She took her clothes off and hung them on the shower door. After pulling on the clothes she found in the dresser, she climbed into bed. Maybe her shitty days were finally going to start looking up.
* * * *
“How long do you think it will take to hit the news?” Jack sat on his motorcycle watching Mason as he turned his off. “An hour?”
Mason didn’t know, but he sure as hell did know that if anything led the accident back to them, there would be hell to pay. He pocketed his keys and climbed off his bike.
The large fire they’d set had started as a slow burn, unbeknownst to anyone. Mason had perfected the art over the years. The fire had only been a small portion of the plan. With the amount of explosives they’d discovered in the Skulls warehouse, they knew that the place would go up like a rocket into outer space.
The Wicked Angels almost expected the cops’ investigation to lead them to the front door. They expected search warrants for the property and even the crazed lunatic Jesse to tear the place apart looking for something to connect them to the fire. Jesse knew that Mason was a firebug and drilled the point in to everyone paying attention. With the Skulls MC being their well-known rival, it made sense that they’d come after them, which is why they’d taken extra precautions to keep their asses from getting in trouble.
So far they’d done everything right.
“An hour sounds good. I’m sure we’ll get questioned, so be ready for a raid.”
He probably needed to prepare Addison for the potential invasion of cops at some point today. He didn’t know how long it would take the authorities to get everything in order to knock on their doors, but he knew it would happen.
He glanced around the parking lot. “Where the hell is my truck?”
Mason stood and went to the back building where a few of the prospects hung out. Tony worked on a Harley Fat Boy he favoured with Rick and Joe helping him.
“Where’s my truck?”
Tony glanced up, then over at Rick. “Addison took it about thirty minutes ago.”
Panic spread through him. “And you just fucking let her go? We’re on a lockdown. No one leaves the club for anything, especially her!”
“I couldn’t stop her,” Tony defended. “She told me that I would only draw attention to her and she didn’t need that. She dressed up real nice, like she had somewhere to be.”
He pulled out his cell phone and dialled her number. He got her voicemail. Shit. He went to his bike and climbed on.
“You want someone to ride?” Jake asked.
“Yeah.” He pointed to Chuck and Matty. “Go to Addison’s house. If she’s there, stay with her. We’ll go to her office. Have a few guys keep a lookout for the blast.”
The men nodded and headed out. Mason had a complete conversation going on in his head for when he saw her. How the hell did she just up and leave when he’d told her to stay put? He wound around the roads leading into the heart of Tampa.
The air about the whole situation didn’t feel right. She had no reason to leave. If she needed to go home then someone should have gone with her. Or better yet, she could have waited for him to come back.
He pulled in the parking lot of her office and spotted his truck. He parked and hopped off his bike. He peered inside, but didn’t see her anywhere. The first thought that came to mind was one of the Skulls had her. Jack immediately jumped on the phone while Mason glanced around the area looking for her. If they’d taken her back to their MC, they would be in a world of hurt.
He pulled his phone out and dialled her number. Nothing. He hung up and shoved it back in his pocket. Jack hung up and met his eyes.
“No one has seen her. Lila said she hasn’t seen her since last night and no one else can offer an opinion.”
Mason leaned against the wall. “What the fuck am I going to do now?”
His head ached with the thought of the Skulls getting her. He knew if they’d got her, taken her back to their clubhouse, then they’d won. They’d won this damned war because Addison was the whole reason for it.
Jack glanced around the busy streets. “Did she have any work today? Maybe she’s at the courthouse?”
Mason grabbed his phone and typed Addison’s name into the browser. He clicked on the webpage and scrolled through the info until he reached the contact. Just as he suspected, her assistant’s number was listed and he copied it. After punching it into his phone, he waited while it rang.
“Addison Pierce, Attorney-at-Law. How may I help you?”
“Yeah, I’m a client of Addison’s and I need to get in touch with her right now. Can you tell me where she is?”
“What is your name?”
“Mason Vaughn.”
The line went silent.
