Mona’s smile showed clear relief and she squeezed Laurie’s
hand.
“Well, we were just a bunch of orphans and rejects but we
came through just fine and now we’re a family. A weird, slightly fucked-up
family but a family nonetheless, and we’re growing. You’re one of us now too,
kiddo, you know that, right?”
Laurie nodded and finished the last of her drink, then
pouted at the empty pitcher.
“I’ll take care of it,” Mona assured Laurie and then shouted
toward the kitchen. “Hey, waiter, we need more drinks, and be quick about it!”
Dewayne stepped out of the kitchen with a grudging smile and
retrieved the pitcher.
* * * * *
Mason stepped through the back door of the house and
frowned. The kitchen was quiet and there was no smell of delicious food cooking.
Since she’d moved in, Laurie always greeted him with a tasty supper when he
worked late. Panic hit him in the chest and he was ready to tear through the
house until he found her. He got no more than three steps in when he heard
Dewayne’s voice.
“Everything’s fine, big guy. Don’t go flipping over tables
or nothing.” He was sitting at the small table in the corner of the kitchen,
making sandwiches. He handed one to Mason and took a bite out of his own.
“Where’s my Angel?” Mason demanded.
Dewayne motioned toward the living room with a toss of his
head. “She’s asleep on the couch. She and Mona had quite a girls’ day in.”
Mason strode toward the living room and stopped short at the
dining room doorway. The room was a mess, scattered with shoes and clothes and
makeup. There was an empty pitcher on the coffee table and several beer bottles
scattered around the room. Both women were passed out and snoring. Mona lay
curled in the fetal position on the plush rug in the middle of the room,
wearing panties and a bra with a pink feather boa wrapped around her. Laurie
was on her belly on the couch, wearing only skimpy, red-sequined panties and
one red high heel. There were smeared black streaks of mascara running from her
eyes down to her cheeks and lipstick smeared on her chin.
“Well, what the hell happened here?” Mason took a bite of
his sandwich as he continued to survey the room.
“I think they passed out during a wardrobe change,” Dewayne
informed him.
Mason eyed Dewayne closely and was satisfied that he did a
good job at keeping his eyes averted from Laurie’s tempting ass, which was
close to bare.
“How much did they have to drink?”
“Three pitchers of margaritas, and probably a few sips of
the beers. They spilled the rest. That made them cry. You owe me so fucking
big.”
Mason looked at Dewayne’s weary face and realized his day
must have been exhausting. Stuck in the house with two drunk, emotional women
damn sure wasn’t his idea of fun.
“Once they passed out, I left them alone. I’ve just been
checking on them every so often to make sure they’re both still breathing. It
ain’t hard to tell with the snoring.”
Mason chuckled and shook his head.
“We can put Mona in the guestroom down here,” he suggested.
“I got her,” Dewayne assured him. “Go on and take care of your
lil’ girl. They’re both going to be miserable in the morning, which means so
are we.”
Mason nodded and took another bite of his sandwich. He
quickly munched down the rest and then scooped Laurie up in his arms. She
instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled against him. When
he got her to their bed, he removed her shoe and the flimsy panties before he
covered her.
“Mason,” she whispered, reaching for him.
He leaned down to her and stroked her hair.
“Yes, Angel?”
“Mona told me what happened to you.”
She clumsily caressed his face and he caught her hand and
kissed her palm.
“I promise I’ll never let anyone hurt you again and I’ll
never leave you, even when you’re an asshole.”
He smiled in the darkness and then kissed her forehead as
she drifted back to sleep.
After a quick shower, he joined her in bed, pulling her
close so he could hold her while she slept. She mumbled something about purple
nail polish in her sleep and he chuckled. He hoped her hangover wasn’t going to
be too bad.
