Whatever It Takes (22 page)

“Are you okay?” Mason demanded urgently.

He gripped her chin and made her look at him. She met his
panicked gaze and nodded. He closed his eyes and sighed, relief clear on his
face.

“Was someone shooting?” she asked in a small voice.

“Yeah, Angel. I think so.” He looked around then got up and
pulled her to her feet.

There were scrapes on one of his arms and hand from taking
the impact of the fall when he took Laurie down to the ground. Somehow, he’d
managed to keep her from receiving a single bump or scrape. She threw herself
into his arms, trying not to cry, as she thought of how he’d wrapped his body
around hers, using himself to shield her. He could have been killed.

“Are you okay?” she asked him, trying to inspect the bloody
scratches on his arm.

He brushed away her concern and hugged her tightly.

“Yeah, baby, I’m fine. It’s nothing; just a few scratches.”

Laurie hugged him back and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to
will away the thoughts of what could have happened.

The first police car came tearing into the parking lot only
seconds later and soon the scene was flooded with police and onlookers. Laurie
happily stayed in Mason’s protective embrace as they leaned against his car and
gave their statements to the police. She truthfully told them that she heard
the gunshots but didn’t see anything. Mason and Dewayne told the same story. They’d
acted quickly to take cover rather than trying to catch a glimpse of the
shooter. The police seemed satisfied and they were quickly free to leave.

“I can hook the Mustang up with my truck and tow it home,”
Mason suggested.

“Fuck that shit,” Dewayne said. “It still runs. I’ll just
drive it home.”

“You sure?”

“Hell, yeah. I got this.”

“Thanks, man.”

“Don’t worry about it, big guy.”

Mason nodded then pulled Laurie away from the car and headed
for his truck.

“Come on, Angel. I ain’t letting you out of my sight again.”

* * * * *

“I don’t fuckin’ like it.” Mason paced back and forth on the
porch. “Too many things have happened that can’t be explained. I’m telling you,
someone’s after my girl.”

Dewayne and Officer Davis, whose first name was Kevin, sat
on the porch, sipping beers and watching Mason prowl like a caged animal.

After the shooting at the coffee shop, Laurie was shaken up
and exhausted, so he cooked dinner for her. Then he took her to bed and made
love to her until she was barely able to keep her eyes open and then he held
her until she was fast asleep. Once she was resting comfortably, he went out to
the porch to discuss the situation and get Kevin’s advice.

“I think you might be right,” Dewayne said and then took a
hit from his bong.

“Man, do you mind?” Kevin sighed.

“Oh, sorry. Rude of me,” Dewayne said, offering the bong to
Kevin, who almost laughed.

“Dewayne, have you noticed that I’m a cop?”

“I guess so but I didn’t think you were a very good one.”

“Well, you’re lucky for that, pothead. Now put that shit
away and I’ll pretend I never saw it.”

Dewayne nodded and set the bong aside. “There does seem to
be a trend going on here and it does seem to be escalating. And you can’t think
of anybody who would want to hurt her?”

Mason shook his head. “I thought maybe it was someone trying
to get at me by hurting her. You know I made some enemies in my day.”

“No, you said the brake thing happened before you two were
officially a thing. Nobody would have known she had you whipped at that point.”
Kevin smirked before chugging more beer.

“What about College Boy?” Dewayne suggested.

Mason thought about that for a moment, considering how he
would kill the little bastard if he were behind the attacks on Laurie.

“I don’t like that look,” Kevin said, taking another swig of
his beer. “I’ve only known you a short time but I know that look. Don’t go and
do anything crazy, man.”

Mason chugged his beer and continued to pace.

“Damn it. This is just so frustrating. I’m not smart enough
to figure out this thing. I wanna fuckin’ punch someone.”

As if on cue, two pickup trucks full of frat boys pulled up
in front of the house.

The men got out of the trucks with Trey in the lead. Mason
casually leaned against the porch post, smirking with amusement.

“What’s going on, College Boy?” he asked in a lazy voice.

Kevin and Dewayne also stood and moved to the edge of the
porch. The two men had an excited gleam in their eyes.

