Chapter 6

Six

Mason

S o perfect. So mine.

I push a little deeper and stop when I hit her wall of innocence. My muscles are trembling from the effort it's taking not to sink into her and claim her fully, but I keep my self-control in check.

"Take me, Mason."

"You've stolen?—"

It takes me a moment to realize the flashing lights bouncing off the walls is not from the Christmas tree but from the front of my house. Sirens grow closer and tear me from the moment with my angel. I don't care who is at my front gate—the guard should have let me know of the coming intrusion. Someone would be job hunting for the new year.

"Mason?"

Allison pulls away from me, and I can see the second realization breaks through her thoughts and I curse under my breath.

"Stay here," I command as I pull away and quickly dress. Regret and shock play out over her expression as she pulls my robe over her beautiful, naked body. In the short time we've been together I've picked up on little gestures and have already learned how to read shifts in her mood.

I lean down and place a kiss on top of her head until she looks up at me. "I have a feeling I know who's out there. I'm so sorry." The fear in her voice jacks my anger up and sets me on edge.

"There's nothing to be sorry for. I'll be back in a moment."

I close the library door behind me and hurry downstairs, buttoning my shirt. My butler is already there talking with two officers with a bewildered look on his face.

O'Bryan turns to me. "It's all right, I'll handle this. You can go back to bed."

"What is this about, Shade?" I demand and I know it's petty of me but I cross my arms and glower at him like he's an unruly child getting caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar.

Two officers are standing in the entrance of my home and that weasel of a man has the nerve to use them like shields.

One is a rookie who can't hold eye contact with me and the other a seasoned cop who's been on the job long before his new partner was even conceived.

The older officer directs himself to me. "Mr. Savage, sorry to intrude on your evening, or early morning as it is. We've received a complaint that you're holding a young lady here against her will."

"That's him!" A man about my height with half my bulk steps from behind the protection of the cops and rushes forward and that's when I notice the camera crew through my open front door.

Fucking dickhead move.

Family resemblance is in the eyes and that's where the similarities end. I think he's trying to make himself look more important than he is by joining the officers.

"Sir, get back in the car. We'll handle this."

"Get the hell out of my home and off my property, Shade. And take your trash with you." I signal to the camera crew filming from a distance.

"That's the kidnapper. He has my niece. I know the pervert has my niece. She's here. I know it. Probably already raped her. Beat her. I know he's beat her. You'll see the bruises when we find her and then you can arrest the filthy piece of trash."

"Officers, there's no one here against their will. I assure you. The only thing I'm guilty of is hiring this dirtbag in the first place. Something I'll be correcting soon enough."

Before she even touches me I'm immediately aware of her presence. Warm fingers dig into my shirt and I can feel her confusion in the slight touch. I reach out to her and she slips her tiny hand into mine, molding her body to mine. From deep within me some force of protectiveness roars to the front of my mind and I use my massive body as a shield to block her.

I should have known she would have none of it.

"It's okay, Mason. I can handle this," she says lowly for only me to hear.

"What's this about, Uncle William? Why are you here?" Allison steps from behind me and directs her attention to her uncle who, I'm glad to say, looks like his face is about to explode. Good. One less problem in her life she would have to deal with.

"You know why, girl. Did you let this trash touch you and filthy your body? Don't lie to me. Did he touch my property?"

Everything turns red and only her hand in mine holds me back from making his face an example of how not to talk to my woman. Any woman.

"Are you Miss Shade," asks one of the officers. She tightens her robe and raises her gaze to meet mine for a moment before answering.

"I am, Officer."

"Do you have an ID, please?"

She pulls out her phone which holds her license and hands it over. My pulse hammers with anger at the colossal amount of restraint it takes not to pull her back into my arms when I notice her trembling fingers.

"Your age, ma'am?"

"I just turned eighteen. Today is my birthday."

"I think you have all the proof you need, Officer."

"We'll be the judge of that," comes the rookie and he's trying to make himself larger by puffing his chest out, but he has a long way to go to prove himself and I'm not in the mood to measure dicks.

"Are you here against your will? Have you been forced into any sexual situations against your will?"

"God, no. I guess I don't have to ask where you're getting all this." I see the loathsome expression on her face as she turns to face her uncle. Pride swells in my chest as I watch my beauty take a stand against her uncle and I keep quiet, letting her say her piece.

"Mason would never do that to me or anyone else. I'm not here for anything other than my own desire and free will. Whatever this man thinks and says should be weighed and measured. He's a known liar and thief and I have proof." Allison slips a thumb drive into my hand. "And now so does Mason and Savage Ink. Let's see how you weasel yourself out of that. By the way, I don't have anything else."

I know she's referring to the recording she threatened me with earlier. I never thought she did or this evening would have turned out completely different for the both of us.

"You hold your tongue, little girl, or I'll do it for you. You're no better than your mother. A lying whore of a woman. You let him fuck your virgin pussy for nothing. Now you're no good to me used. Trash. Just like your mom." So much rage spilled from the other man, spittle flew from his mouth the more he spat his obscenities. Shade flung himself around the officers, hand primed to give Allison another taste of his knuckles.

I didn't think, just moved, and I sure the hell didn't wait for another vile word to come out of the fucker's mouth. I take the blow for her across the face, but it's going to take more than a slap to take me down. A lot fucking more. The second my fist connects with the dirt-bag's face, satisfaction fills me. Adrenaline pumps through me and the more I pound my fist into his face the better I feel. I rear back and land another and another. "Last night is the last time you get to lay a single finger on her, Shade." I bellow in his now bloody face and I don't feel an ounce of remorse.

"STOP!"

The voice of my angel pulls me out of the dark haze and I realize the officers have their hands on my arms trying to pull me off the fucking sleazeball now cowering at my feet.

Rage burns in me as I stand and step away. "Get this trash out of my house. I'll be pressing charges for assault."

It takes both officers to pull the whining asshat off my floor. "Be at the precinct today to fill out the paperwork, Mr. Savage."

"You better bring a fucking lawyer. I'm going to sue your ass and take you for all your worth," Shade mumbles around his broken lips.

He can try. Money buys more than loyalty. It buys Chicago's finest legal counsel. And I have all the witnesses I need to prove I'm on the right side of the law in this instance. Maybe the camera crew was a good thing, after all. They caught everything through the open door and for a second I feel like thanking Shade for his thoroughness. Though he intended to ruin me, all he did was tarnish his own name.

As the cops leave I turn to find an empty space where Allison should be. Damn it.