Monday morning came and Laurie was determined to return to
class. Mason grudgingly agreed. The college had its own security and she and
Dewayne promised they would go straight there and straight home, no stops for
any reason. During spring break, Dewayne had taken the time to learn several
different routes to and from school, and he intended to take a different one
every day to avoid a routine. Mason nervously paced the living room as he
watched Laurie getting her things ready. He put off going to work so he could
be there when she left, and he made it obvious that he was not happy. He was
worried and probably would be all day. She stopped long enough to embrace him,
leaning up on her tiptoes to press her lips to his. He accepted the kiss with
zeal, laying a deep, possessive kiss on her that had her breathing heavily when
she pulled back.
“I promise I will be careful. I’ll text you every chance I
get,” she said, holding up the brand-new phone he’d forced on her. He smiled
down at her and nodded.
“Don’t worry, big guy, I got her back.” Dewayne smacked him
on the shoulder as he headed toward the door, munching on the last of the bacon
from breakfast.
Mason kissed Laurie’s forehead before he let her go. She
grinned as she backed toward the door.
“I love you, babe.”
“I love you too, Angel,” he said, trying to wipe the worried
expression off his face.
“Come on, guys, you’re grossing me out,” Dewayne complained,
holding the door open for Laurie.
She laughed and elbowed him in the ribs on her way out. He
grunted and laughed then gave Mason a meaningful look before stepping out
behind her. Once again, Mason knew Dewayne was telling him he would die before
he let anything happen to Laurie. He rubbed his hands through his hair and
forced himself to head to the shop.
* * * * *
The first day back went smoothly. Laurie’s workload was
going to be light since it was the first week back from break and when she got
word that her ethics class was canceled she made a stop at the library. Her
study group partner Philip, who was also the library assistant, smiled when he
saw her.
“I hear you snagged some big, beautiful, tattooed-up, alpha
male for yourself,” he teased her as he gave her a hug. “You go, girl. Is it
true he kicked the crap out of the Kappa Sigmas?”
Laurie laughed self-consciously, noticing several people
glancing at them curiously. Philip never paid attention to the
Quiet, please
sign that hung over the door and no one ever felt inclined to shush him.
“I did…and yeah, sort of.”
She showed him her engagement ring and he gasped, grabbing
her hand to inspect it closer.
“I should just hate you,” he told her. “Jose dumped me last
week and here you are getting married to a guy who could pass for the mythical
god of great sex.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Philip,” Laurie told him, giving
his hand a squeeze.
Philip sighed and nodded. After a little more small talk,
Laurie got down to the reason for her visit. She was nervous about it but deep
down, she knew it was the right thing to do.
After a moment of hesitation, she asked for his help on a
special project she’d been thinking about. He was more than glad to help and
she left feeling hopeful. Philip could do anything.
The rest of her classes were on schedule and she made sure
to text Mason throughout the day. As planned, she met Dewayne in the parking
lot after her last class.
That afternoon, the Mustang pulled up at the house right on
time but Mason was already pacing on the porch when they got there. He gave a
relieved smile when Laurie stepped up onto the porch and into his arms.
Somehow, his hug conveyed all the worry he’d been feeling all day, and Laurie
did her best to reassure him.
That was the start of their new routine. She was cautious
and stayed safely within the confines of the college, spending time between
classes in the library with Philip rather than going outside like everyone else
did, and Mason worried all day. She and Dewayne took extra precautions in order
to lessen his stress but the dark shadows that began to appear beneath his eyes
were a dead giveaway that the worry still weighed on him heavily.
Philip didn’t have much luck with her project. He apologized
for his lack of progress and promised to keep working on it. Hiding her disappointment,
she assured him that it was fine. It had just been a silly idea to begin with
and she hadn’t really expected any results.
Putting the whole thing out of her mind, she threw herself
into her work, actually getting a lot accomplished. She had all of her term
papers written and was confident in her ability to pass all of her final exams
in the coming weeks.
On Thursday, she met Dewayne in the parking lot and they
headed straight home. She was looking forward to the weekend and to not having
to worry about being so cautious all the time. The week felt as if it was
lasting a month. All the worry had her exhausted and she prayed they figured
out what was going on quickly because it was making her dread going to classes.
