Page 84 of Fallen Hero

I doubted Jason ever gave me or my sister a passing thought.

“I’d like to say no. But, maybe.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

We wouldn’t, but I would.

One way or another, this ended here. It had to.

“Talk soon.”

Before she could give me any more horrible advice like mounting Mason like a donkey, I hung up.

Just because I was already in the frying pan, I figured I’d continue my stupidity and jump straight into the fire. Instead of going downstairs after my long hot shower, where I’d found more beard burn between my legs, I opted for our balcony.

This time, I was out there first on my lounger, with nothing but silence and my thoughts.

The skyline and lights did nothing for me. I’d much prefer a view of the mountains or ocean. I closed my eyes and let my mind wander. First back to Mexico, after Catarina caught me running from Ahmad’s people after I’d escaped. I had to admit that was a close call . . .

Carlos Quintero, may his soul be rotting in hell, had taken the bait and me. Tom needed a connection between Ahmad and the cartel in Juárez. Unfortunately, after I’d put the word out that a blonde-haired, blue-eyed virgin was roaming the streets alone in Juárez, Carlos had gone rogue and taken me on a joyride across Mexico to sell me directly to Ahmad, cutting out the cartel.

That had been a bust, but in true Tom fashion, he’d spun it to higher-ups and still got approval to take out Ahmad. I’d been hoping Carlos would reach out to Jason Anderson and I’d be taken to Berlin. But not every op goes according to plan.

Pace.

Primary, alternate, contingency, and emergency.

I’d moved to the contingency part. Tom jumped the gun and went to emergency and sent in Pete and his team to rescue me.

At the time, I’d been furious. Now, I wasn’t sure I had it in me to be angry Tom had unintentionally brought Mason into my life. Same with Atlanta. Maybe that’s why I was slowly forgiving her for going behind my back. At this point, I was nursing my grudge on principle. If she hadn’t texted him, I wouldn’t’ve had this—our balcony and stolen moments with a man who made me feel alive, human, like a woman . . . and not the one I’d turned into under Tom’s tutelage.

“With that frown, I’m not sure if I’m waking you up from a nightmare or interrupting you plotting murder.”

Both.

My eyes popped open to find Mason sitting on his lounger, elbows resting on his black sweatpants-covered knees.

Too bad they weren’t gray, then the Instagram-inspired fantasy would be complete. Was he commando under those sweatpants? Did I want to find out? Hell yes, I did. Jeez, I’d gone from not thinking about sex to being a horny virgin.

Gah. I hated that word. Actually, I was beginning to hate both of them.

“Calli?” he prompted.

“Sorry I didn’t go downstairs,” I mumbled, not offering an explanation that would likely lead to questions I didn’t want to answer.

“It’s late, and it was a long day for them. Nothing more than hellos were exchanged before they took off to find a bed.”

With me having my own room, the guys would have to double up. Unless they were going to sleep on the mini couches in the living room. I didn’t know what Gavin and Aiden looked like, but there was no way Fallon, Jack, Mason, or Pete would fit on any of the sofas.

“I don’t know if I ever apologized for threatening to shoot you back in Mexico,” I blurted out.

Mason chuckled good-naturedly. “If memory serves, your magazine was empty.”

It had been, and at the time, he’d pointed it out.

“I was just pissed Tom sent a team to rescue me.”

“So you’ve said.”