Chapter Twenty-Five
Austin
T he smooth deep voice of Alfie Adams fills my ear as I answer my phone. He’s calm, but quick to the point. “Your girl is breaking the internet, Austin.”
“Olivia?”
Fucking hell, if I see a video of her naked, I’m going to quickly forget my no-kill policy.
“Is there anyone else?”
“Of course not,” I scoff before heading straight to her channel. Yes, I have it bookmarked.
There she sits, just her with a white backdrop.
It’s a livestream, and my god, she’s so beautiful.
She’s done up like she’s going out. Like I don’t know already.
Callum gave me an update last night that she’d gone to Texas for a business deal, but that was the most I knew about her location.
She entered a bar at 8 p.m. with Nicole, the clothing brand owner we met in L.A.
, along with two other girls named Marianne and Blakely.
Marianne is clean, and Blakely has a sealed record from when she was a minor.
But she has a stable job and rents her own apartment, so she seems to be on the up and up.
Not that I have room to criticize. I did kill eleven men last week.
Oh, actually, Luca told me it was twelve. My chest stings at the thought of him.
“I’ll give you a minute to watch it. Call me if you want to talk, okay?” Alfie brings me back to the present.
“I’m not going to. I can’t. ”
“It’s for you, Austin. She wants you to listen to her.”
“How do you know?”
“Well, if you’re not the Masked Man she’s referring to, then this is going to be awkward.”
“Fuck off,” I laugh.
“With pleasure. Call me, please.”
The phone goes blank, and I hit play, her sweet voice filling my lifeless office.
“Hi, everyone. My name is Olivia, and I run Train with Olivia. I don’t do a lot of personal posts; this is my business, after all. But lines got a little blurred when the Masked Man started working with me on my channel.”
Fucking hell. She is so fucking brave, even as she plays with her hands; I’ve never seen a post like this. It’s so raw and unfiltered.
“There’s been a lot of speculation about our relationship, and as some of you have noticed, there haven’t been any posts with him for a few weeks now.” She sighs and looks up, blinking rapidly as if to fight her tears back.
“He was my boyfriend, and I...something happened. And I was quick to react and place blame. I pushed him away and now that I've moved to another state, I’m realizing that our relationship really is over.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck. Why am I watching this?
“Someone gave me their number tonight. He was cute.” She laughs. “Really cute.”
Let me find a pencil to ram into my eye now and end this torture.
“But I felt nothing. I mean he was super hot and charming and funny.”
One more. I can kill one more person, then never again.
“But he wasn’t the Masked Man. He didn’t make me smile even when he didn’t mean to.
He didn’t surprise me at every turn. I couldn’t see myself falling in love with him.
Because I am in love. Nothing is going to change how I feel about the Masked Man because even though he’s not a perfect person, he’s perfect for me. And no cowboy can compete with that.
“So, I guess I’m putting myself out there.
My carefully curated and polished workouts will resume tomorrow, but for tonight, I want you to see the real me.
I’m just a girl trying to make her way in the world and build something meaningful that I can be proud of.
And I want to do that with the man I love by my side.
So, Masked Man, if you feel the same, just know that I forgive you, and I hope you can forgive me too. I love you.”
The video cuts off abruptly.
She loves me . . .
She knows I’m never going to be perfect, and yet she wants me anyway. How could I ever be worthy of this woman?
I scroll the comments.
What are you waiting for, Masked Man?? Get your girl!
UNMASK UNMASK UNMASK
I thought Dr. Angel A.K.A Alfie Adams is the Masked Man? He’s so hot. Not sure why he’d wear a mask though.
Absolutely fucking not. I’m sure Alfie fucking loved reading that one.
I keep reading.
How could anyone leave her? She’s so perfect.
Lame. Stick to your workouts.
I push down the instinct to jot down the username for later.
True love does exist.
We need an update!
A knock at my office door pulls me out of my doom-scrolling. I need to book a flight. I need to get to her right fucking now. I’ll scour all of Texas if I have to. I need to get rid of this person at the door ASAP.
“What?” I call out, typing in the search box for flights.
Danny walks through the door. His hood is up over his head, and he looks tired. We haven’t discussed what has happened in great detail. Other than the fact that Danny had organized a few of the guys to ambush the meeting with my father.
He had hung back, eager to be in the action.
I'm pretty sure that blonde nurse at the hospital would have killed him if he were in the thick of it.
