Chapter 12
Genevieve
I t’s only a thirty-minute drive to the jewellers, but ninety percent of it is silent. I still don’t know what to make of what happened earlier. He confessed everything and even if he thinks he is a monster, that is not how I see him. I see him as the teenager who looked after me when I was younger. I see him and all of his troubles. What my father has made him into is not who he is at heart. There is darkness within him, but when he is around me, that darkness is quiet. Almost gone.
Glancing in his direction, his eyes stay focused on the road. “Almost there,” he says, but I’m unsure if it is to me or to himself.
He is stuck in his own head. I can tell he is because I always have that same expression when I am overthinking everything too. The only time I feel normal and sure of my thoughts is when I am around Mason. He makes me feel safe, no matter what he thinks about himself.
I turn my head to look out the window.
This side of town is beautiful. It is an upper-class area where the rich and famous live. If you want something expensive, this is the place to go. My father told us that there would be no limit on the ring that we would be purchasing, so why not go to the top-of-the-line jewellers?
I catch a glimpse of a black Dodge Challenger with tinted windows behind us; just like our car, it stands out against the mundane looks of all the other cars around us. When we turn off the motorway and begin heading into the traffic of the streets, I keep my eye on the car. We turn left, the Challenger turns left too. When we make a right turn, it does too. Mason even misses one of the turns and performs a U-turn; after he has straightened up again, I glance in the passenger side mirror and the Challenger performs a U-turn too.
“Mason?” The sound of my voice brings him back out of wherever he has gone in his mind.
“Yeah?” He glances at me briefly before turning his eyes back to the road.
“I think we are being followed.” I look in the mirror again and the Black Challenger is still behind us, only a few cars back.
“Which one?” His eyes flick up to the centre mirror. He seems way too calm about being followed, kind of like he has seen that the car behind us has been there for a while and it is hard to tell if he knows who it is.
“The black Dodge Challenger,” I say. “It has made every single turn we have since we turned off the motorway. Even a U-turn when you did one.”
“Hmm” is his response. There is something he isn’t telling me.
“What are we going to do?” I ask, panic lacing my voice, worry spreading over me. Are these people here to hurt or kidnap me? Maybe it is Rico?
“It will be ok. It is either one of Rico’s men or Rico himself; he does lend his car out to them from time to time.” He glances in the mirror again quickly. “And if it is Rico, then him watching us as we go into a jewellery store for an engagement ring will be even better. He will realise that he has no claim over you anymore.”
“You think this may make him back off and move on?” I pull down my sun visor, opening the little mirror that is embedded in the flap. I use that mirror to look at the car behind us.
“One can only hope.” He stops the car outside of the fancy jewellery shop. “Now let’s go find the most beautiful engagement ring you can think of.”
He steps out of the car and makes his way around to my side. Opening my door, he holds out his hand, helping me out. As I step out, I scan up and down the street, making note of the same Dodge Challenger parked just slightly down the road. I just hope that Mason knows what he is doing.
After closing the door behind me, he takes my hand in his and we walk up to the doors of Eternal Elegance: the most prestigious jewellery store in the area. If you want to buy a piece from this place, an appointment is always necessary. They create the most divine, one-of-a-kind pieces.
Mason squeezes my hand gently. “Are you ready?” I can feel him looking at me.
My nerves start to kick in, the butterflies fluttering around in my stomach. With the way we opened up to one another today, we both know this shopping trip isn’t completely fake. There is going to be something more behind this.
“Let’s do this,” I smile. His hand reaches out and pushes the door open, and we walk inside.
“Welcome to Eternal Elegance!” A blonde woman calls from behind the counter. Her smile stretches across her face. “Do you have an appointment today?”
“ We do, yes,” Mason says as he wraps his arm around my waist. Walking forward, he continues, “Under the name Hawthorne.”
The blonde looks down at her diary and then up at us again with what seems like a larger smile. “Of course, Mr. Hawthorne and Miss —” She looks in my direction. There is a look of jealousy that crosses her features, but Mason doesn’t seem to notice.
