Page 138 of Please Open Me
Mason pressed a hand to her lips before going deathly still.
“Were they work-related?” Mattie interjected, drawing yet another glare from me.
Her dark eyes were trained on me, as if she was studying every micro-expression that flickered across my face.
Sophia scoffed as she shifted. “We weren’t playing with you—”
I shut her up by kicking her ankle, then shot her a warning look. Did I trust Mattie? Absolutely fucking not. But I wasn’t going to let her make Mason think we were dodging the topic.
For all I knew, Mattie wanted to deepen the wedge between us, and I’d rather die than let that happen.
“Mostly. I worked for a bad organization that made me kill bad people. But… I also killed someone when I was sixteen.” I drew in a pained breath, wincing at the memory of Mason’s mom’s gray matter splattered against the wall, shivering at the phantom sensation of her pointing a gun at my head.
“Were they a bad person?” Mason blurted.
And I nodded. Holly was a terrible person.
“I never wanted to be a killer, but I did what had to be done,” I promised.
Mason’s head bobbed quickly. I wasn’t sure she believed me, but I knew she wanted to, and that was the first step.
“What about you, Blondie?” Mattie nodded toward Sophia.
Sophia’s lips split into a snarl-like grin.
“Same as Sebby, for the most part. I kill for work.” She spoke through her teeth.
“But I thought you ran a matchmaking company?” Mason seemed hurt.
“I may have lied just a little.” Sophia pinched her fingers together.
Mason blinked hard, like she was trying to clear fog from her vision. “So, everyone’s just fine with this?”
“No,” I whispered. I felt it best to speak for both of us, considering Sophia seemed to enjoy murder. “Neither of us are fine with it. We just… we don’t want to hide from you anymore.”
“Wait–you killed someone when you were sixteen.” Mason gasped as if my words finally sank in. “I—did I know the person you killed?”
Her eyes flicked rapidly between us, and I couldn’t tell who the question was aimed at. But I had nothing left to lose.
“Yes,” I said.
But Sophia spoke over me. “Bad question!”
Her voice cracked through the air, and Mason flinched before blinking between us.
“Why is that a bad question?” Mason demanded, her voice trembling. “If I knew them, then it matters. I have a right to—”
“No, you have a right to peace,” Sophia interrupted, her tone almost patronizing. “Knowing who won’t give you that.”
Mason’s lips parted, but no sound came. She looked down at her hands, then back at me. Her eyes begged for something, anything, and for the first time in a long time, I didn’t know if I should lie to her. So I decided to just… omit details.
“Princess,” I said carefully, leaning forward as if that would help her see my honesty. “Yes, you knew them. But you don’t need to know who, or why, or even how I killed them. Not tonight. It’s the first time we’ve been in the same room in forever. Let’s find our new normal before we destroy what we have.”
Mason swallowed hard. I could tell by her eyes that she wanted to press me, and I silently begged her not to. Despite the lack of words, I think she understood, because she drew in a shaky breath and leaned back.
Slowly, Mason looked up at Mattie, who was too busy staring at me to notice.
“Okay,” Mason finally whispered, reaching up and grabbing Mattie’s arm as if she needed something to tether her. “But… I have rules.”
