The rank taste of remorse mixed with the sour flavor of rage on his tongue. Every cell in his body wanted to rant and rave and leave nothing but carnage in its wake. But good sense prevailed.
Good sense and the need to figure out what he was dealing with so he could save Alex and the others.
Speaking of… What the hell happened to Uncle John? His room was across the hall. Surely, if he’d been in there, he would’ve come out to see what the commotion was about. And what about Chrissy? She’d been on the trundle bed last Mason knew.
Too many unknowns.
Instead of doing as he was told and dropping the AR-15 to the floor, Mason allowed his mouth to curve into a mockery of a smile. “Dunno who you motherfuckers are. But let me tell you who I’mnot. That’s some run-of-the-mill chickenshit whose eyes go all pie plate at the sight of a loaded weapon pointed my way.” Venom dripped from his tongue. It matched the poison pumping out of his heart.
He wasn’t one for words, but he found he couldn’t stop talking. “You can sure as fuck put one in me,” he told the man in the hall. “But not before I decorate the wall with fifty shades of your friend’s gray matter. So, if I were you, I’d put that rifle on the floor, nice and slow, and then kick it my way. I’ll give you to the count of ten before I pull the trigger. Fair warning, though, I’m starting at six.”
A hoot of laughter echoed around the hall. It was caustic, hitting Mason’s ears like acid. Before he could blink, the evil black eye of the assault rifle slid from his chest to aim into the room behind him.
He heard Alex gasp like she’d been slapped. All the blood drained from his head, leaving him dizzy, because…
Game over.
He’d never had an Achilles’ heel before.
He had one now.
Her name was Alexandra Merriweather. And despite all the reasons why she shouldn’t, she loved him. He’d never be able to live with himself if something happened to her on his watch.
With a harshly whispered “Fuck!” he lowered the AR-15 to the wood-plank floor.
The prick whose finger he broke snatched it up. Using his good hand, the man awkwardly aimed it at Mason’s head, the barrel weaving and swaying.
“Careful,” Mason warned the guy. “Wouldn’t want that to go off.” He glanced from one masked man to the next. “I’m assuming you want me alive or else I’d already be dead.”
“You are not ours to kill,” Shadow Man growled.
“Oh, goody.” Mason’s tone was bored and sarcastic, but his mind was a hurricane, swirling with a million and one thoughts. The topmost beingCan I reach my Colt? Probably not before I take a round, he decided.
If it were just him, he’d risk it. But it wasn’t just him.
“Get dressed, woman,” the man in the hall snarled. “Then come with us.”
Mason bent to grab the tank top and pajama shorts she’d worn to his room, and Shadow Man barked, “Do not move!”
He slowly lifted his chin. His eyes were mere slits, but he hoped the asshat could read the truth in them. “You’ll hafta kill me before I’ll letcha make her get dressed in front of you.”
For a couple of seconds, silence reigned. He could tell both men would’ve liked nothing better than to take him up on his challenge. Eventually, however, Shadow Man dipped his chin and Mason tossed Alex her clothes.
She caught them one-handed, using her other hand to keep the sheet pulled up to her chin. Her gaze never left his.Hereyeswerepie-plate round, and the skin over her cheeks was so tight he could see the blue of her veins snaking beneath.
“It’s okay, babe.” He infused his voice with more certainty than he felt.
He’d do anything to take away even a fraction of her terror. And given the chance, he was going to kill both balaclava-clad bastards for making her suffer one moment of fear. Well, he’d kill them for that and for whatever they’d done to his friends.
Devastating grief threatened to wash over him like a tidal wave. So he pushed the thought to the back of his head.
Mourning was something a man didafterthe danger passed and the innocents were safe. Until then, he had to keep his head in the game, his eye on the prize, and wait for an opening that would allow him to gain the upper hand.
It probably wasn’t the smartest move, but he kept his back to the intruders while Alex dressed. Partly because he wanted to make sure she could wrestle into her sleepwear while staying concealed beneath the sheet. The idea of anyone, but especially these cocksuckers, seeing her intimate flesh filled him with a fury so hot it made his lungs burn. But mostly because she seemed to need the reassurance in his eyes.
“Quickly!” Shadow Man shouted impatiently.
“I’m done!” Alex scooted from beneath the covers, and then stood demurely beside the bed, chin down, hands clasped behind her back.
