Chapter 3
Mason
I stay at Gravel and Grit a lot longer than I intend to. It isn’t because I am waiting for Viv to come back or see where she went, but I am worrying about the other girl who is working. She still looks shaken up after the incident with the frat boys, so I wait until closing time to make sure she is okay.
“Here’s your last drink.” She places the glass in front of me and smiles. “We close up in five minutes.”
I nod in her direction before glancing down at my watch. It is two in the morning. I should get home and at least get a few hours of sleep before I have to debrief with the boss.
He also told me that his daughter will be coming to see him, and he wants me there. He wants me to keep an eye on her because, as he put it, she is a wild child that needs someone he can trust to watch over her and make sure she doesn’t get herself kidnapped or killed.
Threats on her life have apparently been sent to the house, but I find that hard to believe because the mail always goes through me before it goes to the boss. Sal must be having the letters hand-delivered to him.
I’d already been made to babysit Genevieve when she was a kid. I made it seem like having to look after her had been a burden to me, but, in reality, I thrived on the attention she had given me. I never expected anyone to follow me to the end of the earth and she was just the kind of girl to have that childish crush at such a young age. Sal never liked her being around me, but I guess he has changed his mind about that if he trusts me to watch her now, twenty-four-seven.
I’ve missed her, since her mother had enough of this world and ran, taking her away from me when she was thirteen.
The only time I’ve seen her since then was briefly when she was eighteen.
* * *
The sun bakes my skin as I run around the yard, kicking the ball around with the other kids in Murwood. One of the fathers walks out onto the back patio and watches over us as we play.
Rico kicks the ball at the same time a loud bang sounds from inside the house.
Everyone freezes in place. The adults start running around, in and out of the doors. We all look at one another and then I see Rico point towards the balcony. My mother, standing there, looking out, her eyes scanning the yard. “I’m over here, mum,” I call out, waving to her.
“Mason, come here quickly!”
I have never seen her so panicked. I run towards her, her hands reach out to me. “What happened?” I ask.
“It’s your father,” she says, kneeling down in front of me.
“What about him?” I am worrying now, where is my father?
“Honey, your father is dead,” she says, and my whole world came crashing down.
I start running toward his office. I don’t believe it. My father is made of steel, he can’t die. I refuse to believe he is dead.
“Mason!” my mother yells.
I don’t stop running. People crowd around the office door, Stephan being dragged out of the room, blood on his face and white shirt. I push my way through everyone else and stop dead in my tracks. My father is lying there, slouched over his desk, red dripping from the edges of the timber.
I bolt upright in bed, drenched in cold sweat. It’s the same nightmare I have had every night for the last fourteen years. I glance over at the clock and exhale a deep breath. Two hours until I have to be in Sal’s office for the debrief.
* * *
The doors open and Sal walks in. “Alright, now we have everybody here” – his gaze bores into me – “let’s debrief about the last twenty-four hours. Viper, what’s your report?”
I hand him a small piece of paper. “It is done. He’s no longer with us.”
“Good. Were there any issues?” He looks at the file sent through from Lennox and his crew. “Hmmm.”
Shit, did I forget something? “No issues, other than him still being somewhat coherent. Our informant confirmed that he was twenty shots down with tequila and three bottles of wine throughout the meal before I had even arrived.” I began to fidget and pick at my fingers before I add, “I was being chased through the underground garage when you tried to call me the first time.”
“Anything else?” He glances over the top of his glasses. Fuck, he knows . He only ever looks like that when he knows something and is waiting to see if you’re going to lie to him; in this case, I do not want the rest of the room to know.
I shake my head. “No, nothing else. It all went smoothly.”
My eyes dart around the room, looking at anyone else so that I don’t have to meet his judgemental gaze. My leg starts to bounce. Come on, let’s just move on. Out of the corner of my eye I can see him glance down at the papers on the desk before looking back at me.
He gives me a knowing look. The look that tells me he will discuss it with me in private. I haven’t seen exactly what is written down on that paper in front of him, but I have an idea. I do not want to talk to the boss about the blackouts. “Alright then. Cyber, how about you? What did you find out?”
