9. MASON
MASON
After tellingHunter that I don’t deserve his sister after all, I get up from the floor and storm out of the suite. I make my way to the elevator and step into it, pressing the button for the lobby. I’m intent on finding a club or a bar, it doesn’t fucking matter which one, as long as I can find somewhere that has tons of alcohol to serve.
Ineed to get shitfaced and drown myself in booze, maybe then I won’t constantly feel like there’s a big gaping hole in my chest. I want to drink so much that I’ll just black the fuck out so I don’t have to deal with all these emotions and pain, at least for a few hours. I know once I’m sober again it’ll come back full force to fuck with me.
Idon’t know what else to fucking do right now. How are you supposed to keep going when your other half is in danger and you can’t even fucking find her?
Iknow that asshole is hurting her from everything I saw in that stupid fucking video and it’s burning me up inside to know that I can’t help her right now. I’ve never felt so fucking helpless in my entire life before. I want to murder everyone who had a hand in her disappearance and I know that I won’t fucking stop until I eventually get them all.
Allthe stupid fucking leads we’ve had so far have been false leads and nothing has been concrete enough to point us in the right direction. I have no doubt that we will, but I just hope it isn’t too late.
It’salready been three days since she’s been taken and none of us have had a full night’s sleep since. I managed to get a quick power nap here or there but beyond that was useless since my mind stayed on her. I can’t even think about actually sleeping, not when she’s somewhere out there suffering.
Ijust want my girl back because right now I’m fucking spiraling and nothing is going to make it better until I find her and have her in my arms again. The people in the lobby waiting for the elevator step aside and give me a wide berth as I stomp off of it toward the hotel doors, my face no doubt has a ‘don’t fuck with me’ expression plastered on it.
AsI make it out the doors, I remember Cole’s club and figure that’s as good a place as any to go get drunk off my ass. I hail a cab and get in, giving the driver instructions to take me to club Raine.
Inno time we’re pulling up to the club. I pay the driver and step out of the cab. There’s a long line outside with people waiting to get in. I just walk right up to the door and up to the bouncer like I own the place. I don’t miss the grumblings of some of the people waiting in line and I turn around and give them a smirk.
“Excuse me, sir—” The bouncer starts to stop me from entering.
“I’m a friend of Cole’s,” I cut him off before he can continue, with all the confidence in the world. I have no fucking clue if that’s even going to work but I just go with it. I mean, you’d have to be friends if you sent your men to help someone kill some dumb motherfuckers, right?
“What’s your name?” he questions.
“MasonKing,” I say and bouncer guy, who definitely looks like he can eat me for breakfast if he wants to, says something into his earpiece. A moment later, he’s pulling back the ropes and letting me in.
“Mr. Mancini says to enjoy your night and not to get too fucked up under the current circumstances,” he tells me as I begin to walk past him.
Huh? Well, I didn’t think that would actually work but I’m glad it did. GuessCole must like me since he let me in and who knew the big-time mob boss had a soft spot? ThoughI’d never tell him that to his face. A waiter meets me just inside the door when I walk in.
“Mr. Mancini has instructed me to take care of you tonight, sir. If you’ll follow me to the VIP area, please,” the waiter says and I just shrug my shoulders and begin to follow him. I’m surprised at the royal treatment but hey I’m not complaining.
“Thanks,” I say when he brings me to a booth in the VIP area.
“What can I get you?” he asks.
“An entire bottle of whiskey. I want to forget all my troubles for a while,” I tell the guy smiling at him.
“Right away, sir,” he says before walking off and heading to the bar area.
Itake a look at the whole club laid out below me. TheVIP area is on the upper level and the booths and tables are set up in a way that you could watch the activities below if you wanted.
There’sa stage area in the center, a step below are where the rest of the tables and chairs are on the lower level. The music is thumping loudly and I watch as people bump and grind against each other dancing, drinking, and enjoying it all. I wish I could feel some of that enjoyment and excitement but all I feel is the worry still churning my gut.
Thewaiter comes back with the entire bottle of whiskey and a glass and sets it down in front of me. “CanI get you anything else, sir?”
