Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
MASON
A drenaline thrummed through me. Bodies layered the hangar, mostly Bad Omen, but they had downed two of my men and injured another. The ache in my shoulder reminded me of its presence now that the fight was over. I signaled to Breck and two others to check for danger outside the hanger and was rolling the tension from my neck when a flash of auburn curls captured my attention. I lowered my gun and heard Tyson’s sigh of relief as Casey’s hazel eyes wiped the remainder of my stress away.
She dropped her gun and ran to me, cussing Tyson out as she fussed over my wound. She was like a firecracker, her mouth laced with so many profanities even my ears were burning. I pulled her to me, silencing her with a kiss and ignoring Tyson’s complaints.
“You bastard,” she muttered between kisses. “I thought you were dead.” Her voice cracked, and I pushed her back, wincing with my arm’s movement.
“I’m fine, princess.”
“Princess?” Tyson grumbled, taking her from me and holding her in a bear hug that looked like it left her breathless. I wanted to make a joke about me being the only one who could leave her like that, but the situation had me too distracted. My pilot handed me a towel for my gunshot wound, talking about a hospital when Breck and the other two men returned from outside the hangar, dragging Angie with them.
“All the Omens are dead, boss. And we found this one hiding around the corner.”
“Get your dirty hands off me.”
“Good job. How many did you take out?” I asked, ignoring Angie’s complaints. The bitch was the last thing any of us needed to deal with right now.
“We didn’t,” he replied, scratching his head. “They were already dead. Four of them.”
I looked at Angie, confused at how the spoiled woman in front of us could have pulled that off without any of us noticing.
“Don’t look at me, although those sexy eyes of yours can undress me anytime.” She pushed her hair back, trying to look sexy. I didn’t want to break it to her that she had blood splattered all over her, some of which was still plastered on her face.
“Always the little slut,” Tyson muttered.
Angie’s eyes narrowed, but before she could reply, Cassie said, “You flirt with my man again, Angie, and I’ll lay you out, too.”
I swiveled to Casey, my brows creased in confusion. She walked over to her gun, locked it and put it in the waist of her skirt. “What?” she asked. “My brother is partners with the sexiest, most deadly boss in the territories. You don’t think he taught me how to shoot?”
I threw a glance at Tyson, who shrugged. “I taught her to fend for herself. She hits her mark every time.”
Casey put her hands on her hips, a proud smile on her face.
“Fuck, princess, I thought you were sexy before, but that takes you to an entirely different level of sexy.”
Tyson’s punch to my good arm threw me off balance.
“That’s still my sister, prick.”
“Better get used to it, Ty. And once they patch this arm up, my hands are gonna be all over her.”
She gave me a glorious smile, healing my heart and erasing the pain in my shoulder. The stress of the last few days and hours slipped away like the emptiness in my soul, the one she had replenished.
My eyes could not have been any wider as Casey explained how she’d freed herself and Angie, then drove to the airport to stop her captors. The way she nonchalantly talked about killing them had me so hard it was a wonder I hadn’t come in my pants. The only reason I hadn’t was that Leo’s hands were on me, bandaging my wound after he sewed me up.
“You killed men from the most violent crime family like you were playing a game?”
“Eh, Angie killed one and shot another. Bashed the one guy in the head with that brick so many times there wasn’t much left of his skull.”
“Damn, you are something.”
“They weren’t hard to kill, though.”
My brows furrowed, and I tried not to wince at Leo’s rough touch. “You think they were marks?” I asked, knowing she knew enough of the business to know the difference.
Giving me a shrug, she said, “Not sure, but there was something off about them. For as deadly as the Omen are, they seemed…” she hesitated “…almost novice.”
“Case, they took out Donelli’s men, kidnapped you, and led an attack on Donelli. They weren’t novice.”
“Maybe I’m wrong.”
If she wasn’t so sharp, I would have considered that. “I’ll talk to Ty about it when this settles down.”
I had other plans first and with Tyson and our men heading to check on Donelli with Angie in tow, I had time to indulge myself.
Leo handed me a sling. “I’d put this on you and warn you about keeping that arm still, but I know you won’t listen.”
