A grateful dedication to Newmoon2 for literally commenting on every chapter and being so enthusiastic about this story ^_^ Thank you!!
MASON SAT ON the plush sofa in his living room, hunched over and in a foul mood as irritation gnawed at every one of his nerves. He knew that he was but a few seconds from blowing a gasket or better yet, shooting another hole into that screaming idiotic goon of his as the crew of Neanderthals were trying to pry the bullet out of him. The complicity of the situation with Jason grew tends fold tonight. He didn’t feel not a bit of remorse as he watched that car skid around on the highway. Actually, he felt better when he saw the blood dripping onto the wet ground. It was a lesson taught and hopefully learned for all who dared to cross him.
He never left a job unfinished nor did he ever back down from a challenge. He, as well as everyone who knew anything about surviving the streets 101, knew that by pulling out a gun, a war was about to break out between him and Jason.
‘Good.’ He thought as he contemplated the idea of wiping out that son of a bitch, his arrogant brother, their new lap dog who quickly became a thorn in his side and that two-faced prick, Carter. Maybe he’d save himself the trouble and kill all of them with his own hands. A few more blood stains in his hands wouldn’t make a difference. A bullet to the head each just like he did that bumbling blond idiot from a couple nights ago, Pete.
His annoyance with them was enough reason to cause them a slow and painful death but so was trying to test him and his reputation. His only reason for needing Jason in his crew to begin with was gone now that he wanted to stick his nose where it didn’t belong and basically signed his own death warrant. All Mason had to do was say that he was placing a bounty on Jason’s head and every crew, gang and street rat in Miami would slither from the hole that they crawled out of, to go after him.
After all, there was very little that the scum of streets wouldn’t do to get their hands on about a grand. Hells, most would kill their own mother for half of it. Good thing he had plenty of it to offer.
“Mason.” He acknowledged –barely—the moron, Mitchell, who’d interrupted his thoughts with a dark scowl.
Mitchell visibly blanched in the florescent light coming from the high ceiling in Mason’s lair and scratched the back of his dark blond mane. “Um, I think we’re going to need Kayla. Ed’s bleeding all over the kitchen.”
“Get the fuck out of my sight before you find yourself bleeding all over the place!” Mason answered, his eyes never meeting Mitchell’s face. A silent threat lingered in his voice and Mitchell simply nodded and headed back into the kitchen where they were trying but miserably failing to eradicate the piece of metal out of their crewmate’s shoulder without causing him anymore pain.
With balled up fists at his side, Mason rose from where he sat and made his way towards the windows. All he saw were parked cars sitting in his large drive way and a quiet street. “Where the hell is she?!” He grumbled harshly under his breath.
Apart from his crew who always needed her to sew or patch them back up; he needed her. Honestly, it’d be easier to just get rid of Machayla and find another girl but he didn’t have the time nor did he have the patience to train another woman to his liking. He’d invested way too much time on her to just give her up and let her whore around with just anybody. If she’d just kept her ass where she belonged tonight, she would’ve been here helping that screaming pansy ass, Eddie with his bullet wound. Funny enough, he wasn’t worried about the fact that he left her, he was more concerned about who he left her with.
Jason was a threat that needed to be eliminated. Fast!
If by any chance, Machayla decided to flap her gums to Jason or anyone of his friends and tell them what she knew, Mason would have no choice but kill her too. He had too much at risk to let anybody who even guessed what he’d been up to, live. The only reason Machayla knew was because she walked into a meeting he was having with a certain… acquaintance.
He’d grabbed her by the arms and threatened that if she ever opened her mouth about what she’d over heard to anybody, he’d personally make sure that she and her father were together in where ever the hell the SOB’s went when they died. She’d quickly shook her head and by the amount of fear that emanated from her eyes, he knew that she’d never tell a soul. He was sure of that. Until now.
She’d gotten braver. More outspoken since he’d found her. He still saw the fear and contempt that she held for him in her eyes but lately he noticed a hint of defiance and it made him want to keep her near twenty-four seven just to keep her in line.
In fact, he would do just that.
When she came back –because if he had to go out and find her, it won’t be pretty—she was quitting that damn at the hospital. If she annoyed him about going back to work at any point, she’d be working for him and only him. And she wouldn’t have a choice; he’d never given her any for this specific reason. She knew that no matter where she went, he’d find her. Being part of one of the wealthiest families in the East coast, he knew that there was little to nothing that he couldn’t get away with and so did she.
Every time he was accused of anything whether a murder or being head of the drug trade in Miami, he’d simply deny it and the feds would sweep it under the rug. He was basically unstoppable and his fiancé going to the cops with complaint about anything wasn’t going to change that. Who’d believe anything she said? So he’d wait for her to come back and he’ll be sure to remind her of who she was really dealing with.
Though, as hard as it is to believe, he did love Machayla at some point. It wasn’t until she moved in with him that that love started turning into something that he’d no name for. He always had a dominate streak to him but it didn’t start to unravel until he started living with her. Most would say that it was her doing. That she was the reason why he was such a domineering person. But Mason knew better.
