Turns out that my moving in with Mason isn’t only a comfort for each other, but it’s practical too, seeing as I’m jobless.
I quit Zeus’s. I didn’t give notice, or even have to show my face. One call to my boss and he let me go and even said he’d give me a glowing recommendation. It ended up being a lot easier than I thought, but something tells me Detective Hodgeson had something to do with that.
Hodgeson wasn’t aware of Santos’ involvement in my kidnapping. Although Drake and Hatch were working closely with the police, Santos wasn’t and turned me over without the knowledge that I’d be safe.
That information stung like a bitch.
I still don’t blame him for what he did. Hatch’s guys did have Diane, and from what I hear, they beat Santos pretty bad after he turned me over to ensure he kept his silence, but betrayal is still betrayal.
I move through the house one more time, ready to leave my old life behind and start a new one. The memories of this house will stay like ghosts searching for peace while I move forward without a backward glance.
My phone chirps with a new text.
Hope you’re ready. Once I get you home, I’m never letting you go.
I grin and bite my lip, amazed that I can feel the sincerity behind his words by simply reading them.
Even if you let me go, I’d never leave. No good-byes, remember?
I hit “send” and hope that bringing up the breakup call Hatch insisted I make doesn’t hurt him—my phone chirps.
Good-bye? What language is that? I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.
I let my fingers fly over the keys in response.
It doesn’t concern us. What does concern us is that I’m anxious to see you after two days, and if you don’t pick me up soon I might explode.
His response is instantaneous.
Well then get your sexy ass out here. I’ve been sitting in your driveway for five minutes.
My heart leaps in my chest, and I race to the door, swing it open, and find Mason halfway up the walk. We both stop, staring with wild eyes and devouring each other before I move. He must see it coming because he braces seconds before I launch myself into his arms.
He grunts from what I assume to be his stab wounds, but he doesn’t let me go. One hand cups my ass, and the other digs into my hair, pressing my face into his neck. “Fuck, baby, I missed you so much.”
“Me too.” I run my nose along his neck, drinking in his earthy sweet scent with the knowledge that I’ll get to do it every day from now until . . . I shake off the heavy feeling that comes along with an uncertain future and just hold on tighter. “Am I hurting you?”
“Nothing hurts when I’m with you.”
I smile against his corded neck. “I mean your arm. Does it hurt to hold me?”
“Answer’s the same.” His hand slips up my thigh and under my cutoff shorts to grip my bare bottom. He groans, and his fist in my hair tightens. “Your roommate home?”
I chuckle, and the sound rolls from my throat thick with lust. “No, but I don’t want to stay here for another second.” Leaning back, I fix my eyes on him. “The next time I’m naked with you I want it to be in our bed.”
The fog of desire clears from his crystal-blue eyes for a second, and love like I’ve never seen shines from their aqua depths. Just like floating on that surfboard and staring out into the infinite sea, locked in Mason’s eyes I’ve never felt more a part of something. More needed, complete.
And finally free to hold tight to my forever.
Forty
Trix
The next few weeks pass in a blur. Mason and I have nothing but time to settle in to our new lives together. Mason’s back to training at the UFL; bypassing doctor’s orders to take four weeks off, he took one.
I’ve started working part-time at the Youth Center until something full-time opens up. If there’s one look that could rival Mason’s when he came to rescue me in the desert, it would be the relief and joy on Denny’s face when I showed up at the Youth Center. His bright eyes and larger-than-an-eight-year-old-face-can-handle smile only solidified my purpose in life: to love kids who don’t get enough at home.
Other than the occasional nightmares and Mason disowning his brother, I’d say life is good. Great even. Better than I ever expected.
Turns out Detective Hodgeson was right. The DA didn’t press charges for Elijah’s death, and all the guys came out of that night as local heroes. We were able to put the night behind us and focus on moving forward.
But, there’s just one last thing I have to do.
I check the clock on the bedside table, waiting for the last number to click over from nine to zero when the strong arm that’s tossed over my body tightens around my chest. One big hand cups my breast, and I’m pulled back into the cradle of Mason’s torso.
“How long you gonna stare at it?” His groggy voice at my ear sends waves of goose bumps across my skin.
I sigh. “I’m willing it to freeze.”
“How’s that working?”