Page 2 of Ghost Among Lies

"No, I trusted Hawk to provide us valuable insight. That didn't mean I had no intention of keeping an eye on him."

"Okay, so why are you telling us now? What's Mason been up to?" Nyx's curiosity usually got the better of her.

"Up until today, he's lived a very boring and routine life. And when I say routine, I mean strict. He never deviates from his schedule—until today."

"So what was so special today? And why are you dragging this out? Are you shooting for a suspense factor? Or maybe you just want Anita to knock you the fuck out."

Anita and I both glared at Nyx. There were times our teammate could be downright annoying. Today was one of those times.

"No, I'm not. I'm just having a hard time processing what I saw."

"Why don't you tell us, and maybe we can help clear things up." Beckett gave me an encouraging smile. Sometimes I felt like he was too good for our group.

"I caught Mason at a coffee shop when he was supposed to be at the gym." I paused for a moment and said the name that still, to this day, caused my stomach to erupt with butterflies. "He was with a man names Hayes Cooper."

Nearly everyone looked at me like I had suddenly grown six heads.

All except Anita. She was scrutinizing me. For what, I didn't know. Maybe to see if I was stable enough to handle the situation. Anita was the only one to know about my history with Hayes, and even she didn't know all the details.

"Are we supposed to know who that is or why the minor change in his routine is significant? Isn't it possible Mason wasn't feeling motivated and wanted coffee and a donut instead."

"Hayes has a connection to us," Anita deadpanned.

Lilith spoke up for the first time, "How?"

Anita stared a hole into the side of my head. I guess that was her way of saying it was my responsibility to explain who Hayes was.

"Hayes Cooper was my high school sweetheart." I closed my eyes, and his face flashed behind my lids. "And the man I was supposed to marry."

Nyx whistled. When I finally found the nerve to open my eyes, I could see the pity in hers. "Don't give me that look."

"What look is that?"

"I left him," I clarified. "I did the walking away. Not the other way around, so spare me the looks of pity."

"It's not pity," Nyx snapped. "It's concern. I know you and Anita think emotions are bullshit, but there's nothing wrong with being concerned about someone."

The logical part of my brain knew that. When I was younger I had no problem expressing my emotions. I wore those damn things on my sleeve like a badge of honor. Then the incident happened, and I was forced to rewire my brain. I built a wall so damn high no one would be able to get over it. Effectively turning my emotions off.

"Yeah, well, I don't need your concern either. I'm fine."

"I swear I work with a bunch of emotionally stunted women." Nyx shook her head.

Nyx could think whatever the hell she wanted. It didn't matter to me one bit.

"Okay, so you were once engaged to Hayes, and now he's meeting with Mason. What does it all mean?" Lilith spoke up. She rarely did so, but the few times she would, it was because she wanted to keep the peace. Lilith wasn't a fan of confrontation like the rest of us.

"I'm not sure. I haven't spoken with Hayes since I left ten years ago, and as far as I know, neither of us ever met Mason back then. And believe me, I would've known if Hayes knew him. We were stuck to each other like glue even though we came from two different worlds."

"Define two different worlds?" Nyx questioned. "Are we talking like the Hatfields and McCoys?"

"Try the country club princess and the boy from the wrong side of the tracks."

"Wait." Nyx held up her hand. "You were a country club princess?"

I dipped my chin once. "Let's just say if my parents hadn't cut me off, I would never have had to worry about money. Or the next ten generations for that matter."

"Why did they cut you off?"