Mason knew that he loved to prey on those who were weaker than he was. If the world was a jungle then he was the lion. He was power hungry and he was well aware of it. Always have been. But what actually set him apart from the other power hungry people in this world was that he knew he was and he embraced the fact that he, Mason Scott, was an evil and sadistic son of a bitch who just didn’t give a damn. Turning with an annoyed scowl wrinkling the space between his eyebrows, he headed into the kitchen where Eddie’s screams were getting louder and louder. It was time to shut him up.
“Bring her back! Bring her back right now Tabitha or I swear to god almighty…!”
“Watch your tone Mills. I don’t take to anybody yelling at me or giving me commands.”
“Yeah, unless it’s from my brother, right?” Jason snapped over the phone. They were all standing in front of the hospital’s entrance due to rushing outside, expecting to find the two girls in deep conversation about Jason after Victor came back with news that Machayla and Tabitha were outside “talking”.
All eyes –minus Brandon’s immediate family who were slumped in their chairs fast asleep—fell on Jason as it dawned on the crew the hilarity of his sudden predicaments. No man ever wanted his ex of any kind cozying up to his new love interest no matter what the situation was. Despite their somber mood, they cracked a mocking smile as Jason’s eyes widen ten folds and he quickly made his way out of the waiting room and down to the front of the hospital.
The crew didn’t hesitate to follow as they tried their best to hold in their laughter. Carter, who saw this coming the second he laid eyes on Tabitha and realized that she’d returned, had a huge grin plastered on his face as his brown eyes glint with amusement.
By the time they reached the outside of the front entrance of the hospital, the two girls were nowhere to be found. “Damnit!” Jason hissed. He turned to Victor who had a brow quirked up in question. “Why the hell didn’t you do something?”
“Like what? I’m not getting into that drama.” Victor retorted. “Your love life is your problem.”
“I’ll remember that the next time you come to me about your girlfriend leaving you for someone else.” Jason muttered while sending a knowing look towards Carter and Sierra who rolled her eyes at him.
“Yeah whatever, so what’s your plan now? You just going to stand there while those two are probably somewhere tearing at each other’s hair?” Victor asked as he leaned against the hospital’s wall.
“Why would they be tearing each other’s hair out?” Jason questioned suspiciously.
“Er, I kind of snapped at Tabs in front of Kayla and let it slipped that you two kinda had a history?” Victor’s answer sounded more like question than anything else.
“You what?!” Jason barked.
Shrugging, he took a step away from the wall where he could easily remove himself from danger should Jason attack him. “Mybad.”
With a last glare in Victor’s direction, he’d ask Drake for his phone which he knew would have Tabitha’s number. He’d barely let her finished her ‘hello’ before he started yelling into the phone; his agitation rearing its ugly head again for the up-tenth time tonight.
“What’s that suppose to mean?” Tabitha snapped back at him through the phone.
“You know exactly what it means.”
Silence fell between the two for a while before she sighed and muttered, “You’ve changed.”
“What did you expect after five years?” He gritted out. “Just bring her back.” With that he hung up on her and threw the phone back to Drake who was giving him a dark look. Turning on his heels, he ignored the way they were all eying him and headed back into the hospital.
Inside he was chastening himself for being so out of it, that he’d missed Machayla slipping out and Tabitha who’d most likely followed her out for whatever reason. But as much as he wished that that was his biggest problem, it wasn’t. He knew that after today, things would only get worse before they got better. Mason was going to be out for blood, heck he’d already shed Brandon’s and there wasn’t anything stopping him from doing the same to the rest of them after tonight.
They’d given him a reason to put a target on their heads and an example out of them. It was too bad for Mason though because there wasn’t a damn thing stopping them from fighting back. Not unless he had Machayla; which was a part of Jason’s justification when he’d yelled at Tabitha to bring her back to him instantly. He was not going to let her out of his sight till this whole deal blew over and Mason was either dead or locked up jail to rot.
They all knew that there was about to be a war between the two sides and whoever else wanted to join and when it finally broke out, Jason and everybody else would be ready for it. And for Mason’s sake, Brandon had better survived or he wouldn’t.
Machayla frowned as she wondered to herself who Tabitha was snapping at on the other line of the phone as she sped down the road that led them to her very beautifully disguise prison where she was being punished repeatedly for just breathing.
“Hello? Hel- damnit!” She watched as Tabitha threw the phone onto the back seats and gnashed her teeth as her knuckles tightened around the steering wheel. Machayla cocked a brow at her temper flair but said nothing as they continued the silent drive.
Minutes later, she had one foot out of Tabitha’s car when a hand landed on her shoulders. “You’re sure you’ll be alright?” Tabitha asked. Her hazel eyes shown in the moonlight as she sent Machayla a worried look.
After Victor had blown up at her, Tabitha faced her with an explanation on the tip of her tongue but Machayla had simply held up her hand and said that she didn’t need an explanation, that whatever happened with her Jason wasn’t her business.
