Right to Remain Violent

(Mason)

Hunter threw a folder at me, almost spilling my drink.

“That’s my idea,” he said.

I opened the folder, glanced, and then shut it. “I hate it.”

He laughed. “I knew you’d say that.”

“Then why’d you bring this here?”

“To say I did,” he said. “You ready to get back to work?”

“Yeah,” I admitted. “I’m more than ready.”

“Good. The plot of land next to the shop is now yours. You can start working from there.”

“You just keep moving fast, don’t you?” I asked.

“I’m not sure why I care, but I do.”

“You can’t save me, brother.”

“Look, without you, I’d be screwed. I know we don’t talk about our pasts all that much, but I was headed down a dark road. You took me in, and look what happened. I don’t know what you’re going through personally, but this is me giving back to you. Plus, the shop is too damn busy right now. The overflow is insane. Trying to hire new guys just sucks sometimes.”

“Agreed,” I said. “That’s why I always took care of the team we had.”

“Well, go back to that. Run the shop. The garage. The designs. Do your thing, Mason. I’m going to focus on the expansion and see where it ends up.”

I nodded. I had to hand it to Hunter. He had the same kind of drive I had. Getting your feet wet in business and see the possibility of some serious cash.

I laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Hunter asked.

“You’re all business now, man. I like it. This looks good on you.”

“On us,” Hunter said. “I know you had that lawsuit bullshit, but that’s all settled. Anything else I need to know about?”

I gritted my teeth for a second and sighed. “Yeah. We’re tight, Hunter. I got married in Vegas.”

“What?” Hunter asked.

Our waitress came to the table with two fresh mugs of beer.

Hunter touched her wrist. “Sweetheart, you better bring some whiskey.”

“Listen to me,” I said. “It was a long time ago. It was a fucked-up night. I met her. Shit went down. We got married.”

“Like legit married?”

“Vegas married,” I said. “But it’s legit.”

“Oh fuck,” Hunter said. He leaned back and rubbed his chin. “You fucking idiot.”

“What?”

“She found out,” he said. “Violet found out. That’s what happened.”

“Yeah,” I said. “I planned to tell her everything. But then Stacey showed up. Stacey’s the bride.”

“Christ,” Hunter said.

“So, the two-second story is this…Stacey showed up unannounced. Violet answered the door. Violet left.”

“And you didn’t chase after her? Man, you’re…”

“Shut up, Hunter,” I said. “I’m not in the mood for that bullshit tonight.”

“Fine. So, you’re married. How does that legally play into the business of things?”

“That’s why I’m still married,” I said. “It’s easier to just deal with Stacey once in a while when she needs cash. Okay? I know I have to address the situation sooner or later, and I will. But not tonight, Hunter. Not tomorrow either. And I’m not fucking talking about anything to do with her or Violet. We’re out having a few beers and talking business.”

Hunter stared at me, shaking his head. He looked away for a second, then sucked in a breath.

“Okay. Fine. Business.” He grabbed the folder and opened it, flipping to the last set of papers. “These are all the customers on a wait list to get to us. A fucking wait list, Mason. And there are a bunch that would rather deal with you over me. I’m fine with it. I get it. So, I need you to get on these.”

“Fair enough,” I said. “I can handle that.” I shut the folder and grabbed my beer to hold it up. “To business.”

“To me being your boss,” Hunter said.

“To you fucking yourself.”

We clanked glasses and had a cold drink.

The waitress came back with a couple shots of whiskey.

“Here you go,” she said.

“Thanks, babe,” I said.

“Hey, don’t call her babe.”

The voice was nasally, and it came over my right shoulder. I looked back and saw some prick standing in a nice shirt and pants. He had sunglasses on his fucking head with greasy curls sticking everywhere.

“Who the fuck are you?” I asked.

“Mason,” Hunter said. “No.”

“I’m sorry,” the waitress said. “That guy has been after me for a while.”

“Don’t call her babe,” the prick said again.

I stood up.

“Shit,” Hunter said.

“No, please,” the waitress said.

I looked at her. “Do you like him?”

“No.”

“Does he bother you?”

“Yeah.”

I turned and looked at the prick. He puffed his chest out.

“Come on,” he said. “Take a swing at me, asshole. You don’t talk to her like that. I’ve been working that for months. Throwing cash down. She owes me a fuck.”

“Owes you a fuck?” I repeated.

Something started to burn inside me. I pictured Violet as the waitress. Yeah, she didn't have to work, but whatever. I pictured her new boyfriend talking to her like this prick was talking about the waitress. I was grasping at small straws, but it was working.

I was fucking angry.

“Eat shit,” the prick said. “Pay for your drinks and get away from my woman.”

“I’m not your woman,” the waitress said. “You can’t talk…”

The prick raised his right hand. The waitress flinched. Now, that told me two things. First up, the prick was threatening her with physical violence. You want to take a woman to bed and toss her around? Fine. You want to tie her up? As long as she’s cool with it, have at it. But to lift a hand to a woman knowing your intention was to hurt her…

Hell no.

Second, the way the waitress flinched told me she had been hit before.

That’s when I lost my shit.

I threw a right and hit the prick so hard he left his feet and fell into a table. He was bleeding, holding his face, damn near crying.

I wasn’t done.

I went after him, dropping a knee to his gut. I got two more good punches in before Hunter pulled me away. He threw me back, and I fell into the bar, catching myself. I spun around and Hunter put a hand to my chest to keep me from going crazy.

“Stop,” he yelled. “Stop right now.”

I looked at the waitress. She was in shock. I looked at the prick on the ground. He was holding his face, crying.

“He was going to hit her,” I called out. “You all fucking saw that.”

I was yelling to a bar of strangers.

