Forty-One
MASON
I honestly thought my life couldn't get more fucked up. But here I am. Whole world shattering around me. And then my phone goes off and it's like my brother knows I'm in some sort of trouble. I contemplated ignoring him, but he would track me down in seconds.
"Yes?" I answer, not being able to control the shaky breath that passes my lips. Fuck.
"What's happened?" He questions straight away and my eyes sting with tears as I look behind me at mine and Gunner's hotel which is practically smoking. We had to bring Gabriella to the car and drive some distance before the police shows up. Damien has men dotted around the whole perimeter of Vegas, so once we get Delilah, getting out of here will be somewhat difficult.
Delilah.
I clench my eyes shut, praying to the high heavens she's okay, but the last thing I saw was her clutching onto her stomach with a bullet wound.
"Mason!"
"I-I-...Delilah....We.... She's..." A sob passes my mouth. "We've fucked up bad, so bad! I-I can't lose her, Mill. S-She—"
Gunner grabs the phone from my hand.
"Do you know a guy called Damien Pérez?"
While Gunner is taking control of the situation as per usual, a light tap on my arm grabs my attention. I turn my head to Gabriella who looks at me with frightened blue eyes, that are scarily similar to her brother's. Gunner might be putting on a brave face, but for a minuscule second, I saw that facade drop the minute Delilah got trapped in that building with a bullet wound.
"You okay?" I question Gabriella with a tight smile, wiping at my sore eyes.
She signs 'Safe' and I nod my head in confirmation, signing the word back to her. "T-The girl, D-Delilah? W-We go back for her?" She whispers gently, tugging on the corner of my suit jacket, a pleading look on her face.
"We can't right now, Ella." She bites on the inside of her cheeks and averts her fearful eyes to Gunner at the front of the car who sort of looks more relaxed than a few moments ago.
"I-I know something—" Gabriella is cut off by a nuclear-sounding explosion, and for a second the sky illuminates in a fiery orange colour.
My body pulls me out of the car before my mind can comprehend. I trap my trembling lip between my teeth and gawk at what once was a thriving building but is nothing but a tall pile of burning rubble.
"Mason!" I haven't even realised I'm rushing back to the hotel until I hear Gunner shout for me in the distance. I don't stop, if anything my pace quickens. Once I've reached what once was a building I start pulling away at the rubble.
"Delilah!" I exclaim, frantically hoping she's okay... alive. "Come on, baby, you're stronger than this," I mutter to myself, trying to see through the blurry tears in my eyes.
"Mason, come on." Gunner yanks my arm and pulls me away.
"Do you not fucking care?!" His body tenses and he turns to glare at me.
"Don't ever ask me that fucking question again, Mason or I'll kill you my fucking self, do you understand me?" He points a finger in my face and storms back to the car. "Hurry the fuck up before you get us killed with your recklessness like you usually do."
Ouch.
...
"I think this is the longest time you've kept your mouth shut." Miller nudges my shoulder gently with a smile but I don't return the gesture. My eyes stay focused on the wall ahead of me.
I had no idea my brother and his friends would suddenly be here to help us. As shitty as I'm feeling I can't help but appreciate him being here. We're all cooped up in a hotel room as we try and figure out our next move. Miller claims to have been tracking down Damien for a long time after he found out he had a sex trafficking ring.
I suppose being a dad to a young little girl, he doesn't want that type of corrupt shit to happen to her. Doesn't help that the poor girl has an extra pair of overprotective dads. Miller has been trying to get him for months so he wasn't best pleased when he found out I had already found him, or more so he found me.
"What are you doing back in Vegas, Miller? Do you not have a wife and kids to be with?" I rasp, dragging my hands down my tired face.
"Something about us being siblings, I always get this nagging feeling when I think you've done something stupid." He admits, standing up to walk over to a cabinet. He pulls out two glasses and pours a healthy amount of scotch into them.
"Where was the nagging feeling when I faked my death?" I scoff, taking the glass from him and happily down the amber-coloured liquid, welcoming the burn.