“This is good for now. Thanks.”
“I’ll be around if you need anything else,” he tells me before walking away again.
Assoon as he’s gone, I open the whiskey and take a swig from the bottle. I intend to finish the whole thing so it doesn’t matter that I’m drinking straight from it. The music, dancers and the whiskey keep me company as I continue to take sip after sip. In no time I feel the buzz start to kick in and this is exactly what I want and need.
“Would you like a dance? You look awfully lonely and you’re too hot to be sitting here drinking alone,” one of the dancers’ purrs as she steps over to my booth.
“No thanks,” I say.
“Oh, come on sugar, you look like you need the company,” she continues, this time stepping closer to me and rubbing her hands up my arms.
Irecoil back from her, feeling disgusted at her touch. It doesn’t feel right, it’s all kinds of wrong. The only person I want touching me is Winter. Her touch is the one I ache for, not this woman’s. When she goes to touch me again, I grab her hand and pull it off of me, squeezing it. It must be a bit hard because she lets out a yelp.
“I fucking said no,” I grumble in her face before letting go of her hand.
“Sorry, time to go, sweetheart,” a voice says from next to us and I look up to see Hunter and all the guys standing there. Hunter pulls the girl away before saying, “He’s not very good company tonight.”
Thegirl takes the hint and scurries away. I grab the bottle and take a long drink, half of the bottle already gone before I speak to them.
“What are you assholes doing here?” I groan out.
“What does it look like, dickhead? We’re obviously babysitting your ass,” he mutters.
“What? Can’t a guy just drown his sorrows in peace these days?”
“No. You’re not in any position to be alone right now. If we left you alone to your own devices, you’ll probably die of alcohol poisoning in a few hours or some dumb shit like that,” he grumbles.
“How did you assholes even find me?”
“I slipped a tracker in your pocket before you left,” Hunter tells me while smirking at me. I shove my hands in my jacket pockets and fumble around until I feel something foreign in there. I pull it out to see a tiny black thing in my hands. What the fuck? That thing is so tiny, no wonder I didn’t notice it.
“Devious fucker. Whatever. Fine. You dickheads can stay,” I mutter while grabbing my bottle and taking another swig.
“Gee thanks, bro. It’s nice to see that you care we’re looking out for your dumbass,” Grayson grumbles with a roll of his eyes. The guys all take a seat in the booth and order their own drinks and start drinking with me a moment later.
“How come you look like you’re fine?” I ask Hunter, slurring my words. “How come you don’t look like you’re not dying from the inside out?”
“Trust me, I’m as fucking worried as you are, dickhead, but I’ve been in the game long enough to know I have to put my emotions aside to deal with this situation. I’ll fuck up if I don’t have a clear head and that’s how motherfuckers get themselves killed. Besides, one of us has to keep it together since you’re falling apart for the both of us,” he grumbles and I ignore his jab.
“We need to find her man. I-I fuck! I don’t know it feels like I’m fucking dying with every minute we don’t hear something and I’m about ready to lose my shit completely.”
“I think you’re already losing your shit,” Grayson tells me unhelpfully.
“Thanks bro!” I grumble, holding up my bottle to him in salute.
Icontinue to drink without paying attention to them after that. Pretty soon I get plastered and then I suddenly feel something on my nose before passing out. What the hell was that?
* * *
Freezingwater raining down on me causes me to wake up with a start before it cuts off a moment later. My head is pounding as I try to open my eyes but the light’s intensity is too much and I close them right back.
“What the fuck?!” I yell out.
“Rise and shine princess!” Hunter’s voice comes out sounding cheerful and it instantly makes me want to punch the asshole in the face. I let out a long groan at being disturbed, especially since there’s a party going on inside my head.
“Go away asshole!”
“Nope. Time to get shit done. I let you have one day to lose your shit but now we have to get back on track,” he mutters as he turns the cold water on again.
“Fucking hell dickhead! Would you stop that? I’m fucking awake!” I yell and he turns it off again.