One guy walked up to me and put a hand to my shoulder. “Don’t worry, man, I saw everything.”

“Yeah, right,” I said. “He was…”

The guy opened his leather jacket and showed me his badge.

Then he grinned.

“Turn around, asshole. You’re under arrest.”

* * *

I sat in the fucking cell all alone, only the sound of my breathing to keep me company. I looked at my right hand. It was fucked-up a little, but not too bad. Maybe I shouldn’t have gone to town on that prick, but something snapped inside me. Not to mention seeing Violet again.

She fucking came to the building and stood at my door. Then I had her against a wall, my hand touching her waist. I was inches from that sweet mouth of hers. I thought about all the things I did to that mouth. With my mouth. With my tongue. With my cock.

Fuck, she was poison to me.

And then she throws at me she has a boyfriend? What the fuck is that? Was that a cheap shot at me? Hell, maybe she was just making it up. Trying to get a rise out of me. Well, she got a fucking rise out of me—in my pants as well as the anger in my heart.

All I could hope for then was for her to read the letter…

“He’s right down here,” a voice said.

I stood up and watched as the arresting officer came around the corner.

“You’re getting out, Mason,” he said. “Good behavior.”

“Right,” I said.

I figured it was Hunter with him, bailing my ass out of jail.

Only behind the officer came the clicks of heels.

And then came Stacey.

I was in complete fucking shock, staring at her as the officer opened the jail cell.

“Come on,” he said. “Get out of here.”

“How…” I muttered, looking at Stacey.

Her lips were blood red. She was vicious and evil, oozing with lust and intention.

“You were telling the truth,” the officer said, thinking my how comment was directed at him. “The guy you knocked around was about to hit that waitress. Turns out he did hit her last week. She was afraid to report it. He’s getting questioned for that right now. You’re free to go.”

“No charges?” I asked.

“Nothing yet. If anything changes, you’ll hear from me. Now go face your wife. Good luck.”

“Come here, baby,” Stacey said and puckered her lips. “Defending another woman. So noble and sexy.”

She clawed at my arm, and I had to keep my cool as we left together.

I got into her fancy sports car, and she peeled away, tires squealing.

After a few minutes of silence, she said, “I think the words you’re looking for are thank and you.”

“No,” I said. “How did you…”

“I know everything,” she said. “Plus, I cut your buddy Hunter off to get to you. He’s bringing your truck to the apartment. I made sure everything is okay for my hubby. You owe me for this, though.”

“Money,” I said. “You’re here about money again.”

“I didn’t like how our conversation ended,” Stacey said.

“So you drove here all the way from Vegas?”

“Anything for my husband.”

I didn’t speak another word to her until we got to my apartment. Walking through the hallway, I swore I could smell Violet. There was a sweet innocence about her that still lingered. And I still fucking wanted to devour it.

Inside the apartment, Stacey went right to the booze. A bottle of whiskey in her hand, drinking it like it was water. That’s probably what caught my attention about her back in Vegas. But she wasn’t the forever kind of woman, unless you counted her attachment to my bank account.

“So, you beat up a guy for no good reason?” she asked me.

“He was going to hit a woman,” I said.

“And you stand up for that shit?”

“When I need to. How much money do you need? Give me a price to get you out of here.”

Stacey laughed. “I’m still calculating.”

“Think faster. I’m tired.”

I walked to the bedroom.

That was a big mistake.

Stacey took that as an invitation and followed me.

I stood in front of my bed. It was messy from my fun the night before.

“I don’t know what you’re going through,” Stacey said as she entered the room.

“Go away,” I tried to interrupt.

“But it’s okay to feel whatever you feel, Mason. We don’t know each other that well. That little pretty thing that was here when I showed up…she really meant something, huh?”

Stacey stepped up behind me and put the whiskey bottle in my hand. I gripped it, and my mouth went dry. I lifted the bottle and took a big gulp.

“I know she did,” Stacey said. “I didn’t come that day to hurt anyone. But I managed to hurt people, and I liked it. That’s what sucked you in, Mason. You wanted me to hate you, and I refused. Because I could make you hate me more.”

Stacey took the whiskey bottle back after I took another big gulp. I heard the bottle clank against the dresser and then I felt her nails against my arms as she gently scratched.

“I’ll always hurt you, Mason. I’ll always crave your hate. That’s what makes this work. That and my need for your money. And truthfully…I want you to think of another woman. Picture that little innocent thing you were fucking…”

Stacey grabbed the bottom of my shirt. I just stood there and let her take my shirt off. I stared forward at the bed. The messy bed. The bed where I had pleasured Violet so many times. The bed where I fucked other women so hard and loud, on purpose, to bother Violet when she was in her apartment.

When I felt Stacey’s hands move to my jeans, I didn’t flinch. She opened my jeans, and her hands slid down. Remember, I didn’t wear boxers. That was a waste of clothing to remove.

Stacey’s hands touched my steel-hard cock, pulling it free of my jeans.

“Oh, I remember this,” she whispered, her lips kissing at my back. “So fucking thick…so fucking big…”

“Could you just shut the fuck up?” I asked.

“Of course, hubby,” Stacey said. She kissed my back again.

Her hands moved up and down my shaft.

I sucked in a breath and shut my eyes. I pictured Violet.

I was so close to having her again.

I would have her again…no matter what it would take.

I grunted as the pleasure rolled through my cock and down my legs. I thrust forward at my wife’s hands.

Violet was in my mind. Naked on my bed. Legs spread. Touching herself. Her eyes burning at me. Her innocence and love, everything I ever truly wanted in life.

Growling, I pumped myself harder and faster.

Stacey kept up the pace.

I kept up the images in my mind.

My heart pounded…not only because of the pleasure…

But because I wanted Violet to read the fucking letter and come back to me.