Thundering footsteps sounded outside and he disappeared. Mason, Harris and Lewis ran into the room. When they saw me sitting on the floor, gasping for breath, they asked if I was okay. I nodded that I was fine, but pleaded with my eyes to Mason and him alone. He turned round and walked out, followed by Harris. Lewis moved towards me and helped me to the bed. I tried to speak, but I couldn’t get the words out properly.
“Kurt…” I gasped. “Here…hurt me…” Lewis nodded and looked around my room. He walked to the window.
“Mase, get in here.” My head was in my hands and I tried to ignore the pain still shooting through me. I breathed quickly in short, sharp gasps and closed my eyes.
“What the fuck is it?” He asked from the doorway. His voice was colder than ever. Tears sprung to my eyes as he came into my line of sight.
His face was pinched and he completely ignored me. “Kurt was in here,” Lewis replied calmly. Mason looked at me in horror.
He took a step toward me, then stopped and turned to Lewis. “How did he get in here?”
“The window?” Lewis answered him and my head swam.
“Amber, was your window open?” Mason asked coldly. I wanted to answer him, but my body was like a weight dragging me down. My eyes rolled around in my head and I collapsed forwards. A sharp pain cut across my cheek, but it only lasted a moment before I slipped under.
The sound of voices arguing disturbed my sleep. “It wasn’t her fault.” One voice spoke.
Another answered, “she brought him here. How is it not her fault?” There was a hand on my wrist and my head was agony. A groan escaped me and I struggled to take the weights from my eyes and open them.
“Amber, can you hear me?” One of the voices asked beside me gently.
“Amber, for fuck sake, come on.” The second voice gave me butterflies and even though he was swearing, I could hear the undertone of panic. My eyes fluttered open and I stared at the ceiling for a moment.
“Thank god.” I glanced to the side and one of the guys was sitting holding my hand gently. The other was looking away. When he turned back, his eyes roamed over me, before meeting my eyes. I could see relief in his expression, but his icy blue gaze looked angry as he stared at me. It suddenly hit me who was with me and where I was. Everything rushed back in glorious technicolour and as Mason reached over. I flinched and he froze, staring down at me.
“Amber,” Lewis spoke from my side. I tried to turn my head towards him, but the shooting pain running down my back stopped me, and my eyes started to lose focus again. His hand squeezed mine and Mason’s gentle fingers touched my stomach. I gasped as he trailed his fingers over me. Then he stopped. He pressed his palm gently against my stomach and I pulled my knees up, rolling away from him.
“Amber,” I heard his voice beside my ear, “the ambulance is coming.” I shivered. I didn’t want to go with them alone.
“Mason,” I managed to croak out, “will you come with me?”
I heard him sigh and knew without him having to tell me. His answer would be no. “I can’t, but Lewis will be with you.” His voice sounded pained. I turned my head slowly to look at him and his eyes met mine for a second. I could see his unbridled emotions. He was scared. Worried, and it hurt him to look at me. As I stared at him, I saw the wall go up.
“I’m going downstairs to meet the paramedics. Stay with her, Lewis.” He pushed up, and as he did he brushed my thigh. He stormed out of the door and I heard him speaking as soon as he was outside the room. He’d called some Joe person, but that was all I heard as he moved away from me.
“Lewis, can you help me sit up?” My voice sounded small and I couldn’t contain the hurt as my eyes watered. I didn’t know what had happened to Mason. The night before he was so sweet, caring and loving, but this version of him was cold and aloof. Lewis put his hands under my arms and pulled me up so I was sitting against his lap.
I sat for a few seconds, waiting on the pain and nausea to subside. But I waited too long. Mason arrived back and the look in his eyes as he took in me against Lewis would haunt me long after he left. His eyes had widened in surprise, then narrowed in pain as he watched Lewis support me. He spun around and moved to the side aside as the paramedics moved into the room.
They examined me. They took my heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen levels. They also shone a light into my eyes and announced I had what looked like bruising on my ribs, and a concussion. They wanted to take me in for a CT scan and an x-ray to be sure that there weren’t more damages, especially to my head. I nodded my consent and they left for a few moments.
