Mason stepped out and then was back in two seconds. She walked over to my bed, removed the sheet and then covered up a framed painting on the wall. “Dallas said you should wear the purple bra and panties. It’s his favorite.” She walked out.
“Christ almighty, Dallas!” I knew he could hear me if he couldn’t see me. “Is nothing sacred around here?”
“No,” said a voice from the wall across from the bed. I looked around to be sure I was alone. “Dallas?”
“Yes?”
“Where are you?”
“Under some cloth or something. I can’t see any more thanks to Mason. The purple set is my favorite but the burgundy ones are a pretty close second.”
“Damn it, you’ve been watching everything.”
“Yep. I especially enjoyed the sponge bath you got. Sexy.”
“How is this two-way possible?”
“I am still working out the kinks in it. But it’s the same principal as the wireless mics you use on the job. I just made it even smaller and combined it with the tiny video eye. Unfortunately, if I’m talking then the video gets fuzzy. That is mostly why I haven’t said anything. I can hear perfectly and see perfectly as long as I don’t talk.”
“Wow, that would be great.”
“Watch it, or I’ll let Mr. Jealous know about what I saw.”
“How do you know he’s the jealous type?”
“Never mind,” Dallas chuckled.
“Oh my God. You have Muldoon’s storage room bugged?” I could hear him laughing.
“No, but you’re making me wish I had. I saw how he was acting that night at the pub when you were flirting with that guy at the bar.”
“You were there? I didn’t think you came out of your cave.”
“For the right incentive I will.”
“Oh, and the singer, Mary Donovan, is the right incentive?”
“No, but Stacey is and a little bird told me she was going to be there.”
“Aha.” I could smell romance in the air.
“Indeed. I finally got her to agree to a date with me. Now if I could just get her to pick a day or night to have this date I’d be a happy man.”
“Why won’t she go out with you?”
“That, my dear is the million dollar question. I don’t know and she won’t say. Yet. But I’m wearing her down.”
I could well imagine he was. I likened his persistence to that of Mike, but without the pit bull attitude.
“Dallas, is that why Mike doesn’t like you? Because of Stacey?”
“Uh huh. He doesn’t think I’m good enough for her. She practically raised him herself, so he’s very protective. I can understand that but that isn’t going to stop me.” It was quiet for a moment.
“Laney, can I say something?”
“Yes.”
“Go stay with Mason. If you and Sean are still targets, then it would be far too easy to take both of you if you are together. I know it will be hard especially, since you’ve declared undying devotion for each other.” I was going to kill Dallas the next time I saw him. “You can go back to work on Monday and then she can keep an eye on things while you’re not at work.”
“I don’t want to go to Tommy’s and place him or Molly in any danger. Do you really think these people will come after Sean or me?” It was a thought that had been weighing on my mind since I had awakened in the hospital.
“I think, at this point, anything’s possible.” Dallas was right and I hated admitting it. I wanted to be with Sean but that would only place us in more danger. When Mason came back in I told her what Dallas had said.
“He’s right and I’ve already said as much to Chase and Tommy. Tommy didn’t like it but he agreed for Molly’s sake. Of course, if she knew, she’d pitch a holy fit. That woman is a tough nut to crack.”
“I know.” Something occurred to me just then. “Mason, why does Tommy have old police files in his office?”
Mason stopped packing my things up but did not look at me. “Laney, some things are best left buried. Leave it.”
I started to say something but she then looked up at me and I knew it would be a waste of time. I would drop it. For now.
We stopped by Sean’s room on the way out. He was not thrilled with the decisions but he knew they were good ones. “I’ll be out in a few days. Then we can talk more about our earlier conversation.”
“Nothing more to say. My answer is still no.”
“No?”
“No.”
Sean just smiled and nodded. “You just keep saying that, Laney darlin’.” I kissed him, then Mason wheeled me out to her car.
She had a midnight blue Porsche 911. “Damn, you must get paid well.”
She laughed and helped me get in. “I have a good investor.” We drove to the San Francisco Marina. Mason told me her boat was a thirty-nine-foot sailboat, aptly named Gael Force. Her first boat was called The Storm but it had suffered an untimely death. I asked her to explain that but she ignored me. I have yet to figure Mason out. I knew very little about her except that she’s related to Tommy somehow, that Chase is crazy about her, and that she has an army of brothers. I managed to navigate my way down the ladder to below deck. Not easy with crutches.
Mason stood in the galley, “Welcome aboard, Laney. She sleeps six but usually only one sleeps here. You can take the forward cabin. I will sleep out here, or the cabin here,” she said, pointing first to the sitting area and then behind her. The main compartment had a sitting area, small dining area, and galley.
“I don’t want to take your bed.”
“No matter. I can sleep anywhere and if I’m at the steps here then I’m behind anyone who wants to come below.”
“I’m sorry. I’m displacing you.”
“You didn’t seem sorry earlier when you invited yourself aboard.” I couldn’t tell if she was teasing or not.
“I didn’t think you’d mind. Would you rather I go to a hotel?”
