He nods, stands and buttons his jacket, his face morphing back to normal again as if he didn’t just threaten me.
“Vin.” I laugh. “Are you serious right now?”
“I’ve never been more serious in my life. That girl’s been through more than you’ll ever know.”
My lip twitches up at the corner, but I try to keep a straight face. I stand and join him at the door. I hold out my hand.
He looks down at it, his jaw locking, but then something that looks a little bit like pride washes over his face.
“Loud and clear, old man.” I wink, grasping his hand tighter than I should when he takes mine.
I should be pissed that he’s just threatened my ass, but I’m not. Nina needs all the people she can get fighting in her corner. Vinny is one of the best men I know, and she deserves his protection.
I don’t expect Nina to be in the gym when I arrive—it’s fucking late and she’s been here all day—but she is. She stands with Megan and Lucy, both of them in their gym wear. I roll my eyes, knowing that them coming here won’t last long.
“Ladies,” I greet smugly as I saunter past them.
They don’t say a word, all of them rendered speechless. I knew Nina would be shocked to see me here, but better she knows I use L&M now than later when she’s settled and thinks it’s because of her. I move to the weights and pick upthe barbell. Lucy and Megan quickly disappear into the back office. Probably to chew Logan’s ear off.
Nina walks to the back wall and swipes her access card, unlocking the iPad from its holder. She scans it, her eyes flicking over it furiously.
Nina
Motherfucker!
I keep scrolling, checking he isn’t listed under just ‘Mason’ but still, I come up with nothing. Why would Gemma let him up here?
My eyes zero in on him as I stand holding the iPad with white-knuckle force. He is so fucking hot, and it makes me even more angry. His arms strain as he lifts the weights to his chest, his pecs taut and legs bulging.
Why can’t he be a dweeb? This wouldn’t be so difficult if he was scrawny. Maybe with a tiny penis too.
“You can’t be here,” I tell him, as I step up to where he stands on the rubber mats.
“Excuse me,” he groans, his veins protruding—shouldn’t be hot but it is.
Everything is bigger now I’m closer. I shake my head, finding my thoughts. “You aren’t a member; you need to leave!”
“I’ll pay on my way out.” He winks.
Ugh, please. “It doesn’t work like that.” I glare.
“Nina, I want to work out in peace?—”
“Then go home! You have a perfectly good gym there.”
“No!” He continues to pump the weight and with each rep, I get a little bit more worked up. “I always work out here.”
“Liar! You do realise I can see that you’ve never been a member.” I hold up the iPad as if it’s the holy grail.
He rolls his eyes and continues lifting.
He came here intentionally on my first day to try and piss me off. The bastard. I step closer and he steps back, catching his foot and stumbling slightly. I quickly grasp the middle of the barbell as he tries to recover his footing. “What are you doing!” he shouts, frowning as I try to take it from his hands. “Shit!”
“Mason!” I panic, taking the barbell fully as he falls to the floor, clutching his thigh. The weight is heavy, too heavy for me and I feel myself wobble. “Oh, no.”
“Shit, shit,” I hear Mason cuss from the floor.
“I can’t hold it,” I squeal. My left arm gives out, and the weight upends itself, smashing to the ground and taking me with it in some kind of gravity sequence.