“As we know, the venue belongs to one of our rivals,” Cyber begins. “I arrived at the beginning of the event to start planting bugs, trying to catch anything that was being discussed —”
I begin to zone out, not caring about his debrief because I was there. Instead my mind goes back to the firecracker at the bar. I need to see her again. I am like a dog that has been given a bone and there is no way in hell I am going to give it away that easily. Every little detail about her is ingrained into my head, like the light freckles on her nose and the wicked grin she gave me. The only thing I can’t remember is the colour of her eyes. Fuck, the one thing I love the most and I never even looked at them. But even the way she taunted me I fucking loved. If she knew who I am or what I do, I hardly think she would have spoken to me the way she had last night. The only thing I don’t know is when she is going to be working there again. I am going to have to frequent the place every night in the hopes that I will come across her again. Will she be able to handle a fucked-up asshole like me? She certainly looks like she could.
Everyone is listening to Sal finalising the debrief when the door to the office opens with a loud bang and the room around me falls silent. He is going to send Frederick to bring his daughter in when we are finishing up, but I guess she doesn’t want to wait any longer.
Sal looks up from the piece of paper in front of him and his lips clamp together, but it is only for a brief second before he pushes back his chair and stands. He holds his arms out and walks around his desk. “Genevieve,” he booms as he approaches her, wrapping his arms around the platinum-haired girl. “You’re early, my dear.”
She just stands there with her arms by her sides. None of us look at her face yet, because everyone stays focused on Sal. He always says that no matter who walks into his office while we are there, we are to always keep our focus on him and nothing else.
It isn’t until he steps back, holding his daughter at arm’s length, that I realise exactly who she is.
“Viv.” Her name leaves my lips on a breath, but not loud enough for anyone to hear.
Her father lets her go and begins walking back to his desk again and he speaks to her with obvious saccharinity. “You, my dear, can sit up here with me.”
She holds her head high and her shoulders back, making her tiny frame as big as possible. Even though she has been out of this life for so long, she still has that top dog presence and fuck me if that isn’t a turn on.
She stands behind her father’s chair, her eyes scanning the room before landing on me and staying there. The corner of her mouth curves up in the same taunting grin she gave me at the bar last night.
She places a hand cautiously on Sal’s shoulder. Either she fears how he will react to her touch or she just doesn’t want to be near him at all. I assume the latter.
I watch her as Sal continues to talk.
Seeing her in the light of the office only makes me think of the days when we were young. She has been on my mind for the last ten years, since I last saw her and accepted the fact that I would never see her again.
Until now.
She flinches when Sal adjusts his position in the chair at his giant mahogany desk. I can tell she would rather be anywhere but here. Staring into those beautiful emerald eyes, the corner of my mouth turns up into a sly grin and I give her a little wink. I watch as her eyes dip down slightly, her cheeks flush, and I see that shy little girl that used to follow me everywhere I went.
“What do you say, Viper?” Startling at the sudden sound of my nickname coming from the boss, I blink at him.
“About what?” I ask. He clearly knows that my focus is elsewhere because he raises a brow at me and I can just feel the slap across the back of the head.
“My daughter Genevieve has had threats put out on her life. They know where she goes to study, where she works, and she needs to be protected. You are the only one I trust her life with.” He glares at the other guys in the room, who all look at the ground.
Her eyes watch her father and his movements. The slightest motion of his hand causes her to flinch. Like she knows that slap across the back of the head, too.
She glances up at me, her face pleading: she needs safety and it feels like she’s looking to me for that, just like her father is.
I take a sip of my whiskey and look at Sal. “You’re demoting me to babysitter, aren’t you?” What the fuck is happening? I hold my composure and look him dead in the eyes. The frustration seeps through my voice.
Sal rolls his eyes. I have never seen him roll his eyes before though, so I have hit a nerve. “Not her babysitter.” He raises his voice, causing everyone else in the room to jump at the sudden noise. “Her bodyguard. You are to have eyes on her at all times, never let her out of your sight.” The word bodyguard doesn’t fill me with confidence, it just proves that I have been demoted.
