Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
MASON
M y eyes trailed Casey as she walked down the hall, the swish of her ass in the short dress threatening to make me hard again. It also tempted me to force her back to the room to change into something less revealing. There was no way any man could avoid taking in those curvy legs, legs that were too bare for Treemont this time of year. I didn’t know if she was doing it to torment me one more time or if she was just that ready to return to the sunny weather of Armina. I was hoping it wasn’t the latter.
My night with her had led to a morning filled with her body and her cries. One night hadn’t been enough, just like I’d suspected, and now my craving for her had transformed to a burning hunger I couldn’t satiate no matter how many times I’d taken her. And with that endless need came something I was having a hard time grasping,
While she’d been getting ready, I’d called Breck to have the plane prepped and a car outside for her. That had been just before Tyson’s call, the one that had left a pang of guilt thriving in my gut the entire time I’d talked to him.
Dropping Casey’s suitcase next to the door along with her purse, I noticed Riley standing in the doorway to the main room, her arms crossed.
“Took you two long enough,” she teased.
Casey blushed, a look that only enhanced her beauty. Her hazel eyes sparkled in the light that flooded in from the windows.
“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me,” Riley said. “But I wouldn’t wait too long to tell Tyson. It’ll only make it worse.”
“It was one night,” I said, trying to ignore the way Casey’s smile deflated.
“Mm hmm, keep telling yourself that.” She walked back through the kitchen and Casey looked over at me, her brow furrowed, the sparkle that had been in her eye now dulled.
Just looking at her sent my heart racing. It was more than the original attraction, the need to have her. This went deeper, and I didn’t know how to dig myself out of it.
The front door opened, the sound, and the cold air that rushed in with it, making her jump and breaking her gaze from mine. The light sweater she wore was too thin, and she rubbed her arms.
“The car’s ready. The pilot adjusted the flight plan to fit the new schedule,” Breck said. His words were like the weight of a hundred cement blocks layering on my shoulder. I wanted to tell him to leave, to force Casey to stay, to let the world burn around me just to keep her with me. Last night had left me with a taste for her I knew I could never be without, and my heart clenched at the thought.
She met my eyes again, a sadness there that I felt in my bones. It was pounding through me like bullets tearing me into pieces.
“Thanks, Breck. She’ll be out in a minute. Casey, go tell Riley goodbye.”
She nodded, and after another moment, made her way to the kitchen. Breck was gone, returning to the car, leaving me alone and thinking it was something that had never bothered me before. There was an empty feeling in my chest now, one I’d only experienced when Riley had disappeared. Only this was different, leaving me gutted and wondering if it would ever fade.
Casey returned after a few minutes, walking over to where I was still standing, too confused to move. She stopped in front of me, and I glanced up at the doorway, looking for Riley before I met Casey’s eyes again.
“It’s okay. Riley and I said our goodbyes so you and I could have our own.”
She lifted her hand to my face, her fingers draping over my cheek before I grabbed her hand, pressing it into my skin. My chest was burning, the emotions I hadn’t wanted when I started this game pummeling me.
“Mason, I?—”
I pulled her to me, stopping her words with my mouth, knowing what she was planning to say, the same words that were bouncing through my head like a ricocheting bullet ready to wrench my heart in two. “Don’t, Case,” I murmured against her lips. “We can’t.”
Our lips parted, her eyes glistening with tears. I knew she was too strong to release them. Bringing my finger to her eye, I caught one that escaped just as she swallowed the rest back. She moved from my arms, and I could see the change in her as she hardened herself to the emotion, the same way I was because there was nothing else to be done. The situation was too risky, our lives too separate, a distance there, placed by miles and her brother, that we couldn’t surmount.
She ran her hand down my chest and gave me a smile. “Goodbye, Mason.”
She planted a quick kiss on my cheek before walking past me toward the door. I didn’t turn around, knowing if I did, I would never let her go. The door shut, a car door closed, and eventually the sound of tires took her from me. I didn’t know how long I stood there, the pain ravaging me before I could toughen myself to it. Casey had lowered my defenses, shaking the foundation I’d built to shelter my emotions and remain in control.
“Why did you let her go?” Riley asked from the doorway, her eyes sad as I peered over at her.
Raising the guardrails I kept around my heart, I rolled my neck, finally moving from my spot. “Because it’s something that should never have happened.”
It hurt to say, and her expression told me she didn’t believe me. She pursed her lips as I walked past her into the kitchen to make coffee. I really wanted a stiff drink, but it wasn’t noon yet and downing shots would only confirm to her that Casey had gotten to me.
“When I’m done working out, I expect you to be dressed warmly. We’re going shooting, but not to the range.”
“Mason—”
I slammed my cup down, seeing her jump from my periphery. “Just do it, Riley.”