When they got to the house they found Mason and Rafe in the
kitchen. Both men turned to look at her when she walked in and their
expressions made her stomach clench. Something was wrong.
“What’s up?” she asked, stepping into Mason’s offered
embrace.
“I did some digging,” Rafe said carefully. “And I found out
that you have a trust fund. A big one.”
Laurie laughed. “No I don’t. You must have made a mistake.
There’s no way. I know my grandmother left everything to Uncle Ron.”
Mason gave her a comforting squeeze and rubbed her arm
soothingly. “It’s true, Angel. She left most of her money to your uncle but she
set up a trust for you also. There’s five million dollars in there for you and
it’s supposed to be released to you on your twenty-fifth birthday.”
Laurie frowned at him, still refusing to believe the new
information. “If that’s so, then why didn’t the lawyer who told me about my
tuition tell me about that too?”
“He didn’t know,” Rafe explained. “It was set up through a
different firm.”
Laurie shook her head but could not make words. She buried
her face against Mason’s chest and began to cry for reasons she couldn’t
explain. He held her close, kissing the top of her head and whispering to her
soothingly. Rafe and Dewayne left the room, giving the two a moment alone.
Mason didn’t press her to talk. He just let her cry. He held
her close and caressed her back.
They stood together for several long moments before Laurie
was able to speak. She thought of her grandmother’s cold manner and her uncle’s
contempt, of how they reminded her every day that she was a burden. How they
repeated daily that she should be grateful they were good enough to take her in
and that she shouldn’t expect anything more.
“I don’t want it,” she sobbed.
Mason stroked her hair and gave a small chuckle. “You don’t
have to take it, Angel,” he told her. “We’ll figure something out. Lots of
charities could use it or you can just refuse it. Whatever you want to do,
baby, I’m behind you.”
She pulled back to look into his eyes. “You won’t be mad at
me for refusing that kind of money? I mean, you’re the one working so hard to
support us. Wouldn’t it be selfish of me?”
Mason smiled lovingly at her and then kissed her gently. “No,
Angel. I don’t want that money either. I can take care of us just fine and I
like the work I do so it ain’t really work.”
Laurie smiled a little and hugged him again. “How do you
always make everything feel better?” She sighed, wiping the tears from her
cheeks.
“Ah, it’s nothing a brilliant, devastatingly handsome, man-of-your-dreams
type couldn’t do.”
Laurie snorted as she let him lead her toward the living
room.
“You forgot full of shit.”
She poked him in the ribs, making him laugh. Rafe and
Dewayne looked up when she came in, both of them looking concerned. Mason gave
them a nod to let them know she was okay.
“On a side note,” Rafe began. “The firm that’s handling your
trust is Winters Tax and Trust.”
Laurie let out a small gasp and turned wide eyes to Mason.
“That’s Trey’s Dad’s firm. Trey interns there every summer. That’s where all
that talk about me having a trust fund must have come from. He found out.”
“That’s what I was thinking.” Rafe nodded. “I doubt it’s significant.
I’m sure that asshole isn’t behind this. It wouldn’t do him any good to hurt
you. He was probably just hoping to party on your dime once you got the money.
I just thought you might want to know. What is significant is your uncle. I
looked into his finances and he’s broke. Over the last six years, he spent
every penny of his inheritance and he has nothing to show for it. He’s got no
cars, no houses, no offshore accounts, nothing. Unfortunately for you, your
trust is set up so the money will go to him if something happens to you before
your twenty-fifth birthday. Mace tells me that’s only six days away.”
Laurie nodded, doing her best to absorb the new information.
“So,” Rafe continued, “I think we may have found a probable
motive for these attacks on you.”
Laurie was momentarily shocked and wondered if her uncle
would really try to kill her over money. She knew the answer in a second. Yes,
he would.
“So what if we get her out of town until after her birthday?”
Dewayne asked. “Then the money would be administered and it wouldn’t do her
uncle any good to go after her, would it?”
