26. ~Mason~

26

~Mason~

Brianna Walker had proven to be an interesting and highly unprecedented development.

A positive one to make it all the more astounding.

I couldn't actually believe it, given how things had started, and how I'd first viewed them because of my preconceived notions of how it could only lead to a shitshow's worth of trouble.

But it was undeniable.

She'd managed to calm Lev down right after our confrontation. She'd come to me diplomatically offering a truce, not because she couldn't take the heat of the battle I'd been throwing down, but because she'd been worried about the fractures it had been causing in our brotherhood. She'd convinced Lev to tell me the truth about their connection. And even more miraculous than that was that her presence and support had led to Lev actually talking about the kidnapping, something he never did. It was absolutely astounding.

After handling damage control from Levi's message , which had taken me hours, I'd returned home in the early morning hours to find her, Colt, and Lev asleep in her bed in the guestroom we'd assigned her. An interesting development indeed.

All the more interesting had been the jab of need, regret, and jealousy that had hit me as I'd taken them in wrapped around one another. Without me.

That was the way it had been for weeks now ever since Levi's return. Me pushed apart from them as I'd worked behind the scenes in a bid to contain him and me becoming immersed in the power trip that taking on sole leadership of Hex had caused. Instead of going to such lengths to rein Lev in and protect us by extension, it had just served to pull us apart—well, to pull me from them.

But now, with Brianna's involvement, and her suggestion on approaching things a new way with Levi, it had enabled things to shift and to clear the way to bring me back to them as a result.

I made my way toward the kitchen for breakfast, hearing the voices and laughter of Colt and Brianna from within.

I couldn't believe it, but Lev had actually left her side and given a break to his extreme clinginess that he'd been afflicted with when it came to her.

He'd left an hour ago, sending a text message to each one of us that said the same thing, where he'd claimed he had to take some time today to catch up on his coursework and readings that he'd already been neglecting recently because of his activities with Brianna and that sudden trip he'd had to take to see his dad. He was apparently heading down to the campus library away from any distractions so he could immerse himself in the work that he needed to get done ASAP before he risked failing out after just returning. Dammit, Lev.

Perhaps that was why he'd been called home by Roman. As usual, he hadn't been very forthcoming about the reason behind that trip.

Daddy Knight was always watching him to some extent. Although, over the years, Lev had learned how to evade detection when he was engaging in certain activities that he knew Roman wouldn't approve of. However, keeping tabs on his son's college grades and progress would be child's play for the tech engineering giant, so it stood to reason that he was aware that Lev wasn't doing well. Given that Levi Knight was a prodigy in his field of study, Roman would put it down to his son's focus being elsewhere—on something it shouldn't be.

I drew closer to the kitchen, picking up on the conversation within.

"That's why Lev calls you his Wildflower? Shit, that's cute. He's not just putting on the charm, you know? Despite his rep to the outside world, he actually has a really sweet side."

"Yeah, I've seen it lately. Especially how he is with you. I love his nickname for you."

"Cupcake, yep. It's because he says I'm as sweet as icing sugar and just as appealing to the masses too."

"I can see that."

"You flirting with me, cutie?"

"A little."

"I like a little flirt over breakfast."

I walked into the kitchen. "You like a little flirting at any time of the day."

Instead of rising to it, he barely gave me more than a second's glance, then clammed up and looked down at his plate, continuing to eat his pancakes.

Question answered then. He was still pissed at me.

"There's more," Brianna told me, offering me a bright smile. "Made you a plate."

I located another plate beyond the kitchen table over on the counter, taking in the stacked pancakes with raspberries and whipped cream on top. They were drizzled with a deep-red syrup, which I assumed was also raspberry-flavored. We didn't have that on hand, so she had to have made it from scratch.

"You did all this?"

She lifted a shoulder—just like Lev did in similar circumstances. Pointing her fork with a drizzled piece of pancake on it at Colt, she told me, "I walked into the kitchen to find Maverick here spraying whipped cream into his mouth straight from the canister, so I knew I had to do something about it."

"Hey," Colt exclaimed with his mouth full. "Told you I'm banned from cooking."

"I remember you telling me. But you could've at least eaten one of those Granny Smith apples in that bowl at the end of the counter."

"Nah, I have way more of an intense sweet tooth than an apple can handle."

She giggled.

Fuck me. It was the sweetest sound I'd ever heard. It rolled right through me.

