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“This line of work can be dangerous.” He rumbled. I flicked my eyes up and could have sworn I felt his gaze flick across my chest, but it happened so fast I thought I might have imagined it. “You need to be more careful.”
I eyed him, not sure exactly how much he knew. My understanding was that Mason worked for the CIA, but I didn’t know where or what he did exactly. It was a lot of smoke and mirrors for both of us. What I did know was that he was a medal awarded soldier. He had honor in what he did. I, on the other hand, was not even technically acknowledged by the government. I was the black sheep that they hid, and if need be, would dispose of, without a trace, if they needed.
“Let’s go.” Mason walked around the table to help me up.
“Where?” I asked, confused.
“You’ll be staying with me.”
“What, why?”
“Your dad called me and asked me to keep an eye on you.”
“My dad knows what happened?”
“Well, yes, that you were robbed.”Mason looked at me pointedly. It was almost a question, another test.
I slowly nodded my head, trying to decipher if that’s what Mason believed, or if that’s just what he was saying. If he was here, part of me wondered how much truth he actually knew. The fact that he was standing with me in this facility was evidence that he knew more than he’d let on in the past.
Not just anybody waltzed into the agency. Not even me for that matter. I only came here when I was invited or in trouble. Both of which I tried to keep to a minimum if I could.
I got up from the table and my head started to swim, causing me to stumble forward.
“Easy.” Mason grabbed me and stabilized me. His big, warm hands gripped my waist and planted me firmly against the table.
The room started to spin.
“You good?” Mason ground out, but his eyes were flashing over me with heavy concern. I squinted at him, trying to bring his face into focus.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I gripped the side of the table and felt the cool linoleum under my feet. I realized I didn’t have any shoes. “I don’t know where my shoes are…” I mumbled out, clutching my head as it pounded.
Mason gripped me tighter as I swayed.
“I’m just– I need to sit for a second…” And then I passed out.
5
EMMA
I felt myself being lifted,and I inhaled the warm scent of Mason as he pulled me into his chest. In his arms, I knew I was finally safe. Not only was he a family friend, he was an ex-Navy SEAL, for Christ's sake, nothing was getting past him.
With that realization, and my head still pounding, I found my eyes fluttering shut in exhaustion. As he carried me, I relished in the way his body heat seeped into me, warming me. He deposited me in the passenger seat of his Jeep and buckled me in. The soft hum of the car lulled me to sleep, and I awoke briefly to the sensation of being carried again before I slipped back under.
When I finally awoke, it was glaringly bright outside; the daylight filtered through the cracks in the blinds in white hot beams contrasting against the dark room. I groaned and pushed myself up to my elbows. My head was no longer pounding, but I felt so incredibly groggy and sore. Likely the aftermath of whatever drugs I had been injected with, though I had taken a few hits to the face, so it could be related to that as well.
I looked around the room. I didn’t recognize it. I guessed I was in Mason’s guest room, and it certainly looked like the guest room of a middle-aged bachelor. There was a simple dresser and a nightstand with a small lamp. The bed had a thin comforter, and it was gray. I smiled to myself, thinking how funny that was.
On the nightstand sat an aspirin and a glass of water. I took the aspirin and quickly downed the entire glass of water, suddenly realizing how thirsty I was.
I sat there for a moment fully waking up and absentmindedly raked my hair away from my face, gasping when my fingers met the blunt ends of my hair so much faster than I expected.
I stumbled out of bed and towards the ensuite bathroom. I flicked on the light and gaped at my reflection in horror. This was the first time I was seeing myself since the attack. I gingerly pressed a finger to my eye and winced. My lip was busted up, and there was dark bruising forming all over my arms and face. I stared down at my tank top, at the smeared blood on it, before grazing my hand up to the knick on my neck. And then there was my beautiful hair, that was hacked off, and it now hung unevenly around my shoulders, rather than well down my back, as it had just twenty-four hours prior.
I heard a soft knock on the door. “Yes?” I called out suddenly, flushing at the realization that Mason was at the door.
“Can I come in?” Mason cracked the door, calling through it.
“Sure.” I felt my heart rate skyrocket as soon as Mason rounded the corner into the bathroom. His jaw flexed as his eyes roamed over me in concern. “You should see the other guy.” I joked.