Ifinally manage to open my eyes and see that I’m in a bathtub. This bathroom looks familiar and it takes me a moment to realize that it’s Winter’s bathroom in her apartment back in Ravenwood. Huh? I’m so confused right now.
“How did we get back here?” I ask, my voice sounding kind of scratchy.
“Flew in last night after I chloroformed your ass,” he tells me gleefully.
“Asshole!” I mutter.
“Take a shower and get dressed and then meet us in the kitchen. We have shit to take care of and you will not fucking let my sister down any more than you already have. You are going to forget your fucking pain and think about hers because that’s all that matters!” He tells me and I know he’s right so I just nod my head at him.
Withthat he stands and leaves the bathroom. I finally manage to get up a few minutes later and shrug off my clothes before turning on the water to heat. I take a long shower and by the time I’m done I’m feeling somewhat human again.
Idry my skin and head into our room to grab some clothes before walking out into the kitchen. The guys are all here and they’re making breakfast. Royce hands me some painkillers for my headache and a bottle of water and I take it gratefully.
“You assholes let him use chloroform on me?” I ask a moment later, after I’ve downed the pills, with a salty tone to my voice.
“Well, you were kind of hell bent on killing yourself with alcohol last night so that was the best option for us,” Nate says.
“Well, you guys’ suck! Where did he even get chloroform from?”
“Cole had some lying around,” Beck says.
“I just bet he did.” I say with a roll of my eyes.
Huntershoves a plate of food in front of me a moment later and I dig in as the rest of the guys get theirs as well. “IfI didn’t love your sister and if I was gay, I’d marry you. You’re always taking care of me like a good little housewife.” I say smirking.
“I’m only keeping you alive because I don’t want my sister to suffer any more heartbreak, even if she hates you, possibly. I swear I’ve never come across two numbskulls like the pair of you before in all the twenty-eight years I’ve been on this earth. How can two people who love each other be so stupid to have their wires crossed all the time?” he asks with a roll of his eyes.
“I’m telling her what you called her!” I grumble, not at all touching his last question with a ten-foot pole.
“Go ahead, she won’t believe you,” he says smirking at me.
“The guys will vouch for me.”
“Not touching that at all,” they all say.
“Traitors! What are we doing today?” I ask when we’re all done eating.
“Since we’re home now and we’re still waiting for Carter’s or Cole’s information, I figured you’d want to deal with the little problem you left behind here before everything went to shit,” Royce tells me with a gleam in his eyes.
“Hell fucking yes! I need something to distract me. Did you find out who it was?”
“Yes. It was Amber and her minions,” Beck says and I feel anger course through me.
“Don’t know what the fuck you saw in that ogre brother,” Grayson says shaking his head at me.
“Can we not talk about my stupid choices while I was losing my mind? Kay thanks boys,”
“Nope. You’re not getting off that easily, bro,” Royce grins at me.
“Just fucking remember, I’m sure at some point in the future, you guys will also be making asses of yourselves and I’ll be right there to rub that shit in. Let’s get going then! I told that bitch what would happen to her if she touched what was mine again and she didn’t listen. Now she’s going to pay the price. Where are they?”
“Hunter let us keep them at his warehouse,” Nate says.
“You got any heroin, bro?” I ask Hunt.
“Yep.”
“Liquid form?”
“Yep.”
“Damn you’re very prepared for shit,”
“What am I an amateur?” he says, rolling his eyes.
Weall head down to the parking garage and get into two vehicles, before we make our way to Hunter’s warehouse, where he holds his illegal fights.
Whenwe get there, we all follow him inside. I’m not surprised when he leads us into a hidden passageway and down toward the basement, where it’s pretty much the same setup as the one in London. He opens one of the doors and I step inside with the guys all following behind.
“You guys don’t have to witness this, you know? You can wait upstairs if you’d like,” I say, giving them an out. They don’t know about the monster I’ve become. The one I had to be in London to teach those two assholes a lesson.
“Nah, bro. We’re in this together. If this was for any one of us right now, you’d be down here too, no questions asked,” Beck says and he’s right. They’re my best friends, my brothers and I’d do whatever it took to keep them safe or deal with anyone who was fucking with them.