"No thanks to you, you had my wife stressing over your wake when she was pregnant, might I remind you." Phoenix pipes up and I roll my eyes. He's never going to let me forget that one small detail about when I faked my death and suddenly reappeared again. Apparently Callie had been climbing stepladders and Phoenix made it out like she was forty thousand feet in the air.
"Delilah will be okay, Mason," Miller reassures me, reaching out to squeeze my shoulder firmly. My heart aches at the mention of her name.
That whole building went up into flames and turned into nothing but a pile of cement. She would have had to have some sort of magical fuckery going on with her to escape that. What doesn't make me feel any better, is the fact she could only hear out of one ear. She was vulnerable and I was too slow to get back and keep her safe.
I should have let her go in front of me. What kind of boyfriend am I to go before her? A shitty one.
"Until we find a body, she's alive." I look at Everest with furrowed brows and he winces when he evaluates what he's just said. "Not that we're going to find her body. Well, we will, but you know she'll be alive, kicking and breathing."
"Just shut the fuck up." Phoenix hits him around the head.
A mirror smashing and a muffled shout from Gunner have all our heads snapping to the closed bathroom door. I think he's finally losing it, and that tall hard wall he's built for so long is crumbling. I'd say Gunner has always been the glue to our trio, but at this very moment, I think it is my time to step up and stop being the 'annoying little shit' everyone sees me as.
"Give me a sec," I mumble, standing up and walking over to the bathroom. I push down the door handle and release a sigh of relief when the door opens. I push myself through and lock the door behind me. "Gunner."
He's braced over the sink, his muscular back heaving and his knuckles cut and bloody with shards of glass surrounding him. The glass very much looks like his wall that is currently toppling over at a very fast rate.
"We should have never gone tonight." He whispers, looking up at me through the remaining glass still attached to the wall, the edges all sharp and jagged.
"If we hadn't gone we would have never found Gabriella." I frown. He should be relieved that we found his sister and that she's alive.
"She doesn't even recognise me." His voice cracks. He's giving up. Gunner is giving up. The strong man in front of me, who would probably punch me in the face if I did this, is giving up. All I have to do is look into his broken and dull blue eyes to see that I'm right. "And our girl,—"he shakes his head. "She can't have made it out of there."
"Why are you doubting her? Our Delilah. That fucking amazing woman is made of steel, she could kill us two if she wanted to. Don't doubt for a second she's not capable of figuring a way out." I shock myself with my words like I wasn't ready to climb my way through burning rubble an hour ago.
Delilah is gonna be so proud when I tell her.
Because I'm going to tell her.
We're going to find her.
"No—"
I turn him around and grab his face in my hands, pushing my forehead against his.
"Fucking listen to me," I say in a low threatening tone. "Don't you fucking doubt her, do you understand me?" One tear drops down his face and then another.
I kiss every single one away. I let him cry it out because I know he needs it.
"Don't doubt her," I whisper again, but more gently.
"Okay." He nods, sniffling. "Fuck." He grits, pulling back and staring down at the glass.
"That's coming out of your bank account." I point down to the glass and he rolls his eyes, cracking the smallest smile, but it warms my insides and gives me a little more hope.
"Call the team, get them here." His face hardens and he goes back into business mode, opening the bathroom door to reveal everyone crowded around a phone. My phone.
"What is it?"
"You don't lock your phone." Everest raises his brows at me, wiggling my phone in his hand. "I'm surprised. Don't worry, I didn't snoop through the camera roll." He smirks and I snatch it out of his hand.
Good.
Because I don't know what I would have done to him if he saw one of the pictures Delilah decided to spontaneously send me in a meeting one day. Pretty sure Gunner has that certain picture too because when I glanced at him in that meeting he looked ready to combust.
"So why have you got my phone?"
"Delilah has messaged you."
I glance down.
Delilah baby- Forget about me.
My hand tightens around the device.
"That isn't her is it?" Miller questions.
I shake my head.
A/N
I'd like to tell you this book is coming to an end soon, but I don't even know myself lmaoo😭