I realised that everything I’d done earlier to protect her had all been worthless. She needed a different kind of protection now, but I still have my guys on it. I went back into my room as I remembered today. When I’d been at Harris’s and Lexa had finally told me what was going on with Amber. I’d considered calling my lawyers. I wasn’t sure it was a good idea but I couldn’t think of a better one so I called Mitch. He was our bands’ lawyer. His brother-in-law, Freddie, was a defence lawyer. One of the top in the state.
“Mitch Graham speaking.” I paced around the room, walking over to the kitchen door and strolling in. I needed some water. I moved towards the fridge and snatched a bottle out, opening it and taking a sip before speaking.
“Hi Mitch. It’s Mason Michaels. I was wondering if I could get some legal advice from you?” My eyes tracked the kitchen and I moved towards the grey granite island in the centre. I slumped into one of the chairs, spinning the bottle top around and around on the table as Mitch spoke.
“Sure, man. What do you need? Is it about what happened yesterday, because Jackson already called and we’re working on it?” His voice sounded calm and assured and I smiled. I knew how good he was and that he’d help out.
“Na, it’s nothing to do with that. I know you can handle all the shit there. I need help with something else.” My voice shook and I wondered how best to phrase what I was going to ask. I spun the bottle top faster and he waited patiently.
“A friend of mine is being wrongfully pursued by the cops. I was wondering if I can get a legal team to have a look at the case to help her out?” He sighed. I wondered if I’d made a mistake calling him? My knee bounced on the chair. I put my hand down to steady my leg as I waited for him to answer.
“Hold on, Mase. Freddie’s in the outer office. I’ll get him in. You can tell us what’s going on and why your friend needs legal help.” The door to the kitchen opened. Harris and Lewis came through it. Both were laughing. I glared at them. Lewis about turned and went back into the sitting room. Harris moved towards me, his face pinched.
“Lexa and Quinn have left. What’re you gonna do about Amber?” I pointed at my cell and he sat down beside me. “Who you calling?” I held up a finger as the line clicked back on.
“Okay, Mason. Go ahead.” I glanced at Harris and he mouthed, ‘Mitch?’ I nodded at him and began speaking, wondering what was going to happen? If Amber was going to be okay with me calling in the lawyers? I guessed she didn’t have much of a choice.
“I have a new girl working for me as an au pair. She started yesterday. Her roommates’ boyfriend attacked her and her friend and blamed it on her. People seemed to believe him, but it’s not the first time the friend has had injuries requiring medical attention since they got together. The cops were after this girl, but she’s been with me for the past twenty four hours. She hasn’t left a forwarding address so they don’t know where to find her. I just want to make sure that nothing will come to my door.” My words came out in a rush. Halfway through I moved from the island and began pacing around the kitchen.
“Mason,” Freddie’s voice came over the line, “is this Amber Davies you’re talking about?” His tone was normal, but I wondered if he was after her too? I began to pray I hadn’t just ousted her and put her in the lions’ den.
“Yeah. It is.” I answered sullenly.
“Where is she now?” He asked in a low voice.
I shook my head. “No way. I’m sorry Freddie. I like you, but there is no way in hell I’m telling you that.”
“Fine, man. Fine.” He sounded disappointed as he spoke. “I understand, but you need to know this girl’s in a lot of shit. Her ex has filed for damages against her, claiming she beat him during the course of their relationship too. With Kurt’s statement about her hurting Ellis, this doesn’t look good for her.”
“Her ex is a snivelling little shit, in ten grands worth of dept. My PI’s have discovered he was planning on selling Amber’s Maserati. When she took it off of him, he went nuts. As for Kurt, look into Ellis Walkers medical records. If you can’t find anything I’ll bring Amber to you. And I’ll have my PI’s track down the neighbour. She had evidence. I heard it.” My tone had turned icy but I knew I’d need to work with these fuckers to keep Amber safe. Freddie was a damn good lawyer.
“Okay. I promise I’ll look into it, otherwise Mitch’ll chop my balls off, but you need to be prepared for the fact that she looks guilty as hell. If it turns out she is guilty, I’ll be the one prosecuting this case.” The line clicked off and my hand shook. Fuck. Had I just told the prosecutor where the girl was hiding? I stopped pacing for a moment and dialled someone else.
