“We interrupt this program to bring you breaking news,” the news anchor, a middle-aged blonde with an impeccable side-bob and frost blue eyes said. At her side sat a younger anchor, a handsome man who had his black hair slicked and parted to the side. “A video that is purported to show Mayor James Bradley committing a shocking murder has surfaced online. In the video, which is too graphic to show on live TV, a man who looks like Bradley is seen strangling a woman and slitting her throat and leaving her for dead. So far, the video has racked up several million hits on YouTube and other social media sites.
The mayor has released a statement vehemently denying that he’s the man in the video and is having his lawyer, Steve Zuckerman, stage a press conference on his behalf within the next few minutes to answer questions from the media.
The young woman in the video is believed to be Ashley Collins, a twenty-four-year-old prostitute and mother of two. She was found dead in an alley several months ago.
So far the authorities have issued a statement urging the public not to jump to any conclusions and that a thorough investigation will be held to determine the veracity of this footage.”
“Yeah right,” I snorted. “We know what that means.”
Mason waved a hand to silence me, his eyes intensely glued to the screen. “Shhh!”
The newswoman continued. “There have been calls from city council members and other government officials for the Mayor to step down immediately pending investigation—”
“Sorry to interrupt Suzie,” said the black-haired news anchor, fumbling with something in his ear, “but I’m told the conference is starting now.”
There was dead silence for a brief moment and then the male news anchor looked at the camera and announced, “And now we bring you to the press conference being held at city hall.”
The video cut to outside a large brick building and a podium that was surrounded by reporters and flooded with studio lights. A tall, skinny man suit was huddled off to the side, talking to a group of men who looked like city officials and several men in uniform.
Mayor Bradley was nowhere in sight.
After a few moments, the conversation ended, and who I assumed was the Mayor’s lawyer walked over to the podium with a piece of paper in his hand.
He sat the paper down on the podium and opened his mouth, “Good Evening, everyone. My name is Steve Zucker—”, but was promptly cut off from the avalanche of questions coming in from all sides.
“Please, please!” he shouted over the tumult. “Let me give the statement and then I will take a few questions.”
The press continued to bombard him with inquiries, but when they saw he wasn’t going to answer until he had his say, they quickly quieted.
After a moment of silence, Steve cleared his throat and then began speaking, periodically reading off the piece of paper on the podium.
“Like the rest of us, Mayor Bradley was horrified at the footage that is making the rounds online, and equally horrified that people are jumping to the conclusion that it is him in the video committing this most atrocious act.
For a while now — even before this video surfaced — the Mayor has been under pressure from his peers to resign from office because they don’t like the way he runs things.
That’s the reason for this video suddenly surfacing, folks. As you all know, Mayor Bradley has an impeccable track record, and coming from a modest background, he’s a far cry from the corrupt career politicians that so infest our government.
Since his first day in office, Mayor Bradley has fought to turn this city around. As a result, the city is in much better shape than before he came into office and Mayor Bradley is committed to continuing his work as a steadfast public servant despite this slanderous attempt to destroy everything he has worked so hard for.
Lastly, Mayor Bradley wants to vehemently assure the public that the man committing murder in that video is not him, and he asks you to give him and his family privacy in this most difficult time going forward. Thank you.”
Steve nodded his head at the press and pulled away from the podium, causing reporters to howl in protest.
“Hey you said you were going to take questions!” Someone yelled.
“When is the mayor going to resign?” Someone else shouted.
“Why isn’t the mayor here himself answering questions!”
“Can you believe the balls on that guy?” I asked in disbelief with an angry shake of my head. The hypocrisy of him was galling, releasing a statement boasting about what an honest public servant he was and how he was a fighter of corruption, when clearly he was one of the most corrupt individuals to ever take office. “It’s clearly him on the video and yet he still tries to deny it.”
Mason stared at the TV screen where Steve could be seen gesturing animatedly at the people he was talking to. “What else do you expect? A guy like him isn’t going to just admit to it and go to jail for the rest of his life.”
Back on screen, one of the men in uniform speaking with Steve, broke away from the group and approached the podium.
He was immediately inundated with shouted questions, but he remained silent until the din calmed.
“Good evening members of the press,” he greeted, leaning forward to speak into the microphone. He had a deep gravelly voice that sounded like he was a chain smoker. “I’m Sheriff Appleby and I’m here to try to answer any questions you may have.” The crowd of reporters began to once again shout out questions over each other, but the Sheriff quickly waved them down.
“But before I take questions, I want to let everyones know that we have received the video in question and are currently reviewing it. Rest assured, our investigation will be meticulously thorough.”
“Does anyone know how the video got released?” a male reporter shouted over the din of voices.
Appleby was quick to reply, almost too eager. “We do, in fact. A notorious hacker who goes by the name of Razor is thought to be behind this leak. His real name is Mason Keller and he is a member of the group Anonymous. Keller is wanted in connection with this case. We are asking that if anyone knows anything about his whereabouts, please contact us immediately.”
