Page 28 of Protecting Her

“Are you going to go to New York after you see Mason?” Emily prodded. She wanted me to get Ember back for two reasons. The club’s audience did not like the new entertainer, and she wanted me happy.

“I might. I don’t know yet. I’ll see what Mason thinks. I’m almost there; let me go, Emily. You know this part always gets difficult.” I was heading toward an area with a lot of traffic lights and heavy traffic, so I needed all of my attention on the road.

I navigated the traffic with ease after that and soon arrived at our hotel in Myrtle Beach. Mason was down here to be with his girlfriend and wanted me to report on what had happened. In person.

He hadn’t sounded happy on the phone, but just as he’d said to Trent once before in his life, Mason was not the boss of me. He could question my decisions, but I was in charge of entertainment, not him.

I found him in an office to himself, no assistant in sight. “What’s up, Mason?” I called out and he turned to me with a smile.

“Kevin. Thanks for coming.”

It was odd to see my sporty brother in a suit and tie, but there he sat, blond hair clean and gray eyes clear. Far from the bleary-eyed drunk I’d seen on too many occasions. “Take a seat.”

He made my eyebrow quirk with that, and then he laughed. “Sorry, still getting used to being in charge. Now, what’s going on?”

Straight and to the point. Good.

“I guess I played by your rule book and fucked up.”

“What do you mean?” Mason didn’t skip a beat.

“I wanted my cake and to eat it too. I let the woman that everything depends on get away.”

“So you fucked her and broke her heart, is that it?” Mason, always direct.

“I, no. I planned on asking her to marry me, actually.” I pulled the box out of my pocket, where I always kept it. “It’s the crazy lady. She got in the way.”

“I thought we took care of Veronica?” Mason asked, confused about a subject he thought we’d sorted well over a year ago.

“Seems not. DNA proved what I’d said all along, the baby wasn’t mine; I’d never even met the woman. A psychiatric evaluation showed she was delusional, but I guess she was off her meds or something, I don’t know. I do know the night she showed up at the bar in Nashville, Ember left.”

“You have to get her back. And I hate to sound harsh, but not just for your sake. Her loss is hurting our bottom line. The hotel was booked solid until it was announced we’d changed singers.”

“I know, I’ve seen the cancellation data. I’m not going to try to get her back for that, though. To be honest, fuck the empire. I just want Ember.” I sank into the luxurious leather chair and stared off into space. “I have never felt like that about a woman before. I don’t want to feel this way about another either. I only want to feel it for her. Ever.”

“Then you have it bad, brother. Do what you have to, for your own sake. I shouldn’t have put that kind of weight on you.” His words made my head jerk around to observe him.

“That woman of yours had changed you,” I said without derision.

“I know. It’s a good thing. I’d have been dead before I learned my lesson, the way I was going. She’s just…”

“Brought meaning to an empty life?” I provided. Yeah, that’s exactly how I felt about Ember.

“Exactly. Now, go on, go get something done. I just hope you can get her back. She’s about to sign with another company from what Emily said.”

“You talked about this with Emily?” That was kind of rude.

“It’s the family business, of course I did, brother. Now, seriously, Monday she’s going to sign contracts we can’t get her out of. Hurry.”

“I might not be able to convince her that quickly.”

“You’re the man for her. You’re a Thompson, any woman would be lucky to have you. And if she’s that great, then you’re lucky to have her. Now, get the fuck out of my office.” Mason laughed, the kind of laugh I’ve never heard from him.

It actually sounded happy for a change, not his usual self-deprecating or sarcastic laugh. Laura had been good for him, I decided.

The way Ember had been good for me.

I got back on the phone the moment I was out of the office and called my PA to order plane tickets. I’d see her, tonight. If Emily had Ember’s location, that is. NYC was a big place; it might be impossible to find her before Monday.