“Hey Joe, how’s it going?” Joe knew I wouldn’t call unless I needed a favour. I needed him to keep his ear to the ground. He was a cop and a damn good one, but I wasn’t sure if I could trust him.
“Hey, Mase, how are you? Heard about what went down yesterday. You need anything?” His voice was solemn and I knew my friend would have my back.
“Yeah man. I do need something.” I swallowed and took a deep breath. “Can you come over to Harris’s man?” I glanced at Harris. He nodded his consent.
“Sure man, I’ll be over in ten. I’m at the precinct now, so it won’t take me long.” He clicked off and I dialled Amber’s cell again. It was still off. I needed to talk with her about that, but I had to try and sort this out first.
Harris moved towards me. “I don’t think it was Amber mate, but are you sure you wanna get involved in this shit? We have a shit load going on at the office right now, our album to finish off and we have appearances in LA, New York and DC next week.” He stood in front of me. I watched him move from foot to foot.
“Yeah man, I need to do this.” I smiled over at him.
He nodded at me slowly and muttered, “Fine, I’m going to the gym. I’ll take Lewis with me. Make sure that you don’t tell Joe where Amber is.” I nodded, not worried about them finding her. My official residence was my apartment across town. Only a few people knew about my house in the ‘burbs, and it was under Betty’s maiden name. It would take a lot of digging before anyone discovered that it was my house.
Wandering into the sitting area, I clicked on the music station. I sat listening to some of our bands, making a splash on the airways. After a few minutes the buzzer went and I pressed it, letting Joe into the apartment. He walked in with a swagger, like always.
He had light brown hair that waved around his face, a toned as fuck body that put my six pack to shame and bright blue eyes. The dude was handsome and he was one of my oldest friends. I’d known him since the seventh grade. Between us, we’d always been able to pull the chicks, but he’d always pulled more than me then.
He moved towards me, a smile stretching across his face. We hugged for a moment, slapping each other on the back, before he moved around me and sat down on the sofa. “You need a drink or anything man?” I asked him, wanting to delay the moment.
“Na, I’m good man,” he said with a smile as he took me in. He nodded to the seat. I moved over and sat down. “So what is it you need from me man, that you couldn’t tell me at the office?”
I took a breath and looked at him steadily, before speaking. “I need to know what’s happening with the Ellis Walker investigation. She’s my friends little sister.” I knew I wasn’t being completely truthful, but I didn’t want to put Amber more in the crosshairs if I could help it.
He glanced at me in surprise as he answered. “I didn’t know you knew Alexa Walker?”
His gaze narrowed in a silent question. I knew we wouldn’t go any further until I was honest about knowing her. “Yeah. She’s been seeing Quinn. She’s a nice girl, and I’ve known her through Kitty for a few years.” His eyes drew to slits when I mentioned Kitty. He knew her too. She’d been his girl way back, but she’d cheated with the captain of the basketball team and that was it. Game over. I’d forgotten how much he hated her. “So anyway, about Ellis’s case?” I asked him and he’d smiled at
me.
“Well, from what I know, Kurt’s daddy’s a detective down at the ninth. They are after her best friend, but something about it just doesn’t add up. I’ve listened to the tape from the neighbour, along with a few others. I like him for it if I’m honest. I just need something more solid so I can go after him.”
I smiled as he spoke. I decided to tell him about the other times she’d been at the ER, figuring if he was looking into it along with my PI’s, then it would go faster. “Yeah, I think it was him too, especially after hearing about the other ER trips over the past few months. Something doesn’t quite add up there.”
“There were other trips to the ER? When did these happen? How often? How do you know about them?” His eyes lit up. He moved forwards, leaning on his knees as I started to speak.
“At least four that we know of. They’ve been happening since Christmas last. I don’t know how often though. Lexa only told me about a few, but I figured there have probably been more.”