“You said the video is a leak,” said a woman reporter curiously, “does that mean you’ve been sitting on this damning video for months?”
The Sheriff froze for a split second before answering. “I’m not at liberty to discuss that at this time.”
The question and answer session between the press and the Sheriff continued, but Mason turned off the TV.
“We need to start planning,” I said right away, my mind racing with ideas. “We’ve got to clear your name.”
Mason shook his head. “Like I said in the beginning, they’re going to make an example of me. You just heard what the Sheriff said. I’m a wanted man.”
“There has to be a way.”
“I’ll go into hiding until it blows over and they stop searching for me. Maybe flee across the border.”
Pain lanced my side. I couldn’t handle Mason disappearing out of my life again.
Especially with how close we came to . . .
I shook my head vehemently, “No, you can’t do that. What we should do is—”
Mason’s dark scowl silenced me. “We are not going to do anything. Whatever happens next, I want you to stay out of it. You’ve done your part, now let me handle the rest.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. We were supposed to be a team. “But we’re in this together,” I protested. I hated how whiny my voice sounded, but I couldn’t help it. “I’m just trying to help you.”
“Don’t try to act like you care about what happens to me,” Mason growled, his eyes suddenly blazing.
I recoiled like I’d been struck. I had no idea where this sudden acid was coming from, especially since minutes before we’d been seconds away from having sex on my couch.
“Mason I—”
“The only thing you really seem to care about is how many hits your stupid bl
og has or how your career will take off as a result of this.”
Tears burned my eyes. What the hell was his problem? “That’s not true, and you know it! I care about Rosemary and getting justice for her daughter’s murder,” I swallowed back a lump in my throat.
“Oh cut the act, Carly.”
I stared long and hard at Mason, the stubborn line of his chiseled jaw and the fire in his eyes. He looked like he was . . .
This isn’t him, I thought suddenly. This isn’t Mason.
I wiped at my cheek with the back of my hand, struggling to get a reign on my emotions. “You’re just angry right now,” I sniffed. “And scared. You don’t really mean those awful things you’re saying.”
“I meant every word,” Mason growled.
I ignored him, regaining some of my composure. “Look, let me call the Sheriff and explain everything. When they confirm it was Mayor Bradley in the video, he’ll listen.”
“What aren’t you getting?” Mason snarled. “They’re fucking crooked as hell. Always have been, always will be.”
“Then let me call Brian,” I said as calmly as I could manage. “He has money and connections, he’ll be able to help—”
“We already discussed my father. I’ll only tell you this one more time. Dad has no interest in helping me. He’d give me up in a heartbeat.”
“So you keep saying, but you won’t tell me why you believe so strongly that he would. Why?”
“Because he doesn’t care about me.”
I remembered Mason’s anger back in the car. There was obviously something I was missing here. Mason believed that his father wanted him dead, but I’d never seen any evidence to suggest that. “If you would just tell me what’s going on, instead of flying off the fucking handle, and tell me what makes you believe he hates you so much.”
“You know what? Just stop bringing him up. It really pisses me off.”
“Oh yeah?” I snarled. “Well you wanna know what pisses me off? You suddenly turning into a major douchebag for no apparent reason.” Anger seared my breasts. I literally wanted to claw Mason’s eyes out. “You know what? Fuck you!”
Spinning on my heel and holding back tears, I ran from the living room, into my bedroom and slammed the door shut as hard as I could.
Fuck Mason.
Mason
Carly’s muffled yell reached my ears a second later, “Fucking asshole!”
I sighed and closed my eyes. Pretending to be mad at Carly when she’d done nothing wrong was one of the hardest things I’d ever done.
A part of me wanted to go after her, beg for her forgiveness and tell her I didn’t mean anything I said. The urge was so powerful that I began walking down the hallway toward her room and then stopped.
Don’t do it, I thought, heading back to the living room. I need to put distance between us.
Carly assumed I was being an asshole because I was scared of my impending capture, when in reality I was pleased.
I’d exposed the Mayor for the scumbag he truly was and it was only a matter of time before he was put behind bars.
What I was really afraid of, was Carly’s safety. It was clear that I was the one everyone was after, and I’d keep it that way.
Still, I wasn’t worried. I was confident enough in my skills that I could evade capture. I knew how to stay in the shadows.
Leaving Carly would be the hard part. And I didn’t know how I was going to do it. The first time I left, it nearly killed me. This time it probably would.
Yet, I knew I had to. Carly wasn’t safe with me, never was. I had no business showing up on her doorstep and involving her in my fucked up world.
If I hadn’t been so fucking selfish, I thought. It wouldn’t have come to this. I could’ve just given Anonymous the video and let them have at it. They would’ve released it eventually.
But what was done, was done.
Now I just needed to separate myself from Carly — to keep her safe.
I walked over to the front door and placed my hand on the knob. If I left right now while Carly was in her room, it would make things much easier. She’d come out later and I’d be gone. No arguing. No yelling and screaming at each other. Just gone.