Lewis leaned over and kissed my cheek. The paramedics arrived back with the chair. While they helped me into it, he told me he was leaving. “Amber, I’m nipping downstairs to get my wallet and cell. I’ll be right back. Okay?”
“Yeah, sure.” As I was strapped into the chair I heard the sound of raised voices from the corridor.
“She’s off limits.” Masons voice shouted at someone.
The other person answered. It was Lewis. “I’m not after her. I’m trying to help her. That girl needs friends. If you’d get over yourself, maybe you’d see that.”
“Keep your hands to yourself around her. I fucking mean it, Lewis. You’d better not touch her.” Mason’s voice was complete ice. Lewis answered back and his tone matched Mason’s.
“Like you did with Rachel?”
“Fuck off. You were there, and as I recall you were enjoying it. Just ‘cause you didn’t enjoy me fucking her, don’t take it out on me. She asked me and you went along with it.” Mason’s voice had turned sour. I leaned my head back on the chair, closing my eyes.
“Fuck you, I can do no fucking right, Michaels. And this isn’t about me. This is about you and your inability to tell that girl how you feel about her.” Lewis answered him as I was rolled across the floor to the door.
“I feel NOTHING for her. She’s my employee and I don’t want you to fuck that up.” I was pushed out into the hall. Mason’s eyes met mine. I couldn’t mask the pain in them so I looked away from him as quickly as possible. I couldn’t stand looking at him. He could fuck off.
As they wheeled me down the corridor, I leaned back and closed my eyes again. Lewis moved to walk beside me. I smiled a small, grateful smile. It didn’t last long as they bumped me gently down the stairs. I glanced back into the dark brown hallway and saw Mason standing there with his head in his hands, his shoulders slumped.
A second later and I couldn’t see him anymore, but the image stayed with me. As I was placed in the ambulance the police arrived, wanting a statement. Lewis spoke to a cop, telling him in no uncertain terms, that I wasn’t to be questioned yet.
The doors to the ambulance closed and it pulled away from the driveway. I let a tear fall. I ignored it, but Lewis didn’t. He leaned over and wiped it away. “Amber,” he whispered into my ear, “Mason’s a good guy. He’s a pain in the ass. A perfectionist. But he really cares about you. His face, when you shouted his name, told me more than his denial there. For whatever reason, you’re it for him. Don’t let him push you away. He needs you.”
The hospital passed in a blur and eventually I was going home. There was an issue with my insurance, but Lewis called Mason and he sorted it out. As we rode in silence in the car, with Archie driving, I placed my head on Lewis’s shoulder. He leaned down and kissed my head. I drifted off to sleep.
We arrived at the house and Lewis tried to wake me up. “Amber, honey, you’re home. Wake up babe.” A sudden breeze hit me and I was yanked sideways, causing the pain in my ribs to spike.
My eyes opened and I sleepily stared at the door, seeing Mason, face livid, standing there. He wasn’t looking at me, even though I was gasping in pain. His eyes were on Lewis. “I told you not to fucking touch her.”
“Fuck you, Mason.” Lewis gently reached over and unbuckled my seat belt. I moved away from Mason as his eyes took on a dangerous tint. Archie walked around the car and whispered in his ear. I couldn’t hear what
he said, but Mason’s eyes met mine and he looked contrite. He helped me out of the car, throwing a death glare over his shoulder at Lewis. I didn’t have the energy for the ‘my cock is bigger than your cock’ crap, so I shrugged him off.
“Amber, you’re hurt. Let me help you.” He demanded slowly, looking at me with concern in his eyes.
My body shook, but I managed to speak. “It’s okay. This employee can handle walking by herself. By all means you go back to your pissing contest.” I stormed away from him and went straight to my room, closing the door softly as I went in. The windows were different and there were three locks on each. I glanced around the room and relaxed when it was empty.
A knock sounded at the door. I rolled my eyes as I moved towards it slowly. I took a breath and swallowed as I opened the door. Mason stood there, his eyes downcast as he looked at me. “Amber, I…” He froze as he looked up at me and saw the hardness in my eyes.
