CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
SAINT
Mason enters the dining room and halts in his tracks when he sees what I’ve put together.
The space is set in the cool golden glow of candles.
My expression softens as he walks over with a grin.
“This looks really pretty.” He hums, and I pull out a chair for him.
He settles in and looks up at me before I join him.
We dig into the plate of steaming jollof rice and fried chicken.
While we eat, I can’t help but revel in the radiance he exudes and the focus he has while eating.
I never expected that my night would end with him by my side, but fuck that, I don’t regret that either.
And while we still had some things to deal with, I’d rather be in the moment right now. Father can come later. Those motherfuckers who hurt him can come later. They won’t ruin this moment for us. We eat so quickly that we finish in less than forty-five minutes.
“Do you want some more?” I ask him.
“I’m full for now.” He says and takes a sip from the glass of water.
“Alright.” I clear the dining table, leaving the unwashed plates in the sink, then I put the unfinished food into the refrigerator.
“Can we sit outside for a while?” He asks.
“Yes, whatever you want, baby.” I grin at him. “And I’ve got just the perfect equipment for that.” I move toward him and press a kiss on his forehead. It doesn’t take long to find what I’m looking for.
We both walk out of the house to the compound. There’s a perfect spot between two trees. “Come on, help me.” Mason scurries toward me and lends a hand. We secure the hammock together at both ends of the tree and make sure it’s tight enough to hold our weight. Then we both jump in.
“Come here.” I grunt and pull Mason closer so that he rests his head against my chest. His hand circles my waist, and he presses a kiss on my shoulder. Above us, the moon hangs at the edge of the sky, casting its silver glow across the compound.
“It’s a beautiful night.” He whispers.
“Even more beautiful that I have you in my arms right now.”
He flushes and giggles while I tighten my hold around his lean-muscled body. I press a kiss on his forehead, and he inches closer to me.
Silence settles over us gradually. This time, it isn’t something I want to run from.
I have always been the type of man who took what he wanted and carried on with my day.
But here I am wrapped up in the most beautiful man I have ever seen.
I never imagined that a time like this would come.
And god have mercy, I’m so fucking scared that I’ll lose it all.
Not just because of my homophobic father, but everything that’s happening with Mason as well.
I’m placing a bet on my brothers to find these men who have been terrorizing him for months now. Once I have them in my clutch, they’re fucking done for.
“You seem tense.”
“I am.” I reveal to him.
“Talk to me. I want us to tell each other things when we are bothered.” His hand rests on my jaw and tilts my gaze down to him.
“I’m thinking about it all. My father. The people in your life.”
“Saint, you give me hope…”
Hope? I didn’t think I’d ever hear that word from anyone.
“It’s not just that, baby. I can’t let my father ruin us. If he finds out about me and you, he’ll do it. He’s so hateful.”
“Then we’ll fight him together.” I look down at him with a smile, blurring the lines of laughter. “I mean, you can teach me how to fight. I don’t mind.” He adds with a skeptical shrug.
“Relax, I will.” I tell him. “And call me darling more, I love it when you do.”
“Yeah?” He rolls onto me, and I snake my hands around his waist and kiss him. I nod after the short-lived kiss and place our foreheads together.
“I do.” I inhale sharply. I lift my hand to his cheeks and smile. “Elio, you have given me a gift, and I know I’m such a fuckup, and I don’t deserve this. I’m sorry for mistreating you. I really am.”
“You deserve this. We both fucking do, okay?” He holds my cheeks, and I bob my head in response.
My lips crack into a smile as tears gather in my eyes, and he kisses me tenderly.
“And I know nothing will ever compare to the things I have done, and I hope you forgive me, too. I’m sorry. ” I give him a nod and kiss him again.
He slips back into my arms, and I adjust until we are both comfortable. “Before I forget, can you come to my cousin’s wedding as my plus one?” I ask politely.
“You think that’s a good idea. I mean, your family.”
“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll be there to keep you safe.” I chuckle. “But I really want to be there with you. As a step to embracing who I am.”
It doesn’t take long for him to fall asleep. I carefully get out of the hammock and take him in my arms, walking into his house and taking him to the bedroom. He makes a sound as I lay him on the soft sheets of the bed.
I return to the living room to pick up my phone. I missed three calls from Ali, but he left a couple of messages. He was waiting for me outside the Red Horn Club.
I put on a shirt, and I pick up the car keys, and I drive straight to his location.
He’s leaning against the hood of the vehicle, lips tight around a bottle of vodka.
It’s been a long time since I had those.
Ali holds two envelopes in his hands. “I’m sorry it took so long.
I got held up.” We both enter his car and shut off the outside world.
He hands the files to me. “Inside you’ll find information on Elio Layton, the Madame of Red Horn Club, Neo, and Vincent Bishop.”
“Madame?”
“Can you brief me on what you have here?” I open the envelope, and I take out pictures of three men standing outside Mason’s apartment.
“Elio Layton, under the alias of Mason Cole, has been staying in Kingston for over a year. He went to a community college here on a scholarship, but he always stuck to the shadows. He’s from Queenstown.
His parents used to be affiliated with the mafia before his uncle David brutally murdered them.
