“You’re never gonna see him again,” Mason said. “Ever. Then you can come back home, and we’ll pretend it never happened.”
Saffy rolled her eyes. “Tell me, wouldyouleaveyourmate on my say so?”
“He’s not your fucking mate!” Mason roared in her face, his spittle hitting her in the cheek. His breath wreaked of alcohol, but he wasn’t slurring his words, and he was steady on his feet. Overpowering him was out.
She’d tried to leave three times already, but each time Mason had grabbed her and pulled her back. The third time he’d shaken her hard enough to make her teeth rattle then slapped her across the face with enough force to split her lip. The wound had healed, but the deep-seated terror inside her had only spread.
Mason had never struck her before. He was a bastard, but he’d never been a woman beater. It just went to prove how much he hated Ramon, and how low he was willing to sink to get his own way.
She had tried to call her mate earlier, but Mason had grabbed the phone out of her hand and thrown it across the room so hard it smashed against the wall, the back flying in one direction, the body of the phone in another. She glanced over at the shattered pieces. She was pretty sure that wouldn’t be working again any time soon.
Mason went back to pacing the living room of his friend’s house while he tried to ‘talk some sense into her.’ Mason had been drunk off his ass when he’d come to the salon earlier, but they’d started drinking again as soon as they arrived at Leon’s house, knocking back whisky like it was going out of fashion. It was only his natural shifter tolerance to alcohol that was keeping him on his feet, more was the pity. If he’d just pass out drunk somewhere, she could slip out while he was snoring.
Saffy eyed the clock on the living room wall. Was it too much to hope that Leon’s parents would get home from work soon, or anyone else who might talk some sense into him? Surely even he wasn’t dumb enough to think that just because he was Mason’s friend, he could get away with kidnapping the daughter of his dominant?
Like he was reading her mind, Leon leered down at her. “Don’t worry, the rest of the family are in Fort Lauderdale. We won’t be disturbed.”
Her stomach rolled. So much for that. No-one was coming to her rescue.
With each new swig he took from the bottle, Mason got more and more het up. And Leon was alternating between tossing her glares of disgust and looking at her like she was something to eat. Jason, who was usually the most sensible out of the three, if such a thing was possible, looked just as angry and sickened by her as the other two. As if she had personally offended him.
“Not only a hawk shifter, he’s a fucking wetback,” Mason said to his friends.
Saffy’s fingers shifted into claws, and a hiss tore from her throat. She’d been trying to keep the cat inside her buried deep because if she let it out, even a little bit, her animal would tear shreds out of Mason for daring to call her mate that horrible name. And if she attacked her brother, her already precarious situation would get a damn sight worse—she couldn’t fight the three of them together. In honesty, she didn’t like her chances of taking just Mason, but if he didn’t watch his mouth she’d be willing to give it a shot. Either way, at this rate it wasn’t going to be her decision. There was only so much she could take before her cat tried to force its way out.
“Who the fuck is that now?” Mason asked with a frown.
Huh?
What had she missed?
Mason transferred the bottle to his other hand then reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out his cellphone. He swiped his thumb over the screen to pick up a call, and put the cell to his ear.
“Lo,” he answered.
Mason was only standing a few feet from her, so Saffy could hear every word from the call.
“Mason, where are you? The hawk shifter is here and he’s arguing with dad. I think they’re gonna start fighting.”
It was Charlotte. And she sounded scared. Saffy closed her eyes. She hated this. She didn’t want her sister to be afraid. And she could only imagine how scared Ramon was when he found out her brother had taken her from the salon. And her father would be no help—his hatred of the Miguels would blind him to anything Ramon had to say.
Saffy prayed that Ramon could hold it together because as dominant male of their pride, her father was a very powerful man, and she couldn’t stand the thought of what he might do to her mate. She knew he was the son of a dominant, like her, so he could undoubtedly take care of himself, but it didn’t mean he’d be a match for a lion, and it certainly wouldn’t be a fair fight: there was no way her father was there alone, and the rest of the pride wouldn’t stand back and let a hawk insult them like that. They were honor-bound to protect the pride’s territory. And whatever happened, if it came to a fight, someone she loved would be hurt. Her dad might be an overbearing, prejudiced jerk, but he was still her father.
“The fuck?” Mason said.
“He’s looking for Saffy,” Charlotte said. “Is she with you?”
“Be right there,” Mason said before hanging up. He grinned at Saffy. “Looks like your spick boyfriend is causing trouble again. About to go and have me a little chat with him.”
Saffy let out another hiss. She had never hated her brother as much in her life as she did in that very moment.
“I’m coming with you.”
“Fuck no, you’re staying here.” He turned to his friends. “She doesn’t leave this house until I get back.”
Saffy made to follow him to the door, but Leon and Jason grabbed her and pulled her back.
“Get your hands off me!” she shouted.