“Look, I really need to find her. Can you tell me where she is?”
“No, I cannot.”
“So you do know where she is?”
The girl didn’t say anything.
“Come on. What is your name?”
“I’m hanging up now.”
Mason pushed away from the wall. “No! Wait. She could be in danger. Where is she? Do you know?”
“She’s in a meeting. That’s all I’m saying.”
The line went dead, and Mason blew out a breath. At least he knew the Skulls didn’t have her. A meeting? What kind of meeting could she possibly be having? Her office was still a wreck and she wasn’t here. He didn’t know of any other clients she could possibly be representing.
“Lila said that she hung out in the main room, playing pool with Becca and Tony last night.” Jack shrugged. “It doesn’t sound like someone who is focused on representing a client today in court.”
Mason rubbed his forehead. “I know the court system pretty well. It doesn’t sound like she’d be in court today of all fucking times. Where the hell is she?”
Jack pursed his lips. “Maybe she’s meeting with a judge?”
“I don’t think she had any cases coming up. She spent a good amount of time on my case and she only had a handful of others in the works. I was under the impression that she’d dropped them since we had this whole thing going with the Skulls.”
He didn’t think she was in court. Which led him to think of only one other option. She had to be with a client. That idea didn’t settle much better with him. There could be numerous things wrong with that scenario, one being someone in the pocket of the Skulls to carry out their dirty work.
Why the fuck did she leave the clubhouse? Forget him actually telling her to stay put. Why the hell would she leave in the middle of this fucking war? She knew her life could be in danger. She may be a fighter, but she didn’t fight like these guys. She didn’t win wars like this with words.
“Do you want to storm the courthouse?” Jack asked. “I’m with ya, but if we get arrested, I’m making you my bitch.”
Mason chuckled, welcoming his brother’s humour. Leave it to his best friend to try and lighten the mood. “No thank you.” He wanted to bust down the doors and find her ass, but he knew better than anyone that he’d have handcuffs on him faster than anything.
Jack scratched his chin. “So we wait?”
Waiting never seemed like a good option. He wasn’t a very patient man and the very idea of her being taken somewhere and possibly harmed, only killed him more inside. He glanced at the building. If he stood around, he’d plan a million things that could possibly be wrong and it would get him nowhere. He might even convince himself to do something stupid which would only be more trouble for them in the long run.
“We rebuild her office. Might as well put our time to good use and hope for the best that a Skulls member didn’t snatch her from here to the courthouse.”
Jack moved towards the door. “And if they did?”
He simply didn’t want to think about it.
Chapter Nine
Addison couldn’t stop smiling as she left the courthouse. Not only had the job interview been a success, she’d also got a restraining order against Jesse, so she felt safer with the law on her side. She paused to prepare herself and walked towards her office. Maybe, with any luck, she’d make it back to the clubhouse without Mason even knowing she’d left. He’d see it as a stupid move on her part, but an offer to interview for a position of appointment came along once in a lifetime.
She walked around the corner and stopped, spotting Mason in front of her office installing one of her five front windows. Jack, Matty and Chuck were there also, helping him. Maybe they wouldn’t be too pissed off at her for leaving if they’d decided to work on her office at nearly nine in the morning. She sucked in a breath and crossed the street, hoping she was right.
Mason looked up and spotted her. “Where the hell have you been?”
She kept her head held high. “I had a meeting with a judge.”
“You had a meeting with a judge,” he repeated. “About what?”
“About…” She glanced at the other guys, realising all too late that this would not end well. By the number of scowling faces, she had obviously upset not only Mason, but all the men standing before her. “Why are you pissed off?”
That was the wrong thing to say.
“You have a fucking MC gunning for your head and you fucking leave without telling anyone where the fuck you went, what you were doing or, better yet, taking someone with you!” Mason’s voice grew louder as he yelled at her. She’d seen him mad, but she’d never seen him
this
mad.
“Calm down.” She rubbed her forehead. “I went to see the judge about a job. He’s retiring and he considered my name for the appointment to the position.”
