Chapter Four
Paige moved through the crowded banquet hall, and approached her friend.
Becca had been completely surrounded for the past two hours, and Paige was worried. The hall was packed with people, most of whom she’d never seen before, and she knew her best friend didn’t know them all personally.
That meant that Logan did, and that’s what worried her. It looked like half the town had shown up for the party, and while some of the people present were rude, others were downright bitchy. They didn’t fit her friend at all, and she selfishly wondered what that would mean for their friendship. She’d already lost so much of her time with Becca to Logan, and she definitely would lose more with the birth of their baby. Would she now lose her friend completely to these people?
Paige mentally shook her head, and forced the melancholy thoughts away. Becca was the same as she’d always been, and even though she’d been busy with her new relationship, and working with the party planner for the past couple of months, they’d still had dinner together several times, and the woman always took her calls.
In fact, she’d had dinner with the couple the night she’d met Mason, and she’d called Becca the next day with details of her one-night stand. Okay, not all the details, but still.
Becca would always be her friend, even if she did invite half the town to her engagement party, and Paige needed to get over her fears of abandonment.
“Hey,” Paige said. “How’s it going?”
“How do you think?” Becca laughed, and rolled her eyes. She pretended to look around the room, and leaned in to whisper in her ear. “I can’t wait for this to be over!”
“Why—?”
“Oh, have you met Mason, yet?”
“Mason?”
Paige turned in the direction her friend faced, and saw Mason walking toward them.
Working my ass!
She had no claim on him, and he didn’t owe her anything, but she couldn’t stop the anger and sadness that swamped her in the face of his lie. Why hadn’t he just told her about the party.
Because he didn’t want to feel obligated to invite you...
Especially after his declaration of not letting her go.
God, she was an idiot.
“Hey Mason, this is my best friend, Paige.” Becca introduced them. “Paige, this is Mason.”
“You’re friends with Logan?” she asked.
“Yeah, and we work together, too. I can’t believe you’re Becca’s best friend.”
Yeah, because now it would be harder to ditch her.
Except, it really wouldn’t be. She’d never seen him before Sunday, and Becca and Logan had been dating for three months.
“Dance with me?” he asked, outstretching his hand.
“I thought you were working tonight?” she snipped.
Paige instantly regretted her attitude, but she didn’t take the words back, or look away. If Mason was bothered by her words, he didn’t show it, and neither one of them broke eye contact.
“Do you guys know each other?” Becca asked, looking between the two of them.
“I am,” he said, ignoring Becca, “but I’m on a break.”
“Oooh-kay,” Becca said, drawing out the word and raising her palms in surrender. She then turned to Paige. “I have to go, but we are so talking about this later. Come find me when you’re done.”
Paige glanced toward Becca, and watched the woman retreat before facing Mason again. His hand was still outstretched and waiting, and when she still didn’t take it, he raised an eyebrow as if daring her to deny him. Shit! She couldn’t say no even if she wanted to, and she definitely didn’t want to. Her body longed to feel his arms wrapped around her again.
She silently slid her hand into his, and he led her to the dance floor.
Even though the song playing had a fast beat, Mason placed his hands on her hips, and pulled her flush with his hard body. She slid her arms around his neck, and that’s when she saw the clear cord running up his neck, and behind his ear.
“What exactly do you do?” she asked.
“I’m part of Logan’s security team.”
“But you’re also his friend?”
“Yes,” he replied. “All of us are. That’s why we’re taking turns. We always work in shifts for big events like this.”
“There’s a lot of people here,” she commented.
“Yeah, there is,” he said, quickly scanning the room before meeting her gaze again. “Too many. I, for one, can’t wait until this night is over.”
Paige nodded. From what she knew of him, his comment made sense, and though she had more questions, he probably wouldn’t answer them anyway. At least not now. They were surrounded by people she didn’t know, and most of her questions required at least a little bit of privacy. She understood that much. Later, however, when they were alone, she planned on grilling him. Just like she planned to question Becca.
“Because we’re both here,” he started, “I’d like to see you tonight instead of waiting until tomorrow. Would that be alright?”
“Yeah,” she nodded. Why deny it? Even though she had questions, she definitely wanted to see him again. “What time are you off?”
“Eleven. I have a room, if you want to stay here, or we can go back to my place.”
“The room sounds great,” she smiled.
“Good.”
He quickly brushed his lips against hers, and then pulled away as the song ended. He reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet, and handed her a piece of plastic the size of a credit card.
The room key.
“I have to go,” he said, “but, you can escape to the room whenever you wish. I’ll meet you there, that way you don’t have to wait around here for me for an hour or more while we clean out this place.”
Because the party was over at ten, and it would take a while to get everyone to leave.
The gesture was super sweet, and buried some of her insecurities from a few minutes earlier. He didn’t seem like a player, and maybe he hadn’t told her about the party simply because he had to work through most of it.
“That sounds great,” she said. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, baby girl,” he said, brushing his lips against hers again. “I’ll also answer most of your questions then, too, okay?”
She looked at him, shocked he knew her so well after only—literally—a couple of days, and he used her surprise to his advantage. He winked, and then took off toward one of the exits.
Paige stood there, in the middle of the dance floor, holding the room key, and watched him disappear into the crowd. When she couldn’t see his spiky black hair anymore, she put the key in her purse, and went looking for her friend.
***
“Walk with me,” Becca said. “I need a break.”