“Heavens. Give me my own comforts of home any day. Look, I don’t share well with others. Occupational hazard.”
“Which occupation was this? You have been at Woo for five years according to Forbes. What did you do before that?”
“Are you always so nosey?” Mason went to her refrigerator and removed two bottles of water, handing one to me.
I shrugged, “Sure. How else do you find out answers?”
“Indeed.” Mason took a long drink and then went about making up the bed for me and pulled out a long silver suitcase from under the bed. I did a double take once I saw what was inside. A 30-06 — the perfect sniper rifle, complete with scope — two 9 millimeter handguns with two magazines each, one bowie knife, and a stun gun. She loaded a handgun, flipped the safety on and handed it to me. I went through the motions of checking the chamber. Never assume that a gun is not loaded, or that a round is not chambered, when handed one.
“I know you know how to use it.” Mason asked as she watched me.
“Yes.”
“Good then. Can you?”
“Can I kill someone?”
She was looking at me very intently. “Yes.”
“I have never had to.” I was praying I never would.
“Then let’s hope you never do.” Mason removed the bowie knife and the other handgun.
“Mason, you and Chase,” I noticed her body stiffen slightly when I combined their names. Interesting. I forged on. “You and Chase have better than average training. Training like the Navy Seals. Maybe better.”
“Your point is?”
“I don’t really have one. I just noticed it. That’s all.”
Mason closed up the case and took it with her.
I took a deep breath. “You going to give Chase a chance?”
She stopped a
t the doorway and turned around. I was absolutely floored to see a brief flash of fear in her eyes. So I’d finally found her kryptonite. “You certainly notice quite a bit.”
I nodded, waiting to see if she was going to say anything or kick my ass six ways from Sunday.
“Let’s just say that, for now, I am aware of the situation and I am giving it careful consideration. Careful consideration.” Mason raised her hand to stop any further questions from me. “Goodnight, Laney, sleep well. I will not let anything happen to you.” She closed the door behind her.
I took a deep breath and sat down on the bed with the gun still in my hand. I really should stop letting my brain run amok with my mouth. I had been very nosey, as it’s my nature to be, but it was going to get me in trouble. I placed the gun on the small shelf near the bed and laid back.
Sleep took me quicker than I thought and it was well past noon when I woke up. I could hear someone up on deck singing softly and I could smell coffee. Both sounded good to me. I wasn’t as stiff as the previous day and felt better rested than I had in several days. My hand hurt like hell, though. I managed to navigate the shower and grab a cup of coffee. Mason was up on deck reading the paper, her gun on her hip.
“Morning,” I said with a yawn.
“Afternoon. I hope you slept well.”
I nodded, looking around at all the different types of boats tied up along the dock. The gulls were making noise overhead and I could hear seals barking nearby. It had been dark when we arrived last night and I had been too tired to notice anything.
Mason folded up the paper, “You managed to not get into today’s paper. That’s a good thing. Connor called to tell me that they found the reporter and he was singing as well. The DA will probably charge him with aiding and abetting an attempted murder. I doubt the paper will stand behind him on this. I think the reporter had been pushing the envelope too much and has burned his bridges behind him. The DA is looking into the possibility of other girls and women James may have hurt, and James is wanted for questioning in the kidnapping of Sean. There’s no proof though and Sean never actually saw James. The DA would like you to come to their office tomorrow if you’re up to it.”
“Of course. Whatever it takes.”
“Good. Now, the attorney for William’s estate is stopping by today at three o’clock today. You may have to go to LA for some of this.”
“Mason, whatever it takes, I will do it. If I have to tell every sordid detail of what James did to me, or if I have to fly to the ends of the earth to stop William’s family, then so be it. I’ve allowed them to push me around for far too long. I’m done.”
Mason nodded. “Molly dropped by a basket of goodies for you. Something about blueberry pancakes?”
I was up and stumbling down the ladder before she finished the words. Mason was still laughing when she came down the steps. I would almost commit a crime for Molly’s pancakes. “The woman should be sainted,” I said a few minutes later between mouthfuls.
The meeting with the attorney, Eric Weston, went well. He told me that an appearance before a judge was inevitable. I really didn’t mind. I was ready for a fight. I still had no idea what I would do with the money. Besides giving some of it away, I had thought about getting a house. I knew my future with Sean was inevitable as well, but I refused to be rushed into it. I knew with absolute certainty Sean would keep at me until I gave in; and with the same certainty that I would keep him on his toes. I was truly looking forward to it.
I spent the day hanging out on the boat. Mason took me out for a sail. I watched how the tension that usually surrounded Mason lessen with each mile we sailed. This was her way of finding peace of mind. I had loved boating with William and our friends, but I hadn’t been out on the water since he died.
We were sailing near Angel Island when Mason let me take the wheel. “Do you miss him?” she asked.