“De Luca,” I provide for her.
“Miss. De Luca?” Her eyes widen slightly as she looks between Mason and myself. “The one and only daughter of Salvatore De Luca?”
I just nod and try to hold back a laugh as she visibly swallows. I can see that I made her nervous, but whilst I am trying to hold back my laughter, Mason snickers at my side. I lightly tap his chest with the back of my hand. “What?” He raises a brow at me with a smirk crossing his face.
“Be nice.” I bite my bottom lip to stop myself from laughing. “Don’t laugh at the poor girl’s discomfort.”
The blonde standing in front of us, looking between Mason and I, is dumbfounded. Clearly, from the way she has been eye-fucking him since we walked in, she has seen him before, but I can’t imagine why he would be coming in here.
My hand moves up to the necklace I’m wearing. The one my father gave me when I first came back as his way of trying to buy my love. It isn’t working, but this necklace is beautiful and just my taste — did Father send Mason here to pick it for me?
He glances down at me, his eyes trailing down to my fingers playing with the necklace and gives me a knowing smile, confirming my suspicion. He turns and looks back at the blonde. “Please bring us your top-of-the-line engagement rings,” he says as his arm slides over my shoulders. As she runs off to find the rings, he places a finger under my chin, lifting my head up and planting a gentle kiss on my lips. “While we wait for her to come back, let’s look around the shop. There may be something here that is more to your taste.”
He walks over to one of the front counters that has more rings in it. It faces the street, and my eyes catch movement off to the side. Tilting my head, I step closer to the window.
A man is standing there, watching me. His arms are folded across his chest. They’re covered in tattoos, but I am unable to make out what those are. More ink protrudes up from the collar of his shirt. I look closer at the tattoo on his neck. A skull, surrounded by lilies, with barbed wire cutting through the left eye and emerging back out of the mouth of the skull. He is staring at me.
My eyes lock onto his face. Sunlight glistens off an eyebrow piercing. He also has snakebite lip piercings and I imagine his tongue is pierced as well, going by the look of the other metal on his face. He has chocolate brown hair that is short on the sides and a little longer on top. A single clump of hair falls over the inner corner of his right eye.
He must know I am staring at him because his eyes darken as he looks at me, a smirk crossing his features before he pulls the left snakebite into his mouth and he winks. This must be Rico. The motherfucker himself.
I lean over the counter, standing next to Mason. I try to ignore Rico, but knowing eyes are on us and not knowing what he is planning makes me a little uneasy.
I look down into the cabinet, spotting a simple diamond ring. There are five diamonds across the band. Nothing that protrudes too far out that could catch onto anything. The diamond in the middle is a one-point-five carat and the other four are only naught point five carats. It is perfect. Beautiful, yet simple. “That one,” I point it out to Mason. “That’s the one I want.”
“Then that is the one you will have.” He smiles, and we wait for the blonde girl to return.
“I also think Rico is watching us.” I lean into Mason as he wraps his arms around my waist. “It’s either Rico or he sent one of his brutes.”
Mason places a hand on the back of my head, running his fingers through my hair. “It is Rico. I noticed him earlier, just try to ignore that he is there.” He lowers his voice. “He won’t do anything while we are together and in a public place.”
I release my breath, relieved to know that I am safe in this moment. As intriguing as Rico is, he does not look like someone I want to be around.
“Ok, Mr. Hawthorne.” The girl comes out from the back room with a tray full of rings. “I have found only the biggest and the best engagement rings for you.”
Mason looks back towards me and smiles. “My fiancée has already chosen her ring.”
The young girl’s shoulders drop. Sorry, lady, no huge commission for you today . I bite my lip to shut myself up from saying anything. This woman annoys me, especially thinking that Mason is interested in her. She wouldn’t even acknowledge my presence whilst in the shop.
Mason takes hold of my hand. “This ring right here, now please. I need to put it on my fiancée’s finger this moment.”
