13. ~Mason~

13

~Mason~

Check.

Check.

And check.

I stepped back from the security fence surrounding the property, satisfied that it was up to par, that there were no weaknesses in it to be concerned about, nothing needing fixing or damage control since we'd last been up here.

While Levi was the king when it came to computers and also possessing an intermediate knowledge when it came to woodworking, and Colt was the music genius, I was very good with this sort of thing. Electronics, mechanics, hardware and components.

I'd already checked things out here several times in the last four days that we'd been up here.

And I would keep doing so.

It was the only way to ensure things were operating smoothly, that there was nothing amiss—to constantly check up on things. And people too. You could never be too careful.

And, especially when it came to this failing, it just couldn't be allowed. It was the last line of defense before a threat hit us, so it was invaluable defense.

We also had an early-warning system in place a couple of miles out that surrounded the property. I'd inspected those tripwires too and all had been well yet again.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey."

Jesus!

Adrenaline tore through me and I spun toward the sound of the unexpected voice to see Bree walking up to me through the snow, her sparkling white and silver boots sinking into the softness as she closed the distance between us.

Her fuchsia puffer jacket was a vibrant break through all the snowy white. She had a cute little matching colored hat with bobbles on too that were bouncing with her deep steps through the one-foot deep snow all around. A pair of jeans the same shade as her long, silky hair, completed her look.

It was a far cry from my neutral-colored look that blended into the surroundings of the trees with my brown aviator jacket and a pair of gray distressed jeans, along with my black snow boots.

I closed the distance between us and leaned in, kissing her cheek.

She turned into it, sending a thrill through me as she nuzzled against me for a moment.

Holding her hands between us, I asked, "Is everything okay back at the house?"

"All good, yeah. Just as you left it."

"Lev is hacking away?"

She chuckled. "He is. Colt's looking over his shoulder and asking dozens of questions."

"He's restless then."

"Yeah. Once Levi sets the processes up that he needs to—a program he's writing—we'll get out of the house for a bit, play in the snow or something."

"Play in the snow… adorable."

She started at my words.

I wasn't surprised. It had jolted me too.

I wasn't normally capable of uttering such a word.

I wasn't the touchy-feely type.

At least, I hadn't been for years.

It looked like that was starting to change.

Because of her.

Because of our foursome solidifying, and creating a new dynamic with her at the center affecting each of us.

We were affecting her too.

She was becoming a lot less closed off and diplomatically defensive.

She was showing us her harder, darker edge. First with the knife, then her vicious reaction to me pissing her off and crossing that line with the kidnapping.

And after that adjustment period and what had gone down in the hot springs, she'd been bouncing about the house seeming a lot lighter and more open and free.

Earlier this morning, she'd even come out of the shower and sauntered into the living room beautifully naked and dripping wet and beckoned the three of us to ravage her.

Of course, we absolutely had.

She'd needed to take another shower after we'd dirtied her up.

"You heard me," I said, with a grin, as she stared at me with a mixture of surprise and wonder. Awestruck, basically.

"Well, I like it," she said, stroking my hands with her fuzzy white gloved ones. "Oh, you're freezing! Why didn't you wear gloves out here too? It's nowhere near the heated patio to keep you warm."

I wiggled my eyebrows. "You're starting to do a good job with the heat."

"Mason, I'm serious."

I was serious.

About how her slight touch and closeness was warming me.

And not just physically.

Oh, well.

"I couldn't have gloves on with what I was doing and checking out here. I needed the full dexterity."

"You're done now, though?"

"Yeah. Let's head inside."

As I went to do that, she eased her hands from mine and pressed her palm to my chest. "Just a moment."

I was looking on curiously then as she unzipped her jacket and reached into the inside pocket and pulled something out.

I started at the sight of something very familiar coming into view.

The gold leaf of the book gave itself away.

My artist journal.

"I want to talk about this first."

"How did you come to have this?" I asked, reaching for it.

She relinquished it and explained, "I was looking through some of the bags that you packed up here containing components and what-not for a device that Levi needed to soup-up the internet connection, and I came across this. I didn't know what it was until I opened it, thinking it was some coding or program notes he might need."

"I must've packed it in the wrong bag instead of with my clothes, because I'd been in such a rush."

"I'm kind of glad you did, otherwise I never would have seen what an incredible artist you actually are. These designs are inspired." She whistled. "You're majorly talented, Mason."

I rolled my shoulders. "Was."

"No. Are. Some of these are recent. You date stamp all the images. And I saw an exact replica of my watercolor butterfly tattoo, along with a bunch of others based off of that idea."

