Unable to move since he was still clenching her hair, she braced herself for the blow. . .but it never came. Instead, she watched as the arm in the air was wrenched backwards and twisted at an unnatural angle, so fast and quick that she heard a loud pop that indicated his shoulder had just been dislocated. With a scream of excruciating pain, Connor released her. When he whirled around, Katrina saw Mason, seconds before he slammed his fist into Connor’s jaw with such force she heard another crack. Between the two consecutive blows, it took Connor off guard and knocked him onto his ass on the storeroom floor.
With his shoulder out of joint, he couldn’t push himself up, but that didn’t stop Mason from advancing on Connor.
“Goddamn motherfucker!” Mason yelled as he grabbed Connor by the shirt and hauled him back to his feet, shocking Katrina with his strength against a man who was military trained. But then again, Mason had never been afraid of anyone. He was lean and taut compared to Connor’s bulk, and Mason had grown up a hot-tempered kid on the streets who’d learned to fight hard and dirty.
Connor winced and grabbed at his injured arm, his expression filled with a combination of pain and hostility as he glared at Mason. “What the hell, man?” he bit out angrily. “She came on to me, just like she did back in high school! I was just giving her what she wanted. She’s a goddamn tramp!”
The lies he spewed no longer cut at Katrina as they once had. She stayed right where she was and kept quiet, because she knew Connor would deny anything she said in response. The only person who mattered, whom she needed to believe the truth, was Mason.
Mason shifted so he was standing in front of Katrina—protecting her, she realized—but his gaze remained steady on Connor. “Just this once, I’m going to let you walk away with the rest of your limbs intact,” Mason said in a low voice that belied just how enraged he still was. “But you so much as come near her again, in any way, shape, or form, and I will fucking annihilate you. I don’t ever want to see your goddamn face again.”
Connor’s cut lip curled in one of those sneers as he glanced from Mason to Katrina. “Does he know that I’ve already had a piece of you? And way before he ever did,” he said bitterly, clearly trying to disgrace her in front of Mason by making it sound as though she’d slept with him willingly.
When she said nothing, he returned his stare to Mason, his expression insolent. “Like I said the other night at the bar, she’s a hot piece of ass.”
Mason started toward Connor again, and Katrina grabbed his arm, stopping him before he pulverized the other guy and ended up getting arrested for assault. “Don’t do it,” she said softly, wanting all this to end. “He’s not worth it.”
Mason hesitated a moment, debating, then finally said, “Get the fuck out of my shop while you can still walk out.”
With one last dirty look at both of them, Connor turned and walked out of the storeroom just as Jasmine arrived, her eyes huge as she took in the swelling already starting on Connor’s face and the blood on his chin from where Katrina had bitten him. She quickly stepped back as Connor walked by.
“Oh, my God,” Jasmine said as she rushed to Katrina. “What happened?”
Both Caleb and Derek arrived right then, too, the shock and concern on their faces telling Katrina that they’d also seen Connor on his way out.
“What the hell is going on?” Caleb asked, taking in the scene.
“That prick overstepped his boundaries, is all,” Mason said gruffly. “If he sets foot in here again, call the police and have him arrested for trespassing.”
Caleb nodded. “Jesus. Yeah. Of course.”
“Give me a minute with Katrina?” Mason asked.
“Sure,” Jasmine said, and the three of them left the storeroom.
Once they were gone, Mason turned around to face Katrina, his expression almost . . . agonized. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “Yes.” And it was true. Despite how things had just ended, being able to finally confront Connor felt oddly cleansing and cathartic. She felt lighter inside, as if she was no longer carrying around that huge burden that had ruled so much of her adult life.
Still frowning, Mason stepped up to her, slid his fingers beneath her chin, and lifted her face to check it thoroughly. “Did he hurt you?”
“No. You made sure of that.” She didn’t want to think of what might have happened if Mason hadn’t arrived when he had.
“This time,” he muttered, a thread of self-loathing in his voice. “Let’s get out of here so we can talk, okay?”
Something was off with Mason, and Katrina couldn’t deny that it worried her after everything Connor had said about her. “That’s a good idea.”
It was a conversation that was long overdue. Katrina just wished she could predict how it would all end once Mason knew the truth.
Chapter Fourteen
Mason was quiet in the car, and when Katrina cast a surreptitious glance at his profile, it was obvious to her that he seemed troubled. His dark brows were furrowed into a frown, his jaw was clenched, and the thin line of his lips indicated that he was mulling over what had just happened back at Inked with Connor.
While she was relieved that she’d been able to face down those past demons once and for all, she couldn’t deny that her nerves had kicked in again for a whole different reason. For the past three days, she’d pushed Mason away when he should have been the person she’d turned to. Between making him feel insignificant, then him being blindsided by all of Connor’s lies, she honestly had no idea where they stood as a couple.
When he drove to her apartment, her heart filled with dread. Mason never bought her to her place if they were together, and she desperately tried not to read too deeply into the action.
He remained silent as he walked her to her door, then followed her inside. She set her purse on the small table in the entryway, headed into the living room, and sat down on the couch. Instead of joining her on the sofa, he paced restlessly back and forth in front of her, obviously too on edge to sit still.