“Of course.” She hurries behind the counter, pulls the ring out from its holder and passes it over to Mason.
Taking the ring, he turns and faces me, then drops to one knee. “Miss De Luca, will you do me the honour of accepting this ring and becoming my wife?”
“Yes, Mr. Hawthorne. I accept your proposal and this ring.” The corner of my mouth lifts into a cheeky smile.
“Now, let’s get home.” Kissing my hand just above the ring he had on my finger, he stands up and turns back to the girl behind the counter.
He hands the cashier a roll of cash. Father would have made sure there is enough. “Thank you, Miss. Have a good day.”
He wraps his arm around my waist and leads me out the door of the shop and back to the car.
I look up and down the street but there is no sign of Rico or the black Challenger. I turn to face Mason, only to be caught off guard by him standing so close to me, looking down at me through hooded eyes. All thoughts of Rico have now left my mind as my breath catches and my stomach flips.
Heat radiates off him as he looks down at me. My train of thought disappears as his hand reaches forward, resting at the base of my neck, pulling us closer together. “Look at me, Viv.”
His face inches closer to mine, the faint scent of whiskey clinging to him — sharp and smokey with a hint of sweetness that lingers between us. The air hums with something unspoken.
I open my mouth but close it again, unable to find the words. He smiles down at me, tilting his head, his voice low. “Did you forget how to talk, Princess?”
Shaking my head, I’m still at a loss for words.
“Come on.” He takes my hand, moving me towards the car. “Get in.”
“So where are we going now?” I ask, finally able to find my words again.
“Well with you dressed like that, my original plan has gone out the window.” He glances over at the dress that is riding up my thighs. “Unless you want to try your hand at firing a gun for the first time wearing that?”
“Maybe teasing you with this outfit wasn’t a good idea.” I turn my head, gazing out the window. “If you’d told me the plans for today, I would have worn something different, but you chose to keep me in the dark.”
He chuckles. “Well, let’s change the plans.” His eyes flicker to mine every few seconds before returning to the road. “And tomorrow we will try your hand at shooting.”
I just nod. I didn’t know what else to say. I am worried my father will find out what we’re doing and that Rico will somehow find a way to get his hands on me too.
“With Rico being at the jewelry place, maybe we need to head back to the mansion. We don’t want him following us. He will no doubt keep sending things to Sal to increase his paranoia, and that is something we want to avoid.” Mason reaches out, placing his hand on my leg and gently squeezing.
“I think that’s a good idea.” I lean my head against the window and close my eyes, drifting off to sleep as we travel the rest of the way back home.
I don’t remember much of the drive back, but I feel the car stop. I am still half asleep but alert enough to know what is happening around me. The driver’s door clicks open and then shuts. My own door opens and then two large arms surround me, one under my legs and the other behind my back. He places one of my arms over his shoulder and then the motion of his hip flicks the door of the car closed.
I hear feet shuffling around. The front door, opening and closing behind us. The click of dress shoes against the marbled tile floor down to my room, where he gently places me down on my bed.
Mason’s callused hands try to undo the straps of my heels. The scent of his aftershave burns through my senses and the touch of his hands over my legs is sending electric sparks through me. The straps of the shoes can be difficult to figure out and even more so when it is dark inside the room. He says a little cheer to himself when he manages to get them both off.
He kisses my cheek lightly and whispers, “Get some rest Princess, I’ll come back and see you later.”
“No, stay,” I whisper. “Please?”
I hear the shuffling of feet around to the other side of the bed. The mattress sags and he sits down on the edge. His movements suggest that he is taking off his shoes.
The mattress rises again. “Where are you going?” I ask wearily.
“I am just going to lock the door. We don’t need to be disturbed,” he says as the lock clicks into place.
The shuffling of his feet making his way back over to the bed. His weight on the mattress sinking again and as he lays down. Rolling over to face him, I rest my hand across his waist and my head on his chest. I could stay like this forever. The one place I feel safe. The one place where I feel understood.
This man, Mason Hawthorne, is my happy place. The place I never want to leave.