Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
Mason
“I slept with Audrey.”
“Who’s Audrey?”
Mason paused for a beat. Figured that Asad wouldn’t remember that conversation. Sometimes his cousin could be very self-involved.
“Audrey. The woman my ex-fiancée, Yasmine, thought I was attracted to.”
“Oh, right, right. Weren’t you going to prove that you aren’t attracted to her anymore because it was going to go away now that you aren’t getting married to Audrey?”
“You mean to Yasmine. I’m not getting married to Yasmine.”
No one had said anything about marriage to Audrey.
He sure as hell wasn’t thinking about getting married to Audrey.
They weren’t even dating. He couldn’t tell anyone up here that they’d slept together.
That’s why he’d called Asad in the first place; he could tell his cousin since Asad lived a whole state away.
There was no logical reason to feel his chest constrict when Asad said he wasn’t getting married to Audrey since that wasn’t on the table, anyway.
“Right, you’re not getting married to Yasmine, so you had sex with Audrey. Is the attraction gone yet?” Asad’s tone was mocking, clearly thinking he already knew the answer.
It was frustrating that he was right about that.
Mason scowled.
“I don’t know why I called you,” he muttered.
“Perhaps because you’re looking for love advice?” Asad suggested. “From someone who is better at it than you are?”
“I’m not in love with her,” Mason said automatically. He wasn’t. Was he? Surely it was too soon. They’d just met.
But he was having feelings for her. The protectiveness was understandable. The possessiveness… less so.
“But you’re still feeling more for her than you did the woman you were engaged to.” His cousin didn’t ask it as a question; he stated it as fact.
And Mason couldn’t argue with him. He did have feelings for her, and that was why he’d called Asad. He had no idea what to do with those feelings.
“I can’t date her openly for a few more weeks.
I promised Yasmine she wouldn’t have to see me with another woman right away.
Plus, David doesn’t know that I’m interested at all.
” Mason turned to face the wall of his hallway, which he’d been pacing up and down pretty much since Audrey had left to go home so she could quickly change and head to the bakery.
The urge to follow her there and claim a table for the day was strong, which was why he’d decided to call Asad.
“David her…”
“Brother. You know that. I told you that. What the fuck, Asad, why are you so distracted?”
“Oh, yeah, because it’s my fault you interrupted my morning blow job. You should feel honored I still picked up the phone in the first—”
Mason hung up on him. For fuck’s sake.
He banged his head against the wall, hard enough that it hurt a little.
His phone buzzed, and he rested his forehead against the flat surface as he lifted it up so he could see Asad’s text message.
Asad: Stop being a fucking pussy and just go get the girl, dumbass.
So helpful.
It wasn’t that easy, but he supposed he couldn’t expect Asad to understand. Asad had always been impulsive, and it tended to work out for him. That had never been Mason’s style.
His phone buzzed again, but this time when he glanced at the message, he sprang into action.
All hands on deck. Someone had broken into Black Fox.
Which wasn’t easy to do, even on a Sunday. There was usually at least one person in the office, regardless of the day, plus the outside security.
His mind raced as he ran to his bedroom and threw on the first clothes he could get his hands on.
This had to be Devlin. Who else would be brazen enough to break in? Who would want to?
Had the bakery just been a distraction? One that wasn’t working because Mason was handling it and hadn’t gone to David with it?
Or was this separate?
Shit.
He quickly sent off a text message to Audrey, letting her know that there had been a break-in at Black Fox and to be on alert. Just in case this was connected to the bakery in any way.
It was pretty busy there, so he didn’t take offense when he didn’t get a text back before he got to his car, but it did make him a little more worried.
Speeding through traffic, he deliberately took a route that would have him passing Cupcakes and Crumbs on his way.
Just so he could take a look and make sure everything was going ok.
He had the cameras, of course, which he checked when he was stuck at a red light, but he still wanted an on-the-ground visual. Camera feeds could be hacked.
Thankfully, when he drove by, it was clear that everything was going well there. The place was packed, which was why Audrey hadn’t texted him back. She was too busy. He couldn’t even catch a glimpse of her.
That was also good because it was unlikely anyone was going to try anything with so many potential witnesses on site. That meant he could concentrate on Black Fox.
He ran into Claudia in the parking lot, both of them exchanging nods as they rushed inside.
