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Chapter Five
Mason
I wasin the middle of an oil change when my phone rang. I grabbed it out of my pocket quickly, not bothering to wipe the grease off my hands.
“Hello?”
“Mr. Reynolds, this is Ray.”
I felt my heart stop. Something happened and I knew it.
I stood in the boat and stepped onto the dock to pace. “What happened?”
“It was Chris, he found her.”
It felt like my world came crashing down. “Where is she? Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. She got a little banged up, but I got to her in time. I’m calling to let you know. She’s locked herself in her room and is refusing to come out.”
“Tell me what happened,” I demanded.
“We were having lunch and before we left, Lennox needed to use the restroom…”
“And you didn’t go with her?” I cut him off.
“Well, I was going to but she didn’t feel comfortable with me waiting by the bathroom door. I sat and watched the door from the table. I didn’t take my eyes away from that door for more than a second, but when she was taking longer than I thought was necessary, I went to check on her.” He paused, I heard him take a long breath like he didn’t exactly want to tell me the next part of the story.
“When I got to the door, I placed my ear against it. That’s when I heard what sounded like a struggle. I rushed in without thinking about it and found Lennox being held against the wall. I tackled the guy. I guess he hit his head in the mess of things and he was unconscious so I left him to check on her. I got her to come to and asked if she was okay, but when I turned to look back at him, he was gone. He must have slipped out the back exit. I’m truly sorry, Mr. Reynolds.”
“How could you let this happen? How could you let him get away? You were supposed to be taking care of her!” I yelled into the phone. I knew yelling wouldn’t change anything, but it was all I could do.
“I’m sorry, sir. We were having lunch and she went to the bathroom. I don’t know how he got by me. I kept my eyes on the door the whole time.”
“Put Lennox on the phone.” I paced the wooden dock with my heart pounding against my chest. I just needed to hear her.
“Hello?” I knew she was crying; I could hear it even though she was trying to hold back.
I let out a relieved breath. “It’s so good to hear your voice. Are you okay?”
“I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I came here. I should have listened to you.” I heard her breathing, erratic and pained.
“Stay there. I’m coming.” I started for my truck.
“Wait, you can’t come here. Aren’t you busy with training the new employees right now?”
“Joey is training Jessica and Jeremy, the new manager. Trent is training the rest. I’m coming.”
“Okay,” she sniffled into the phone.
I drove straight to the airport after I filled in Joey and Trent. I didn’t need to pack anything, I was only staying one night and flying home the next morning.
After six hours and a plane change, I landed in California. I called Dane and had him meet me at the airport since I had no idea where I was going.
When we got to her apartment, I rushed through the door. “Where is she?”
Alissa pointed to a door at the end of the hall and I damn near ran to it. I pounded on the door calling her name.
The moment she opened it, I had her in my arms, showering her with kisses. “I’m so fucking sorry, baby. I didn’t want this to happen. I wanted to protect you.”
