12. ~Mason~

12

~Mason~

I stepped out of the shadows as the girl ran away down the hallway like a bat out of hell.

Her hot-pink heels clacked loudly as she went, the strappy things matching her wrap dress that had a striking studded gold belt that gave it a rocker-type edge, something I remembered seeing in the IG pictures Colt had recently blasted all over the place—an accessory design courtesy of Chloe Anders.

The girl was really going out of her way to get her friend attention, even now taking to wearing her designs around campus too.

That whole situation had appeared more than just a little strange to me when Colt had filled me in on why Brianna had agreed to come to our home and record with him.

The timing was particularly suspicious.

I was certain it hadn't come about on its own, that Chloe wasn't being urged to leave Stonewell University just by sheer coincidence.

No, it reeked of interference.

Interference from a certain someone.

And that same certain someone had been far too giddy this morning for me not to take notice.

He only got like that when a plan of his was about to come to fruition.

So, I'd first suspected him attempting to do something with Hex in a bid to take the wheel without my knowledge—and thereby fuck up things before it had even begun since we'd revived it.

When I'd managed to rule that out, it had led me to the girl he'd been suspiciously fixated on.

Fortunately, during some fooling around wherein I'd had Colt's lovely cock stuffed down my throat, he'd been very chatty as usual, and he'd ended up telling me all about the plan Lev had pulled him in on to bring Brianna to the house, which had ended with her running off after dousing Lev with a bottle of water.

I'd attempted to access the surveillance from the recording studio because Colt hadn't been privy to the interaction between them, but it had been corrupted. By Lev and his talents in that arena, no doubt.

He hadn't wanted either of us to know what had been said—or what he'd done to her.

That escalating suspicion and rapidly rising concern had led me here today, to her class.

I'd been watching the entire thing and I'd witnessed her ruined presentation.

It was more than a mild and intriguing attraction on his end now toward her.

The fact that he'd orchestrated that pointed to full-on obsession.

And when Levi Knight became obsessed with something, it invited a whole lot of chaos.

Talking him down or interfering in a reactive way wouldn't counter it or be able to stop it.

I knew him far better than to believe that.

No, it required a proactive approach.

But to be able to implement that, I first needed to determine the true root cause for his fixation.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Chase Arlington, the football captain I now had under my thumb. He was the heir to an oil tycoon, a billionaire who possessed a great deal of power and influence.

My father represented many just like him with his infamous law firm, Honor Hall Law , but fortunately, Atticus Arlington wasn't one of them. He was outside my father's usual circles, which meant my father wouldn't be able to register what I was about to do. I could keep it off his radar.

"Mason," Chase answered. "What's up?"

"Time for the start of your service to Hex."

"All right," he responded nervously. "What do you need?"

"Put me in contact with your father's PI."

"That guy's really hard to get a hold of, Mason."

"Then you'd better get on it. ASAP. Set up a meet between us just outside Stonewell. No details are to go through our phones or any devices. Relay the meet information to me in person."

"Sure, yeah, I'll handle it."

"Good boy."

I hung up and pocketed my phone in my jeans.

Time to discover what skeletons Brianna Walker had hiding in her closet and, more importantly, what had Levi believing they paired so well with his.

"Mason!"

I spun around to see Colt rushing down the hallway to my left.

He was wearing that studded leather jacket of his that was a masterclass in bling in itself, along with that cropped white tank that clung deliciously to his pecs. As if that wasn't enough, he was also rocking those tight-as-sin ripped blue jeans that did incredible things for his hot little ass.

"Did you get my texts?" he asked, breathing harshly when he slowed his run to a stop right in front of me.

I dropped my voice low so the few people passing by couldn't hear. "Let's see, was it that text you sent me while I was eating my Cheerios this morning asking me if I could still taste your cum on my tongue and if it was better than adding boring ol' milk to my bowl? Or could it be the one begging me to finger you in my Porsche in the parking lot between classes?"

He grinned. "Hot, huh?"

"That's not the word I'd use to describe it."

How many times had I told him not to send me provocative texts during a weekday when I needed to focus on my classes? Too fucking many.

He reached out to touch me and I instinctively jerked back out of his reach.

Dammit.

The hurt all over his face cut into me like a dozen knives all at once.

"I'm sorry. When we're in public it's just—"

"It's a reflex, I get it. It's okay," he said, forcing a smile.

The urge to make it better properly so that his smile would be genuine and not just put on in a bid to push beyond the awkwardness of it, was right there.