She was sort of dressed down compared to what I was used to seeing from her through my Hex observations. All right, surveillance. In a pair of gray distressed jeans and an off-the-shoulder baby-pink top, and a pair of block heels, it was simple for her, but she somehow made it look absolutely stunning. In a way, she dressed up whatever she was wearing and took it to another level. Her ebony hair was pulled into a sexy half-up, half-down do with a few strands cascading about her face.

Jesus.

I caught myself.

I was liking it too much, revering her almost.

Seeing the three of them entangled in one another had obviously gotten to me more than I'd fully realized. The need to re-bond with my boys and to draw closer to Brianna and have my taste like the other two had was right there at the surface nagging at me fiercely.

But before that could happen, I needed to smooth things over with Colt and Lev.

We couldn't come together as a unit until peace was made there.

"So much for me resorting to Cheerios this morning," I said, walking over to the plate she'd very considerately made for me. "This is a lot better."

"I saw the box and Colton told me they're your snack food."

I smiled, then grabbed the plate and made my way back over to them. "True. And sometimes my lazy breakfast when I can't summon the wherewithal to cook. Or if I'm in a rush." Although, that was rare, because I was highly-organized and efficient.

I took my first bite, the flavor exploding on my tastebuds. "This is amazing," I told Brianna.

"High praise," she said, amusement dancing in her eyes.

"She made them from scratch, not from a mix," Colt informed me.

"Praise all the more warranted then."

That same giggle came from her again and I watched her for a moment as she dug back into her pancakes. She certainly was a beauty. Absolutely stunning.

It had taken me until last night to acknowledge it, because when somebody was my target, physical appearance or any other positive qualities didn't register with me. In a way, they didn't really compute as being human to me, just mere threats that needed to be dealt with swiftly and brutally. Registering them as anything else risked compromising my ability to do what needed to be done.

But now that she was no longer a target, no longer a mark of Hex, it left me free to open up to all of that, to really start seeing her.

I settled into my meal, trying to ignore the cold shoulder coming across clearly and brutally from Colt as he kept his gaze either riveted on Brianna or his food and strategically avoided connecting with mine, and didn't actively engage me in direct conversation either.

"Is this your go-to breakfast food?" I asked Brianna, wanting to know things about her that my standard surveillance and investigative insight hadn't allowed, such as her favorite things, personality quirks, hopes and dreams, and the like.

She swallowed a piece of pancake, then held her knife and fork in hand as she looked across the table at me and answered, "I'm a fan, for sure, but I have a sandwich fetish—at all times of the day. It would've normally been a breakfast sandwich." She gestured at Colt. "But when I realized what a sweet tooth he has, I pivoted."

"Aww, seriously?" Colt piped up. "You went this way for me?" His eyes gleamed with playful mischief—a look both Lev and I knew well from him. Sure enough, the next words out of his mouth confirmed it as he asked, "Is this you expressing your gratitude for the tonguing I gave your delicious cunt last night? No need, if it is, because, believe me, the pleasure was absolutely mutual."

Brianna stilled.

I choked on a mouthful of pancake.

As I was thumping my chest and clearing my throat, he went on, "You thinking about this little devil?" He stuck his tongue out, flashing his stud.

"Colt," I rumbled.

"Curb your prudish tendencies," he bit back at me, then continued with Brianna, "No need to be shy, cutie. I'm definitely thinking about your taste on my tongue. I even considered not eating this morning so I could still taste you." He smacked his lips in a chef's kiss. "Mmm, and the way your thighs squeezed my head as your sexy body trembled, begging for more like that… holy shit… it's burned into my memory."

"Jesus," I uttered, shaking my head.

Brianna's cheeks heated and it took her a moment to absorb Colt's graphic commentary. That was about right when it came to him.

But then she stunned us both as she told him, "Actually, I was thinking about the part where you and Levi both lost control and he grabbed your cock and fisted it, making you pant and moan for him, then spray all over his fingers."

Lev had done what?

"Mmm, yeah. Good stuff," Colt said, doing a good job of trying to absorb how much her words had gotten to him. She'd learn his cues soon enough as she grew closer. "You enjoyed eating up every last drop of our cum, didn't you, darlin'?"

"It's definitely worth a repeat," she responded evenly. Her gaze flicked to mine and the corner of her mouth turned up, making her interest known in somewhat of a subdued way.

She was likely still wary of me.

That was to be expected given the way things had transpired.

Time would assist.

It wouldn't be enough, though, so I'd have to actively work to earn her trust.

Best start now.

