Lost Before You (Heart's Compass Book 2)

by Brooke O'Brien

  “You mother fucker!” Mason shouts, stalking toward him. Kaleb’s grip on my arm loosens, his focus shifting to Mason. As soon as my arm is free, I rush to get out of the way.

  Moving off to the side against the wood fence, I struggle to control my breathing as my heart beats rapidly beneath my chest. Forcing air into my lungs, I squeeze my eyes shut and run my hand over my arm, hoping to ease the pain.

  “You’ll be a lucky son of a bitch if I let you live to see the light of day. You’re right about one thing. I’ve always wanted her before she was ever even with you, but unlike you I would never disrespect her by trying to interfere in your relationship.”

  Hearing Mason’s words, my eyes widen as I watch him stalk toward me.

  “Graham, will you remove this asshole from the premises before I do something I might regret?”

  I spot Graham over Mason’s shoulder. He looks to me, silently asking if I’m okay. I know he would never want anything to happen to me.

  I give a discreet nod, reassuring him I’m fine as he escorts Kaleb out of the bar. I hear his muttered words under his breath as he passes by, but I force my eyes up to Mason. His eyes hold a wild look, a mix of worry and anger coursing beneath the surface.

  “Are you okay? How’s your arm?” he asks, rubbing it gently. Through the pain, I feel the pinpricks of desire from his touch.

  I don’t say anything as tears fill the brim of my eyes, threatening to spill. Wrapping me in a protective embrace, he brings me close to him, my hands still pressed against his chest.

  “I won’t let him put his hands on you again. I promise.”

  Emotion seeps through each broken word. I let the power of his strong body against mine and his clean scent wash over me.

  He is always the one person who is here for me through everything.

  “What were you talking about?”

  “He just wanted to apologize to me for what happened, and I told him it was too late. I don’t want to be with him anymore, but he still hasn’t accepted it.”

  “That’s not what I’m talking about, Brea. What flowers and cards are you talking about? Text messages?”

  The guilt trickles in, not because I did anything wrong but because I kept it from him. I know how this looks on his end, but that’s why I hid it from him. I wanted him to believe we had a clean break because I never talked to him since the last night he showed up at Velvet.

  “When I was in Cleveland, Kaleb sent me flowers for my birthday. I got a card from him today.”

  “He did what?” Mason asks. The hurt in his eyes stabs me as his eyes fall to mine, his arm going slack at his side. I know he’s not mad at me when Kaleb was the one sending them. He’s hurt I never told him.

  “I’m sorry, I should’ve told you but I didn’t think it was a big deal. It wasn’t a big deal to me, hell, it meant nothing to me. I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea.”

  “Don’t you think I could get the wrong idea finding out now?”

  “Yes, but I thought he would get the fucking hint when I didn’t respond. When I saw him today, I knew I had to be firm and end it with him. It’s not anything for you to be concerned or mad about.”

  Mason edges away from me, sliding his hand into his pocket, pulling out his vibrating phone. Looking down at his screen, his brows furrow in concern.

  “Mom?” Mason says, looking at me. It’s close to midnight and his Mom is calling him.

  “Is she going to be okay? How’s Callum?”

  “Yeah, I’ll talk to Craig, but either way, I’ll be there.”

  “It’s not a problem. I’ll figure it out.”

  “Yeah, okay. I’ll call you tomorrow. Love you, too. Bye.”

  I watch as Mason holds the phone in front of him, swiping at the screen before slipping it back into his pocket.

  “What’s going on? Is everything okay?”

  Mason’s eyes have a far-away look, as if he’s piecing together bits of his conversation with his mom. Bringing his eyes back to mine, he gives me a puzzled look.

  “Hey, talk to me. Is everything alright?”

  “I guess Callum’s girlfriend, Ellie, is in the hospital. She wouldn’t say a lot. All I know is she was assaulted and is unconscious. It’s been over twenty-four hours and Callum is beside himself. I need to head back home and try to be there for him,” Mason says, running his hand through his hair.

  “Of course, I’ll go with you,” I reply without any hesitation.

  “I’ll be honest, I’m going to talk to Craig because I’ll probably stay the week. My dad will be in Des Moines getting things sorted on the move. You think you can swing it?”

  “We’ll make it work,” I promise as Mason pulls me closer.

  “Thank you,” he whispers against my ear. His words hit me hard, and I know there isn’t a thing I wouldn’t do for him.

  “Brea, what’s going on? Are you okay?” The sound of Lissa’s panicked voice behind us has Brea peering over my shoulder. Lissa races toward us, folding her arms around Brea.

  “Graham told me what happened. What the hell? Why would you come out here with him?”

  I grunt at the question. It’s the same one I have been dying to know. What is the point in talking to him now? Especially after all the bullshit that happened the last time he was here.

  Running my hand over my face, I glance toward the entrance as Graham walks through the doorway. “Craig wants to see you,” he says. I have no idea what this could be about, but at this point, I’m not in the mood to be here anymore.

  “C’mon, let’s get you inside. I need to talk to Graham to make sure Kaleb’s gone and then talk to Craig about the next week.”