My fist balls in my lap. I want to hit something, but that will have to wait. I need to be out in the field, I need to feed the monster. Being a babysitter is not going to relieve the urge.
“But Father!”
“No Genevieve, no buts.” He slams his fist down on the desk, turning to glare at her over his shoulder, and she physically steps back. She is scared of him .
Sal looks back to me and waves his finger. “You will watch her all hours, you will not let her out of your sight, do you understand me, boy?”
He has this look in his eyes that says that this is all because of the ‘almost’ blackout I had last night. Is this his way of benching me or is it a way to keep me safe?
I nod. “Yes sir, understood.” My fists tighten and release as I do everything I can to hold back an outburst. If I say anything more, he will more than just demote my ass.
“Alright, if that is everything you all have for me, leave!” He looks at me as he takes Viv’s wrist in his hand. “Except you two. I need a moment with the both of you.”
I watch as everyone else walks out of the room. Cyber glances at me — I know he is worrying. The guys walk past me, tapping my shoulder lightly as worry crosses over their features. They knew that a meeting with Sal could go a few different ways. We all grew up together and, while I don’t see them all that often these days because Sal has me constantly on hits or surveillance, we are still close.
Cyber walks towards the door. He is my brother and the most concerned, whether we are blood-related or not. I just dip my head slightly to tell him I will be fine. He gives me a small nod before turning around and closing the door behind him with a heavy thud.
“Right, now that everyone is gone, Genevieve, please sit over there.” Sal points to the chair next to me.
“Yes, Father.” She bows slightly and quickly makes her way over to the chair next to me.
“Now, Mason, do you care to tell me why Lennox’s report said the first thing he found at the venue was you lying in the middle of the car park?” He raises an eyebrow at me again and slides the report across his desk.
Clean up report: finalised time of 11pm
Upon arriving at the cleanup site, called in by Mr. Mason ‘Viper’ Hawthorne, we arrived at an underground parking lot. Cars had windows blown out and blood spattered around in various places. Mr. Hawthorne was lying in the middle of the lot, blood stains on his shirt. He appeared disoriented so we administered smelling salts to bring him back to consciousness.
There is more to the report, but I don’t need to know the rest of the clean up details, considering I’d been there for it, but I read the part that Sal wants me to see. “How long?” he asks calmly.
I look down at the page again before placing it on the desk and sitting back in the chair. I shake my head, mostly because this information is for Sal’s and my ears only. Just because I am now the babysitter of his daughter and she has to be in here doesn’t mean I am giving away any of that information.
But, as I fold my arms and stare at Sal, he slams his fist on the table.
“How long!” he yells.
Out of the corner of my eye, Viv jumps slightly at the outburst and her hand reaches out towards me before freezing and pulling back. Does she still see me as her protector?
“Fine,” I sigh. “It’s been about six months.”
“Six months?” Shock crosses his face. “And why the fuck am I only finding out about this now?”
“Because I was hoping it would have gone away by now.” I shrug.
“No fucking shit,” Sal spits at me. “And this is the reason why you are now solely on bodyguard duty.”
I open my mouth to protest but the sound of wooden chair legs scraping across the floor cuts me off. That is something Sal always does when he is done with a conversation: remove himself without uttering another word.
Viv is wide-eyed as she watches her father walk out of the office and towards his bedroom.
I look at Viv still staring at the open door before she turns her head to look at me. I place my hand on her knee. “Are you ok?” She blinks a few times before placing her hand on top of mine.
“I think so.” She gazes around the office. I follow her eyes looking into every corner of the room.
“It’s ok, there are no cameras in here.” Her eyes meet mine again and her shoulders relax. I squeeze her thigh gently “Look, I —”
“Shhh, for a moment, please.” She stands up, regaining the composure she’d held when she first walked into the room. I glance up at her standing before me and it is like she turns into a whole new person again; with a quick turn of her head, a smile, and a quick wink, she walks out the door.