Mason didn’t calm down. If anything, he grew more agitated. “You went on a fucking job interview?”
“I would have told you if you’d been around. Since you weren’t, I didn’t. Plus, it’s bad protocol to take someone with you to a job interview. I figured I was pretty safe at the courthouse since the Skulls would be arrested if they tried anything there.” She clenched her fists. “So why are you mad?”
The small vein in his forehead popped out. Addison swallowed. Maybe she hadn’t thought everything completely through. Maybe she should have considered taking Tony. He could have stood outside or in the parking lot while she went to the interview.
Addison shook her head. “Obviously, there is no talking to you right now.”
She walked by him and entered her office. She’d figured with whatever they’d done last night, she wouldn’t have to keep a bodyguard with her at all times. That assumption was wrong. She struggled to figure out what she needed to do about the situation.
Take one event at a time.
“Yo, Addison?”
She glanced up and saw Matty coming towards her. “Yes?”
“Mason needs to head to Sarasota in a little bit. Why don’t you ask him if you can go with him?”
She took in Matty’s appearance. His boyish good looks made women swoon. He liked the attention too, but Matty had a heart pure as gold. He looked the part of a biker with worn jeans, a black T-shirt and his leather cut, but he could just as easily pass for someone on a college campus leading a fraternity. His dark-brown eyes held nothing but compassion. He was the type of man that simply wanted to make peace.
“Do you think it is wise for Mason and me to be cooped up together right now?”
He licked his lips. “Yeah. I do.”
No shock there. It took her a while to understand the different personalities of the members, but Matty loved Mason like a brother. They all did in a sense, but Matty really looked up to him. She didn’t know what had happened when they’d found out she’d left or what they’d done in the meantime, but she could see the concern on all their faces.
“I’ll talk to him about it in a little while.”
She had barely responded before Mason came inside, his big body tense and intimidating. He stalked towards her like a man on a mission. If she didn’t know him well, she would have probably been scared. To be honest, she did know him and was scared anyway.
“You need to get your ass back to the clubhouse, now.”
She tried for an apology. “I’m sorry if I worried you.”
“Did you not fucking hear me? Get your ass in my truck and get back to the clubhouse right now.” He stood there, obviously waiting for her to move.
She grabbed her purse and headed towards the door. “I’m not your little prisoner. I thought you handled the whole problem. Why do I still need twenty-four-hour protection?”
“You’ll be anything I damn well want you to be and you’ll do whatever the hell I want you to do.” He pointed to the truck. “Get in and drive. Me and Matty are following you.”
Addison huffed a breath. She grabbed her keys and purse before walking around her desk and heading outside. His truck was parked at the side of the building and she went to it, climbing in the driver’s seat. Matty had to be out of his mind if he thought she should be cooped up with him right now. She wasn’t entirely sure he wouldn’t explode yet with all his anger. He looked like he’d burst open if he fumed anymore. She backed out of the lot and drove to the MC. The ride only led to her mind roaming, contemplating the whole situation. She didn’t like Mason’s bossy nature when he decided to mess with the future of her career. She had to do what she had to do. The lot was nearly full and she parked the truck with the motorcycles following behind.
She climbed out, pissed that the one thing she still had was the one thing he wanted to take. She slammed the truck door and stared at him as he parked in his spot. He always backed in the same place when he rode his bike, and Matty backed into his space.
“I don’t know why you’re so fucking pissed at me,” Addison yelled from across the parking lot. “I didn’t do anything wrong and you cannot force me to stay here if I wish to go.”
He glanced around and she realised they had attracted a crowd. “Fine. Nothing is stopping you from leaving. Go.”
She pursed her lips. The cold indifference caught her off guard. Her mind raced with the sincerity of his claim and she determined the whole thing had simply been one big misunderstanding. She worried him. He didn’t show his emotions too often, but she could tell that he really did get upset. Something more than him trying to protect her and her disobeying his rules. She didn’t know what to say to him or what to even do to fix the problem.