“What Mason? I want to shower and change. What do you need?”
“Nothing. It’s fine. Just take the rest of today off. Relax and I’ll take care of the kids. Okay?” His words were nice on the surface, but his tone was off. I couldn’t figure out why he sounded that way but I nodded at him.
“Thanks Mason.” I went to close the door but he put his hand against it.
His throat swallowed nervously and his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “Are you okay?” He asked me in a small voice.
I sighed tiredly, running my fingers through my hair and wincing in pain as I tugged on a bit where Kurt had hit my head. “I’m good, Mason. I’m good.” His eyes tracked my hand as I let my hair fall. When he looked back at my face he half smiled, before he turned and walked away from me.
I closed the door softly and made my way into the bathroom. I had the quickest shower I’d ever taken. Even at the lowest setting, the water pounded onto my head and my skull started to ache. As I dried off and got dressed in my PJ’s, there was another knock at the door. When I opened it, no one was there, but I saw a massive bouquet of red, yellow and pink tulips. Tulips were my favourite flower and I was surprised by Mason’s thoughtfulness. I picked them up as Mason came out of his room. He looked stunned to see me standing there.
I turned back into my room and plucked out the note from the flowers. I’M SORRY. There was nothing else. I turned around as footsteps sounded behind me. As I turned, my head went woozy and I crumpled the bed, out before my body landed.
Mason
I stood in my room for ten minutes in front of the mirror, debating with myself about Amber. She was amazing, beautiful and funny. But if I kept on being a dick to her she was gonna leave me. Just because I couldn’t let myself be with her, didn’t mean I had to treat her so horribly. The look on her face when she heard what I said to Lewis hurt me so badly.
A knock on one of the doors interrupted my musings. Archie must have been back. Surely he’d have knocked here first? I stomped over to the door and opened it. Glancing up and down the hallways didn’t show anything. A moment later I heard her door open. I glanced back out. She surprised me by looking at me and smiling. She had something in her hands though. She turned and walked back into her room and I heard the front door close downstairs.
I walked to the banister and looked down to see Archie standing at the foot of the stairs. Frozen, as Kurt pointed a gun at him. I moved back into the shadows and wondered what to do? He was after Amber so getting her into the nursery and locking the door was the wisest move. I moved along the corridor, trying not to make any noise. Archie could handle Kurt, but I didn’t want to draw his attention to Amber. I needed to be as quiet as possible.
I opened my mom’s room door. It was directly across from the nursery. Harris was sitting there. Harris quickly sent a text and stood up as I rushed into Amber’s room, just in time to see her collapse onto the bed. As she fell, she dropped a note. I went to touch it, but Harris, who’d followed me in, stopped me. We both moved towards Amber and he whispered in my ear, “Quinn and Lexa have taken the kids to the basement. The door is locked and the kids are settled. They took some formula with them and some diapers.”
I nodded my head, but my heart was hammering in my chest. How the fuck did he find Amber and how did he know where her room was? That thought disturbed me and as I nodded at Harris. We moved Amber into the nursery and went straight to the walk in. I closed the nursery doors. Locking them. Then we moved to the panel at the back of the wardrobe. Harris had helped me decorate this room so he knew about the hidden panel. No one else did. I decided to keep it in case I couldn’t get the kids downstairs.
Harris slid the panel to the side and we moved into the back of the cupboard. I closed it behind us as a shot went off. Footsteps run along the corridor. We both switched our cells onto silent as the door to the nursery rattled. Quinn was calling the cops, while he and Lexa had the kids downstairs.
Amber stirred and I pulled her up against me, holding her tightly around the waist. Harris glanced at me and then we both froze as the door to the nursery gave way. The splintering of the wood woke up Amber and she jumped. I turned her around and kissed her so she wouldn’t make a sound. I pulled back and pressed my finger to her lips, pointing at the door. The panel had locks on the side and led to a little alcove, where we were huddled. You couldn’t see it from the door and it was closed off by another piece of wood, which was Harris’s idea. He probably hadn’t planned on us using it so soon.