“Yeah man, you’re right, there probably would have been more. I’ll look into it.” He sat back and I debated saying more, but his cell went and he stood to answer it. He glanced down at it and moved towards me. “Mason, can you do me a favour?”
He moved nervously towards me and held out a camera disk. “Keep these somewhere safe. I have a feeling they are going to disappear and I don’t want to go after the wrong person.” I glanced down and nodded, taking the disk from him. I didn’t ask him what it was. I figured I already knew. I felt better already since Joe was working on it.
I called Archie as Joe left and he arrived twenty minutes later to take me home. I’d put the disk under the piano, lifting the cover and taping it under there. I knew it would be safe until I could put it into my safe at the office. But since my office was currently being used by Jackson, I’d need to wait until after our tour to make sure that the files were safe.
I went to bed and the day finally crashed over me, knocking me out. I woke up with Sophia crying a few hours later. I rushed in to get her, smacking my head on the crib as I picked her up. Lucca was still asleep so I took Sophia downstairs and left her with Betty for her breakfast. I grabbed Lucca’s seat and put it in the kitchen, before rushing back up to get him. I got back downstairs and Quinn was in the sitting room, with Lewis and Harris. I nodded to the kitchen and the boys followed me in.
Betty gave a jerk of surprise at seeing the boys with me. She smiled and continued to hand Sophia toast to eat. I leaned down to put Lucca in his chair but Harris plucked him out of my arms and sat down, smiling at me.
“What are you guys doing here?” I asked, looking around.
“Quinn called us. We need to talk about Amber.” I glanced at Quinn. I knew he’d seen me in her bed the previous night. I raised my eyebrow at him and he shook his head.
Before we could continue the conversation, the kitchen door opened and Amber was standing there. Even with puffy eyes and a red nose, she was the most breath-taking girl. I sucked in a breath as she walked towards me. “What about Amber?” She asked in a cold voice, her eyes solely focused on me.
Betty intercepted and handed her a coffee as she walked around the island. She didn’t touch me. I made myself look at her coldly, even though all I wanted to do was pull her into my arms and hold her.
“Amber, are you sure you wanna hear this?” Lewis asked, sitting down beside her and placing his hand over hers. She smiled at him and squeezed his hand and my heart clenched in my chest. I couldn’t speak, but I wanted to knock Lewis out as the thought overwhelmed me that she was mine. I shook my head and turned my focus to my daughter, who was pelting Quinn with bits of food. Ignoring the conversation seemed the easiest thing to do, but I could feel Amber’s gaze burning into my back.
She spoke, just as Lexa walked into the kitchen. “If it’s about me then yeah, I need to hear what’s going on.” As hot as Amber looked, Lexa looked the polar opposite. She was a mess. As soon as she saw Amber, she rushed over and the two girls hugged in tears.
Betty stood at the cooker watching in dismay. The boys all watched the girls. I stole glances every second. Eventually I glared at everyone, until someone started talking. Harris was the first to break the silence in his calm voice. “Kurt is now on the run. We need to talk about security for Amber until he’s caught. We are out of town next week and we can’t leave her and the kids vulnerable.”
“You’re right. We need to make sure they are safe and add another security to the detail. But she’s not staying here alone. She’s coming with us. There is no way in hell I’m leaving the kids here with her when she has a target on her back.” My voice rose and everyone stared at me. I refused to look at Amber. I didn’t know what I’d see in her gaze. I didn’t care. I had to make sure the kids were safe. And her? A voice asked inside my head. What about Amber?
I shrugged and the boys all nodded. Only then did I look at Amber. She glared over at me. I knew she was going to rip me a new one, but really what choice did we have? I wasn’t leaving her where I couldn’t watch her, especially when my kids would be hurt if that maniac found her.
Amber
I woke up alone. Mason hadn’t come back to my bed and I knew he wouldn’t be back again. Something had changed while we’d been lying together and I had no idea what that was. I moved towards the bathroom and noticed the new cell on the table beside the bed.
There was a note stuck to the top.
Amber,
I’m sorry for going off on one at you.
And for my behaviour at the pub.
What I feel for you scares the shit outa me.
