you a question,” Mason, steps up beside me, posture tall, chest out, and I roll my eyes at his macho attitude. He actually looks pissed off. It takes me all of a second to realize why. He thinks Naked Guy is here for me, not Alison. The thought he might be jealous has me grinning for the first time this morning.

“Um, I forgot my wallet,” Jake croaks out, his voice breaking as both badass detectives shoot him looks that could kill.

Turning to me, Mason folds his arms over his torso. “Lindsey, the boy forgot his wallet.”

My eyes bulge at the unspoken insinuation he’s throwing at me.

Ali appears beside Roamyn, but before I can rip Mason’s judgmental ass a new one, she pipes up, “Wow. That was an asshole move.” All eyes land on Alison and all three men appear thoroughly confused.

I lower my hand to my hip and the other out in front of me. “Okay, hold up right there.” I aim at Mason, “Jake here, looks all of eighteen years old. I’m no cougar. So you can take your judgment and shove it right up your ass.”

“Seriously?” Ali’s voice cracks through the lasers of annoyance I’m shooting into Mason.

Amused, she points between Jake and I. “You actually thought Lindsey would bring a guy home? To her place?” Ali scoffs and Mason grimaces while scrubbing the stubble shadowing his face, obviously regretting his insinuation now.

Roamyn turns to Ali accusingly. “Wait, so he was with you then?”

“Well, yeah, he sure wasn’t screwing Miss Uptight over here.” She nods in my direction.

I roll my eyes. “Real mature, Alison.”

“Um, excuse me but–”

“What?” Cutting Jake off, four sets of pissed off eyes glare at him.

He shrinks back. “Look, if I can just grab my wallet, I’ll get out of your hair.”

“I’ll get it, hold on,” Ali murmurs as she disappears down the hall.

Mason

Jealousy, such a basic human emotion yet not one that’s familiar to me. Whether it unconsciously influenced my judgmental tone, I don’t know. But it reinforced heat in my veins causing my blood to boil when I came to the conclusion this guy, Jake, had been with Lindsey the night before. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions, because now all I’d done was piss off a woman who always seemed to be pissed off at nearly everything I say. I’d only been around her three separate fucking times.