by Meg Buchanan
The screams were still coming. She must be outside. They seemed to be coming from the driveway.
He got to the lounge. Saw Luke standing beside the couch.
“What the hell,” said Luke. Blankets were tumbled all over the floor. He heard Noah’s bedroom door open.
“What’s happening?”
“It’s Geneviève.” Where was she? Her voice screamed his name again. He wrenched the ranch slider open and raced out onto the deck. No Geneviève, but the screams kept coming.
“Adam, Adam!!!” Now they seemed to be out the front of the section. Then abruptly the screams stopped, and an ominous silence hung in the morning light.
He leapt down the steps and ran the two strides to the corner of the house.
His car was still where he’d parked it, with Noah’s and Luke’s behind that. But parked behind them, a huge silver Mercedes sat ominously with Geneviève struggling, and Mason trying to hold her and get the car door open.
Fuck. Mason had found them. How did he do that? Geneviève twisted herself away from him and fell against the side of the Mercedes. Huge frightened eyes and an angry red mark on her cheek.
“Adam!” she yelled again. “Help me.”
By now Luke and Noah were beside him. Mason grabbed Geneviève again and shook her.
“Shut up, bitch.” He finally got the back door of the car open with his other hand and started to shove her inside.
“Let her go,” Adam yelled as he dodged between the side of the house and the parked cars. He could feel the sharp stones of the gravel driveway on his bare feet. Pity he hadn’t had time to pull some boots on.
He saw Geneviève kick out and fling herself to the side again. He’d get to them before Mason got her into the car, but what the hell happened then? He’d never tried hitting anyone or done anything aggressive in his life.
He could hear Noah and Luke behind him. At least he had back up.
“Let her go.” He shoved Mason back against the wall, so he could get to Geneviève, then he grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the car door.
Mason came at him again with a roar. “So, you’re the bastard fucking my wife.” Mason took a swing at him and he could smell the alcohol on the man.
The punch landed on his shoulder as he turned to protect Geneviève. It bloody hurt. He wanted to stop and give it a rub, but he held Mason away from them as he tried to shuffle backwards with Geneviève held in close. The bastard swung at him again, this time getting him on the arm.
Then Luke and Noah pushed past him and stood between them and the maniac taking swings at him and Geneviève.
Mason gave up swinging and retreated a few steps. “She’s coming home with me,” he said.
“Like fuck she is.” Adam held onto Geneviève tighter. No way was this nut getting anywhere near her again. Keira, Tessa and Dana appeared on the front doorstep. All pyjama pants, camisoles and sleep hair.
“She’s my wife.” Mason straightened his tie and coat.
“And we’ve just seen how you treat her,” said Luke. “Get in the car and go before we call the cops.”
“Yeah, she’s staying here.” Noah stood shoulder to shoulder with Luke. “No one’s going with anyone.”
Adam held on to Geneviève. What the fuck happens now? Mason must realise he wasn’t going to get his way with three of them protecting Geneviève. Then he watched Mason give in, walk around the car and get into the driver’s side.
“I’ll be back,” he threatened through the open window. “This isn’t over. And it might be me bringing the police. There’s a few thousand missing from a couple of my accounts.” He screeched out of the driveway.
Adam still had Geneviève tucked into his side.
Luke turned back to him and Geneviève. “So that’s the famous Mason?”
Geneviève nodded.
“Nice husband you’ve got. Did you really take thousands out of his accounts?” Geneviève nodded again. “Good on you. It looks like you would have earned it.”
She gave a bit of a smile. “I did. And it is my money too. He just doesn’t think it is.”
Adam looked at Geneviève. She must have been up for a while. she seemed dressed and showered. “What were you doing out here?”
She shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep, and you were still sound asleep, so I got up. It looked so peaceful out here. I wanted to sit on the deck and have a coffee. But Luke was sleeping in the lounge so after I made the coffee I went out the front door and sat on the porch. I was watching the sunrise and suddenly Mason was there. He grabbed me before I saw him.” She turned in his arms and shivered. “Thank you for coming. I wasn’t sure you would hear me.”
Adam ran his hand through his hair. He’d just found her, and he could have lost her forever. He didn’t even know where she lived. “It took a while to penetrate.” Then he brushed her hair back from her face. The red mark still there. “He hit you?”
Geneviève nodded. “When I started yelling he told me to shut up and hit me.” She turned to Luke and Noah. “Thank you for helping too.”
“Do you think he’ll come back?” asked Noah.
“What’s happened?” asked Tessa.
“Her bloody husband turned up,” said Luke.
Adam guided Geneviève along the footpath to the deck. She was shaking. Probably not from the cold. That must have all been scary. And if he hadn’t heard her yelling Mason might have got her into the car. And she could have been killed. It didn’t look like Mason was good on self-restraint.
“Do you think he’ll come back?” he asked like Luke did.
She nodded. “Now he knows where you live I’m sure he will.”
“Will he bring the police?” Now Mason had convinced himself Geneviève had stolen from him he might.
“I am not sure.” Geneviève hugged in closer. “What am I going to do?”