She sticks to him like cooked pasta to a wall.
And honestly, he seems to enjoy the attention.
Despite that, his limited movement meant he couldn't be in on the action.
While I was having my heart-to-heart with Augustus, he shot and killed our father.
I can't say I blame him; the old man nearly killed him.
But all Danny cares about is that he threatened Olivia.
I can't fault him for that; I would do the same thing.
“Boss.”
“Danny.”
“I’ll make this quick; I know you’re busy. I need a week off.”
The cojones on this guy. Killed my dad a week ago and now asking for time off. I mean, like I said, I don’t blame him but god damn.
I take a deep breath.
I will not run my business like my father did.
I will not run my business like my father did.
“Okay, when do you need the time off?”
“My flight is tomorrow.”
Fuck’s sake.
“Danny, in a normal company, you have to put in something called a fucking leave request. Then it gets approved. And THEN you book your flights.”
He smirks. “Sure, boss. But one, this isn’t a normal company. And two, you’re in love with my sister, so I figured I’d get some leeway.”
I run my hands over my eyes.
“I’m curious. How long have you known?”
“I saw your neck extend from your torso when you were hiding behind the basement door when I came to the house. You looked like a real creep. ”
“Jesus.”
“That’s what I thought. I thought fuck my life, my boss is fucking my sister. But then you were so devastated at the hospital that I knew it was more than that. You sent her away even though it made you miserable.”
“I’m not miserable.”
Lies. I am.
“Tell that to your fucking face, boss.”
“Danny. You’re not meant to talk to your boss like that. This is not going to be like my father’s operation. We’re going to be doing things properly.”
“We’ll I’d suggest not fucking your employees’ relatives then,” he quips, grinning.
“That’s a good point. We should make a handbook.”
Callum enters the room, typing away on his phone.
He’s swiftly come into my inner circle since the night at the docks.
He’s shown true loyalty on his end and orchestrated the team like a damn symphony when Luca’s betrayal became apparent.
It turns out Danny and Callum have been suspicious of Luca for a while.
Small comments here and there, sudden needs to take private phone calls when he never used to, disappearing in the middle of the day.
All things I had no idea about because I’d taken a relaxed view of work since I found something—or someone, I should say—way more important.
After the team cleaned up the docks, we came back to the office, and Danny explained to me that they’d set up camp at the docks a few hours before.
Danny had remained up high, given that he could barely walk.
He’d used a rifle to shoot down anyone that was a threat.
Turns out, my father pulled out his gun as we were army-crawling away from the fight, and Danny took him out.
Another knock at the door, and Alfie fucking Adams walks right on in.
“I was just popping by to see how you are, Austin.”
“He’s miserable,” Danny and Callum say simultaneously .
“I’m not fucking miserable!” I bellow, letting my head fall into my hands.
“I presume everyone knows why he’s miserable?” Alfie asks.
“Are you really Doctor Angel?” Danny turns to him, eyes wide.
“I prefer Alfie or Dr. Adams,” he pouts, still looking gorgeous, the bastard.
“I thought it might have been you that was the Masked Man. A few of the comments on my sister’s videos suggested it might be. But I knew she was seeing Austin, so I wasn’t convinced.”
Alfie glances at me; he doesn’t look concerned, but he’s assessing my reaction.
“I mean, I wouldn’t blame her. Look at you! No wonder they call you Dr. Angel.”
“Alright, Danny, that’s enough,” I say, trying to get a grip of this ambush.
They all look to me; at least, I command some level of respect.
Knock, knock.
God dammit.
Augustus saunters in, sniffing at the others as he does.
“Austin. We need to talk.”
“I’m in a meeting,” I say, waving my hand at the eclectic group in front of me.
“It’s about your girl.”
Have they planned this? Am I in some kind of alternate reality where every person I’ve ever met is going to walk into this office and bring up Olivia? I was about to book my flights before they all interrupted.
The scene of all four of them looks comical. Alfie and Augustus are tall and broad, elbowing each other for space as Danny and Callum shuffle closer to the desk, both only coming up to the taller one’s chin. They’re small, but they pack a punch when they need to .
Danny hobbles a little. I forget he’s still so injured.
“Sit down, Danny.”
“Thanks, boss.” He's quick to pull up a seat, and his shoulders relax as soon as his ass hits the chair.
