Chapter 40
CHAPTER FORTY
Mason drummed his thumbs on the steering wheel as he headed toward his apartment.
His heart beat hard and heavy in his chest, and his stomach twisted the closer he got.
Technically, he wasn’t supposed to be driving, but he had never been particularly good at following directions.
He knew his body’s limitations, when to push and when to back down.
His phone rang, pulling him from his thoughts, and he glanced at the unknown number flashing across his screen. For a second, he considered letting it roll over to voicemail, then decided against it. He tapped the button to answer and lifted it to his ear. “Kane.”
There was a long pause on the other end, so long he thought the person had hung up. He was about to do the same when a familiar voice spoke up. “Son.”
Shock rippled through him, and he eased off the accelerator before he realized what he’d done. It took him a minute to find his voice, still not quite believing that his father was calling him. “Pop?”
“I—” He broke off, and the sound of harsh coughing filled the line.
A dull pain twisted through Mason's heart. No matter how much of a pain his father was, he was still his father, and Mason hated to hear him in pain.
“Sorry ‘bout that,” he apologized when he came back.
“No problem.” Silence descended once more, and Mason clutched the phone tightly. Why was he calling him? His heart thudded hard against his ribs as nearly thirty seconds passed quietly. Finally, his father spoke again.
“Talked to your brother yesterday.”
Mason stayed silent, knowing instinctively that he had something to say.
“He told me you took a bullet a few days ago.”
His father’s voice was thick and gruff, and Mason cleared his own throat at hearing the emotion in his father’s. “I’m fine.”
“Good.” He hesitated again. “And your girl? She good?”
“Yeah, she’s okay,” Mason said, not wanting to offer too much.
“Good,” he repeated. “I’d like to meet her. If you want to bring her by,” he added.
Mason wasn’t quite sure what to say. Part of him still didn’t quite believe him. “I’ll see what we have going on,” he said after a few seconds.
“Well, I’ll let you go,” his father said. “I’m sure you’re busy.”
“Thanks for calling,” Mason offered. The conversation was stilted and awkward, but it was more than they’d shared over the last dozen years. He had to at least give him the benefit of the doubt. “And I’ll bring Vivi over to see you soon.”
They hung up just as Mason pulled into the apartment complex, and he put the truck in park, then sat there for a second, wondering what had just happened.
He felt like it was some kind of sign. Maybe it was time to put the past behind them and move on once and for all—and he knew exactly where to start.
He grabbed the box resting on the seat next to him and stowed it in his sling as he made his way into the building. Inside the apartment, he found Vivi in their bedroom, her back to him as she folded clothes and stowed them in the dresser. “Hey, beautiful.”
She threw a smile over her shoulder at him. “Hey, yourself. Feeling okay?”
Her gaze dropped to his arm, and he nodded. “Good enough.”
His shoulder still ached, but he wouldn't tell her as much. The sling was uncomfortable, the bandage over the wound bulky and awkward, but the doctor had insisted he wear it for the next couple of weeks. He’d tried to leave it off today, but Vivi had made him promise to keep it on.
And God knew he couldn’t tell her no. Where she was concerned, he had zero willpower.
The fact that he’d almost lost her had shaken him. He still remembered the helplessness of standing there, seeing the pistol pressed to her temple. Fortunately, the emergency function on his phone worked like a charm, alerting the authorities that something was wrong.
He didn’t remember much after the struggle with Harrison, only Vivi’s pretty face as she hovered over him, doing everything in her power to staunch the flow of blood and screaming for help.
He’d apparently lost a significant amount of blood and passed out, scaring out of Vivi.
When he woke up several hours later, he found her perched next to his hospital bed.
He was fairly certain security wouldn’t have been able to remove her if they’d tried.
Thank God, she hadn’t been hurt. He couldn’t say the same for Harrison, though.
The blunt force trauma of the blow to the head had caused a massive bleed, and he’d died shortly after arriving at the hospital.
Vivi seemed to be dealing with it extraordinarily well so far, but he was waiting for it to catch up with her.