“We’ll figure something out.” They went inside. Tessa had already put the coffee on and Luke hovered around her being helpful. Not usual at all. Adam looked at Luke.
That’s right, Geneviève said Luke had been sleeping in the lounge. And Tessa pretty much ignored him now. Maybe he was wrong about Tessa forgiving Luke and taking him back. Good on her.
They all sat down to toast and coffee. He felt sure Mason wouldn’t come straight back with the cops. For a start he’d seemed drunk and even he must know it wouldn’t be a good look. But they should decide what to do reasonably quickly before the arsehole had time to regroup.
“What do you want to do?” he asked Geneviève.
“I want to go home,” she said quietly.
He felt shocked. “To Mason?”
Geneviève shook her head. “No, to my mother and father. I want to get as far from Mason as I can. I don’t want to fight him, I don’t want to talk to him, I don’t want to see him.”
“Okay.” How long did it take to get a ticket to South America? “When?”
“Right now,” she said and gave a sad smile.
He untangled from her then pulled her up. “Let’s go and book you a flight then.”
“You can’t just book a flight to South America,” said Tessa as she came into the lounge. She leaned against the doorframe instead of going to sit with Luke like she usually would. He saw Luke look up at her and then away.
Yep, something going on there. Then Adam looked at Tessa’s ring finger. No engagement ring either, just the shadow where it had been. Tessa really had dumped Luke. Did that mean anything to him? No. It didn’t.
“Why not?” he asked her.
“What about passports and visas?”
He looked at Geneviève. “You’ve got a passport, haven’t you?”
Geneviève nodded.
“Where is it?”
“It’s hidden. I knew I would leave when I could think of how, so I hid it. I am sure Mason won’t have found it.”
“Where?”
“It’s in his house,” said Geneviève, sounding defeated.
“We’ll go and get it
then,” said Adam getting brave, he’d never tried breaking and entering before either.
Tessa looked at him, eyebrows raised. “You’re going to break into that crazy man’s house?”
“If I have to.” He wasn’t feeling quite as brave as he sounded. He had no idea how to break into a house or what he’d do if Mason turned up. “And Geneviève isn’t likely to need a visa, she was born in Uruguay.” He turned to her. “That’s right isn’t it.”
Geneviève nodded again. “Would you do that for me?”
“With a bit of help from my friends.” He looked over at Noah and Luke.
“You want us to break into that idiot’s house and steal his wife’s passport?” asked Luke incredulous. “Not a good idea.”
“I’m sure Mason will be at work,” Geneviève said quietly. “He always goes to work. And I live there too.”
“I don’t know,” said Noah. “He talked cops.”
Adam scratched his head. There had to be some way to keep the police out of this. He could understand Geneviève wanting to just slip out of the country and leave all this behind. Once she had a bit of distance if she might want to get a lawyer and fight for what was hers by law. Right now, he just wanted to make sure she was safe.
Then he had an idea. The messages on her phone. They made Mason look deranged. They should be enough to get him charged for threatening behaviour. They could bluff and use those.
“Did you delete the messages he left on your phone?” he asked.
Geneviève shook her head.
“Good.” Now they had leverage if Mason was in the house when they arrived. “Right, we’ll go get that passport and then we’ll book you a ticket home.”
Geneviève smiled and took his hand. “You really are my white knight.”
Jesus, he didn’t know about that. Did white knights get scared and try to avoid punch ups?
“You lot coming?” he asked Luke and Noah. And white knights usually rescued the damsel in distress on their own, they didn’t tend to need backup from their mates.
“Yeah, why not?” said Luke. “How often do you get to do something heroic? Just don’t get us arrested. We’re leaving in three days.”
Chapter Eleven
“We could come and help,” suggested Tessa.
“No, we’re just getting the passport and then we’re out of there,” said Adam. He shut the door of Luke’s car. For some reason he and Geneviève had the backseat. Luke and Noah were up front.
“What’s the address?” asked Luke.
Geneviève leaned forward and gave Luke a Lake Road address. A nice address. Mason must like the good things in life. He knew that. He saw Geneviève dressed as Mason’s wife.
Now she looked completely comfortable and cute in her hood rat clothes. Maybe she used to dress that way before Mason got hold of her. And she seemed pretty good at PlayStation. She beat Cole at Minesweeper, so it wasn’t the first time she’d played.
She sat back in the seat and snuggled into him. She had an amazing body and a beautiful face, and she liked sex and she liked him. Everything was sweet, except her violent husband, her wanting to go back to Uruguay, and him leaving in three days.
“How are we going to do this when we get there?” he asked her. She didn’t seem to have a key in that purse of hers.
“I know the security code for the gate and the back door. I will put it in and then go and get the passport. It will only take a minute.”
“Do you want me to come inside with you?”
Geneviève nodded. “I think so. In case Mason is there.”
She was right. They couldn’t let Mason get his hands her again. “Maybe Luke and Noah should come inside with us too.”
“As bodyguards,” said Noah from the front. Now they were all really starting to act macho.
“I think so,” said Geneviève.
Luke drove along Cobham Drive, turned so they went up past the hospital and then into the street that lead to Lake Road.