“We’re here to give you what you deserve,” Trey told Mason.

“And what do I deserve?” Mason chuckled.

“The ass whipping you’re about to get,” another of the men
told Mason.

Mason raised his eyebrows and Kevin and Dewayne laughed. At
this point, neighbors began coming out on their porches to see what was going
on.

“You fucked with a Kappa Sigma,” the leader said. “You screwed
his girlfriend, I hear.”

Mason smirked and took another swig of his beer. “I didn’t
screw
his girlfriend. I took her away from him and am about to marry her sweet ass
too, so you might want to tread lightly there, kid.”

The young man must have sensed the danger. His face showed a
touch of uncertainty and he backed off a bit.

“If you fuck with one Kappa Sigma, you fuck with all of us,”
Trey said. “My brothers are here to back me up. One way or another, you are
getting the beating of your fucking life tonight.”

The men began to advance to the yard and Mason smiled.
Dewayne stepped up to the edge of the porch, grinning.

“This is going to be fun.” He bounced up and down and
cracked his knuckles.

Kevin looked at Mason and grinned. “I’m off duty. Let’s do
this.”

Mason nodded, finished the last of his beer and placed the
bottle on the porch railing.

“Kick the shit out of those snotty college punks,” Mrs.
Delozier, Mason’s eighty-one-year-old neighbor, called from her porch.

Other neighbors laughed and cheered and took seats on their
porches to watch the action. Mason, Dewayne, and Kevin walked down the wide
porch steps together and met the frat boys halfway across the yard.

* * * * *

Shouting and cheering woke Laurie. She sat up and found
Mason gone. She slipped out of bed and put on a nightgown and robe, before
cautiously making her way down the stairs. She called to Mason but he didn’t
respond. The inside of the house was dark and quiet. The ruckus seemed to be
coming from outside but it was still close. She crept to the front door and
peeked out of the curtain. What she saw made her throw open the door.

There was a brawl on her front yard and the whole
neighborhood was watching and cheering. She spotted quite a few of Trey’s fraternity
brothers. Most of them were limping and bleeding as they headed back to a
couple of trucks in the street. She spotted their neighbor Kevin taking on four
of them at once and doing a good job. Dewayne was holding his own with a few of
them as well, thus confirming her suspicion that he was a bit of a badass
rather than just a harmless, goofy pothead. Then she spotted Mason near the
porch. He had four men stacked on top of each other. He was using his weight to
keep them down and punching them each in order. The one on top was Trey. At
that point, they weren’t putting up much of a fight.

The frat boys’ expressions ranged from angry to frightened,
but Mason, Dewayne and Kevin all laughed and grinned with excitement and humor.
They were having the time of their lives, fighting two truckloads of men. Trey
and his fraternity brothers had made a huge mistake by not taking into
consideration that the three men they’d challenged came up hard on the street,
and fighting like this was nothing new. In fact, this was their idea of fun.
She stepped onto the front porch with her arms crossed over her chest. Mason
caught the movement and paused mid-punch to look in her direction.

“Hi, Angel,” he called innocently. “Did we wake you up?”

* * * * *

Laurie bandaged up Mason’s knuckles in the living room.
Across the room, Kevin sat patiently while his wife Sara bandaged a cut on the
side of his head. She had come over just in time to catch the end of the fight
and had insisted, along with Laurie, that the fraternity brothers had had
enough and it was time to let them go. The three men conceded, although none of
them looked too happy about it.

It turned out that the party would have been over after only
a few blows but Dewayne had slipped into their trucks and had stolen the keys
so they couldn’t leave. The frat brothers quickly realized they were in over
their heads but the fight continued because they were trying to get their keys
back, while Dewayne, Mason and Kevin played a new version of keep away, which
involved fists. Dewayne actually pouted when Laurie insisted he give back the
keys. As soon as he did, Trey and his friends fled, while the neighborhood
cheered.

Sara handled the situation with good humor and she was sweet
and bubbly. So far, Laurie liked her a lot. She finished with Mason’s hands and
moved over to take care of Dewayne’s injuries. The men were still drinking
beer, laughing and complimenting each other on the ass whippings they’d handed
out. Sara looked at Laurie and rolled her eyes, and then they both laughed.