"By the time Monday rolls around, everything will have returned to its status quo on campus," I informed her.

"Within just forty-eight hours?"

"It's a guarantee. No comments, no more social media activity concerning the photos I leaked, not even any looks your way. Hex won't come at you again."

"I would say thank you , but rewarding bad behavior sets a bad precedence."

"I agree. But how do you chalk up your relationship with Lev where that's concerned?"

"That was different."

"Because of your connection?"

"Something like that." She finished the last bite of her pancake breakfast, then dabbed her mouth with a napkin and sat back in her chair. "But from this moment, you and I can put what's happened with Hex and my strikes against you too behind us. If you're really willing to in the light of day."

I sensed Colt looking at me and I could basically feel the anxiousness rolling off him that I might back out now or something.

"Clean slates," I confirmed to Brianna. " However , we need to discuss Levi."

I jolted as Colt suddenly slammed down his plate, then shoved himself to his feet. "Fuck, Mason. You say all this bullshit is done with, but now you want to use Brianna to go behind Lev's back, use her to control him, I'm guessing. That's putting her in a really fucking awkward position and it's gonna hurt Lev badly if he finds out. You know he has major trust issues."

"It's not what you think. Calm down. Just—"

"You wouldn't listen to me about all of this before, the hell I'm gonna do you the dignity of hearing you out now." He rounded the table to head for the door, but pulled up short to tell Brianna in an attempted calmer tone that he didn't quite pull off, "Sorry, cutie. I can't. Once this is done, you need me, I'll be outside songwriting with my guitar, all right? Don't hesitate."

"I won't," she said, smiling out at him. "But I'll be fine."

"Yeah," he murmured. His eyes blazed at me in ire. "Make damn sure that rings true."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course I will. Truce, remember? You're really overreacting, gorgeous."

"Don't call me that. We're not good. You don't get to go there with me right now. Not until I'm sure you've fixed this for real."

With that, he stormed out without another word, his tight distressed blue jeans doing a great deal to draw attention to his delectable ass.

I blinked and looked away. I needed to focus, and thinking about fucking him really wasn't conducive to that.

"He doesn't like it when you and Levi are at odds, huh?"

I looked back at Brianna.

"No, he really doesn't."

She leaned forward on the table and propped her elbows on the surface. "I see that it's a lot of pressure for you, as their leader. It's much more complicated for you."

"Yeah," I murmured.

"My dad operated a lot like you do."

"Curt Walker was a micromanager with Steel Dawn MC?"

"An extreme version." She smiled sadly. "It nearly killed him."

"I'm not—"

"You're still young. My dad did it for decades and it really wore on him. The pressure and stress of it led to him suffering from two heart attacks before he was even forty. He never learned. The only thing that saved him was having to give up his club. And that wasn't exactly a good thing at the time for him and he didn't consider it as such for several years. It was painful. You have the chance now to recognize how detrimental your current way of doing things is before it's set in stone and you can't escape it."

I stared at her, shocked.

I'd thought she was going to go into a fierce defense on Levi's behalf.

But she'd gone another way entirely.

She was actually expressing concern for me.

Understanding that I wasn't used to.

Humanity.

"Thank you."

She cocked an eyebrow, now looking almost as surprised as me.

"No problem," she managed, a few beats later. "You know the first step is trying to share the load, right? With Levi."

It occurred to me that it was several levels beyond strange that I was actually allowing her advice to be conveyed to me. I didn't do that. I didn't share the pressures of anything with anyone. Not even Colt or Lev. I kept it to myself as I'd been trained to do by my father. Sometimes I needed to let it out and that was how the physical part of my relationship with Colt had been born.

But this, here, with her, it was another unprecedented thing about her.

I was seeing one of the reasons that Levi was so enamored with her. Beyond the foundation of their connection that had been established six years ago.

She was caring and empathetic. She could read people exceptionally well.

More than that, she had a gift for seeing their pain.

Even when they concealed it so well—like I always had.

And then she had the ability to put you at ease and offer advice without coming across as condescending or as the unwanted interference from an interloper.

I scrubbed my hand over my face. "I'll talk with Lev with you there."

She smiled. "Sounds good."

I took another bite of my pancakes, then rose to my feet. "Make yourself at home. I need a little time with Colt."

"You trust me to be left around the house unsupervised?" she asked with a humorous glint in her eye.

"We called a truce. To maintain that requires trust. On both sides, right?"

"Right," she said, her smile widening.

I liked that.