Ilook over to Grayson and he nods as well, letting me know that he’s staying put. I give them a nod back to let them know I get it. A few moments later Amber opens her eyes and I see surprise and fear etched into them.
Herthree minions are still passed out for now. They’re all tied to chairs, their feet to the legs and their wrists to the arms.
“Mason! Help! You have to help me, please! I don’t know why your fucking psycho friends brought us here and then just left us!” she screams before she starts sobbing. Damn, was her voice always this fucking annoying and whiny?
“Oh, there’s a fucking reason! What the fuck did I tell you about touching my girl?” I ask in a deadly tone.
“Wha-what?” she stammers.
“You know exactly what the fuck I’m talking about! You jumped her and disrupted all the fucking progress I was making with her, so she could forgive me for being an asshole and now because of you she ran away and was kidnapped!” I snap. I see the flicker of glee in her eyes before she masks it quickly.
“I-I—” she starts trying to recover but I stop her.
“Shut the fuck up! I saw you just now and just know that you’re not getting out of here until I fuck you up a little,” I say smirking at her.
“A-are you going to kill us?” she asks, sobbing.
“Me? No. ButI’m going to set you on the course where you’ll do it yourself,” I say sinisterly.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m going to give you a little cocktail to help you on your way. When we finally let you go you better not tell anyone about this because then I will fucking kill you and I’ll make it hurt. You’ll feel pain you’ve never imagined before, am I clear?”
“Yes,” she whispers, still sobbing.
“Do you have the heroin?” I ask Hunter and he produces four syringes already filled.
“No. Please don’t!” she begs when she sees me collect one from him.
“Oh, Winter is his sister,” I say pointing to Hunter. “So, he wants to see you suffer just as much as I do. I fucking warned you to stay away from her but you didn’t listen and that’s on you. Everything happening to you now is because of your own actions.”
Iwalk over to her and feel for the vein in her arm by her elbow and stick the needle in. I inject all the contents of the syringe into her. I would go slower but I don’t have time to waste. I only know how to do this because Hunter gave me a mock demonstration earlier since I wanted to be the one who did this and not him. Of course, the asshole pouted the whole time too because he wouldn’t get to have any fun as he put it. She screams before going silent for a moment.
Ilook up to see Hunter, Royce, and Beck all with a syringe in their hands and I watch as they do the same to the other three in the room. They’ve all woken up by now and are sobbing.
“You idiots shouldn’t have followed her blindly like sheep. Now look at what she got you into.” I tell them. When they’re done, we all leave the room and start to head back up. “I want your guys to give them more until they’re craving it. That way when we let them go, they can fucking OD by themselves,” I mutter.
Somemight think that’s harsh but I don’t give a fuck. They fucked with what’s mine even when they were warned against it, but they didn’t listen.
OnceI find her, I will never let anyone hurt her ever again. I’ll fucking lock her ass in a room if I have to. We’ve just stepped back into the apartment when Hunter’s phone starts to ring.
“It’sCarter,” he says as he answers it and puts it on speaker. “What’s up, bro?”
“Our info and Cole’s helped big time. She’s in Colorado,” Carter says over the line. “We’ll meet you there. We’re already in the air. Tell hothead there to fucking wait until we have a plan of action figured out. If we go in without one, she’s dead.”
Iknow he’s talking about me, and I roll my eyes when Hunter looks over at me. Obviously, I’m not going to do anything to mess up my girl’s survival now that we finally know where she is.
“I’ll get the plane ready,” Hunter says a moment later after he hangs up with Carter, and I nod.
“I’m fucking ready to go get my girl back,” I tell him.
“You guys should stay back since this is going to be dangerous,” he tells the guys.
“Fuck off, dickhead! We’re all going,” they say and that’s the end of it, I guess.
“We’re going to Colorado to kill some assholes!” I mutter as we step back out of the apartment to head for the airport. I’m one step closer to bringing her home now and the anticipation to kill these assholes is high. I just hope this info is correct and we actually find her this time.