did. I fucked up; I should have stopped her. I found her in the shower half fuckin’ dead. By the time the paramedics got there, they had to revive her.” Joe curses under his breath before placing a hand on my shoulder.
“I need you to talk to her Mason. She’s so fucking off right now. She isn’t herself. I don’t know what to do, or how to help her.”
“No can do, Joe.”
“Mason, she will do it again if she doesn’t get herself under control.”
Chapter 14
Whitley
The day I woke up in the hospital I was fucking pissed. He just left me there. Not that I expected him to stay or anything, but after what I’d gone through for him, he could have at least waited until I woke up. He left the fucking money with a nurse. A fucking nurse? Jackson lost his ever-loving mind when I came back home. He wanted to go after Mason. I knew he wouldn’t stand a chance against him.
“Hey sugar, get me a beer?” the asshole at the other end of the bar yells. I throw him a dirty look over my shoulder and flip him my middle finger.
“Some people are so impatient,” Carla says. I smile at her and nod.
“Assholes. They act like my life revolves around serving them as if I have no other customers. So, tell me, what is up with Mr. Hottie?” I lean over the counter and listen to her talk. I do this a lot but often find myself zoning out. I hear bits and pieces, but never the whole conversation.
“Hey slut, I want my damn drink!” the guy roars again pulling me back to reality. Before I can say another word, I hear a crunch and then a scream. Spinning on my heel I see the guy being tossed to the floor. It’s not until I read the cut that I realize who did the tossing. I’ve done a good job of avoiding him lately. I knew he’d come in at some point though.
“Get the fuck out of here,” he roars as the man staggers to his feet. Mason turns slowly. His eyes lock with mine. Regret, anger, hurt, it’s all there in his eyes. I hate to see it all, because it’s not his fault.
“To what do I owe the pleasure? Although the pleasure hasn’t been given in quite a while,” I tease him. His eyes are like stone and his entire body is rigid.
“Get me a beer, yeah?” he asks while sitting on the stool he just threw the asshole out of. I give him a wink before turning and grabbing him a beer out of the cooler. When I set it on the counter in front of him, Mason moves. He quickly grabs my wrist in his hand. Heat dances its way through my body.
“How you been? I haven’t been in here for a while,” he says softly as if we’ve been best friends forever.
“Well, the tips have been great. I haven’t been fucked in the alley in a while, so I do sort of miss that. How are you?” I ask, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
“That’s not what I meant and you damn well know it.”
“Mason look, we had a deal. The Armando shit was on me. I shouldn’t have gone. I messed up. Let it go,” I tell him trying to pull my wrist free. It doesn’t work and his free hand comes up to tug on the end of my hair.
“You cut your hair,” he says gently.
“You like it?”
“Yeah, I do. Can’t pull on it that short, but it looks good on you.” What the hell is this? What the fuck are we doing here?
“I need to get back to work,” I tell him, slowly pulling my wrist free of his grasp.
“Whit. Why’d you do it?” His question sends tears burning through the back of my eyes. I don’t want to answer him. I can’t. Not now. Doesn’t seem to matter though as his piercing gaze stays on mine. My body trembles as he takes me in. The way he holds me hostage with that stare alone, makes me want to tell him everything. Like, my whole life story. But for what? Where would that get us? Nowhere, which is where I’m stuck.
“It was a mistake. I learned my lesson. I’m sorry that you had to be the one to find me,” I say in a near whisper. Mason’s hand moves up to cup my cheek. I find myself wanting to nuzzle