It feels like my jaw has dropped to the floor. She is no longer the innocent girl I once knew. This woman before me is pure power, attitude, and lust. The way she moves does things to my heart and my cock. The way my body is reacting to her makes me feel like a horny teenager again.
She rounds the corner of the office and calls out to me: “Hurry up, tough guy.”
I practically run after her as she powers her way towards her room down the hall. “You do know that I had nothing to do with this?” I say.
“Sure you didn’t.” She whirls around on me so fast I nearly run into her, slipping slightly on the smooth tiles of the floor. When I regain my footing, I lean against the wall. “You must have recognised me at the bar last night.”
“I swear I didn’t, but even if I did, I never saw this situation coming.”
“Ok, so why does my father think I am in danger?” She places a hand on her hip.
“You do remember your own father, don’t you? You haven’t been gone for that long.” I roll my eyes. She has been gone for years, though I don’t know when she came back to the mansion. “He is still a paranoid old bastard. Has been since before your mother ran off with you.”
“So then who does he think has threatened my life?” She tilts her head, her silver hair falling over her shoulder.
“I have no idea.” I shrug. “But if there is anyone that is threatening your safety, it’s now my job to stop them.”
“So you’re going to keep me safe?” She sighs. “Because I thought you’d hate me now. You seemed to back then.”
She turns and walks back towards her bedroom. “I didn’t hate you, Princess.”
She turns and looks at me again, shock crossing her face. “ You always tried to get rid of me when you were forced to look after me back then too.”
I smirk and step closer to her, pushing her up against the wall. Her breath catches at the sudden movement. My lips move closer to her ear. “I just found you a bit annoying and stubborn back then. It was infuriating, but I could never hate you.”
She places her hands against my chest, her touch electric. Her lips graze my earlobe. “I am not stubborn,” she whispers as she ducks and leaves me standing there, looking at a blank wall. The lingering touch of her lips still sends shockwaves through my body. I growl deep within my chest, the air cold where she was once before me.
There are cameras in the hallway, but they are video only. Will it look like I am just showing her who’s in control? Or something else?
This woman is going to be the death of me. I bite my bottom lip and count to five before pushing off the wall and following her again.
I quicken my steps as I catch up to her. “Do not walk away from me.” I grab hold of her wrist, stopping her.
“What are you going to do to me, Viper?” She looks at my hand, the name everyone else calls me is like venom on her lips. I don’t like it. “You wouldn’t dare hurt a hair on my head, especially since my father is your boss.”
“I am not afraid of your father, Darling.” I imitate the way her father said her nickname when she was younger as I hold her gaze. She flinches at the nickname, but it’s only small, and I am in the mood to rile her up.
“Oh, but I think you are. Otherwise, you would have already left me alone to go about whatever it is you do.” She waves her free hand around in the air. “You’re scared of what he could do to you, what he could take away from you, like giving you worse duties than being my babysitter. This is your way of trying to get back into his good books so you can go out on your own again.”
My eyes widen and I release her wrist. She is right: I want to be back out in the field. I want to scope out the targets, learn everything I can about them, and learn what makes them tick. Once I have learnt that information, then I know exactly how and when to strike and, when I do, it’s always deadly. That’s how I earnt the name Viper.
She knows she is right, and a smile spreads across her face.
But this is why I like her so much. She challenges me. A glint in her eye tells me she is up to something but I don’t know what. That, I would figure out.
Her eyes narrow and she pulls her wrist free of my now-lax grip. She runs down the hall the rest of the way to her bedroom. “Oh for fuck’s sake, stop running!” I call out after her, but she has already ducked into her room.
If I am going to be watching her from now on, she needs to be taught a lesson. What she doesn’t realise is that I love a good chase.
Viv slams the door shut behind her. The thud echoes through the hallway.
I bang on the door as she slides the lock closed from the inside. Not on my watch . Sal told me not to let her out of my sight, ever.
Taking two steps back, I growl, “You’d better step back from that door,” and with a strong kick, the door flies open, splintering where the lock had once been.