Chapter 34
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Mason wondered if Vivi could hear his heart slamming against his ribs where she rested against him, her cheek pressed to the space over his heart.
He was a train wreck the whole way there, driving fifteen miles per hour over the speed limit in his need to see her.
He held her tightly as sobs racked her body, the stress of the situation finally catching up to her.
“I've got you,” he murmured against her hair. “I won't let anything happen to you.”
In his peripheral vision, he watched Knox as he stood off to the side, hands shoved in his pockets, one foot propped on the wall behind him.
They hadn't spoken much since Knox had walked in on them last week, and Mason wondered how Knox felt about him comforting Vivi. Not gonna lie, it stung a little that she’d called him first. Mason had been sitting in a parking lot waiting for his mark to show up when Knox called.
“Whatever you're doing, drop it,” Knox had said. “Meet me at Mulligan’s as soon as you can. Something’s happened to Vivi.”
Mason hadn't had a chance to ask any questions because Knox had already hung up, and he immediately started the engine, threw the truck into gear, and headed in that direction.
He hit the parking lot running, needing to see her for himself.
A hundred different scenarios flitted through his mind on the drive there, all of them involving some kind of bodily harm.
He swore he couldn’t get a full breath until he saw her sitting in the chair, looking small and vulnerable.
Thank God, whatever had happened must have just scared her, because she didn’t appear to be hurt in any way.
Whatever it was had to be serious, though—Vivi wasn’t the kind to make a big deal out of nothing.
In fact, she tended to downplay things, so it made him even more curious to find out exactly what had happened.
Several minutes passed before her heart-wrenching sobs quieted to sniffles, and he ran his hand up and down her spine, offering silent comfort. Finally, she drew back and dabbed at her tear-streaked cheeks, her chest spasming with the occasional hiccup as her breathing returned to normal.
Vivi pulled from his arms, and he reluctantly released her as she moved toward Knox. She wrapped her arms around his waist, and he pulled her into a brotherly hug. “You okay, squirt?”
She bobbed a nod against his chest but didn't speak.
“Can you tell us what happened?”
She nodded again, and Knox shifted her against his side, keeping one arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders. “I…”
A shiver racked her body, and she fixed her gaze to a spot on the floor before continuing. “I was walking out to my car, and I’d just unlocked it when a man came out of nowhere. He was… he had a mask and gloves, and he pointed a gun at me and told me to get in the trunk.”
Mason's blood boiled, and a red haze flashed across his vision at the thought of anyone pointing a pistol at his girl.
Knox’s laser-like gaze met Mason's, a hardness in their depths that promised retribution, and Mason watched his grip on her tighten. “What did you do?”
Her gaze slowly rose from the floor, over Mason's feet and legs, and finally up to his face. “I punched him.”
Mason's eyes widened with surprise, and he saw a tiny flicker of a smile dancing at the corners of her mouth. Her next words were directed at him. “I remembered that day in the parking lot… what you said. I—I punched him as hard as I could, then ran inside.”
So brave. Most people, men and women alike, would have followed the man’s instructions and climbed right into the trunk, hoping that he would eventually let them go. But not Virginia. “Good girl.”
Now that the fear had finally begun to recede, pride glowed brightly in her deep brown eyes, and she straightened away from Knox.
Mason held out one hand, and she moved toward him.
He stared down at her as she slipped her palm into his.
He squeezed her fingers gently before lifting his hands to cup her face.
“I’m so proud of you.” He couldn’t stop touching her. He petted her hair, her cheeks, every inch of her pretty face, thanking every deity known to man that she was okay.
“Thanks.” A real smile finally broke through, and his heart seized in his chest.
This woman… “I’ve never been as scared as I was when I got that call from your brother.”
Another shudder racked her body, but she managed to keep her chin held high. “I’m okay.”
“The whole way here I thought about what I would do if anything ever happened to you.” He spoke low, for her ears only. “It would gut me, baby, because I love you so damn much.”
Her eyes turned glassy as they searched his. “Really?”
He was dimly aware of Knox leaving the room, quietly closing the door behind him.
“Really.” He touched his forehead to hers and tenderly brushed a kiss over her lips.