“Now. To get this over with, yes, I’ve watched the video. Yes, I’m the Masked Man. Yes, I’m in love with her. And yes, I’m going to get her back. So if you all don’t mind fucking off, that would be wonderful.”
“Oh, excellent, because I don’t really need a week off. I bought the ticket in your name.” Danny hands me a paper.
I scan the ticket quickly, checking the location. My heart somersaults but dips just as quickly when I realize where I’ll be sitting.
“Fucking coach, Danny? Couldn’t spring for business? You did just kill my father!”
“Boss, you don’t pay me enough to buy business flights. And you’ve been fucking my sister behind my back. I’d call us even.”
“That is not even by a long fucking shot.”
“You didn’t even like your dad!”
“You don’t kill people because you don’t like them, Danny.”
“He threatened Olivia! And he tried to kill me first,” he adds as an afterthought.
“Which is the only reason you’re still here living, breathing, and giving me shit,” I add.
Silence fills the air as the room shuffles awkwardly.
I haven’t had a chance to talk to Augustus.
He knows Danny is off-limits. But I’m not sure how he feels in general about our father’s death.
I would suggest he talk to Alfie, but I think he’d rather go a more violent route.
Maybe I’ll take him on an axe-throwing excursion.
“Do you really want someone like me to be with your sister?” I ask Danny as I glance at Alfie.
The doctor rolls his eyes, raising a stark eyebrow at my self-deprecation .
“We’ve talked about this, Austin. Olivia knows who you are and wants to be with you,” the doctor says softly.
“Boss, you’re a good guy. My sister makes her own decisions. Even if I didn’t want you to date her, it’s none of my fucking business.”
I nod and search each of the four sets of eyes looking down on me.
“She’s made a few friends, but when she calls me, I can hear how miserable she is. She’s heartbroken. She finally had someone taking care of her, and now she’s lost that,” Danny says.
Augustus perks up next. “I saw how you helped her with her business. You supported her, cared for her, and no offense, you looked like a fucking idiot for her. Thank god you had the good sense to put those stupid masks on, or we’d have been in an even bigger shitstorm.
But it’s clear you love her, and I think you should go after her. ”
I nod, looking at Callum next. He’s new to this weird wolf pack thing I’ve got going on, but he might as well lean into it.
“Man, I’ve never met Olivia. But if she’s hot shit like Danny, then I’d say you go for it.”
Alfie, Augustus, and I all take turns in looking between Danny and Callum until the tops of Danny’s ears turn pink.
Well...that's a revelation. I wonder if Olivia knows? I wonder if Danny does. But by the way he’s smiling so goofily, I guess he’s well acquainted with the fact that Callum thinks he’s hot shit.
And here I was thinking the blonde nurse was more his vibe.
“Are we done with this family therapy session?” August pipes in, seemingly done with this conversation.
“Yes. I’m going to win her back. Is she in Texas permanently?”
Danny grins. “Yeah, boss. She got her apartment set up in Austin.”
A smile breaks out on my face. She wants me to make it back to her.
Alfie, Augustus, and Callum leave the room, but Danny stays. He acts as if he’s moving slowly because of his injuries, but I know he’s delaying because he has more to say.
“I do have a few things I’d like to add.”
“I thought you might. Feel free to sit down if your leg is sore,” I offer.
“I’ll stand for this,” he says, bracing himself on his side of my desk. He’s almost leering over me in this position and if I didn't know him, I’m man enough to say I’d be a little intimidated.
“I expect you to be fucking loyal to her. You remember what I said about ruining someone's life with the press of a button? I’ve got the button, and despite my leg being fucked, I can still use my finger. I will fucking press it. Got it?”
“Understood.” I shiver. Fuck, the kid is a little scary.
“Good. Now can we get back to you being my boss and not some mopey twat that’s pining after my sister?”
“This conversation never fucking happened, and if you speak to me like that again, I’ll have your tongue stapled to the desk.”
“There he is.” He grins. “I was starting to worry the old you was completely dead. Now go get my sister...Oh, did I forget to mention? That cowboy called her, and she agreed to go on a date with him. Given that you didn’t respond to her video, she figured you weren't interested anymore.”
“It’s been less than twelve hours since she posted it!” I practically screech, jumping out of my seat. Fuck waiting for tomorrow. I’m getting on a plane right fucking now.
“Good luck!” he says before hobbling out of my office laughing.