by Lori Whyte
"You are selling the inn, aren't you?" Her question was uttered in such a sharp tone that he winced. "You said you'd talk to me about it."
Right. That's where her head would go, wouldn’t it? "I'm just finding out what the property is worth. That's always step one: Know what you're dealing with."
She crossed her arms and he could tell she didn't believe him.
"Honestly, Anna, if I was selling—"
"Not if…" she said, correcting him.
"If," he emphasized. "If we decide to sell, I wouldn't do anything without talking to you first." He reached for her hand, but she drew back. "We shook on it. Remember?"
Did he have to point out that he always kept his word?
Or at least he did in things like this. He'd totally ignored his promise not to touch Anna last night… and, with any luck, he'd be ignoring that promise again. Soon.
Her arms were still crossed, but his answer seemed to mollify her for a moment.
He picked up his phone again and took the call off mute. "Just send what you've got. I'll look at it tonight. Have you got the other list together?"
"List?"
"The realtors."
"Right. Chelsea's working on that one. You should have it this afternoon."
"Good." Mason nodded. "We're done, right?" He clicked off his phone when Jay was still talking. Jay would be irritated. He was probably complaining to the nearest person to his office at this very moment. But Jay wasn't his biggest problem.
"Seriously, Anna. The guys and I haven't talked about details yet. We're trying to pin Jake down to agreeing to a time and a day to talk. But we need to know the value, either way."
Betty arrived with their drinks and set them on the Formica table with a thud. This time she didn't wait, just scurried off to the next table.
Anna cleared her throat. "From the look of it, Harry will be doing something soon." She shrugged. "Or maybe he won't. Maybe that's the end of it."
Mason looked out the window at the street. He scanned the area, but Hookah wasn't there. He doubted the guy had given up on having Anna. Not now. Not after he'd killed Viv to get to her.
His gut told him this wasn't over yet.
"Yeah, maybe," he said.
"And then you guys can head back to the city and get on with your lives." Her voice had turned obscenely chipper.
What was this all about? Did she think he was going to just leave and never look back?
Of course he couldn't stay in Sanctuary Lake, but that didn't mean she couldn't relocate to the city with him. And if she wanted to do the same kind of work as she did here, they could buy a place. Maybe someplace close to downtown. And she could convert it. With the money they were likely to make off Sanctuary Inn, she could do almost anything.
If they sold the inn.
Of course, he was sitting across the booth from the only person who'd expressed a serious interest in buying it. But still, his plan was sound. It could work.
"You can come with me," he said. "We don't have to make any big decisions right away. But come back to the city with me. We can give this a try."
Her shoulders drooped a little, and she pressed the heel of her palm against her chest. It didn't look like she was overly happy at that idea. But why not? It made sense. Then they could see if they could work long term. He didn't have any doubts, but he sensed she might.
"Um… let's talk about this later, okay?"
She was right. This wasn't where they should be having this discussion. It should happen where he could remind her how amazing it'd been between them last night.
"Looks like our plan worked. We've seen Harry. Now what?" she asked.
She'd pinned a fake smile on her face to change the subject. Anna should never have a fake smile. Not if he could help it.
But within just a few hours after exiting his bed, she was apparently having second thoughts. Why couldn't she trust him? Why didn't she believe him? Was he truly that unworthy in her eyes?
How could he prove to her he wasn't lying?
SEVENTEEN
An hour later, after parading from Betty's Diner to the grocery store for food to feed all of the Randall brothers and then to the hardware store for more paint brushes, Anna was ready to return to the inn. The ache that had started in her chest when she'd heard Mason talk about getting a market valuation hadn't subsided.
This was what she wanted, wasn't it?
To be able to buy Sanctuary Inn would be a dream come true. She couldn't do that if they didn't sell. That was the only way to bring all of her and Viv's plans to fruition. In her mind's eye, she could easily visualize what needed to happen and how it'd look in the end. They had folders of magazine clipping and prints of photos off the Internet… all for inspiration.
But she wasn't ready yet.
She didn't have an investor lined up. Harry was off the table now. And the events since the funeral had made her leery about talking to the others too. She wasn't sure she wanted to get involved with anybody. She wanted control, but would the bank take a chance on her?
They should be letting her know any moment. But they hadn't yet. What if they said no?
They started walking to Mason's SUV. Still hand in hand. For the spectacle of it.
Why did she have to like the feel of his hand around hers so much?
He opened the passenger door for her.
"I can do that myself," she said, trying to infuse a bit of laughter in her voice.
"But then I wouldn't be able to do this…"
He spun her around to face him. Then he leaned down to kiss her. Fully. Open mouth. Tongue. Everything. Standing beside the truck on Main Street, where everyone would see. Except this wasn't about the spectacle. She could tell by the urgency.
The intensity of her response to him overwhelmed her. Desire swamped every inch of her.
He reached down, putting his hands under her ass. His fingers slipped deliciously close to where she ached for him. Then he lifted her. She squealed against his lips as her feet left the ground and she wrapped her legs and arms around him. His cock, hard and ready, pressed against the seam of her jeans, right over her sex. She moaned.