Her hands curled into the fabric of his shirt. “I love you, too.”
He held her for several more minutes until he could put it off no longer.
They needed to see if they could figure out what had happened and who’d come after Vivi.
Knox stood next to the bar, and he threw a look their way as they rounded the corner.
His gaze dropped to Mason's hand where it was entwined with Vivi’s before meeting Mason's gaze again.
“Any footage?” Mason kept Vivi’s hand wrapped in his, unwilling to let her go.
Knox shook his head. “None on the bar.”
“Maybe we can check the plaza, see if anyone will grant us access.”
Knox walked with them out of the parking lot. “I'll see if Aiden can dig anything up.”
Mason gave a little nod, though he wasn't terribly hopeful. Given what she’d said about the man wearing a dark ski mask, it was unlikely they'd be able to find anything worthwhile.
He paused next to her car and used the fob to unlock it, then held the door open for Vivi.
He hadn't been able to let go of her since they left the bar, and even now, he kept one hand braced on her hip as she slid into the seat.
He waited until she was buckled in, then handed over her purse and started to close the door.
“Mason?”
He leaned back inside and rested a hand on her knee. “Yeah, babe?”
“Can we stop for a cappuccino on the way?”
He knew after her scare earlier that she'd be up half the night anyway. “Whatever you want,” he readily agreed. If it made her feel better, he’d wrangle the moon for her.
She shot him a little smile, and he shut the door. Knox eyed him, an enigmatic expression on his face. “I always wondered what that looked like.”
Mason flicked a look his way. “What?”
“Being whipped.”
He rolled his eyes. “Hilarious.”
He couldn't deny that it was the truth, though. He would walk through fire for her, and they both knew it.
Knox paused by the rear fender and tipped his head toward Vivi. “She acts tough, but she’s still my baby sister.”
Mason gave a little nod, unsure exactly what to say.
Knox’s expression turned serious. “I don't know what's going on, but… take care of her.”
“I will,” Mason promised. She was so strong, and for some reason, it only made him want to protect her even more.
With that, Knox disappeared, presumably to find his own SUV, and Mason climbed into his truck.
He immediately fell in behind Vivi as they pulled out of the parking lot, and he kept an eye on their surroundings as they headed to his place.
One cappuccino later, they pulled into his apartment complex.
Even though barely a half hour had passed since they’d left the bar, it’d been too long since he’d touched her.
Wrapping one arm around her waist, he led Vivi up the stairs to the third floor, then unlocked the door to his apartment.
She'd only been there one other time, and he took a second to clean up the random stuff he'd left lying around the living room. Recently, they had been spending most of their time at Vivi’s place since it felt more like home.
With a little sigh, Vivi sank into the middle cushion on the couch, and he took the seat beside her, then spread his arm out over the back and around her shoulders.
The dip of his weight caused her to lean into him, and she snuggled even closer, her hands still wrapped around the disposable cup of cappuccino.
“Want to talk about it?”
He was always cautious whenever Vivi got quiet; he never quite knew how to read that side of her. It meant there was a lot going on in her mind that she hadn't quite come to terms with or didn't know how to verbalize.
“I don't know,” she finally admitted slowly. “I feel… angry. Scared, like he's going to pop up again when I least expect it.”
He didn't like the way she said that. “I'll keep you safe,” he promised.
“I know,” she said as she tipped her head against his chest. “It's not that. It's just… with everything going on recently, I wondered…”
He wondered the same thing. He still hadn't heard anything from Tyler, though he had texted him twice more. For something to happen to Vivi in roughly the same period of time made him incredibly uneasy.
“Was there anything about the man that you recognized? His build, his voice?”
She gave her head a little shake. “I don't think so. It happened so fast, and all I could focus on was the gun.”
The reminder sent a ripple of fury through him, and he tightened his hold on her. “We're going to figure out what’s going on.”
If someone had indeed killed Russ and covered it up, then he was certain that he wouldn't like Tyler poking around. He’d dragged Vivi into it by proxy, putting her in danger, and he wouldn't stand for it.
They were going to figure out what happened to Russ and who was responsible, then put this to rest once and for all.