Please forgive me
Mase
I rushed downstairs to thank Mason when I heard the band speaking in the kitchen. “We need to talk about Amber.” I moved towards the door and pushed it open. I took in the boys all standing around the island. My eyes drifted to Mason and I began moving towards him, almost without thinking about it.
As I got closer Betty stepped between us. I didn’t miss the look of relief that showed on his face. A sick feeling threatened to overwhelm me. Betty pushed a coffee cup into my hands and I walked around the island, sitting across from Harris. I sipped my coffee and put my other hand on the table, fighting to appear relaxed.
“Amber, are you sure you wanna hear this?” Lewis asked as he sat beside me. He put his hand over mine and I squeezed him, watching Mason from the corner of my eye. Devastation crossed his features, then rage, before he turned to face Sophia. I watched him for a moment and then answered, when I remembered what question Lewis had asked.
Lexa arrived just as I answered. My voice came out a little broken at how devastated my friend looked. “If it’s about me then yeah, I need to hear what’s going on.” Lexa rushed towards me and broke down on my shoulders. I sobbed how sorry I was to her. She shook her head, and held me tightly. I glanced up and saw Betty watching us worriedly.
After a few minutes Harris spoke, breaking the calm. “Kurt is now on the run. We need to talk about security for Amber until he’s caught. We are out of town next week and we can’t leave her and the kids vulnerable.” Mason spun around to face Harris, his hands on the centre island as he spoke through gritted teeth.
“You’re right. We need to make sure they are safe and add another security to the detail. But she’s not staying here alone. She’s coming with us. There is no way in hell I’m leaving the kids here with her when she has a target on her back.” I glared at him, unsure if I wanted to slap him for how condescending he sounded or hug him for how thoughtful he was being.
He thought of me as a victim, but I wasn’t. Although I did have to admit I was scared of Kurt. My eyes met his across the table and I saw the challenge in them. He smiled when I didn’t say anything. He turned to face the boys, ignoring me again.
“We need to sort the arrangements for travelling then.” Harris spoke and my eyes shot to him. He smiled and nodded at me. I wasn’t sure why he nodded, but I sipped my coffee in silence. I sat there as they c
ontinued talking. It sounded like buzzing. When Betty put a plate of food down everyone dived for it. Except for me and Lexa.
Lexa was sitting on Quinn’s knee, staring into space and ignoring everything. My heart hurt looking at her. When her cell rang, she looked at it, then pushed it towards me wordlessly. I glanced down at caller ID and saw it was her parents. Unsure if it was a good idea for me to answer her cell, my eyes swept the room. As my eyes reached Mason, I saw him fiddle with his cell.
“Hello,” I answered the call softly, “Amber speaking.” I heard the call drop and I figured that they’d had bad signal, but a second later the phone chirped on my hand. I glanced down and almost instantly regretted it.
Lexa’s parents believed I was in on it with Kurt. They believed that I’d encouraged him to hurt their daughter, telling him we’d be together if he did. The message from her dad read:
Alexa
How could you? She helped kill your sister. Get home now.
I wanted to reply back so badly, but my face was burning. I shoved the cell back at Lexa. As I sat there another second, I knew I had to get out of the kitchen. I pushed back from my chair and rushed towards the door, bumping into a wall of solid muscle. Hands circled my waist. From the tingles, I knew it was Mason. I couldn’t see him, since my eyes were all glassy.
He moved me to the side of him, stepping away from me as I rushed out of the door. He didn’t come after me and my heart broke a little as I ran upstairs. Ellis’s parents had known me since I was a little girl. The fact that they believed I was responsible for her death tore at my insides.
My eyes swept around my room as I arrived and tears sprung from my eyes. I moved towards my bed. The pain swelled up and I collapsed onto my bed, sobbing into my pillow. A hand stroked my hair and I glanced to the side, darting back towards the door as Kurt stood beside my bed.
“MASON!” I managed to scream before he punched me in the stomach. I crumpled to floor, unable to breath. I coughed and fire shot through me. He grabbed my hair and slammed my head against the wall. I watched as he lifted his fist.
Black Mercy (San Francisco Rock Romance Book 1) Page 17