Leaving the coffee, I stormed past her and back to my room. I didn’t want to be around her because Riley was the only person who knew the vulnerable side of me. She was the only one who could break through my cold exterior…until Casey. And I didn’t want to be vulnerable. Weakness was an opening for my enemies and with the Bad Omens still out there waiting like hunters for their prey to show weakness, I couldn’t afford it.
I sat on the edge of the bed, ignoring the sight of the rumpled sheets and dropping my head to my hands. A dull throb was hammering in my chest, and I scraped my fingers through my hair to numb it, unsure if it could ever be numbed. But it needed to be, or I stood the chance of losing more than just Casey. My head needed to be in the game, no matter what my heart wanted.
I needed to find a distraction, something to take my mind from her. Standing, I removed the clothes I was still wearing from the prior night, the scent of her drifting past my nose as I threw them in my hamper. Changing into my workout clothes, I hit my indoor gym, taking my frustration out on the bag until my knuckles were bruised and bloody. The pain dulled the ache in my chest, helping me focus, but not enough. The treadmill took a beating as I pounded the ache away with each mile until sweat drenched me and I was ready to face the truth of the mess I’d gotten myself into. Ready to push past the memory of Casey’s touch, of the sweet taste of her, of the way her smile cracked every defense I’d built, of the way her sunny disposition grated against my cold indifference until I needed that smile, that taste, that touch like a craving I couldn’t run from, no matter how many miles I burned through.
I stopped the treadmill, catching my breath and dropping my head to the console. I was angry at myself, angry at our situation, and I invited that anger in, letting it coat everything until I could push her from my mind…except I couldn’t because what we’d shared left her permanently ingrained there.
“Fuck!” I punched the console, cracking it so badly that the lights faded.
Stomping back to my room, I called Leo, who was on duty in Breck’s absence. “Let the men know I’m taking Riley shooting on the grounds.”
“Yes, Boss.”
“And have someone buy me a new treadmill.”
“Boss?”
“Don’t ask, just do it.”
I disconnected, running a shower and washing the remains of Casey’s touch from my skin. By the time I met Riley in the living room, I was back in control, but thoughts of Casey lingered like uninvited ghosts. Breck had texted an encrypted note saying she was safely on the plane, and I let Tyson know, asking him to text me when she landed. With each mile further she flew from me, the acceptance that she was gone sank further into my being, leaving only the hollow sensation in my chest to remind me of what I’d lost.
Tyson returned at the end of the week. I had Riley learning self-defense from Breck and Leo while I assessed her moves. She was quick, and I could see she’d been doing more than playing with dolls when I’d been improving my fighting skills with Tyson all those years. Breck knocked her from her feet, and she fell hard on her ass.
“Don’t bruise her, Breck. If I send her back to Tides bruised, he’ll start a fucking war with me.”
She threw me a dirty look.
“He’s right, Ri.”
I looked over at Tyson as he rounded the corner. My heart dropped, the guilt I’d stored away resurfacing.
“Why so moody, Mace?” he asked, grasping my shoulder.
I shook off my reaction, saying, “Just didn’t expect you here. How was the flight home?”
“Eh, uneventful. You know that sexy flight attendant Chill hired?”
“The one with the long legs?” I asked, knowing exactly who he was talking about. She’d flirted with me the entire time I’d been on the plane last. I’d considered fucking her just to shut her up, but I drew a line with employees, a line Tyson never heeded.
“Fuck, yeah. I let her ride me this time, but she’s not worth the fuck. Barely worth the condom I wasted.”
I was hoping he could feel the daggers in my eyes. “No screwing around with the women who work for us, Tyson. What part of that rule do you find so hard to follow?”
“All of it, especially when you hire beauties like that.”
“I don’t do the hiring,” I grumbled. “Keep your hands off the flight attendant and all the girls at the club. Damn, I can’t wait until you find a woman who can tame you.”
He laughed, gesturing to his crotch and saying, “I told you, Mace, there is no woman worthy of taming this.”
Shaking my head, I turned my attention back to Riley. Exhaustion was showing in her delayed reactions, and I’d have to end her training soon.
“How was your time with Casey?” I asked, hoping my voice was calm because saying her name sent palpitations through my chest.
“Good. She was a little less spirted than she usually is, though. You know how she usually annoys the shit out of me with her gibbering and that damned cheery personality?”
“Yeah.” He often returned from his trips complaining about it, but I’d never thought much of it. This time I wanted to shake him because I missed that cheerfulness and the witty comebacks.
“She was off. Did something happen while I was gone?”
I swallowed, nerves tumbling through me. This was my chance to come clean, to admit what I’d done and what I was feeling, but I couldn’t do it. Fear was something I rarely acknowledged, but it was hounding me not to confess because I knew what it would cost me. I would lose Tyson and with him, Casey. He was too protective, and what he would see as betrayal would be my undoing.
“Not that I know of,” I lied, hating myself for it. “Maybe she was worried about Riley. You know she’s returning to Tides, right?”