Rafe seemed to mull it over.
“Well, she would still have to show up and go through the
red tape to get the money and settle the thing but it would definitely make it
harder for anyone to figure out where she’s going to be. Once the agency
administers the money, the only way her uncle could get his hands on it would be
for her to sign it over to him. It’s worth considering.”
Laurie shook her head, reeling over the news.
“So how do you feel about a little vacation, Angel?” Mason
gave her a squeeze.
Laurie thought about it for a moment. She was ahead in all
of her classes and finals weren’t for two more weeks so she could get away for
a few days, but she hated the thought of that bastard Ron making her run.
“We could just track him down and kill him. That would put
an end to all of this once and for all,” Rafe suggested.
Laurie told herself he was only kidding but the look on his
face and the way Mason and Dewayne seemed to seriously consider the option made
her think otherwise.
“Nah.” Mason shook his head. “We’d need a better idea about
his routine, and who knows he’s here. We just don’t have the time we need to
pull it off without one or all of us ending up in prison.”
“We can get out of town.” Laurie finally relented, if only
to save the three men from risking their freedom in order to protect her. She
gave Mason a quick kiss and headed for the kitchen.
“Somewhere with a beach,” he suggested, following her. “I’d
really like to see you in a bikini. Oh, and that naughty little outfit we
picked out at the mall.”
Laurie rolled her eyes and smiled as she opened the fridge
and began taking out the makings for dinner.
“I’m game for wherever you want to go, babe,” she told him.
“Great. I don’t suppose you have a passport.”
Laurie nodded and laughed a little.
“Actually I do. I got it when I started college. I had this
idea that I would be invited to all kinds of exotic vacation spots that law
students go to on spring break…but that never happened. Do you have one?”
Mason shook his head and smiled sheepishly.
“No but Frank Conner does.”
Laurie raised an eyebrow.
“Frank Conner? Really?”
“Hey, I was twenty-two and business was up. I figured I was
going to be a huge drug kingpin and one day I might have to hope a plane to a
nonextradition country. The law would be looking for Mason Pierce, not Frank
Conner.”
Laurie laughed hard and hugged him.
“My fiancé, Frank Conner, the genius.” She teased.
Mason chuckled and kissed her before he kissed her and
backed away.
“I’ll start making the arrangements. We’ll try to leave
tomorrow night. Sound good to you?”
“Yeah, that will give me a chance to turn in some work
tomorrow.”
Mason nodded and returned to the living room with the guys.
* * * * *
Laurie made it through all of her classes the next day,
although she could barely contain herself. She had woken up that morning filled
with excitement about getting away with Mason. He had booked them a flight to
the Bahamas and even reserved a nice suite in a luxury hotel overlooking the
beach.
They packed the night before so that when she came home from
school they could clean up, grab their things and head out. The idea of lying
on a beach next to Mason was becoming more and more appealing. She smiled to
herself when she realized that considering their history they probably wouldn’t
spend much time outside the hotel room.
She had spoken to Olivia earlier in the day and let her know
of their plans to get away. She fretted over not having a bathing suit and
wondered aloud if they would have time to stop and pick one up or if she should
wait and try to buy one when they got there. Olivia laughed and offered to
bring over one of her many risqué swimsuits before they left.
Laurie thought about it for a moment, not sure if she would
be comfortable wearing the kind of swimwear Olivia favored. Then she thought of
how Mason would probably love to see her in something like that and she agreed.
She let Olivia know what time they would be leaving and she promised to be
there in time.
Sitting in her last class of the day, Laurie had an
overpowering sensation of someone watching her. It was so intense that she
began to sweat. A glance around the room revealed that nobody was looking in
her direction. Movement at the open door caught her attention but when she
looked there she saw only a flash of someone moving out of sight. She began to
feel uneasy, thinking someone had been standing in that doorway staring at her.
Who could it have been? Uncle Ron? No, he wouldn’t dare come after her in such
a public place.