Time slowed down as the bullets ripped through the two bodyguards’ chests, hearts blown apart before they even knew it was happening. Then the two drivers, each with a gun drawn from his belt and half raised when he brought his 20s together and the men were dead before their brains’ signals reached their trigger fingers.
Now it was just the fifth man, Tyron Harris, who didn’t have a gun after all, just a laptop bag that he held out in front of him like a shield. Two and a half seconds barely gone, but Mason could take his time. He could breathe and look down the sight of the one gun in his right hand. Finish his job and walk away.
But then Harris’s bag was already falling and behind it he saw the two barrels of the sawed-off shotgun. He heard a sound and saw the flash from one barrel as it took away his hands and his guns. Another sound and another flash and his chest was gone. Just enough time left to look in Harris’s face as he heard that same sound a third time.
He opened his eyes and sat up in his bed, breathing hard. The morning sun was shining through the window.
It was a chime. A doorbell.
He got up and put some clothes on, meeting Diana just as she was coming down the stairs. It was early, but she was already dressed for work.
“Are you expecting someone?” he asked.
“No,” she said.
He went down and opened the door. Lauren was standing on the little cement porch with Max sitting patiently at her feet. As soon as he saw Mason, the dog went past him and up the stairs, into the town house.
“I had my car today, so Max and I thought we’d stop by before work,” she said. “I hope you don’t mind.”
He stood there for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to handle this.
“I thought, from the other night . . .” she said, her face starting to turn red. “I mean, we talked about me bringing him over . . . And you didn’t come to get Max yesterday, so . . .”
“Hello, whose dog is this?” It was Diana from somewhere behind him.
“This is Diana,” Mason said. “She manages the restaurant.”
Lauren looked up at Diana as she came down the stairs. “Um, hello,” she said.
Diana gave Mason a look and reached out to shake Lauren’s hand.
“This is Lauren,” Mason said. “She works at the pet store over on Grant Street.”
The two women eyed each other closely.
“I see,” Diana said with a cool smile. “And this is her dog?”
“No,” Mason said. “Max is mine.”
“That’s interesting,” Diana said. “Were you planning to tell me?”
Mason got quiet. Both women stood there, watching him.
“Can we step outside for a moment?” Mason said to Lauren. Then to Diana, “Excuse us, please.”
He guided Lauren outside to the sidewalk.
“I’m working at her restaurant,” he said. “I haven’t found a new place yet.”
“I’m sorry, Nick. I shouldn’t have come here.”
“I’m glad you’re here,” he said, trying to keep his voice cool and even. He’d been working so hard to follow his rule about keeping his personal life and his professional life separate, a rule that seemed more vital now than ever. Even if it was more and more impossible. Having Lauren here at the town house and, hell, having her meet Diana . . . This did not belong on the program.
“I got a lot of stuff going on today,” he said. “Would you mind looking after Max for a while longer? I don’t want to leave him here all day alone.”
“I could probably do that.”
“I’ll try to stop by your place tonight. It might be late.”
Lauren looked at him carefully. “You’re gonna call me first, right?”
“Yes,” he said. Then he went back in to collect Max, who already seemed interested in the pool. Diana just stood there, watching him. By the time he got Max back downstairs, the garage door was open and Diana was already driving off in her BMW.
“That’s your roommate,” Lauren said as she watched the car disappear down the street.
“Like I said—”
She put a hand up to stop him. “You don’t owe me any more explanation, Nick. I’ll see you later.”
She gave him a quick kiss and he could feel the hesitation even then. But then she smiled and got in the car with Max.
Mason let out a long breath and went back inside to get cleaned up for the day. A few minutes later, he was in the Camaro on his way to the restaurant. He hadn’t gotten the chance to talk to Diana about the cars, but he noticed when he got there that she had parked in back of the building again. There were no parking spots on the street, but when he went in the side lot he got the space closest to the street. Anyone coming by would see the car there.
He went inside and found her in the kitchen.
“Lauren seems like a lovely girl,” she said to him. “And Max seems like a great dog. I’m sure you’ll be very happy together.”
“How much trouble are we in?”
“You’re lucky I love dogs,” she said, handing him the keys to the BMW.