To touch him in public, to show him the affection he deserved, to show him that our relationship wasn't a dirty little secret to me… I knew that was the way to fix it.

But I just… I couldn't do it.

I couldn't push past that wall that I'd erected long ago, that I'd been shamed into erecting.

And the longer it was there, the more impossible it seemed to tear down.

There had been a time a couple of years back, but that had all gone to hell when my father had found out about it. He'd held a certain something over my head, something he'd covered up for us five years ago. It had been his power play ever since to keep me in line. It had also cost me my desired career as a tattoo artist, and forced me into Law instead.

I hadn't realized until Lev had come back just how much I'd given up on escaping the restrictions enforced by Peter Hall. I guess that was why I hadn't resisted when it came to reviving Hex. It was a way to reclaim power.

Or at least, a way to begin to.

I sucked in a breath and scrubbed my hand over the rough stubble on my chin. "So, what text were you talking about anyway?"

"The one asking you to throw your weight around as leader of Hex to make your professor allow me into your contracts class, the one that's focused on Entertainment Law right now?"

"This is about Mythic Cry again?"

"Yeah."

"What's happened this time?"

He'd been having issues with his band lately. While it was technically made up of three members—Colt as frontman and on lead guitar, Flynn Borman as bass guitar, and Will Matthews as drummer—all people saw was Colton. His stage presence completely eclipsed them and left them in the dust and they'd grown irritated with it, which had led to some trouble.

"I made the mistake of playing them a portion of that duet I recorded with Brianna, and they're now up in arms that they weren't a part of it. Even explaining that the song was just in the experimental stage didn't quell their upset. And now they're talking about contracts and renegotiating, wanting more power over our catalogue—songs I wrote alone. They even want to dictate shows, what we perform, how we perform, and where. Flynn is even talking about splitting up lead vocals with me. I mean, you've heard his nasally voice, right? It would completely alter the sound of Mythic Cry —in a shit-tastic way."

"I know, I hear you. We'll fix it. Now, you're going to cover this sort of thing in your Music Marketing degree program, but that won't be until next year from what you've shown me of your syllabus. So, yes, you can sit in on my class. And I'll also help you however I can."

"The professor will let me sit in? Just like that?"

"In this case, yes."

He eyed me curiously. "How? You already have her in your pocket?"

"I needed somebody with esteemed expertise in a certain area."

"A certain legal area you mean?"

"Yes."

"It's about your dad? You're up to something?"

"Think of it more like me acquiring my proverbial army."

"And how is she in your pocket? Hex has been inactive for the last year plus."

"I fucked her a couple of times."

His eyes widened. "Hold up. You and Professor Litman? Or as most of us call her, Hot Hannah?"

I rolled my eyes. "Terribly original, Colt."

" I didn't coin it. But, shit, Mason. You know she's married, right?"

"She's actually divorced now."

"After you two screwed around?"

"It was just a coincidence."

"The hell it was. Well, it's no surprise given the power of your magical cock."

"There are other ways to persuade people other than using violence, blackmail, and dangerous diabolical methods."

"Don't let Lev hear you say that."

I chuckled. "Come on, let's get to class. We've got seven minutes to get to the other side of campus." As we started to walk, I told him, "In the meantime, I'd get that duet completed and recorded before Flynn and Will try to get their hands on that too. Release it separately from the band. It'll be a backup."

"As part of going solo."

"If you have to in the meantime should things turn even more sour."

"Kind of hard to do since Brianna left our place in a hurry. I've texted her and she's shut me down, even telling me to go to hell a couple of times too."

"That cute little thing used those words?"

"She might be cute on the outside, but there's more to her than meets the eye, Mason. She's got a harsher edge when she's pushed a little."

Interesting.

"What?" he asked. "What is it?"

I must've failed to keep the concern from my face, given how intensely he was reacting.

"Lev pushed her today. Hard."

"So you think I should now back off with the duet?"

"The opposite. Just approach her… gently."

He smiled. "Got you."

"And do it at the recording studio on campus. Not at the house."

"You know what it's like booking that thing in advance."

" Hex is back now, don't forget. I'll see to it for you. You just reach out to the girl."

"Okay, yeah. Thanks, Mason."

"No problem."

Talk about killing two birds and all that.

Perfect.

This would give Colt what he needed while also antagonizing Levi, which would enable me to determine a whole lot more about his plans and intentions regarding this Brianna. Meanwhile, I'd also have somebody looking deeply into her background to put the whole picture together.

And then I'd be in a position to stop this shitshow from getting completely out of hand.

I'd have the means to rein Levi in.

Again.