The door to the wardrobe flew open and crashed off the wall. Amber bit my shoulder. Her whole body was shaking. All I could do was hold her and rub her arms as she sat on my knee. I heard a yell and then a kick, but nothing moved. Another kick and still nothing moved. Then there was the distant sound of sirens as another kick hit the wall. It was almost as if he knew it was here, but he couldn’t have. There was no way.
As he kicked I could hear random noises downstairs. Before he kicked again there was the gentle sound of footsteps on the wall next to us. The sound of opening doors reached us, but he didn’t hear it. He fired his gun into the back of the wardrobe.
This time he started screaming. “MASON, GIVE HER TO ME. SHE IS FUCKING MINE. YOU CAN’T FUCKING HAVE HER. ONE NIGHT OF FUCKING DOES NOT MAKE HER YOURS.” He pounded on the walls. Her whole body shook with each blow. He shot again and this time the bullet whizzed by all three of us, lodging in the wall.
How the fuck did he know that we’d slept together? It flashed through my mind. Then there was another kick and it was so close to us that I jerked. Amber turned her head into my neck. I rubbed softly up and down her arms. Another kick, then the the sound of scuffling and finally silence. As soon as it was quiet, I went to move, but Harris put his hand on my arm. And not a moment too soon. As I shifted back a bullet whizzed by me so close that I felt the heat as it tore my cheek and stuck in the wall behind me.
As I gasped Amber kissed me hard and I forgot for a moment where we were or that we were in danger. I was swept up in her taste, her touch electrifying me and muddling my senses. Her body numbing the battle in my mind.
The sound of more scuffling surrounded us and another gunshot sounded. Then silence. Amber’s pulse raced in her neck and she moved even closer on my knees. I kissed her neck softly. She looked into my eyes, everything I was thinking of in that moment was lost to the look I saw in her eyes. She loved me. I could see it shining through her eyes.
I shifted uncomfortably. A light knock on the wardrobe sounded, followed by a voice I recognised. “Mase, it’s alright. You’re alright.” Harris recognised Joe’s voice too and stood up, moving towards the wardrobe. I shifted Amber off of my knees and went to follow Harris as he crawled out. Amber took my hand and went to walk out holding it, but I shrugged out of her grip and saw pain cross her features. I just needed a minute.
I waved her out and watched as she walked away from me, her back straight. She was incredible. I wanted her so badly I couldn’t see straight. I needed to get out of here. Now that she was safe and the kids were safe.
As she turned and walked away, my body slumped against the wall. Joe put his hand on my arm and led me downstairs. “We need statements from everyone, including Amber.” I nodded, and one by one, we gave our statements. Amber going second to last with me set to go last.
As we sat waiting for everyone to go in, Amber watched some TV show. I sat on my iPad, writing lyrics, then deleting them. I received an email from Jimmy. He’d been looking into Kurt and had found his record, buried as far down as possible. He’d spoken to four other girls who’d been assaulted by him and had even managed to get images of these girls after he’d beaten them up.
They were all blonde, pretty and had green eyes. The girls were all a similar build to Amber. Slim, with curves in all the right places. Each of them had been sucked in by Kurt, before he turned on them, accusing them of flirting with other men and cheating on him. One girl had her arm broken. Another, her leg. One girl had a fractured cheekbone, two broken ribs and a fractured bone in her ankle. The last girl had been put into a coma.
I glanced over at Amber as she smiled at the TV show. I realised how lucky she was to be away from it all. I knew that she’d be safe here. I relaxed against the seat and closed my emails down, rubbing my eyes to try and get rid of the awful images, when another email popped into my inbox. I saw Jimmy’s name so I opened it up. He told me about some missing blondes and some rapes, all from around downtown San Francisco. Each of these girls had gone missing from nightclubs over the past four months. Only three of them had turned up. The girls that turned up hadn’t remembered what happened to them. There was DNA on file though, so Jimmy had taken one of the samples and asked his friend to compare them with Kurt’s. He was going to get back to me as soon as he knew more.
Black Mercy (San Francisco Rock Romance Book 1) Page 18