“Freaking elevator,” she muttered. It didn’t take that long, but both of them were bouncing on their feet by the time the doors opened.
Both teams were in the lobby of Black Fox. Grant’s head came up when the elevator doors opened, his eyes alight with the alertness that came with action.
Lincoln was sitting in one of the chairs next to Drew, who had Darcie beside him, helping him press what looked like an ice pack against the back of his head.
She was helping him hold his locks out of the way.
Harris was a little farther away, speaking with David.
Jaxon was on a laptop, sitting in another chair, frowning as he looked at the screen.
“What happened?” Claudia demanded to know as soon as she got through the door Grant pushed open for them, Mason hot on her heels.
“We’re still figuring it out,” Lincoln replied, lifting his head to meet her gaze. His expression was stony.
He was pissed.
So was Mason. They’d been attacked on their home ground, and Drew was hurt.
“Drew was here working and headed to the break room when someone got the drop on him,” David said, ignoring Drew’s unhappy grunt at the description. “We’re still not sure what they were here for or if anything was taken. Or who it was.”
“Devlin. It has to be Devlin, right?” Darcie asked, frowning.
“That’s the only thing that makes sense unless there’s something you haven’t been telling us.
” She glanced between Lincoln and Harris, the owners, then David and Grant, the team leaders.
Her gaze lingered on Grant, who frowned back at her and crossed his arms over his chest.
“You know what I know,” he told her.
Darcie sniffed, but she nodded before turning back to Drew and lifting the ice pack. She winced. Her focus on Drew was intent enough that she didn’t notice the way Grant was watching her. Those two really just needed to get a room and get it over with. Work out some of that tension.
It was working out well for him and Audrey.
“This is definitely going to be a lump. Please let me test you for a concussion.” The request was made with an air of exasperation that told Mason this wasn’t the first time she’d made it.
“I’m fine.” Drew was focused on a spot on the floor. Shit. Mason sighed inwardly. This was not going to help Drew’s feeling that he’d let the team down, even though he hadn’t.
“Let her check, Drew,” Lincoln ordered.
With orders from the boss, Drew grumbled under his breath but let Darcie run through the tests she wanted. Mason kept one eye on that while going over to see what Jaxon was looking at.
Sensing him, Jaxon glanced up and over his shoulder.
“The cameras were hacked and put on a loop,” he said. “I just found the place where the footage was spliced in. It happened right after Zeus left.”
“Zeus was here?” Mason asked.
“Yeah, and he left in a hurry.” Jaxon pulled up the footage.
Now there was an entire crowd behind him.
Drew and Darcie remained where they were, but everyone else gathered around, pressing together to all try to see the laptop screen at the same time.
Mason didn’t bother trying to tell anyone to step back—they all wanted to know what was going on.
They watched the screen as Zeus was walking down the hallway when he got a phone call and answered it.
He was talking low enough that the camera didn’t pick up what he was saying, and he turned away from it so they couldn’t see his face, either.
A few minutes later, obviously agitated, he headed out of the office with long, determined strides, moving much faster than he normally did.
Then he was out the doors and in the hallway. He took the stairs instead of the elevator.
But what did it mean?
“He checked in, he’s on his way back,” Lincoln said.
“This doesn’t prove he had anything to do with anything,” Claudia pointed out.
“Oh, sure.” Drew cast her a dark look. “He leaves in a hurry, the cameras are hacked, and I’m attacked right after, but it has nothing to do with him.”
“It looks bad, but it’s not proof.” Lincoln shook his head. “I’m still not convinced someone isn’t setting him up. Did you see him return?”
Drew shook his head, then winced from the movement.
“No,” he admitted.
“You don’t have a concussion, but stop moving around,” Darcie scolded.
He managed a rueful smile for her that resembled a grimace.
“It doesn’t mean he wasn’t involved either,” Mason pointed out. Lincoln was operating under ‘innocent until proven guilty’ rules right now. That or ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer.’ Either could backfire spectacularly.
“He knows,” Harris said, and it was clear from his tone that he agreed with Drew and Mason that Zeus was not to be trusted. David was frowning fiercely. What his opinion was, Mason couldn’t be sure.
“I’m not firing him unless we have clear proof that he’s working with Devlin. So far, we don’t.” Lincoln shot a look at Jaxon, who nodded.