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“Shit,” I hissed, closing my eyes briefly as I slid my fingers out from under her shirt and away from her breasts. I watched her face as the backs of my fingers flitted over her abdomen. When she shuddered, letting me know she enjoyed the sensation, I felt settled enough to see who was calling me.
When I looked at the screen, however, all warmth drained from me.
I should’ve ignored it. To this day, I’ll regret taking that call. But I had a bad feeling I needed to know what she had to say, so I turned away from Reese so she couldn’t see my regret as I pressed the phone to my ear and answered without a single greeting.
Patricia’s command was brief but brutal. “Stop fucking her on your mother’s kitchen cabinets and get over here now, or I will destroy her. That’s a promise, Mason. Her very life could be in danger. Hell, you’re putting your sister’s and your mother’s lives in danger by letting this girl into your home.”
Hating that she’d been able to see everything that had just happened between Reese and me, I spun to the kitchen window and jerked the blinds down, making them bounce in righteous indignation from how roughly I’d closed them.
“Whatever,” I growled into the phone before disconnecting and tossing the whole vile piece of plastic onto the counter for daring to deliver such a message to me.
“Dammit.” After kicking the wall, I ran my hand through my hair. Why couldn’t that fucking woman just go away?
Though Patricia’s dramatics were worthy of a big eye-roll, a fissure of fear still cracked open inside me. She definitely knew how to pull out the scare tactics, because nothing alarmed me as much as thinking that Reese was actually in some kind of danger. And what the hell did she mean about Reese risking Mom and Sarah’s lives too?
Reese said nothing, just watched me from knowing eyes.
“We had an audience,” I finally admitted.
“Mrs. Garrison?” she guessed.
I nodded, feeling sick inside. Sick, worthless, and lacking all hope for escape from the things I’d done these last two years. “Apparently, she didn’t like seeing us kiss.”
Fisting her hands at her sides, Reese narrowed her eyes. “Then maybe she shouldn’t have watched.”
I grabbed my shirt from the floor where it had fallen. “I have to go,” I explained, hating that she was seeing this, seeing me being controlled by Patricia. “I got the royal summons from the wicked bitch herself.”
She watched me pull the shirt on and finger-comb my hair before she shook her head and frowned.
“You’re not really going over there, are you?”
“I have to,” I growled. Patricia was going to hurt Reese if I didn’t. And she hadn’t been bluffing this time. I could tell by the tone of her voice. But to the girl in front of me, I said, “She owns this house. She owns my mother, and Sarah, and me. I have to see what she wants.”
What she knew.
I’d been fooling myself these past few weeks, thinking I could be my own person, that I could talk back to her and deny any power she held over me. That woman had my number; when it came down to it, I would still do anything to protect my loved ones.
Besides, Riker had just followed through on his threat to me, and he’d nearly gotten me fired from the Country Club. I’d be stupid to ignore this threat from Patricia right after that.
“She may own this house,” Reese started reasonably, “but she doesn’t own you or your family. You do not have to go over there.”
“I’m just going to see what she wants. That’s all.” I wanted to wince as I uncertainly asked, “Will you be here when I get back?”
She snorted. “Are you on crack? Hell, no, I won’t be here! You know what she wants, Mason. She wants you naked in her bed. If she’d wanted anything else, she would’ve told you over the phone, or better yet, she wouldn’t have interrupted our kiss at all.”
Yeah, well that was the very last thing Patricia would be getting. “I’ll only be gone a few minutes,” I promised. “I won’t even go inside her house.”
Shaking her head, obviously not believing a word I said, Reese turned away. “Fine. Whatever. Go over there. Fuck her. I don’t care. I’m out of here.”
Grabbing her purse off the table, she said nothing else as she stormed toward the back door.
I panicked. “Reese!” Lunging after her, I wrapped my arms around her from behind, knowing without a doubt that she had nothing to worry about. I’d rather be burned alive than touch Patricia Garrison again.
“Don’t leave like this,” I choked out. “Please don’t leave like this. I promise you, I will not sleep with her. I don’t care what she tries to hang over my head. I just want to tell her to leave me alone.”
And figure out a way to protect Reese from whatever Patricia had on her.
But Reese shook her head. “And you could have told her to leave you alone over the phone too.”
