Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five

Mason

It's almost two in the morning when I arrive at the Decker's house. Chris Decker opens the door, a dark frown settling on his scowling features. He's going to kill me.

"You said nothing would happen to her," Christian stays put with his arms crossed. "He had a gun pointing at Ainse. How can I trust you to care for her?"

"Excuse me." I don't want to fight with him, but this is bullshit. "You said Porter would never hurt her, didn't you? My job was to protect her from the bad guys, not the idiot you trusted for so long."

He flinches and drops his head.

"Is she in her house?"

"No." Gabe comes up from behind Chris. "Ainsley's staying with us until her house is clean. Is the house in Baja ready?"

Among all the other shit I've been working on, I had to inspect the house down in Baja since they will be there for two weeks. My company upgraded the security system, hired a few guys to protect the house, and made sure the two houses next door were safe, too.

"Yes, you can leave as early as today," I confirm, and my eye twitches as I refrain from telling them I'm taking my girl with me. "Your names are cleared, by the way. A couple of my men are searching for Porter. The car he left earlier was a rental. If I find anything, I'll let you know."

"Make sure they don't hurt him," Chris tells me, and that infuriates me. "I want to do it with my own hands."

"Sorry." I shrug both shoulders. "Finders keepers. I'll see you later."

I pivot around and rush to Ainse's house, pull out my keys, and turn on the lights. The wood floor and the walls in the foyer are stained with red blotches of blood. I close the door, and it's the same.

There's a knock on the door, the doorknob wiggles, and it opens. My father and I stare at each other.

"I thought someone had broken in," he finally says.

"This is going to take longer than predicted." Dad's brow quirks and he stares at me waiting for some information, I guess. "Cleaning. I want to change the floor and have the walls repainted. Same with the door. Having it replaced will be best. Not sure where we'll stay while this is going on."

"If you had a house…" He shrugs and gives me that fatherly look of "if you had listened to me, but what do I know."

The size I shrink to when my parents are around is the one of a toddler. Nothing I do satisfies them. At my age, I have a successful business. Large companies and even governments pay me a lot of money for what I do.

"Dad, you have nothing either," I refute. "The two-bedroom apartment you've owned since I was a kid isn't much. You live mostly with the Deckers and keep crying about my mother's departure."

He stares at me, then studies me from head to toe and tosses his hands up in the air. "My marriage to your mother is not a conversation I want to have with you.

"She blamed me for years about our marriage until I realized she is incapable of having a stable relationship, Mason. For years, I believed I shouldn't settle down until you were older, and I had a more stable life. You're older but I don't want to settle for just anyone.

"I'm happy, and I don't see the point of buying a bigger place when, as you pointed out, I'm barely there. It has enough rooms for me and my child, but he doesn't want to visit me."

I size him up. He's about my height, but he never fails to look taller than me. It doesn't matter how much I work out or how tall I pretend to be, he'll always be this huge man that I can never measure up to.

"Do you have tools?" I ask, breaking that scrutinizing gaze he's using to shrink me down a size or two. "I want to start the job right now. There's no way I'll leave her with this mess, and the sooner I finish this, the better."

"She has the basics in the garage," Dad informs me. "I'll bring you what I have and some dinner."

A couple of guys from the construction company the Deckers use are working side by side with me. This is going to cost me a pretty penny. We've already replaced the floor, I'm priming the walls, and they should be finished polishing the wood and painting the walls by the end of the day.

"Coffee?" I turn and find Ainse standing next to the door holding a mug.

Her hair is up in a ponytail, and her temple is covered with white bandages. I set the brush on the tray next to me and walk toward her. Sucking in her citrusy aroma, I extract her essence and reassure myselfshe's okay. Once I'm sure she's real, I lower my lips to hers and kiss her with the intention of not letting her go for an entire year.

"I'm sorry," I mumble against her mouth and continue our kiss.

"How are you, Nine?" I ask her and touch her temple with my lips. "I'm going to fucking kill him."

"Who told you?"

"It doesn't matter," I murmur in her ear. "Do you want me to go with you down to the station?"

"No, my parents are coming with me." She hugs me with one arm. "I'm okay, Ten. Thank you for fixing the house. I really appreciate not seeing the mess he left." She places her hands behind my neck, and I lower my head, our lips meeting one more time. It's a tender kiss where our tongues dance at the rhythm of one of those ballads she sometimes composes after we have sex.

"I told you I could take care of myself." She breaks the kiss. "Though having the hero close comes in handy when I need a hug—or two."

"You're the heroine of the book, remember?" An amazing, brave, strong heroine who belongs to me. "I'm proud of you, my Nine."

"Though I want to stay in your embrace forever, I have to go," she whispers as her parents yell her name. "Can I see you later, maybe? Never mind. I can't be with you until the house is ready."

"I'll get us a suite at a hotel for tonight, beautiful." I don't let her go, even when she's fighting me to release the hold. "Please? The only reason I didn't drag you out of your parents' yesterday was because they'd kill me."

"I'll think about it." Her words don't promise much, and my chest takes the blow like a pro.

She kisses me one last time and escapes from my grasp. Her parents are waiting next to their Land Rover and stare at me with animosity. It will take a lot to convince them I can take care of her and that I care for her, damn it.

Nine: My parents just announced we're leaving early for Baja. I'd love it if you could come with us for the entire stay, but if not, at least a few days.

Mase: I plan on joining you for as long as you want me .