I turned the knob and was hit by a sudden weight on my chest. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. If I left without saying goodbye, Carly wouldn’t forgive me a second time.
I glanced outside the living room window. It was pitch black outside and I was feeling a bit tired from the day’s events. It didn’t seem like a good idea to leave in the dead of night just so I could escape having to deal with facing her.
I’ll just leave in the morning, I decided. I’ll say my goodbyes and then be on my way.
Hoping I wasn’t making a mistake, I walked back over to the couch and laid down, my mind racing.
Besides Carly’s safety, there was another reason why I wanted to leave — I was losing control. My mind and body were becoming overwhelmed with lust and desire.
The sight of Carly bent over in those little shorts?
My cock immediately stiffened in my jeans at the memory, stretching the fabric as far as it’d go.
I’d come so close to taking her it wasn’t even funny. And it’d taken every ounce of my infamous Razor-like focus to hold back my impulses.
I wonder if she knew how close she’d come to being ravaged by a savage beast that would have left her gasping for breath and wanting for more.
Oh she knew, I thought, taunting me with her tight little ass.
It made me wonder if she was still a virgin. I thought she was, but with the sensual way she moved her body, I had my doubts.
Of course she isn’t, I thought. Why should she save herself for me when I ditched her? And I’m about to do it again . . .
When we lived under the same roof, I dropped little hints and compliments, but Carly never seemed to ‘get it’. And if she did, she sure as hell didn’t act on it. After a while, I gave up trying. I was too chicken shit to tell her my true feelings, it just wasn’t my style. So I settled for fucking random sluts instead to attempt to fill the bottomless hole inside of me.
Knowing that she hadn’t saved herself for me made me wish I’d stuck around to protect her from whatever prick took her innocence away. It made me wish that I’d told her how I truly felt instead of leaving.
It made me wish . . . that I could have her right now.
The urge to walk up to her room, break down the door and fuck the angry out of her was a powerful one. But I had to resist it. I had to fight. I couldn’t let my desire rule me.
I tried to close my eyes and concentrate on going to sleep. My eyes popped open a second later. “This isn’t going to work,” I muttered.
I got up from the couch and walked over to the kitchen, searching the cabinets until I found a zip lock bag. I opened the freezer and grabbed a handful of ice and threw it inside before zipping it back up.
I walked back over to the couch and laid back down. Pressing the icepack against my balls, I let out a deep sigh and thought, this is going to be a long night.
Chapter 14
Carly
I woke up the next morning to the smell of eggs and bacon. I’m not sure if it was because that was a routine of Mason’s, or because there was a lack of options in my kitchen. I had no idea how long I’d slept or what time it was. All I remembered from the previous night was storming into my room, throwing myself face down into my pillow and crying my eyes out until sleep took me.
After stretching, I made my way into the kitchen and my mouth went dry. Mason was standing at the stove, shirtless, scrambling eggs. I should’ve been pissed off at the sight of him after how he treated me the night before, but his being shirtless washed my anger away, reminding me of the desire I’d felt for him.
He looked more mouth-watering than the delicious food he was cooking. I could definitely learn to appreciate waking up to a sight like that every morning.
“Seriously?” I demanded, trying to sound pissed off and f
ailing.
Mason looked up at me as he scrambled an egg and grinned. I swear his adorable dimples gave me life. “What?”
I folded my arms across my breasts. “You treat me like shit last night and now you’re making me breakfast?”
His smile dimmed somewhat. “Oh. That.”
I glowered. But it was hard to look pissed when I couldn’t keep my eyes off of his torso. He had such perfect definition.
“Yes, that.”
“Well, I’m sorry about what I said. I didn’t mean to piss you off.”
“That’s all?” I demanded, hiding my surprise at his apology. I hadn’t expected him to apologize, especially after how cold-hearted he acted with me. “You’re sorry? And that’s supposed to make everything better?”
Mason nodded at the kitchen table. “Go on, have a seat and I’ll explain everything in a minute.”
I started to step toward the table and stopped to give him a dirty look. “I’ll sit down whenever I’m good and ready, thank you very much.”
Mason chuckled as he flipped over pieces of bacon he had sizzling in another skillet. “Suit yourself Miss Prissy Pants.”
“I will.”
I waited all of five seconds before walking over to the table to sit down, just to show him who was boss.
“That smells good,” I grudgingly admitted, my stomach growling.
“Doesn’t it?” Mason tossed me a wink. “And I knew you’d see it my way.”
“Shut up.”
Mason laughed and I almost felt better. Almost.
A minute later and he was sitting down across from me with the steam from our food rising lazily in the air between us.
“So about last night,” Mason said, biting into a juicy piece of bacon, his powerful jaws making quick work of it.
I forked a heaping of eggs. “Yeah, about last night . . .”
“I said those horrible things to you for a reason. Maybe it was stupid, but I wanted to piss you off.”
My forehead crinkled in confusion, and I set my fork down. Didn’t he just say a minute ago that he didn’t mean to piss me off? “But why?”
Razor: A Bad Boy Stepbrother Romance Page 11