Good, because so did she. After her dance with Mason, Paige had had to wait again for a chance to talk with her friend, and, honestly, if she hadn’t made a plan to meet Mason later, she would have already given up and left.
God, this party really sucked!
They walked out one of the side doors of the hall, and ended up in a quaint little patio on the side of the building. Several white, wrought iron tables and chairs dotted the area, and a waist high cement wall bordered the perimeter. The two women wove their way through the bistro style tables and chairs, and leaned against the wall.
After a quick scan of the area, Becca spoke.
“There’s a lot of people in there.”
“Yeah,” Paige agreed. “Why? This place is huge, and it seems like you invited half the town. This scene doesn’t seem like you at all.”
“It’s definitely not,” Becca agreed, “but it’s necessary for Logan.”
“Why? Does he really know all of these people? Are they his friends?”
“I know it’s weird, but I can’t explain it all now,” Becca said. “We need time, and more privacy than this, but I will soon. The good news is, the wedding won’t be like this. It will be much more private, with just a few close friends and family members.”
“Are you sure you’re happy?” Paige needed to hear the words.
“More than ever,” Becca assured her. “Trust me.”
Trust me.
They were the same words that Mason had used the night before, and though they were used in a different context, deep down, Paige felt that both incidents were somehow related. The notion was ridiculous, and yet she couldn’t stop the twinge of jealousy that formed at the knowledge of their shared secret.
“You sound like Mason,” Paige rolled her eyes.
“Oh yeah,” Becca barked excitedly. “How do you guys know each other anyway?”
“We don’t really. We’ve only spent one night together—well, now two—but I like him.”
“Wait! Is he the guy you told me about? The ice cream guy?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh. My. God! That’s awesome!” Becca squealed. “He’s a great guy, and one of Logan’s best friends. It would be awesome if the two of you ended up together. Which is a good thing, I’m guessing, because I’m pretty sure you more than just like him.”
“Maybe,” Paige conceded.
“Maybe my ass,” Becca countered, and they both burst out laughing.
Their laughter was interrupted by shouting, and they turned in the direction of the noise. Mason was running toward them, pushing his arms in a downward motion.
“Shooter! Get down!”
He darted past them, and disappeared around the corner at the same time Becca grabbed her hand. Her friend pulled her down against the wall, and a second later, Logan burst out of the same door they had used to leave the building.
He immediately spotted them huddled against the wall.
“Stay!”
He barked the order, and then ran in the same direction Mason had gone.
Becca’s grip bordered on painful, but before Paige could question the situation, the sound of two gunshots filled the air. Both women tensed, but neither moved, and Paige held her breath until another shot filled the air. The explosive sound was followed by a loud, deafening roar, one that sounded like a large, angry animal, and then total silence.
Someone was injured, Paige was sure of it, and while she didn’t want it to be Logan, she didn’t want it to be Mason, either. Minutes passed, but it felt like hours before Logan appeared around the corner again, covered in blood.
Becca dropped her hand, and ran into Logan’s arms. As the couple embraced, Paige slowly stood, and waited for Mason reappear around the corner, but he never did.
Deep down, she knew he couldn’t.
“Where’s Mason?”
She voiced her concern as she moved swiftly toward the couple, but she didn’t stop when she reached them, nor did she pause for Logan’s explanation. Mason was the one who had been injured, she could feel it in her soul, and she had to get to him.
“Paige! Wait!”
Logan’s voice filled the air as she prepared to round the corner, but she ignored his order—and it was an order—and continued on her path.
The scene she stepped into on the other side of the wall made her eyes fill with tears, and her heart break in two.
Mason was on the ground, laying in a pool of blood, and three large men knelt at his sides. She recognized them all from the party, but she’d only been introduced to one.
Jacob closed his phone, leaned down to whisper something in his ear, and then all three men stood and stepped away from his body, as if to give him space.
“Mason!”
Her cry filled the night air, and she rushed to his side.
He greeted her with a smile, but she ignored the sentiment, and scanned his body. The vision before her was blurry, but she immediately saw his wounds. He’d been shot twice, and was losing a lot of blood.
Tears streamed down her face, and she grabbed his palm, held it in both of her hands, and brought it to her cheek. He was ice cold, and the fear that gripped her was a tangible thing.
“Don’t cry, baby girl,” he whispered. “I heal fast, remember?”
“You need a doctor,” she whispered back. “You’re…there’s so much blood.”
“A healer is on the way,” Jacob said, standing over them.
She recognized the man’s voice, but she didn’t take her gaze away from Mason. The man turned, and faced the other men forming a semi-circle around their friend. “We need to get him to his room, and get this place cleaned up. The healer will meet us there.”
Jacob started barking orders, but Paige tuned him out, and focused on Mason. He was so pale, and the smile he’d given her moments ago had faded into a grimace.
“A healer is coming,” Mason said, “and I’ll be fine. Stay with me?”
She nodded, but was forced to let go of his hand when the men picked him up and started carrying him away. Though she desperately wanted to follow, her legs felt like led weights, rooting her to the spot, and she couldn’t force herself to move.
Suddenly, a warm arm circled her shoulders.
“He’ll be okay,” Becca assured her.
Paige wasn’t convinced, and she had no idea how her friend could be so calm, but she allowed the woman to lead her back into the building. Logan followed stoically behind them, and a few minutes later, she was placed in a chair at Mason’s beside.
Unfortunately, he’d lost conciseness during the move, and had no idea she was there.