Then he set her down on the seat of the truck and drew back. His heavy panting breaths matched her own.
"Get a room," someone shouted.
Anna blinked and looked around. She'd lost touch with reality under his caresses and kisses. She'd just made out with Mason in the center of town… right on freaking Main Street. It was like they were teenagers and didn't know how to manage their hormones.
This time she did laugh. A real one. The first one since he'd received that call.
He winked at her with a twinkle in his eye before stepping away. She swung her legs around and he shut the door. She watched as he walked around the SUV and her heart did a silly flutter in her chest. She couldn't mope about his leaving or the inn… or anything else.
She would not regret this.
Last night in his arms had been wonderful. And if that's all she ever got, she'd be happy. Her heart ached at the prospect of never seeing him again, but she ignored it. She had to.
When he slid in behind the steering wheel, she leaned over and kissed him. He raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Am I forgiven?"
"I'm sorry I overreacted. It's just been a stressful few days."
He squeezed her hand and brought it to his lips. "Let's get back and see how the others are doing."
She nodded.
The streets were almost empty as they made their way through town. That would change soon. When school let out for the summer, things got busy here. For now, though, she enjoyed the quiet.
She leaned back in her seat and watched the landscape transform as they left town and turned onto the gravel roads that led to the inn. In her wildest dreams, these roads would be paved, all the way to the front step of the inn.
Mason made a noise beside her. She turned toward him. His gaze kept darting to the rearview mirror.
"Is something the matter?"
"I think we're being followed," he said, "by an orange truck."
Her breath caught and she twisted in her seat to get a look. "Do you think it's him?"
"We'll find out soon," he said. "You have your seatbelt buckled, right?"
Of course she had her seatbelt on. The car would be beeping at them if she wasn't wearing it. But at the urgency in his words, she checked the latch anyway. "Yep."
He nodded. "Here he comes."
Anna stared ahead. Why had Mason driven this way? The view to the right was wide open, mostly because there was a big drop to the lake. An old decayed barrier fence was all that stood between the road and that slope. She swallowed. The route was scenic, sure, but when a madman was potentially following you… it could be deadly.
She braced herself as they approached a bend.
The orange truck hit theirs.
Everything lurched and she jolted against her seatbelt. Mason cursed. He turned toward the other lane, away from the escarpment. She strained, trying to see around the bend.
Please let the road be empty.
Another crunch. This one against the driver's side. The back end of the SUV skidded to the side with the impact.
"Hold on," Mason said. He punched the gas with his foot.
But another hit came before they could speed ahead. Oh no. God. Another vehicle was coming at them. Right ahead. The driver was waving his arms.
Then everything was a blur.
Around and around. Screams. Her screams.
She was thrown against the door. Air bags exploded. Mason called her name.
Then everything stopped.
Anna blinked.
All she could see was the white of the air bag. She moved her fingers, feeling her way along the bag as it deflated in front of her.
"Mason?" she said, her voice little more than a hoarse whisper. Her throat was sore. How much had she screamed?
No answer.
"Mason?" She pushed at the bag. Her right arm, all the way to her shoulder, ached. Something might be broken. But it didn't matter. Why wasn't he answering?
Finally she saw him. His air bag was wilting too… but he wasn't moving. His head lolled to the left, away from her. She screamed his name and scrambled to get closer to him.
Then her door swung open. Thank God. Help was here.
"Please, help him."
She grabbed Mason's arm. Her fingers slid over his wrist. Please let there be a pulse. Please… But she couldn't tell. Her hands were shaking too hard.
Then other hands reached around her and unclasped her seatbelt. She scrambled up on the seat to get closer to Mason. Was that a pulse at his throat? She stretched forward… Everything around her rocked when she moved.
Arms encircled her waist and wrenched her from the vehicle.
"No. Please… I need to…" She fought the person, but her body wasn't working right. The trembling that had started in her hands was now rippling up and down her limbs.
"It's okay, darling. I've got you." Harry's words fell into her ears like poison.
She kicked and screamed… but it was useless. He was too strong. He kept pulling her away. That's when she saw it.
The SUV hadn't rolled down the embankment, but its position wasn't much better. It hung precariously on one of the rotten posts. Would it hold?
One wrong move and Mason could be in that deathtrap, tumbling to his death. No. It couldn't. Whatever tightness she'd felt in her chest earlier was nothing to the knife-sharp pain ripping through her now.
The blare of music from the other side of the road mingled with the sound of her feet being dragged across the loose gravel.
"Help," she screamed.
She strained to see the source of the music.
The other vehicle. The one that had been on the road ahead of them. It was upside down. Still. No movement came from there either.
"Let's get you away from here," Harry said. "If you cooperate, I might even let that car sit right there."
She swallowed. He could easily send Mason to his death. She couldn't let that happen. She went limp.
