The Mercenary Next Door (Rogues and Rescuers #2) - Lucy Leroux Page 0,35
Ransom about Angie, downplaying what had happened in his bedroom.
Nevertheless, Ransom filled in some of the dots. His friend’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “Man, I didn’t hear jack shit about that. When I left your place that morning, she wasn’t there. Wes was still crashed out on the floor, though. Maybe he let her in.”
“Or he forgot to lock the fucking door, and she let herself in.” Mason sighed. “Doesn’t matter. Because Laila saw her, and it didn’t look good. Like really bad. I don’t blame her for not picking up when my number flashed across her screen.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Ransom grunted. “I know I only talked to her once, but she seemed…delicate. Real shy. A girl like Angie would roll over Laila like a steamroller.”
Yes, Laila was shy and sweet…fragile. He didn’t need to ask if she would be crushed, seeing him with someone else. He’d seen her reaction, the way she’d shut down. The pain he’d caused had been all over her stricken face.
“I need to get home,” he repeated.
Mason was in the worst shape of his life—literally broken into pieces. But all he could think about was getting back to Laila and fixing what had gone wrong between him.
Ransom winced. “I hate to be the one to break it to you, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon. The docs are being cagey, but I think they’re worried about you re-puncturing your lung or some shit like that. They have a billion and one tests planned.”
Mason groaned loud enough for a concerned nurse to poke her head in the door. After she took his vitals, Ransom swung back to Mason’s least favorite topic. “How mad are you at Angie?”
“I don’t know. It depends on the time of day,” he confessed, but Mason wasn’t a complete asshole. He knew nine out of ten guys would have welcomed that kind of wake-up call, but he wasn’t one—even if there hadn’t been another girl in the equation.
And it hadn’t been just any girl. It had been Laila. Just thinking about her made Mason ache. It hurt worse than the broken ribs.
Mason dragged himself back to the present. “Do me a favor. Don’t tell Dusty or anyone else about what happened. If Wes managed to keep his mouth shut, let’s not spread shit around.”
Ransom shrugged. “Sure, no skin off my back. I’m just surprised it happened at all. Angie doesn’t seem like the type to go in for the kill unless she’s sure of her reception. I also can’t believe you’re not more pissed at her. If a woman blew up my happily-ever-after, I’d be getting ready to read her the riot act the minute I got back.”
Mason tried to shrug, but he soon regretted it. The cast kept him immobile so he didn’t hurt himself, but the lack of response from his muscles and bones, something he’d always taken for granted, was profoundly disturbing.
Mason’s mastery of his body was absolute. Even when he’d gotten sick with the flu or something bad enough to knock him off his feet, he’d never been down long enough to feel weak or incapacitated. All he’d ever felt was a brief frustration, along with a certain restlessness to get back up and be active again.
“I’m not going to do anything to Angie,” he said, trying to sound as if he didn’t deeply resent her. “She took a shot when she shouldn’t have. I’m sure all of us have made the same mistake.”
It was more generous than she deserved, but just talking about her pissed Mason off.
Ransom shrugged, then leaned back in the chair. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re smart to avoid that whole hot mess.”
“I wouldn’t call Angie a hot mess,” Mason said, uncomfortable about defending the woman responsible for wrecking his love life.
“Not Angie—the situation,” Ransom rolled his eyes. “I just mean that Dusty isn’t as calm about Angie’s activities as he pretends to be. Personally, I think those two should just bone and get it over with.”
Mason’s face curdled, feeling as if he’d smelled rotten milk. “With each other? Did the blow to the head make it okay for brothers and sisters to…er…you know.”
“Nah, man.” Ransom chuckled. “Their parents married each other in their teens. I think Dusty had graduated from high school already. They’re not related by blood,” he said.
Surprised, Mason only stared.
“Anyway,” Ransom continued after a long pause. “I’m gonna stick around for a while, at least until the end of the week.”