Either way, they’d take it one day at a time, and he planned to be by her side every step of the way.
The police currently had Ellen’s house cordoned off, and he knew that when they searched the property, they’d found Russ’s remains in the backyard. They had told the authorities in their statements that Harrison was responsible for killing both Russ and Tyler. They saw no reason to mention Elijah.
To his surprise, Elijah had come to visit while he was in the hospital.
He apologized for everything that had happened and offered to tell the police about his involvement.
Though Mason appreciated the offer, he couldn’t let Elijah ruin his life like that.
Elijah had a family to take care of, and with Harrison gone, there were no more loose ends.
Mason understood that Elijah had just been trying to protect Vivi and Ellen; it wasn’t his fault Harrison had taken things too far.
Ever since Mason had been released two days ago, they had been staying at his house. It didn't seem to bother Vivi in the least, but they hadn't talked about what to do with Ellen’s place. All he knew was that his future was with Vivi, and he needed to lock her down sooner rather than later.
“I have something for you.”
“Oh?” A pleased smile curved her mouth as she studied him. “What is it?”
Heart racing, he took the little black box from inside his sling and tossed it to her.
She caught it deftly, and he watched a dozen emotions flash across her face as she studied the object in her hands.
Her mouth opened slightly, then snapped shut again as her eyes lifted to meet his. “Is this what I think it is?”
Blood rushed in his ears, and he bit down on the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. “Depends what you think it is.”
“Did you seriously just throw an engagement ring at me?” Annoyance flashed in her eyes, and Vivi flicked the box back to him with a flip of her wrist.
He snatched the box out of the air, unable to contain the grin spreading across his face. “I'm broken, baby. Aren't you going to take pity on me?”
“Not a chance,” she snapped mutinously. “Get down on one knee like a real man and ask.”
He loved this woman. He closed the distance between them, then dropped to one knee in front of her. Maneuvering the box open with one hand, he peered up at her. “If that's what you want, baby, I'll spend the rest of my life on my knees for you.”
Vivi rolled her eyes, but a smile flirted with the corners of her lips. “You're such an idiot.”
“You knew that when you met me.”
A grin overtook her face. “True.”
“You know…” He stared up at her. “A lot of men say they’ll take a bullet for the woman they love. I actually did. You should show me a little extra appreciation for that.”
She laughed. “You are absolutely shameless, you know that? Recovering from a gunshot wound and still begging for attention.”
“I do not beg,” he said stoutly.
“Semantics.”
He couldn’t help but grin at their banter.
He wanted to bicker with this woman every single day for the rest of his life.
“I love you, Virginia Castillo. You're quirky and you push every single button of mine.
But you also make every day better than the last, and I can't imagine my life without you. Marry me, baby.”
Her eyes softened. “Well, how can I resist a proposal like that?”
“You can't.” Wrapping his right arm around her waist, he drew her down so she sat on his knee. With his left hand, he lifted the ring from the box and slid it onto her finger. “You mean everything to me, and I can't wait to spend my life with you.”
Vivi wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a fierce kiss on his lips. The force of it rocked him backward, and he rolled to the floor, taking her with him. A sharp twinge of pain shot through his shoulder, and the edges of his vision dimmed to black before coming back into focus.
Above him, Vivi slapped one hand over her mouth to contain her laughter. “I'm so sorry.”
“I’m not.” He hugged her tighter to him. “I want this every single day.”
He couldn’t stop thinking about how incredibly lucky he’d been to find her in the hotel that night.
If they hadn’t met outside of work, would they be where they were today?
He wasn’t sure, but he doubted it. He was so incredibly grateful for the way things had worked out.
She meant the world to him, and he would never let her go.
A dull ache radiated through his upper body, but all his blood was starting to flow south, anyway. He grabbed the back of Vivi’s head with his free hand and pulled her down for a kiss. “I love you.”
Vivi smiled down at him, all the love in her heart shining from those deep brown eyes. “I love you, too.”