Free MASON (Second Chance Novels Book 2) by Kemmie Michaels

to feel stuck in this relationship, so I forced myself to drive away from the house. She hides it well, but she's forcing half the strength she's showing. I'm so proud of her, but I wish she didn't have all the stress."
    I listen to him in hidden awe. To hear him speak about Cam is like listening to something out of a movie. The sincerity, depth of love, all that shit guys aren't supposed to notice…that's what I notice between the two of them. It's fucking beautiful. And I feel exactly none of that with Shelby. She's a good woman and she's important to me. She's fun to be around and I certainly enjoy our time. Our physical connection can be hot, too. But that's a list of qualities, not a reason to live and breathe. The jackass across the fire is right about me and her.
    "Ledge," I say. He looks over as his cigar glows in his hand.  
    "Yeah?"
    "What the hell am I going to do about Shelby?"
    He smirks. "I don't know, but figure it out soon and be honest with yourself. That the only advice I can give."
    We sit longer in the silence until that smartass says, "Ready to sing kumbaya yet?"
    "Fuck off," I chuckle this time before nodding a goodnight and walking to my sleeping bag.  
    Ledger and I break camp the next day after some mild whitewater kayaking. The drive home is quiet. Early evening hits before we get back to town, and the first thing I see is Cam coming out to greet Ledger on the sidewalk. Jesus, you'd think they hadn't see each other for a month. I call over a pointless goodbye once I have my gear in my truck. They both wave politely then walked inside still stuck together. I shake my head in frustration and drive away, still wondering what to do about Shelby.  
    Only ten minutes later I pull up to my apartment and see Dig's car waiting for me. I smile. Even though I told her to relax for the weekend, that fiery woman didn't relax at all. As much as I'd hoped she would give herself a break, her need to keep investigating impresses the fuck out of me.  
    Still smelling like a campfire, I swing my old Army duffel from the bed of my truck and walk to my front door.
    "Dig?" I call when I see the empty chair. I glance to the wall opposite the board and see her there, sitting on the floor looking…oh, God …somebody beat the shit out of her. She's got a swollen, shiny black eye, abrasions on her cheek and a wide cut near her hairline. The dried blood on her forehead turns my stomach. She won't even look at me.
    Holy fuck , someone's going to die when I find out who did this.

CHAPTER SIX

    "Who."  
    I can only squeeze out that single word through my anger at the sight of Dig's bruises. I drop my duffle and crouch down beside her. I want to take care of her, but I'm smart enough to only sit beside her. She'd hate it if I babied her, so I remain passive when every instinct in my body wants to pick her up and check over every inch of her. I want to heal every wound I find. She has no tears, but I want to kiss her swollen eyes anyway.  
    She simply shakes her head and closes her eyes. She clenches her jaw and I can see the pain she's trying to hide. There will be fucking hell to pay.  
    "Come on," I say bluntly as I reach my hand to help her up. "Hospital."
    Her eyes flare as she lashes out at me. "You think I'm going to let a handful of punk-ass little bitches send me to the hospital?"
    "How many little bitches?" I force myself to ask plainly, trying to slow her down.
    "Five." She grits out.  
    No wonder she's so beat up. One or two wouldn't have been able to touch her. Not only are they assholes, they're stupid assholes. They thought this attack would break her? No, she's only more determined now. I can see it in her eyes. This woman is a genuine badass.
    "They sent five? Fucking cowards," I mutter. "Fine. No hospital, but I'm checking you out here. I served as a field medic a few times. I need to see what kind of damage they did."
    "I'm not sure how bad it is. I haven't moved a whole lot since I got here," she said