I knew whom she meant. “For the year after he died I did nothing else but miss him and damn near died for the want of him. I miss him in that he was always so calm about things. I used to tease him that he must not have really been a Marine because he didn’t have a temper. He was the only Marine I knew who didn’t have one. He had a way about him that made you relax no matter what. But I’ve found so much more now, and I’d like to think he would be happy for me. Of course, he would have scolded me too for jumping in like I did without thinking.”
Mason was quiet for most of the return back to the dock before she finally spoke. “I was an assassin for a special division of the government.”
I sat there and waited to see if she would follow that statement up with anything. I was a bit disappointed she didn’t, but I wasn’t going to push it. Hell, I was surprised she had said anything at all.
That night Chase joined us for dinner. It was relaxing and work was never discussed once. When Mason went below to the galley to get dessert, I turned to Chase, “You have made some headway lately.”
I knew he knew what I was talking about.
“You could say that,” he said with a smile.
“You are being given careful consideration.”
He raised an eyebrow at me. “Playing matchmaker are we?”
“Hell no. But I like evening the playing field.” He laughed as Mason came up. “What’s so funny?”
“Oh nothing. Just talking baseball,” I said. I could tell Mason didn’t buy it but she didn’t say anything. I finished dessert quickly and feigned being tired so they could have a few minutes alone. I was lying in bed pretending to read a book when Mason knocked and came in. She leaned against the doorway. “Subtle, Laney. Subtle like a freight train.”
“What?” I pretended ignorance.
She smiled at me. “Play fair or I will take up arms with Sean and you will be married in no time flat.”
I threw my hands up in fear but we both knew she enjoyed the few minutes she had with Chase. I smiled and bid her good night. My cell phone rang as I turned out the light.
“Hello?”
“Sleep well, Helena.” The line went dead. I knew the voice. I knew now without a doubt that the game was far from over. Mason came back in the room. “I take it by the look on your face that you have been threatened?”
“Um … he just said ‘good night, Helena.’ Only James calls me Helena.”
Mason took my phone and turned it off and then using her cell phone she called the Geek Twins and asked them to see if they could get the number for who last called my cell. “We will see about getting you a new number tomorrow. In the mean time, keep the phone turned off. He didn’t talk long enough to get a fix on your location. Most likely he was only trying to scare you. But I’ll take extra precautions tonight. You try and get some rest. I will not let anything happen to you.”
She closed the door behind her and I lay back on the bed. This had to stop. But where would it end? When one or both of us were dead? Was that the only way? The answers were not forthcoming during the restless hours I had until the gentle rise and fall of the boat finally rocked me to sleep.
Chapter Fourteen
The days dragged on. Each day I came to work, sat at my desk, and updated files for every damn person on the planet. Each night I went back to Mason’s boat. Most nights she was quiet and withdrawn. I knew that she and Chase had had another argument. Everyone knew they’d had one. Their voices had carried down the hall and to the front office. No one except for Dallas knew what was said since they had argued in Russian. Another facet of Mason and Chase; they both spoke Russian. Dallas said he thought Mason spoke at least six languages, if not more. He wasn’t sure. He also wasn’t giving up a damn clue as to what they had argued about. I asked him how he knew Russian and only received a glare. Too many damn secrets going on around here! I had not seen Sean in two weeks and it was driving us both nuts. We had only spoken by phone and email. But this could only go on for so long.
Something had to give.
Finally, after three weeks had passed, Sean and I were both free of our chains. Mason and Chase had informed us that since we were both reasonably back to good health we could better protect each other. Sean and I must have spent twenty minutes out in front of the office just kissing. I did manage to note that Mason and Chase had gone off in separate directions, both with forlorn looks on their faces. As Sean drove us to his apartment, I asked him if he knew what was going on. “No. I know that Mike had a talk with Mason on the phone a couple of nights ago. But I didn’t listen. I learned long ago, Elizabeth is a law unto herself.”
“Why do you call her Elizabeth? No one else does.”
“I grew up knowing her as Elizabeth. She’s five years older than me but she practically grew up with us. Her home life was tough, especially after her dad died. She and her mom don’t get along.”
“Mason told me about her being an assassin.”
“She did?” He seemed quite surprised.
“Yes. She did not elaborate on it but, yes, she told me.”
“Wow. I had to find out the hard way — by listening in on a conversation she had with Mom. When she was eighteen she walked away and it was three years before any of us saw her, and then it was only briefly before she was off again. We were always told she was a buyer for some European import company. Heck, what did we know? We believed what we were told. Five years ago she came home and Chase hired her to work for Woo. They’ve been fighting ever since.”
Later that night as we lay in each other’s arms, I thought back to the night I had seen such love in Chase’s eyes.
“He’s madly in love with her, you know.”
“Who?” asked Sean, his voice sleepy.
“Chase. He is head over heels in love with Mason but she fights it.”
“Gee, I wonder what that’s like?” Sean said with great sarcasm.
“Oh, funny. It’s not the same.”
“Isn’t it? You love me, but you fight it every step of the way. I know you don’t trust easily, Laney, but believe it when I say I am determined to marry you and show you just how much I love you.”
Sexy in the City Page 33