They would definitely be able to commiserate over loving
reformed—most of the time—bad boys. Some habits might never die but she would
never love Mason any less for his wild ways. He was a strong, dominant man—it
was one reason she was attracted to him and she realized things like this were
bound to happen. He saw it as defending his territory and he would protect what
was his every time he felt challenged. It was part of who he was.

It dawned on her that the only thing she could do is just
what she was already doing. Take care of him when he needed it. He’d said it
the day she moved in—
I take care of us; you take care of me
.
She
smiled as understanding of what he meant sank in. She didn’t think every woman
could handle a man like Mason but he fit her just fine. She loved her wild-eyed
caveman, busted knuckles and all.

Outside, the neighborhood finally settled back down. Everyone
had enjoyed the free entertainment and seeing local, working-class boys whip up
on some rich college kids. Sara finished bandaging up her husband and insisted
he take her home. He obediently complied, wrapping an arm around her shoulders
and smiling at her dotingly. After they left, Dewayne said goodnight and went
to the basement to get high and pass out.

* * * * *

At last, Mason and Laurie were alone. He pulled her down on
to his lap and kissed her possessively. He’d fought for her and won, and he
wanted his prize. He leaned back on the couch and urged her to straddle his
hips. She put up a mild resistance that he knew was merely token, based on the
excited smile she bit her lip to hide. When she gave in, she ground herself
against him enthusiastically. He kissed her deeply while he opened her robe and
ran his hand up her nightgown to pull off her panties, then chuckled when he
found she wasn’t wearing any.

“Oh, you’re a dirty girl, aren’t you? I knew all along you
wanted to fuck me,” he teased her, pushing the front of her nightgown up to
expose her breasts.

“I always want to fuck you.”

She gasped when he took a nipple in his mouth and sucked
hard. She reached for his fly and freed him from his jeans. He held his breath
as she gently ran her hand down his length and then gave him a hard squeeze. He
groaned and bucked his hips.

“Come on, baby, let me give you a ride.”

Without hesitation, she lowered herself onto his cock and
sighed when he hit bottom. He squeezed her ass, encouraging her to take charge.
She looked more than happy to oblige. Propping a foot up on the coffee table
for leverage, he held her tight and thrust up as she came down. Laurie
whimpered, nearing her peak fast. Her moans grew more desperate and she rode
his body at a faster and faster pace. As he watched the strain and pleasure on
her face, he got more and more excited. He loved watching her fuck him.

Her inner muscles began to contract around him and Mason
knew she was on the verge. He grabbed her hair and pulled her down for a kiss
as she exploded. A moment later, he thrust his hips hard and fell over the edge
with her.

He felt the coffee table give under his foot and kicked it
aside. At this rate, they wouldn’t have any furniture left in the house. He
chuckled and lay down on the couch, pulling his woman down on top of him. He
was too tired to go upstairs to the bed and she was almost asleep already.

* * * * *

Laurie woke up early and managed to slip out of Mason’s
grasp without waking him. She was starved and decided to get breakfast cooked.
She was just finishing the eggs when strong arms wrapped around her waist and
familiar lips kissed her neck.

“Whatever you’re cooking smells great, Angel.”

She grinned, enjoying his praise. They carried the food to
the large dining room and had begun filling up their plates when Dewayne
stepped into the room.

“Smells good. Y’all got room for one more?”

Mason rolled his eyes and handed him a plate. “You’re just
lucky my woman is sweet enough to make extra for my loser bum of a best friend.”

Dewayne took no offense. He grinned at Laurie as he filled
his plate.

“Thank you, lil’ girl. I knew my asshole best friend was
making a good choice when he set his sights on you. That’s why I told him that
first day he should see if College Boy would trade you for the dope.”

Laurie raised her eyebrows and looked at Mason. He blushed
and shook his head as if he had no idea what Dewayne was talking about.