"Every now and then I still get the urge to sketch a little."

"Because it's a part of you."

I shook my head. "It can't be."

"I disagree."

I sighed. "While I appreciate your support, my dark angel, it's just not possible to return to any of it. These sketches are just part of a past that can never become a future."

"You revived Hex with the intent to change that. Like you told me, to obtain something compromising on him so you'd finally have leverage to make the existence of that taped evidence he holds over your head meaningless."

"And now with what we're doing here, I'll need something else even on top of that. It'll just be an endless cycle every time I act the way I want to and outside of his plans for me." I shook my head. "It was a futile idea. At least I get to do this with the three of you. Something out there, danger and a twisted thrill involved. As soon as he gets wind of it, though, he'll force me out, force me to withdraw my assistance. But I can at least revel in it for now."

"No," she ground out. "It's not going to be like that. I can help you, if you let me."

I cocked an eyebrow.

"With Vixen ," she told me. Off my look, she said, "Come inside, let's talk."

"Just over a dozen?" I asked, incredulous.

Levi looked up from his military-grade laptop. "Fourteen."

"Impressive that you were able to determine that," Bree told him.

He winked at her, then returned his attention to his hacking endeavor, while telling me, "Let her help you."

"It'll require your help too," she told him.

Without looking up from typing away like a machine, he responded, "Got you always, baby."

"How about me?" Colt asked, sitting forward in one of the armchairs and bouncing his elbows on his knees, evidence of his increasingly restless state.

Bree pulled her gloves off and stuffed them in the pockets of her puffer jacket, then shrugged it off to reveal a sexy off-the-shoulder top with a pastel-pink and silver crisscrossing design on it beneath. She looked to the side of me at Colt, telling him, " We've got this, but any input is helpful too. The melding of minds and all that. I need your help with something else after we finish sorting this."

I smiled at her handling of Colt.

His forte wasn't strategizing and planning missions or tasks like it was for Levi and me, but he had other strengths, and she was making sure he wasn't left out. That had happened more than I cared to admit when it had just been the three of us before and usually he'd gotten distracted by something else quickly, or barely had the attention span for this sort of thing to pay it much mind. But us being here in this safehouse with the shit hanging over our head made it impossible for him to just walk away from it and go off and do his own thing with his band or fuck around with his Mythic Cry groupies, as were his usual ways. This time he was feeling it.

"Perfect!" he said, brightly, that sweet side of him warming me.

The smile on Levi and Bree's faces made it clear they were feeling the same way too.

I turned my attention back to her. "So, tell me about Vixen."

"You may have heard of club girls when it comes to motorcycle clubs." She grimaced. "They're unfortunately called a lot of other things too, much more derogatory things, just because they have a biker fetish, or whatever."

"Oh, club bunnies, club whores?" Colt commented.

Levi chuckled. "No tact, cupcake. But, yeah, that's what she's getting at."

"Anyway, yeah," Bree went on. "I developed friendships with some of them over the years. In that time, I got to know women from all different walks of life. Different ideals, professions, dreams, and all of that. I fostered those friendships and it occurred to me that we could help each other. So, I formed Vixen on the down low. Steel Dawn MC and my father had no idea. Before I knew it, I had a small network of reliable and resourceful women who had reach in different areas."

"A source of power," I realized aloud.

"In essence. Information is power."

"Absolutely," Levi commented, still typing away and fixated on his laptop screen as he pulled that amazing multitasking of his and managed to participate while still immersed in that.

"Now, I have three of my girls in place around Peter Hall, currently in what I call a neutral state. Meaning observation and recon only. If you agree, I'll activate them."

I did a double take. "Excuse me? You have three in place already?"

"I put them in place when you came at me, just in case you proved unable for me to handle one-on-one."

"Damn," Colt exclaimed.

"Hot as fucking Hades, huh?" Levi commented, looking up for a moment, pride and desire shining in his eyes.

I blinked past that and focused on Bree.

"After you told me about your predicament with your father, I kept them there."

"And where exactly are they positioned?"

"One took the place of your father's former assistant who finally grew a backbone thanks to some persuasion from my asset, and quit. Your father is a real slimy bastard. He'd been harassing her for a long time and she was too scared to quit and lose her job which she desperately needed to support her twin toddlers. Fortunately, I was able to offer her a lucrative severance that will tide her over until another one of my girls is in place to offer her a job at her firm—a legal aid outfit."

"Jesus, this is… intricate."