“Casey told me. That’s a nightmare. How are you going to handle that?”
Glad the conversation had shifted, I answered, “I’ll have to wait and see. If he wants my sister that badly, I want something in return.”
“A bargaining chip?”
“Exactly.”
Riley huffed as she hit the mat again.
“I think that’s enough, guys. My sister needs a hot shower and some time with her feet propped up.”
She gave me a thank you with her smile and waved to Tyson.
“Hey kiddo. I see you’re playing with the big guys today. Need me to rough them up for you since they weren’t being nice?”
Her laugh lit the sections of my heart I had fortified behind my defenses. They were places reserved only for my sister and now for Casey. With Casey gone, only Riley would access them again.
“I need to talk to you,” Tyson said, his tone serious. “About Donelli.”
I turned to him, not liking the way his demeanor had shifted. “Breck, you and Leo see Riley home. Tyson and I have business to discuss.”
“Yes, boss.”
I heard Riley complain, but I continued my path to the small office of the boxing club. Petey, the manager, had his feet propped on the desk and I pushed them off, kicking him out and closing the door behind him. Tyson owned the club. It had been one of our first building projects when we were coming into our reign over Treemont. He hired Petey to oversee it because the man was extremely loyal. We’d dug him out of an unpleasant situation, taking out a man who raped his girlfriend, and letting Petey put the final bullet in him before we dumped his body under the foundation of the gym.
“The families are worried, Mace. There’s tension and they’re at each other’s throats.”
“The Bad Omens?”
“You could say that. I think they’re stirring the bad blood, but Donelli is nervous. They caught a Bad Omen just north of his city.”
I sat in the chair, crossing my arms. “Bad Omen don’t get caught, Ty.”
“Exactly. They think this guy was a mark.”
I sat up. If they were using marks, it was a bad sign. Marks were people hired by a family to pretend they were part of the family. They were decoys, martyrs who took the job because the family would guarantee whatever it was the mark had traded his life for. No one used them anymore, not since the turf wars were out of control, way before my time. If the Bad Omens were using marks, we would have no way of knowing who the real killers were. “A mark? Why would they think that?”
“He had their tattoo, but he was too green. Barely knew how to use his gun.”
“Fuck,” I muttered, running my hands through my hair. “That’s sloppy.” And the Bad Omens were anything but sloppy. Either they were playing games or there was something we weren’t seeing.
“Donelli thinks he’s next because he has an alliance with you. I argued that the other families do as well, but he says he’s closest to their territory, so he’ll be first hit.”
And I’d let Casey walk straight into that danger. “Did you tell Casey?”
He gave me a funny look, squinting his eyes. He’d expected me to ask about Donelli, but my concern had been for Casey, and I’d blurted the question out. Not a smart move.
“Yes,” he said warily, “I damn near dragged her home with me, but she argued that bringing her back would leave Donelli questioning our trust in him. Convinced me to leave her so it wouldn’t damage the relationship. I agreed, but told her I’d pull her at the first sign that anything was going down.”
Once again, Casey’s sharpness impressed me. She was on point. If we pulled her out from Donelli’s protection, he’d see it as a slight against him and question our motive.
“So, they’re using marks,” I said, trying to turn Tyson’s attention from my misstep of asking about Casey. I tried not to think of why the thought of her there raised my hackles. Donelli had kept her safe all these years. There was no reason to think he wouldn’t continue to. “I don’t think we should assume we’re any safer from that than any other family.”
“Agreed.”
“Let’s secure the city limits, increase rounds on the house and all the businesses. Make sure the men know marks are involved. Donelli has eyes on Casey?”
“Yeah, he assured me she has two men on her at all times. One watches her building, the other her apartment, they escort her everywhere.”
The need to have that number doubled screamed through me, but I kept it silent. “Good. Riley’s been sticking with me and when she’s not, I have Breck and Leo assigned to her.”
“They can’t follow her into Tides’ territory, Mace.”
“No, she’ll be safe once she’s there. No one’s touching him now, not when he took Randall out so efficiently. They won’t risk his wrath any more than they have, and sending Randall into Bridgeville was a call for war. Having him touch Riley was a call for annihilation. I’m just not sure they realize that. He’s biding his time until he has them where he wants them.”
Tyson ran his hands through his hair, his hazel eyes reminding me so much of Casey’s that I had to shift my sight from him. Standing, I slapped him on the back. “Let’s go home. You look like you could use a drink, and I know I could. You can tell me all about that flight attendant.”
“I wish there was more to tell,” he muttered as we left. “My dick’s still not satisfied.”
“Is it ever?” I teased, nodding to Petey, then motioning for my men to follow us.
He continued to prattle on about his hook up while my mind whirred with the news he’d delivered and the fact that he’d left his sister in the hornet’s nest where neither of us could get to her.