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ChapterEleven
MASON
“Ineed her number,” I said aloud, speeding through a yellow light that changed to red with my middle finger in the air. I had an accountant to pay any fines I’d get, and a lawyer that could make the whole thing disappear. What I needed was Lacy’s number.
That shit in Russia came back to haunt me in the form of a visit from an FBI agent and I’d had to lay low after my night with Lacy. So low, I’d been in Mississippi for the better part of a week but now I was home. I should have stayed down there but fuck it. I couldn’t get that girl out of my dreams, out of my mind so I’d come back to Chicago.
The only problem was, Ginger wouldn’t give me her number.
“You can come here like a civilized human being and ask her friend to call her, but I am not giving you her number, Mason. Suck it,” Ginger said into the phone, her voice coming through the speakers in my car. Then she had the audacity to hang up on me.
I’d strangle the woman if she wasn’t a good friend.
It didn’t matter anyway. I was on my way to the Red Rose Club now to do just that.
By the time I walked into the club, red rose in hand, I was ready to throttle Ginger. If she’d just given me Lacy’s number, I could be at her place now, getting down to my main goal in life, that being between her legs.
“If you liked the girl so much, why didn’t you get her number that night, Mason?” Ginger asked, the voice of my conscience, as she slid into the booth I’d taken.
“Because I was hoping once was enough. That I’d got her out of my system,” I shot back at her with a glare. I took the glass of scotch she’d brought with her and downed it. “I’ll have another, please.”
Ginger made a gesture to a woman walking by and I knew I’d get a drink soon enough.
“Once wasn’t enough, huh? You sure you want to tempt fate with another dose of her then?”
“I can’t stop thinking about her, Ginger. She got under my skin, in my nose, my thoughts, my fucking dreams. I shouldn’t even be here right now, but here I am. I’m begging you, give me her number.”
“No, I’m not doing that, I told you that. I protect my staff and their privacy. I will call her friend though.”
“Please.” I gestured to the phone on the table, but all I got was an enigmatic smile and teasing eyes. “Don’t do this to me, Ginger.”
“How much trouble are you in this time, Mason?” She changed the subject so quick it made my head spin.
“What?” I asked, my eyes going hard as I sated back at her.
“How. Much. Trouble. Are. You. In?” She enunciated each word separately, as if I was too stupid to grasp what she’d asked.
Normally, that would get her the finger at the very least. Right now, I needed her help. Plus, she was an old friend. She was one of the few that could get away with things like that.
“Not a lot. It’ll blow over. Some of Mom’s people are working on it already. It’ll go away.”
“Fine, as long as you don’t bring that trouble here or to Lacy.” She examined me and I wondered for a second if she’d decide to turn down my pleas, for the sake of the girl.
Maybe she was right to wonder, to think I might be bad news for the innocent young woman whose face, eyes, and sighs, and let’s not forget those thighs, that I could not forget. Maybe I was, but I’ve always been a little selfish, a little more willing to take chances on things because I always,always,got what I wanted in the end. Most of the time.
“Call her.” I pointed at the phone again, but Ginger shook her head.
“What’s your offer this time?”
“Why, you want a cut?” I asked, really not in the mood for bullshit games. I’d driven all the way up from Mississippi. I was tired, pissed off, and impatient. That made me not a very nice guy.
“No, I just want to know how different this girl is. She’s not like the usual women here. Sure, she could be after a while, she’d be just as jaded, just as cynical, but is that what you want? Or do you care?”
Oddly, I found myself wanting to say I did care. That I cared a lot. A lot more than I should. But I held my tongue. With pursed lips I glanced back at the phone, my answer clear.
“Fine. But this girl’s different. I can feel it. She got to you, and I hope, for her sake, that she got to you bad enough that you’ll get out of this game. Or at least cut back on it, a little.”
I pictured an island I’d bought in the southern Pacific, a very private island with a house on it that any prince would find comfort in. I could have a quiet life there, that was my plan, but I’d always planned to retire there alone. Suddenly, I didn’t want to be alone there. I wanted Lacy there with me.
I don’t want to go back to Russia, or to live this life anymore. I couldn’t completely leave it behind, I’m not naïve enough to think that, but maybe I could walk away from some of it? Have some peace with a woman by my side that gave me more than I’d ever dreamed she could?
“Make the fucking call, Ginger. Now.” Meanwhile, I’d get in contact with the pilot for my private jet. He was going to have a busy night.