  “This week? What’s going on?” Lissa asks, bouncing her eyes between Brea and me.

  “I’ll let you talk to her, inside though.”

  Brea barely smiles at me as Lissa pulls her inside. They head to the bathroom where I know she’ll take a few well-needed minutes to herself. I give them the space as Graham and I continue into Craig’s office.

  It’s not unusual for him to be at the club on a night like tonight, but considering the late hour, I’m wondering why he’s sticking around.

  “What’s up?” I ask, stepping into his office. Rounding the two chairs facing his desk, I take a seat. Graham is behind me, taking a seat next to me.

  “How’s Brea doing?” he asks, wrinkling his brow in concern.

  “She’s alright.”

  “Good. Graham, I saw you got him out of here. Thank you for taking care of it,” he says, nodding his appreciation to Graham.

  “I told him he isn’t allowed here again. This is the second time he’s approached Brea and upset her during her shift. I’ll keep an eye out for him from here and make sure the rest of the guys are aware he’s banned.”

  “Thank you,” Craig says, folding his hands in front of him.

  Seeing this as my opportunity, I fill Craig in on what’s happening.

  “While I have you, I need to talk to you about this week. I know I’ve taken a step back at Hard Stop since school started, but I’m also going to need to take some time off from Velvet this week.”

  I see Graham’s head swing toward mine.

  “I received a phone call a few minutes ago from my mom. There are things back home I need to tend to, and Brea is going to come with me. We’ll be leaving tomorrow afternoon and will likely be home next Sunday.”

  “Okay, no problem, son. You do what you need to do. I’ll see about getting someone to replace you at the bar, and I’m sure I can get Farin to cover Brea’s section. It will put us a little tight but we’ll figure it out. Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, everything’s alright. My brother has some tough things going on so I need to be there for him. My dad is also visiting Des Moines this upcoming weekend. It’s probably for the best I head to Arb
or Creek.”

  He nods his head, but doesn’t ask anything further.

  “Alright, well, I’ll let you two get back out there. I’m heading home for the night. I know you two, along with Dean, have us covered.”

  We say our goodbyes as we walk out to the main floor.

  “What’s going on with Callum?” Graham asks as soon as we step out of Craig’s office.

  “I don’t really know the extent of it, but I know his girlfriend was assaulted.” Graham grunts and I know he’s thinking the same thing I did. May God have mercy on the man who thought he’d fuck around on someone close to Callum.

  “My mom is worried about him and asked me to come back. With the way our relationship is right now, I don’t know if I’ll be any help but she’s right. I should probably make sure he’s okay.”

  Graham gives me an appreciative slap on the back while saying, “He’ll be happy to see you. I know he will.”

  “You know how I told you my dad has finally decided he’s moving to Iowa? He’s flying to Des Moines this week and is working to close on a house he’s buying. He’s transferring to the law office located there. I’m hoping I can see him while I’m home.”

  “That’s probably a good idea.”

  “You sure you don’t want to come back with us?” I know the question is pointless but I offer nonetheless.

  “Nah, I will be seeing my mom in a couple of months when she’s here for the holidays. There’s nothing else left for me in Arbor Creek.”

  “You sure about that?” I ask, raising my eyebrow at him.

  “Nothing.” The words are spoken with conviction. He makes it clear this is the end of the conversation so I leave it alone.

  Rounding the bar, I nod my head and apologize to Farin and Dean, who was covering for me, but they both wave it off.

  My eyes search the crowd for any sight of Brea and I see her standing off to the side talking to a table of customers. I smile as I watch her head tilt back in laughter before she scribbles their order on her pad of paper.

  The anger I felt watching Kaleb gripping his hand around her arm as she winced in pain was like liquid fire. I was ready and prepared to act on my threat when I told him I’d break his fucking hand if he didn’t let her go.

  It reminds me of the conversation I had with Callum and the anger and resentment he has toward our dad about having to watch him put his hands on our mom. I’ve never once said what he did was okay, but hearing about it and watching it happen to someone you love are two entirely different things.

  Understanding Callum’s perspective over why he is so infuriated by the way our dad treated Mom is a little easier now. While I know Dad is working to make changes from the man he once was, I sympathize with the feelings Callum has.

  I watch as Brea approaches the server station ready to place her order.

  “What can I get you?” I shout, leaning in close to her.

  “I need two Budweiser bottles, a dirty martini, and a glass of ice water.”

  I nod my head to signal I heard her as I set out to grabbing the bottles from the cooler and slide them across the counter toward her.

  “How are you doing?”

  “I’m alright. I promise, I’ll be fine. You can stop worrying.”

  I stop what I’m doing and tilt my head toward her, looking her dead in the eye. “I’ll never stop worrying or looking out for you.”

  “I know. I love you for it, too.” She smiles.

  The words take me by surprise as I finish making the dirty martini and slide it onto the bar. I’m thankful for the dim lights as I’m afraid she might have seen how those words affected me.

  Setting the drinks on her tray, she flashes me a wink before carefully weaving her way toward her tables. It isn’t until she is a few feet away when I finally take a breath.

  I know she didn’t mean the words how she said them, but I can’t ignore how they made my heart race.