“Not right now, I won’t. Thanks Leo, once again your med school skills came to the rescue.”
“Good thing I dropped out to run in your pack, boss.”
“Good thing. Close the plane door on your way out,” I said, pulling Casey onto my lap. “And no one disturbs me.”
“Yes, sir,” he replied with a smirk.
My phone rang, and I answered, using my damaged arm to hold Casey in place.
“They only left two men on Donelli,” Tyson said. “I took care of them. They must have assumed he wasn’t a threat once they had him cornered and Tony down. Most of Donelli’s men are dead or injured. You were the bigger threat, so they sent all their men to greet us.”
“I’m surprised. Bad Omen don’t take chances.” I glanced at Casey, thinking of what she’d said that echoed my earlier thoughts. “Did you case the entire grounds?”
“Yeah, nothing.”
Something didn’t seem right about that either, but I couldn’t pinpoint what. “And Donelli?”
Casey ran her hands up my chest and I gave her a grin, yanking her hips into me. I pushed her skirt up, hitting the edge of her lace panties, and narrowed my eyes.
“Donelli’s fine. His men had him secured in a safe room. Tony’s not dead. He’s close to it, but he held on. They just rushed him to the hospital. He’s full of holes, but the fucker’s tougher than he looks.”
I pushed the panties aside, my fingers slipping between her legs.
“He’ll be down for a while if he’s that injured,” I said, sinking my fingers into her and watching her bite her lip. “That and the fact that they attacked his family head-on will make them look weak. Call Tirenti and Stirk. Ensure them we handled the situation. Spin it so Donelli doesn’t look like he’s vulnerable. I need stability in this province.”
“And the Omens?”
They were like a fungus that was spreading. “Let me handle the Omens. I have a plan to keep them in their place, at least for the time being.”
“Fine. I’m gonna stay here a little longer and help Donelli get situated. He’s shaken up, and that’s the last thing we need. Keep your hands off my sister while I’m gone.”
“Not gonna happen, Ty. In fact, they're on her now.”
“You’re an asshole, Mace.”
“I know,” I said, sliding my finger over her clit. My shirt was still unbuttoned, and she was kissing her way up my chest. She froze, pushing down on my hand and moaning. “And she’s gonna make me a very satisfied asshole as soon as I remind her there are consequences for wearing these skimpy panties.”
She jerked back, her eyes wide, as Tyson started swearing at me. Hanging up, I tossed the phone to the other seat and gripped her hip.
“What did I tell you about wearing these sexy panties?”
“I’m with you, aren’t I?” she said with a coy smile.
“That’s a technicality, sweetheart. You were wearing these when I was hours away.” I pinched her clit, and she jumped. “And then you went and wore this tiny skirt, showing everyone those sexy thighs and calves.”
“But you like it,” she said, leaning toward me.
“Damn right I like it, but these,” I snapped her panties on her hip. “Are for my eyes only.”
“I will not wear ugly panties, Mason.”
“No, you won’t. You’re going to wear these tiny things or nothing at all from now on.”
Her eyebrow arched beautifully. “I am?”
“You are. I told you once your brother and I worked it out, you were coming home with me.”
“And what about my life here?”
I squeezed her waist, shoving her body against mine. “Your life is with me now.”
Her inhale was enough to send me over the edge and stop my game.
“With you?” The hazel in her eyes was a rich amber.
“Yes. You’re mine, Casey. I claimed you that night in Treemont, and I’m not giving you up again.”
“What are you saying, Mason?”
Her eyes searched mine, looking for something to convince her to give everything up for me.
“I’m saying that I love you, Casey. I won’t live without you anymore and I’ll be damned if I can’t touch you every day of my life and have you in my bed every night of it.”
Her eyes sparkled, her smile lighting the space around us. She took my face in her hands and kissed me, stealing the air from my lungs with the emotion in it. “I love you, too, Mason, and I don’t want to be away from you. It hurts to breathe when you’re not next to me and there’s an ache in my chest that won’t disappear.” I knew that ache. It had hounded me since she left.
Threading my fingers through her hair, I brought her lips to mine, kissing her again and knowing the ache in my chest would never return because Casey belonged to me now and I was never letting her go.