“We’re nearly there,” Geneviève said when they were almost at the end. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Yeah,” said Adam. “How else are you going to get home?” The other two nodded from the front seat.
Luke turned into Lake Road and drove along slowly. “Which one?” he asked.
“Two more houses and then we are there.” Geneviève leaned forward again and stared out the window. “I think we should drive past so we can see if Mason is there.”
“How will we know?”
“He might have parked his car in the driveway.” Geneviève shrugged again. “But if it is in the garage, we won’t be able to tell, and he usually parks it in the garage.”
“Okay,” said Luke. “A drive by so we know if he got sloppy. Does this husband of yours have guns?”
“I don’t think so.” Geneviève looked at Adam. “But we should still be careful. If he is there he won’t be pleased.”
“There’s three of us to protect you,” he said with more confidence than he felt.
As they drove past the house Geneviève searched for any signs. She didn’t see the car in the driveway, but then Mason liked things tidy and if he had gone home after being at the flat, he would have used the remote opener and put the car away. Especially if he didn’t mean to go out again.
And Adam had said he could smell the alcohol on him and even to her Mason had been acting strangely. Usually he didn’t let other people see how he treated her. He kept that their own secret. Maybe he had been drinking. But he did think she was on her own? It wasn’t until she started screaming and Adam, Noah and Luke burst out of the house that he knew she was with anyone.
“Any sign?” asked Luke.
“No,” She shook her head. “No sign, but he could be inside. It is hard to tell.”
“Are we going back?” asked Luke.
“Yes please. I really do need my passport if I am going to leave.” She felt Adam’s arm tighten around her. She felt safe, but she wasn’t sure he could deal with Mason. Adam was always so sweet. She bit her lip. Maybe she shouldn’t let him do this for her.
Luke pulled into a driveway to turn, then went along the road to the house she’d lived in for the last year. She watched the windows. Still no sign of movement. Maybe they would be lucky, and Mason would still be out.
Luke pulled up by the curb outside the house. A tall fence surrounded it and the big gate in front was closed.
They all got out of the car and she went to the keypad on the pillar beside the gate. Would Mason have thought of changing the code, so she couldn’t get back in?
No. Mason wouldn’t even think of her being brave enough to come back to get her passport. She’d been such a mouse since she came to this country with him. Suddenly she felt brave and strong and ready to live again. She’d fight to be free of him. And Adam would help her.
She punched in the numbers and waited anxiously then heard the grinding sound the gate made just before it opened. As the gates slid back she turned to Adam.
“That worked,” she said and grinned.
She saw Adam release his breath as if he’d been holding it. He looked as anxious as she felt. Now one more keypad and they were inside. Even if Mason had been looking for her passport he wouldn’t have found it. She’d hidden it carefully. She’d go straight to his office and find it where she’d taped it under the bottom drawer of his desk. He wouldn’t think of looking there for it.
Geneviève led Adam, Luke and Noah across the paved courtyard to the back door. Past the swimming pool, the barbeque, the deck furniture and all the other things that had littered her married life.
“You sure you want to run away from all this?” asked Luke, in an undertone.
She pushed the numbers on the keypad, still hoping Mason would have left the code the same. He’d left it the same on the gate so maybe her luck would hold.
“It’s just stuff,” she whispered back to Luke. She heard the ping from the keypad. The door had unlocked. Now to get in and get out
at fast as possible.
She pushed the door open carefully and looked around the foyer. No sign Mason had been home. Then again, he was always tidy and didn’t leave his things around.
“Where is it?” asked Adam, speaking as quietly as Luke did.
“In the office.” She pointed at a door on the left. Mason never locked his office so getting in was no problem. “Come with me.” She looked back at Noah and Luke. “Stay here, I’ll be back in a minute.”
“We’ll guard the door.” Luke grinned like he was starting to enjoy this.
She hurried across the tiled floor and pushed the door to the office open. All tidy and empty the way Mason always left it. Adam came in behind her.
“Is it in the safe?” he asked, nodding at the monstrosity near the bookcase.
She shook her head and went to the other side of the huge wooden desk. Another monstrosity. She bent down and pulled the bottom drawer right out. Tipped it. All the papers and pens in the drawer fell on the carpet. It would really annoy Mason to know she’d touched his things. She felt tempted to leave the mess for him to find.
There on the bottom of the drawer the envelope with her passport still taped to the timber where she’d put it weeks ago. Funny, that had been the only preparations she’d bothered to make. She hadn’t been able to think for herself when Mason had her in his clutches.
She slid a fingernail under the corner of the tape and prised the envelope off the drawer. She could feel the shape of the passport inside. He hadn’t found it, thank God. If he had, leaving would have been so much more complicated.
She opened the envelope took the passport out and held it up to Adam.
“Got it,” she said to him.
“Good. Do you want to get anything else while we’re here? Clothes? Computer?”
She thought about it. No, she didn’t want anything from this life. She wanted to start again. But there was something she really wanted to get back from her past life. Her grandmother’s jewellery. It was hers, she had brought it with her.
Did she dare to take the time to go upstairs and get it when Mason could come back at any moment?