  We’ve never talked about what this is between us. Hell, before she left I tried putting some level of commitment on it and she practically told me no. As hard as it hurt to hear it, I know she was only doing it because she was scared. She was afraid if we put some label on us and things went south while she was gone, we would lose the friendship we had built before this began.

  As much as I tried to explain to her how, no matter what, I’m not going anywhere, it didn’t change what she felt, so I let it go. I knew I had to give her more time, and that’s exactly what I’ve done.

  Now I’m ready to move forward. I’m ready to show her how much she truly means to me. A huge part of me fears putting myself out there with her, only to be rejected. I’m not the type to jump into a relationship. Hell, this is the first time I’ve ever been with someone exclusively. She’s already rejected me once; she could very well do it again.

  Just hearing her say the words love you made my heart race.

  Those thoughts play over in my mind for the rest of the night. It’s not until after two in the morning when we finally leave.

  We exit through the employee entrance and I hold the door open for Brea. It’s cool out tonight and although the temperatures are always warm in the bar, I can tell the moment we step outside that Brea is already feeling the breeze. She slides her jacket on, picking up the pace as we walk to my SUV.

  Hitting the unlock button, I open the door for her and watch as she climbs into the passenger seat. Shutting the door behind her, I walk around the front and slide into the driver’s side.

  “You tired?” I ask, hoping she’s feeling more awake tonight. I know both of us need to be up early for class.

  “A little bit,” she sighs, using the lever on the side of the seat to recline her seat, turning her face in my direction.

  “You up for coming to my place tonight?”

  We’ve been staying over at each other’s place more lately. Between the realization of how my feelings have developed to thinking about how hard it was seeing Kaleb put his hands on her, I just want to have her close to me tonight.

  “That sounds good.” She smiles, facing forward.

  We pull into my apartment complex a few minutes later and I help Brea out of the car and inside. Walking into my bedroom, I slip my arms around her and pull her closer to me.

  “I’m going to go take off my makeup and brush my teeth. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She smiles, slipping her arm behind her, grabbing onto the door handle.

  I toss her one of my t-shirts and a pair of boxers, as I lean forward to press a light kiss against her lips. Stepping back, I watch as she spins and slips into the hallway. My chest warms at the thought of her making herself at home.

  I quickly shed my work clothes and slide on a pair of gym shorts. Walking into the hallway, I knock on the door and slip into the bathroom to brush my teeth next to her. We are in a comfortable silence as we stand side by side. A smile graces her face as she brushes her teeth.

  Finishing up. I follow along behind her into my bedroom, flipping on the TV as we both crawl into bed. Brea curls up in my arms, running her hand along my bare chest as she watches the TV.

  “I’m glad you’re coming with me to Arbor Creek.”

  Lifting her head, she peers up at me beneath her long eyelashes. She runs her hand along my cheek as I lean forward to press a kiss against her soft lips. Her fingers slide into the hair at the base of my neck as she pulls me closer to her.

  As soon as our mouths separate, she leans away far enough so she can look at me as she whispers, “I am, too.”

  Our kisses are deliberate as I push her against the bed and move so I’m settled between her legs. Her legs instinctively wind around my lower back, holding me close.

  I want so badly to tell her how I feel; it’s on the tip of my tongue. Her mouth opens and I feel her tongue skate along the line of my lips as I open to her. As soon as they connect, I f
ind myself groaning as she tilts her pelvis up, grinding against my hard shaft.

  The thin material between the two of us creates a friction, causing her chest to heave with each stroke against her pussy.

  “God, you feel so fucking good.”

  Her body trembles as a whimper escapes her mouth as she pulls me down, our lips connecting once again. Twining my fingers in her hair, I run the pad of my thumb along the smooth skin of her cheek.

  My heart pounds beneath my chest. Never in all my life have I felt the way I do now, being close to someone. It’s the most terrifying thing to know someone has such power over you.

  It’s the little things about her that I crave. The way she tucks her hair behind her ear and the small smirk she makes when she thinks something funny, but doesn’t want anyone else to know. It’s not that I don’t want to spend the rest of my life without her; it’s that I can’t.

  When we first met, I knew she was going to ruin me. It wasn’t one specific thing about her I fell in love with, but rather a million little things. It’s how I know there will never be anyone else for me.

  The music is playing on low as the wind whips through the window, causing my hair to fly across my face. Leaning against the door, I let the sun beat down on my face as I sing along to the lyrics.

  As soon as Mason told me about his phone call with his mom, I knew he wouldn’t hesitate to go home to be there for his brother. After the argument with Kaleb showing up at Velvet, I didn’t feel comfortable without him there so I offered to go with him.

  We didn’t have a lot of details on what had happened to Callum’s girlfriend, Ellie. Something about the way Mason’s mom, Connie, asked him to come home told him it was important. That regardless of their arguments and differences of opinions, his brother needed him more than anything. I knew Mason needed me, too, so here we are making the seven-hour drive.

  Picking up my cell phone from my lap, I scroll through my Spotify playlist and click on J.Lo. Looking over at Mason, I grin as I turn up the volume.