I fucking liked that from her a whole lot.

So much so that on my way out, I stopped by her chair and leaned in. "Thanks, dark angel," I said, before planting a kiss on the top of her head.

I turned and made my way to the door right after, not seeing her reaction.

But I could've sworn I felt her eyes on me the entire way out, before I rounded the corner onto the corridor out of sight.

I smiled to myself.

One step back in the right direction.

I clutched the papers I'd retrieved from the safe in my bedroom as I knocked at Colt's door.

Again.

It had been three times now with no answer from inside.

I knew he was in there. I'd checked everywhere else. He was no longer outside songwriting on his acoustic guitar and he wasn't with Brianna. I also knew he hadn't left the property.

No, he was simply ignoring me.

Well, there was nothing simple about us being at odds and barely talking.

I fucking hated it.

He and I being on bad terms twisted me up inside.

I couldn't stand it much longer.

And I was hoping that the document I was clutching would be an in toward fixing things.

I pulled my pick set out of the back pocket of my jeans. It really came in handy carrying it on me constantly.

Within moments, I breached the lock on his bedroom door, then I shoved it open and stepped inside.

And there he was sprawled out on his stomach in the middle of his bed, reading a music magazine. He jerked his head toward me as I walked in. "Crossing lines all over the place lately, aren't you? Now we've got a mix of invasion of privacy, along with B&E."

I rolled my eyes. "Seriously? Can we make some peace here?"

"I don't know, can we?"

"What does that mean?"

"Are you actually being genuine, or is this truce one of your high-level mind games, another way to drive Brianna away from Lev—and me?"

"It's genuine, Colt."

He put his magazine down and rolled off the bed, getting to his feet.

"I hope so, because if it's all bullshit, it's gonna hurt all of us. Beyond repair, Mason. The brotherhood won't just fracture, it'll implode."

"I get that now."

"If you'd listened to me in the first place you would have gotten it sooner. Things wouldn't have gone so far. But you dismissed me."

"I'm sorry. It wasn't about dismissing you. It was just that I had tunnel vision. The power trip of Hex because I'd taken to heading it alone this time, then my paranoia about Lev's unstable fixation with Brianna… it all compounded. I guess… it was me struggling to hold everything together."

He softened a little and stepped closer to me. "I'm here. I'm always here. Fucking well call on me, Mason. You're not alone. Please, for the love of shit, stop operating as though you are."

"I'm working on it."

He cocked an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Effective immediately." I handed the papers over to him. "And I've also come with a peace offering."

He took them curiously, then started looking through them.

That familiar warmth that always infused me whenever he looked at me in that bright way took me as I saw that from him while he read.

"You did it! This is gonna get Will and Flynn off my back entirely. I'll get to keep all the songs I've written, the name of the band, everything."

"The downside is that the condition is you go solo. No more involvement with them in any way. You've got a concert coming up at a high profile club in the City of Tolhurst. Are you sure you can put a performance together and bring in a drummer and base player in time? There are gonna be record company reps there, you can't take chances here, Colt."

"As shocking as it sounds, I've already thought it through and prepared. I have a list of narrowed down candidates for a new drummer and bass player. It'll just be me and stand-ins, hired help, different each time or something so they don't get attached or to thinking they're Mythic Cry alongside me."

"Perfect. I'm really proud of you for sorting that."

"I have my moments." He walked to his dresser and put the documents down. "Thanks for this, Mason. I really appreciate it."

"Anything for my brothers."

He shot me a withering look. "Don't push it."

"Are we at least on the road to being good again?" I asked as he walked back to me.

"Yeah. Yeah, we are."

I eased myself onto his bed and slumped down with a heavy sigh, exhaustion finally getting the best of me. "Thank goodness. Being at odds with you… I hated it. I always hate it."

He smiled and perched on the edge beside me. Reaching out, he stroked my hair. "Good thing it's so rare then, yeah?"

"Yeah."

I went to move, telling him, "Anyway, I'll leave you to it and—"

He grasped my shoulders. "Chill. I can see how exhausted you are. Just take a load off for a while."

Then he was easing me down into his bed and covering me with the blankets.

I smiled to myself. Tucking me in.

"Okay," I murmured.

He settled onto the bed over the top of the covers and rolled onto his side next to me, propping his head up with his elbow on the pillow.

Reaching out and fingering my hair, he told me, "Take a nap, relax."

"Yeah, I think I will," I answered wearily.

I was spent.

