Mason
The sun woke me.
I sat up and grimaced as I remembered how I had treated Cassie the night before. The thought of her made me look over to where she should have been asleep, but she wasn’t there. I got up and searched the house. As small as it was, the search didn’t take long.
I stepped around the house and cursed. The shed door was open and I could see tracks leading away from it.
“Damn it,” I muttered.
I went back inside and rounded up my phone. I quickly hit Diesel’s number.
It took a few rings for the man answer.
“Yeah?” he grunted groggily.
“I need you to come get me at the safehouse.”
I didn’t really feel like going into details, especially when I considered that anyone could be listening in to the conversation.
“Don’t ask me any questions. Just do it.”
I clicked the phone off.
It would take Diesel a good half hour to get here from where he and the boys had been stationed last night. I went inside and changed into some clothes that didn’t reek of sweat and dirt.
How long had it been since I’d had a decent night’s sleep? Probably fucking years, I mused as I tugged my vest on.
Diesel arrived right on schedule. He eyed me curiously.
“So, care to tell me where your bike is?”
“Cassie took off on it, would be my guess,” I said. “I’ll go to her house and pick it up. I figure that’s where she’d head when she bolted.”
The man narrowed his eyes and folded his arms across his chest. He had taken a shine to Cassie and I could see, even before he spoke, that he was none too pleased.
“No disrespect, Boss, but I thought Cassie and you were tight.”
“Things change,” I said dismissively.
Diesel shook his head but held his tongue. He could push his luck because we were friends, but he knew better than to cross too many boundaries.
I understood how he had gotten attached to the brunette though. Cassie had that effect on people. Half the boys and their old ladies treated the girl like she was an honorary Ghost Rider.
I frowned. “She wasn’t one of us, Diesel.”
“The hell she wasn’t,” the man said risking injury at my hands. “Fuck, Mason,” he continued boldly, “that girl went into the fray and pulled girls out of buildings. Just cause you tried to keep her at arm’s length doesn’t mean the rest of us did. She deserves her place.”
I slammed my hand on the table.
“This isn’t up for debate. Unless you think you can run the GRMC better than me?”
I looked him straight in the eye. Diesel shook his head as he looked away.
“We’ve got shit to do, and none of it involves chasing bitches around the county. She made her choice.”
“Yes, Sir,” Diesel said. “Want me to drop you by your place?”
I nodded. “Yeah. If she’s home, then I’ll grab my bike.”
“If not?” Diesel looked over at me questioningly.
I shrugged. “Then I’ll just get the truck I keep at the house and meet you at the safehouse.”
I knew that was not what Diesel was getting at, but I had no interest in discussing this clusterfuck with him right now. I had to get my head straight. Ruiz was not going to just sit around and allow us to keep on disrupting his supply lines.
“Let’s go,” I said.
Diesel was quiet after that.
When we pulled up at my house, I glanced over into Cassie’s yard. I cursed under my breath,
“Dammit!”
There was no bike to be seen. Diesel looked at me, but I waved for him to go on. He backed out of the driveway and was soon gone down the road.
I strode over into Cassie’s yard. There was no sign that anyone had been there. She should have had enough gas to get to home.
It was entirely possible that she’d gone somewhere else, perhaps to where her family lived. She might have been too afraid to come home because I could track her there so easily. I sighed and went back to my own house to get the truck.
I spent the day getting the boys organized. They could run most of the operations without me.
Diesel gave me a knowing look when I cut out early. I ignored the man’s curiosity. I couldn’t have got Cassie back even if I’d wanted to. I had no desire to explain to Diesel what had happened. I wasn’t even sure I could explain.
The night crept on in. As I walked out of the liquor store, I did a double take. My breath caught in my throat as I caught sight of someone out of the corner of my eye that looked just like Cassie. The girl smiled at her boyfriend and I shook my head, trying to clear away the thought.
Despite the girl having only been with me for such a short time, I couldn’t shake the feeling of her.
“Get out of my head,” I muttered as I popped the top off one of the brown bottles and took a deep pull at the beer.
I could almost hear her laughing at me.
“Bet you are probably loving this,” I whispered as I cranked the truck.
By the time I got to the safehouse, I wanted nothing more than to sleep. However, despite everything, sleep stayed far away. I drank two more beers sitting at the kitchen table, and then a dozen behind those. My foot hit an empty bottle on the floor, causing others to topple like dominos. I angrily swept the bottles across the floor with my boot.
I stumbled into the bedroom and collapsed wearily into bed. I don’t know how long it took to fall asleep, but it felt like hours. Finally, I succumbed to the alcohol and fatigue. Sleep, however, brought no rest with it.
I cried out at the scene before me. How many times had I witnessed this? Dana screamed and cried. She pleaded with me, with her captor. She pleaded for death. I sobbed as I strained against my bonds.
I shook my head at the brunette. I blinked my eyes to clear the tears away. No, it wasn’t Dana. It was Cassie.
No, not Cassie! Her lip was split and her eye swollen shut. Blood dripped from a gash on her forehead. She could barely see as she reached out toward me. The next moment, she was knocked to the floor unconscious. He didn’t stop. He kept hitting her limp body with a motorcycle chain.
“No,” I raged at him. “Let her go! It’s me you want, not her!”
Ruiz grinned viciously as he raised the chain again. When he brought it down across her head, it landed with a dull thud and I heard the crack of bone. A gurgling sound broke from Cassie’s throat. Her one good eye peered at me as blood pooled the floor around her mouth. I watched in horror as she bled out with Ruiz’s laughter echoing in my head.
I gasped awake and sat up in bed. I groaned and rubbed my face as if to scrub the dream from my memory. It was better she was away from me. Let her keep the bike.
I threw myself back and stared at the ceiling. It’s better this way.
***