“Jesus, shit!” Mason snaps from my side, clearly in pain. “The fuck is wrong with you!”
I look around at the few people on the machines nearby, feeling my cheeks flush. A big burly man with a long beard and a belt wrapped around his waist comes towards me. He lifts the weight from me with ease. Then takes a knee beside me. “Are you okay? You caught your chin.”
“I’m fine,” I mutter, waving him off as I stand and brush myself off.
“I think it’s bleeding,” he says.
“What?”
He reachesout and lifts my chin. “You might need stitches there.” He openly cringes.
My eyes drop to the floor where Mason is still sprawled out, holding his thigh. Only now he is deathly quiet and watching the man’s hold on my face with a dangerous look in his eyes.
I pull away. “Thank you, but I’ll be fine.”
“You okay, big man?” he asks Mason.
I bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from laughing. He reaches down and offers his hand and Mason takes it, putting pressure on his leg then hissing.
Everything inside me coils tight.
I’ve hurt him.
“Let me see.” He hobbles to me, tilting my head to look at my chin. He’s so close, his body brushing mine as he dips down to get a better look. God, he smells delicious.
“Bloody hell, woman.”
“Logan will look at it, he had first aid training just last week. Or Scar, she will sort it. Are you okay?” I ask, shooing his hand away.
“I’m fine. I’m driving you to the hospital.”
“I don’t need to go to the hospital.” I touch my chin and feel the sticky blood pooling. Shit.
“You’re not fighting me on this, Nina. Is Logan in?”
“Yes.” I thumb towards the office and breathe a sigh of relief when he stalks off in that direction.
I can’t have Mason looking after me. It’s the last thing I need right now. I grab my things and ask Gemma to let Logan know I had to leave, then I call Maggie and tell her I’ll be late.
As I step out onto the street, I feel my chin drip and lookdown to see blood seeping into my tank top. I know I need to get to the hospital and have it stitched. If the girls weren’t in the office, I’d have asked them to take me, but Mason is too controlling and wouldn’t have allowed it.
I know Joey will be busy at the gallery, and Maggie is with Ellis.
“Vinny, I need your help,” I plead into the phone.
ELEVEN
Nina
Six stitches. The cut wasn’t overly deep but because of where it was on my chin, it wouldn’t stop bleeding. Vinny picked me up and took me to the hospital. I apologised for giving him the cold shoulder this past week and I hoped he would’ve told me more about Mason and the situation at The Earl Marks, but he didn’t. I respect him for staying loyal to his boss, but it’s hard to believe nothing happened when nobody will tell me what’s going on.
Mason didn’t stop calling while we were in the hospital, and I still haven’t called him back. Feeling guilty and more in control than I was in the gym earlier, I pick up my phone and dial his number. I don’t owe him an explanation, but I’m certain I’d want to know if the shoe was on the other foot.
It rings out the first time, so I try him again.
“What?” he snaps on the secondring.
Great, he’s in a mood… I try to squash down my inner bitch. I need to keep it civil.