I hadn't slept last night because of the damage control I'd had to do, and now it was hitting me.

My eyes grew heavy and soon enough I couldn't keep them open at all.

The last thing I was aware of was Colt nuzzling against me, before sleep took me.

The sound of my white noise machine was a soothing soundtrack as I eased awake.

I slowly opened my eyes and confusion set in as I found myself tucked up tightly in his zebra-print sheets. I was still in his room then, where I remembered falling asleep in his arms.

But the white noise?

It took me a moment, but then I saw my machine on the floor beside the bed.

I smiled to myself, touched that Colt had specifically brought it in here for me to help me sleep longer and get the rest that I'd needed.

I blinked past the bleariness as I became more cognizant and awake with every passing second, and I took in his skull-and-crossbones clock high in the corner.

Wow. I'd slept for four hours straight.

So much for it merely being a nap. That was almost a full night's sleep for me.

I extricated myself from the cocoon and pushed up into a sitting position against the headboard, noting that I felt a hell of a lot better.

I also noticed the scrap of paper on the duvet beside me with my name scrawled on it in Colt's handwriting.

I snatched it up and opened it to read:

Sleep as much as you need, all is well here with Brianna. She's gonna teach me how to make a dragon origami thingy and then I'm taking her into the studio as I work on my newest song, ‘I Remember'. Didn't get to tell you about it with the distance between us, but it's about her and Lev's relationship, all shmaltzy and shit, but with my usual hard yet raw edge. Speaking of, she's a fan of my genre, post-grunge. Told me her playlists are full of post-grunge bands from the noughties. How fucking perfect, right? Anyway, rest up, brother. We're well on the way to being good now. Just keep up with what you're doing now, no more shutting down, yeah? XOXO. Colt.

Relief coursed through me.

One relationship on the mend, thank goodness.

Now, on to Lev.

That was going to be easier said than done.

My phone buzzed and I followed the sound to see it now on the nightstand on my side of the bed, not where I'd left it on the floor in my pants earlier.

I picked it up and found a text from one of my Hex members, one of three I'd tasked to keep tabs on Lev. Although we were working toward a truce, I couldn't simply sit back and let him run wild. I still had to protect us. Hopefully, once we sat down and talked it out, the way in which I did that could alter. Less invasive, perhaps. And for my sanity, not a constant thing.

My guy's message didn't bode well right off the bat, however, because he'd just confirmed that Lev wasn't where he was supposed to be. He'd either lied or, from a more benefit-of-the-doubt standpoint, he'd stretched the truth or omitted some details.

Steven: Knight spotted on outskirts of downtown. Abandoned apartment building. Been inside for five.

Mason: Good work. Send me the address and I'll take it from here. Stand down.

Steven: Got it, Boss.

Sure enough, he sent along the intel in the very next moment.

Dammit, Lev.

I hurried out of bed and threw on my clothes from last night, then hurried out of Colt's bedroom. I didn't want him or Brianna seeing me as I was on my way out. It would invite questions, the answers to which would make me look bad either way.

As I made my way through the house, I heard music sounding, coming from the recording studio. It was soundproofed, so it meant that Colt hadn't shut the door.

Colt's voice reached me.

"I remember the nights I couldn't sleep/ The nights I was screaming out your name/ The memories made me weep/ They had me twisting the sheets in fucking pain."

He stopped singing and playing and I heard Brianna's gasp of surprise. "This is about Levi and me?"

"Sure is, cutie."

"Whiskey eyes pulled me through."

"You like?"

"It's a lot to absorb. Intense."

I just needed you to remember too."

"That's when it gets more intense. We'll leave it at that for now. Want to hear the finished duet, all polished and ready?"

"I'd love to, yeah."

I heard the smacking of lips—kissing. And then Colt telling her, "Coming right up, Bree. Hey, you okay with me calling you that?"

"My close friends do."

"We're more than that now, yeah?"

"We're getting there."

"I'll take it. Love spending time with you."

I turned the corner and even as I shook my head to myself, I also couldn't help smiling.

Colt certainly wore his heart on his sleeve. It often slammed up against the opposite in me—the closed-off stoicism I had going on.

But it also helped to chip away at that, to open me up a little more.

That had only managed to go so far, though, but with Brianna now here in the mix, I had a feeling she'd be able to assist with that. She had this uncanny way of making even an ice-cold bastard like me relax in her company.

I wanted to be getting to know her right now.

Instead, I needed to rein Levi in.

Jesus fuck, Hellraiser.