Hayden (Mason’s Aces #2)

Prologue

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Hayden walked out of Rubin’s apartment, handed over Arlene’s half-brother, Brandon Ashkon, to the special agents waiting outside, and thanked them for taking him away.

A big grin formed on Hayden’s face as he headed to his car.

He glanced back up at Rubin’s apartment and quickly phoned Mason.

“You called that one,” Hayden noted, still chuckling.

Mason, with amusement in his tone, said, “It was pretty obvious which way it would go down. I called it as I saw it.”

“Maybe, but I don’t think Rubin was that close to seeing it. He was sticking to his don’t get involved as she’s part of the mission rule.”

“He just needed a little bit more time.”

“He’s got more time now,” Hayden pointed out, with a chuckle.

“Tricia will lock him down before he goes anywhere. She was so quiet and almost invisible when we first rescued her, but wow. … That changed quickly. While poor Rubin was sticking to his ethics, she was plotting behind his back.” He burst out laughing.

“They were a joy to watch. The confusion in him and the building attraction in her just got stronger each day.”

“Yeah,” Mason agreed. “Tricia Forman is a force. I’ve spoken to her father finally, and he’s also talked to her for a brief moment.

They are to meet up this coming weekend, if she can convince Rubin to go with her.

Her father is determined to thank the young man who saved his daughter.

” Mason snorted. “I did tell him it was a team effort, but I gather Tricia was very vocal about Rubin’s part in her rescue over everyone else, including you. ”

Hayden laughed. “She seems to come from the heart though—at least where Rubin is concerned.”

“Oh, she does at that. She’s very concerned about making sure that Rubin will be looked after, which is a good thing.”

“Maybe, just not exactly what I was expecting out of my old pal,” Hayden admitted. “Now, will you send him off right away to tie up all the loose threads on this one?”

“Nope,” Mason stated. “However, I will send you.”

“Oh, great,” he muttered as he turned on the car engine. Before he drove out, he looked at his phone, and something clicked in his brain. “What’s going on?” he asked, on full alert now.

“You remember Arlene?”

“Brandon’s half sister, the woman involved in Tricia’s kidnapping?” he replied. “You guys picked her up.”

“Yep, and she slipped through much of what we threw at her. And now she has arrived in New York City, and some people are concerned that she’s still after Tricia.

I will bring Rubin up to speed in a little while.

He needs to be on his guard. That’s also why I’m leaving Rubin where he is.

” Mason sighed. “For the moment, I need you in New York to see what you can come up with. There’s a good chance we’ll be transferring Brandon there too depending on the information he shares and the fact that they want him for their own cases.

They were pretty excited when they found out he was in custody.

I believe he and his sister have been breaking all kinds of laws. ”

“That’s a pretty sweet deal you are giving him. Now he gets to hole up, after rescuing a beautiful young woman, and you’re giving me this old battle ax Arlene to deal with, who apparently has a big grudge on for a lot of rich people.”

“Not necessarily,” Mason countered. “Part of the reason I need you over there is someone from that university apparently had her suspicions about Arlene and called me to say something wrong was going on, asking that we take a closer look at Arlene.”

“So this woman, she knows who she’s messing with?”

“Nope, she has no clue. I recognized her family name though. So I want you to head out there, talk to this young woman who is looking to get into trouble without even thinking about it,” he explained, his tone weary.

“We can’t have that.”

“Nope, we can’t. Her father is one of the big Greek shipping magnates, and he does have a tremendous amount of firepower behind him. So, if anything happens to his daughter, we’ll have an international incident.” He sighed. “Let me rephrase that, … another international incident.”

Hayden winced. “Right. We can’t have that, can we?”

“Hell no. So over to you. Let me know when you land.”