She merely smiled then went on, "I have another asset who is now in position in your mom's society circles, who Shirley Hall believes she's taking under her wing, schooling an up-and-coming socialite. My asset is actually a very talent actor with falsified society ties that somebody like your mom looks up to. She's formed a bond with her. She's been inside the Hall estate several times and she's acquired a very good lay of the land." She tossed her jacket down on the couch, cocked her hip, then told me, "And the third is prepared to bring a big-time case to Peter Hall. She's a real lawyer herself, but she'll pose as someone with a beef against a major corporation that's encroaching on her small business. But I'll require Levi's help to be able to pull off a smokescreen that detailed to make the fake case appear completely legitimate." She cocked her hip. "They're all in prime positions to find the evidence he's holding over you and destroy it, as well as finding dirt on him to secure your position and leverage against him going forward." She smiled. "To free you, Mason."

I stepped back a little and scrubbed my hand over my face. "This is… it's remarkable what you've created here. Are these assets on call and working for you as needed, on a case-by-case basis?"

"Yes. Exactly."

"And how do you finance all this if it's off your father's radar? The guy's made a mint with his small business ventures and chains of—"

"My apps."

"Yeah," Levi cut in. "You hid that well. I only discovered that just before I approached you the first time. You sure know how to hide the coin."

"And you're bothering to study at Stonewell, why?" Colt asked jokingly.

Sort of.

"I don't know everything. My skills need some work still and there's more to learn. Things that I need to learn to be able to keep producing lucrative apps and things."

"Smart woman," I said. "In so many ways. I'm insanely impressed."

"Major praise, especially coming from my boy," Colt said.

She smiled in that shy way when she received direct compliments. "Thanks." She shifted her weight. "I'm not going to do anything without your authorization. Like we all agreed, we're together as a team on everything now. That was the last piece of the puzzle from my end. With the rest of the revelations, everything is out in the open that impacts the four of us in any way. So, it's your call, but I do strongly believe that turning down this help would be a mistake for you. They're already in place, Mason. With the link being to me and not to you, there's no risk on your end either. From the way I've set it up, it can't come back on you."

"But it could come back on you."

"Even if Peter Hall gets word of my connection to you, I've ensured that it will be seen as unilateral, rogue action on my part, with you having no involvement in it."

"Jesus, you've protected me really well."

"Of course. We're a team. We're together."

I reached out and cupped her face. "All true. And it's because of that why I can't let you risk yourself like this. Not for me, not for anything or anyone."

"Reality check, brother," Levi called. "We're gearing up for a literal battle here. In comparison—"

"This is my father, Lev. He doesn't stop. He's a vindictive, dangerous fuck."

"Wow, you rarely ever call him out like that. Especially not out loud," Colt said.

I didn't, no. It was yet another way I'd noticed myself shifting, changing.

"He won't be able to touch her, don't worry about that aspect of things," Levi said, eyeing us and pausing what he was doing for a moment.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because Roman Knight won't allow it."

"What?"

"He knows what she means to me."

"Us," Colt cut in.

"Got it, my bad," Levi said, before telling us, "If his old buddy, Peter, comes at her, he'll be there to stop him." Levi rolled his eyes at me. "To rein him in as pretty much the only one who's capable of doing such a thing."

I took his words in, processing them for a moment and weighing everything up.

And then I gave a nod. "Let's do it. Authorized."

She brightened. "Excellent."

"Awesome!" Colt cried. "Finally."

As I beamed over at him, excitement blooming at the idea of having something to hold over the bastard in order to sever his power over me, I tuned into Bree and Levi.

"Your dad knows about us?" Bree was asking him.

"Of course. Why not?"

"The four of us too?"

"Yeah."

"And?"

"And it's fine."

"He's just on board, just like that? Even with who I am? The connection I am to that dark time for you—and him?"

"He wants the best for me and he recognizes how you bring that to me, despite the rest. He's accepted it. Easily, actually. Once we're done with this mission, I have no doubt that he'll want to meet you and all that jazz."

"Wow," she breathed in wonder.

Yeah, Levi and Colt's fathers were a world away from mine.

Sometimes, I figured, you just had to create your own family when your own disappointed you and did nothing but hurt you.

And I had that with the three of them.

The sentiment of it actually took me over, just breaking loose from my usually emotionally tightly coiled state, and the next thing I knew, I was throwing my arms around Bree and nuzzling her hair. "Thank you, dark angel. Thank you."

I could see Lev and Colt looking on absolutely stunned in my peripheral vision.

That was about right.

Things were changing for me.

I was changing.

And the hope of it actually outweighed any worry.