"There's a good girl," he said. He grabbed two bungee cords from the floor of his truck, then tied one around her wrists and then the other around her legs. He grinned at her. Then he leaned forward and gave her a wet kiss on her mouth. She gagged, but he didn't notice.
When he finished, he started to hum.
He wrapped his arms around her and tried to lift her. He grunted, but he couldn't do it. So he just shoved her onto the passenger side floor. The engine was still running so the truck vibrated beneath her. The rug and the seat reeked of wet dog… or cow crap… or some combination that was equally disgusting. A new surge of bile tickled the back of her throat. He grabbed her ankles and pushed her legs up, into the vehicle, then shut the door.
She closed her eyes and prayed that she'd actually seen Mason's pulse, that the quiver of movement on his throat hadn't just been a hopeful vision or her eyes playing tricks on her. When Harry opened the driver's side door, he was still humming. He jumped behind the steering wheel with the most spring she'd ever seen in his step. A terrible grinding noise screeched around her as he shifted the truck into gear. He tapped the armrest on his door in time with whatever tune was in his head.
She tensed. Would he keep his word?
The truck lurched forward…
No bang. No crunch.
She closed her eyes and sent up a small prayer of thanks. He'd left Mason alone. She hadn't been sure if he would.
Did that mean he thought Mason was already dead?
EIGHTEEN
"Where are you taking me?" Anna asked.
They'd been traveling down the road for a few minutes, but Harry hadn't looked down at her or spoken to her yet. He didn't acknowledge her. He just kept humming and tapping the steering wheel.
Great. Just great. Now she was alone with a crazy man.
If he hadn't threatened Mason, she would have fought harder. That's what you were supposed to do, right? Fight and fight and fight. Refuse to let the person trying to abduct you take you to a different location.
According to every murder mystery she'd ever watched, that other location never worked out well for the abductee. Was that based on actual statistics?
Would Harry kill her?
If he wanted to, wouldn't he have done that already?
Speculating on what he was scheming was useless. That way lay madness.
She'd be better off coming up with her own scheme. She twisted her wrists and tried to roll the bungee cord down. Pain radiated up her arm to her shoulder.
Tears rolled down her cheeks but she bit back any whimper in case Harry looked down and saw what she was trying to do. She rotated her hands again…
More sharp stabbing pain rioted across her shoulder.
She dropped her arms and breathed through her mouth in tight short gasps until the red flashes shooting over her eyes subsided. Plan A, getting rid of her bindings, was a failure.
Unfortunately she didn't have a Plan B.
Mason would have a plan. That's what he said he did, right? Problem solve? He'd always been like that as a teenager too. How many times had he organized his brothers and figured out ways for them to escape George and Edna, even for a few hours? He was the one Edna turned to when a guest complained or George got in a fight at the bar. And Mason had always come up with a solution.
Until he met the one problem he could not fix… Jake's arrest.
Anna had been working at the inn for only a few months at the time, but she remembered clearly how wretched Mason had been. He'd stayed awake for hours writing out ideas and theories. Then he and Grady had personally interviewed almost every person in town. Edna had screamed at them, telling them to sort out their priorities.
Mason had taken the brunt of her anger.
Anna had seen him that night. She'd been hiding under a tree at the edge of the inn's land. It was dusk, but she hadn't wanted to go home yet
. All that had waited for her there was more laundry. After having worked through piles of laundry at the inn, that was the last thing she wanted to do.
Besides, she'd developed a crush on Mason by then and she wanted to catch a glimpse of him again before she left. She'd just turned fourteen and even at that age she'd known he was the best looking boy in school. Even the girls who pretended they didn't think he was hot still wanted to kiss him. There was just something about him. And there still was. She could still remember how her heart had raced when she saw him emerge from the inn and walk toward her. He walked right up to her before he seemed to see her.
"Hey," he said as he sat down beside her. He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his shirt and drew one out. He offered one to her, but she shook her head. Words weren't possible. Not when Mason was looking at her. Being nice to her.
They watched the final fingers of sunlight disappear from the west and darkness close around them. A few house lights on the far side of the lake twinkled across the water at them. In the shadows of night, her awe of him seemed to fade and she found her voice.
"You okay?"
He grunted. Then the end of his cigarette glowed as he inhaled. The familiar scent of smoke curled through the air. "Jake's going to prison."
"I heard."
"He didn't do it."
"Then they'll find him innocent."
Another reddish-orange glow from his cigarette answered her.
"My mom says he'll go before a jury. If he didn't do it…" she started again. Didn't he know this?
"Don't be naïve," he said. "You're too young to understand. But they aren't going to let him out. You'll see." His voice was choked with emotion. "The police don't even care and no one is telling me the truth."
Anna reached forward and put her hand on his leg.
He covered her hand with his and for a moment they sat without talking. The soft lap of the water along the shore was the only sound. She wanted to make him feel better. She wanted to tell him something good.
And her words would be the truth.
"I love you, Mason," she said.
He laughed and shoved her hand off his leg. "Go home, little girl."
She'd jumped up and run all the way home with tears streaming down her face.