” Ali points at the man in the left corner of the picture.
“Affiliated to the Mafia? How so?”
“His mother was a cleaner.” Ali responds. “Mason got dragged into this by his uncle, and they’ve been visiting him ever since he moved to his new apartment.” He lifts another picture.
That’s how Cross got pictures of him and Neo in the street.
These fuckers were hurting Mason for sure. I’d make them regret it.
“What about my shipment? What does Neo have to do with it?”
“Neo is his lieutenant. He used to be pledged to the Dynasty, and he worked with them for five years. Then he disappeared for two years after an operation gone wrong. He sends money to his mother and brother on the 14th of every month. My guess is he hid in the shadows, but reemerged three years ago and pledged himself to House Bishop,” he explains. “But it’s complicated.”
“He’s working with Vincent.”
“Yes, but the Bishop Empire cut off Vincent two years ago.” My family’s enemies. Were they even aware that one of their own plotted against us?
“So, if I kill him, it doesn’t start a war?” I grip the photograph and stare at the man’s face.
“Technically, yes,” Ali answers. “But it’s deeper than that…”
“Go on.”
He reaches for the other envelope and pulls out two photographs.
It’s a picture of four men in a restaurant booth.
Vincent, Neo, Mason, and David. “They were here months ago.” Ali points out and lifts the other photograph.
It’s Vincent, Neo, Cyrus, and David. At one of the local nightclubs in the city.
My brow arches as I peer at the picture. Mason had been right about these men. I had a different score to settle with Cyrus, but I didn’t think he would be a part of this.
“You think this is a revenge plan?”
“Yes. I followed Cyrus for two days, and I got into his apartment. Found some of the murder evidence he has on David Layton. The murder of Mason’s parents.”
“I know why Cyrus’s doing this.” For his son. That must have been his plan all along, but Vincent hijacked it for his own selfish interest. Perhaps that’s why Cyrus had come for me, because his plans had changed under Vincent, who was even more power hungry.
“He has nothing on Vincent Bishop. I believe this is a power move from Vincent. If his family hears that he dismantled a mafia organization, especially their long-time enemies, he could step back into the power he’s been denied.”
“So, the common factor in all of this fucking revenge plan is Mason.”
“I believe he’s the spy. He’s working with them to find something that could launch an investigation into your family.”
“He’s not doing this willingly.”
“Yes, he’s not.” Ali says. “They put him right at your doorstep through Madame. I traced huge payments into an offshore account registered in her name. If he gets close to you, he could get something strong enough to bring your family down.”
My fists clench as realization dawns on me.
Mason never wanted any of this. He was forced into it, and goddamn, he must have also been forced to sign the contract that set our dynamic.
I was so fucking blinded by my interests that I just couldn’t truly see it, even though I’d sensed something was off that night.
“Fuck.” I curse and slam my fist into the side of the car.
“Thank you very much, Ali.”
“Of course, boss. I’m always at your beck and call.” He extends his hand, and I take it in a firm handshake.
I get out of his car and watch as he drives out of the premises. My head whips up to the building in front of me. The Red Horn Club. I trusted Madame, and yet she aligned herself with the same people trying to take everything from me.
She’ll bear the consequences of the choices she made.
My phone buzzes, and I pick up the call from Virgil. “Hello.”
“What’s up, brother?”
“We got Vincent and Neo. Cyrus and David are nowhere to be found. I’m on my way to the Red Vault.”
“Neo killed those boys. Make sure he doesn’t make it to the Red Vault alive, and I need you to take care of Madame, too.”
“Aye, sir.”
I enter my car and reverse out of the parking space, following the driveway into the city. My thoughts ruminate on everything I have learned. I have all the pieces of the puzzle together, and I have to play the outcome carefully, so everyone who thought they could stand against me gets eliminated.
Mason’s caught up in this…
He has my mercy. Hell, he has my everything.
But my father, Tobias, would never do that. He would take everything and everyone connected to this down.
It’s better to burn the land infested with pests than try to save one perfect plant.
If I’m not careful enough, I could lose him…
It’s hard to admit, but I’m afraid of losing the one thing that matters to me. Not the empire. Not the money. But him. I don’t know how this happened, but I let myself fall for him.
For his light. His darkness. Every part of him.
My thoughts brew through the storm as the car zooms down the highway. The city blurs from my peripheral vision. My father raised me in Kingston City. Taught me everything I know. Taught me to be formidable. To be a man.
But he never taught me how to love. He never showed me what love meant as a father. Only control and power. I’m not saying I love Mason, but I see myself having a future with him. I have to be careful. I have to end this game as meticulously as I can, so I can keep Mason safe.
It doesn’t take long, and I arrive at the house.
When I step in, it’s awfully quiet, exactly the way I left everything.
I drop the keys and envelopes on the table, and I walk into the room where I’d left Mason.
He’s lying on his side, half of his body covered by the sheets.
I pull off my shirt and climb into the bed, lifting the sheets and draping them over his body.
I look up at the ceiling, arm positioned above my head as I try to fall asleep, but I can’t. All I can think of is the disaster that they forced Mason into. And how I participated in it.