“See…if he had listened to me to begin with, well, you would
have been moved in for months, ‘cause let me tell you, this guy was hot, hot
for you, girl. I think he wanted to beat up your boyfriend and drag you to his
cave by your hair the minute he saw you. I mean, as soon as you left he had to
go take an hour-long shower. I didn’t think he was ever going to come out.” He
glanced in Mason’s direction. “What were you doing in there for so long,
anyway?”

Mason nearly choked in his attempt to keep from laughing.

“You okay there, buddy?” Dewayne asked innocently.

“Dewayne, I’m going to kill you.” Mason threatened around
fits of coughing.

Laurie laughed at the two of them as Dewayne pounded him on
the back in an attempt to stop his choking.

“You are such pigs,” she said but there was no venom in her
words. “Is it just you guys or are all men such pigs?”

“All men,” they assured her in unison.

* * * * *

After breakfast, Laurie took a long, hot shower, enjoying
the fact that unlike at the dorms she could take as much time as she wanted.
She dressed in a t-shirt and her favorite jeans. She wasn’t sure what they
would be doing that day but she thought what she was wearing would be fine for
anything Mason might have in mind.

As she went back downstairs and followed the sounds to the
kitchen, she could hear talking and expected to find Mason and Dewayne arguing
as usual, but she was startled to find a third person. A person she did not
know but who seemed really happy to see her. He was almost as tall as Dewayne
was and maybe a little thicker, his shirt stretched across his chest tight
enough to hint at a nice, muscular physique. He appeared to be Hispanic with
lovely dark eyes, buzz-cut hair and a great smile. In a nutshell, he was
gorgeous.

Staring at the three tall, exceptionally handsome men in her
kitchen, Laurie wondered if looking like a rugged male model was a requirement
to join their group. Tough and scary but also sexy as hell. It definitely
seemed to be a theme.

“There she is,” the stranger cried, reaching out a hand to
her.

Laurie glanced at Mason, who nodded, letting her know it was
safe. She took the man’s hand and he pulled her into the kitchen, spinning her
around as if he were dancing with her.

“Mace, you are one lucky bastard, such a beautiful and smart
lady is dumb enough to agree to marry a barbarian like you.”

Mason grinned and caught her as the man spun her right into
his arms. He gave her a squeeze and held her with her back against his chest.

“Indeed I am,” he agreed, planting a kiss on her neck.

The man looked into Laurie’s eyes and laughed. “Look at her.
She has no idea who I am. Let me refresh your memory, sweetie. Look at those
fucking cops, harassing that poor, innocent, upstanding citizen over there.”

Laurie grinned, recognizing the man immediately. He was the
hotdog vendor in the park the day she’d saved Mason from being arrested.

“Now she remembers me. Sweetheart, I was so impressed with
how you saved my buddy. You were so cool about it. I couldn’t believe it. Those
stupid cops never suspected a thing. He would have been in some serious trouble
if you hadn’t saved his ass.”

“Laurie, this is Rafe, fellow scumbag and one of my oldest
friends.” Mason chuckled.

Rafe laughed and nodded. “Me, Mace and Dewayne go way back.
We were in the same foster home for a while, before I got back with my mom and
these two took off on their own.”

“Remember how your mom would get so mad when we would sneak
in your window and you’d hide us,” Dewayne said with a chuckle.

“Oh hell, yeah. I remember hiding y’all for, how long was
it, three months one time? She still thinks y’all were only there for a night
or two. She wanted to call child services but I told her y’all were better off
on the street than in foster care. Remember the foster dad we tied up and left
in the backyard shed. How long did we leave him there?”

“Three days.” Mason laughed. “But that rat bastard had it
coming.”

The three of them talked a little while about some of their
past exploits before Rafe got to the point of his visit.

“So, Mace, I checked around and nobody knows anything about
your lady here, but I did find out a little more about the thing at the
college. They are trying to keep it quiet but the intruder got into the
building using a maintenance security pass. One of the janitors said his badge
went missing at the campus on the day of the attack. The guy didn’t leave any
evidence behind. The girl who was attacked couldn’t describe anything other
than he wore black. Also, the guy who tried to attack Laurie at her job hasn’t
turned up anywhere. Someone posted his bond and he is gone. I’m trying to find
out if he talked to anyone at the ER or when he was in holding.”