She lied through her teeth.
She wanted to know everything but bit her tongue in order to prevent herself from asking. Instead, she’d turn on her heels and declared that she was going home and that there wasn’t anything that Tabitha could do to stop her. Surprisingly, Tabitha nodded and offered her a ride. Considering the fact that the buses had stopped running at midnight and it was way too far and too dangerous for her to walk, she’d reluctantly accepted.
“I’m sure. Thanks for the ride.” She answered quietly but Tabitha had yet to remove her hand from Machayla’s shoulders. Eyeing the chipped nails on the other woman’s hand Machayla felt a sudden wave of jealousy claw at her. ‘This is ridiculous. How can I be jealous of someone like her?’ She asked herself but she knew how.
She was everything that Machayla wanted to be but wasn’t and that was only after spending a few hours in her presence. She was obviously brave and outspoken, could handle herself in a dangerous situation and stand up for herself when need be.
Those reasons were enough to respect any woman and even look up to them but once Victor mentioned that she and Jason had a past, Machayla suddenly felt weak and pathetic all over again and it only confirmed that Jason wasn’t going to be around after or even if this ever ended. He’d most likely end up with Tabitha again since she’d admitted to Machayla that she still held a burning torch for Jason earlier that day.
“I’m sorry you had to find out about me and Jason like that. I-”
“Why are you apologizing to me? It’s not like I’m the guy’s girlfriend or something. I have a perfectly good fiancé waiting at home for me.” Machayla turned to her and gave her the most fictitious smile that she could conjure up all the while dying inside because the first part of her statement was indeed a fact. She wasn’t with Jason, instead she was engaged to a two faced monster: attorney by day and a drug lord/criminal during the night.
“Perfect huh?”
“Yes… perfect.”The lie practically burned her throat as it rushed out of her mouth. “I have to get going now.”
Tabitha frowned. “OK but, be careful alright.”
Sending her a tight smile, Machayla nodded and stepped out of the Lexus. “Thanks again for the ride.” Tabitha waved a hand in dismissal and smiled before slowly pulling off. The second she was out of sight, fear gripped Machayla. Mason was going to kill her and even the fact that he did in fact leave her was not going to help. Once again she was on her own.
Tabitha was but about a few feet away when she finally decided to listen to the little voice in her head –more like Jason’s irate voice— and threw the car in reverse. She backed up to her previous spot, set the car on park and jumped out of the car. Machayla was only a few feet away from the porch of the huge house when Tabitha spotted her and jogged to catch up. “Actually-” Machayla practically jumped out of her skin when Tabitha spoke and turned with her hand at her throat.
“What? Did you forget something?” Machayla gritted out; probably annoyed at being scared halfway to death by her.
“Actually, I did.” Tabitha answered. Meanwhile, her eyes wavered around her surroundings to make sure that nobody was near to witness what she was about to do because if her assumptions of the type of person Machayla is was right, she’d have to do this the hard way.
With confusion written on her face, Machayla cocked a brow. “And that would be?”
“You.”
“Excuse me?”
“I change my mind. You’re coming back with me.”
“W- Do you have a screw loose or are you just deaf?” Machayla questioned with a frown. “I have to go in there.”
“My hearing is perfectly fine but, you’re not going in there. Not if I have anything to do with it.”
Machayla gave her a scrutinizing stare and shook her head. “You pale people are out of your minds. I knew there was a reason why I stayed away from you all for so long.” At that she turned on her heels and started walking towards the house again.
Never having a chance to experience reverse racism, Tabitha took a second to realize that she didn’t like it. Suddenly annoyed, she quickly decided to move on to plan B. Her patience was wearing thin and she hadn’t slept in more than twenty-eight hours. Bending over, she slipped her hand into the makeshift holster that was in her boots, pulled out her gun and cocked it. A satisfied smirk made its way onto her face as Machayla froze in mid-stride. “Get in the car. Now!”
Machayla’s shoulders visibly slumped as she put a hand through her already disheveled hair and breathed out an agitated sigh. “Fine.” She turned and without as much as a look towards Tabitha, she passed her with a bump to the shoulders and headed towards the Lexus.
Tabitha, who was holding her breath in case Machayla still refused her request, let the air in her lungs go and tucked her gun back into her shoes. “Good.” She muttered to herself. A woman never willingly did what she doesn’t want to do and she knew that Machayla needed a reason to not go into that house. She saw the relieved look that Machayla was trying so hard but failed to hide the minute Tabitha demanded that she came along.
It was obviously her pride that was standing in her way and Tabitha understood. She’d been the same way with Eric back in Boston. Asking for help only made a person in their position feel weaker and totally helpless. She’d convince herself that she could take care of herself and that maybe one day Eric would wake up and realize the destruction he was creating. But like every other battered woman, they fooled themselves into believing that they loved their abusive men too much to leave or that their hopes for their men would become reality and change for the better.
“Ha! Fat chance.” She scoffed under her breath as she followed Machayla to the Lexus.