Page 40 of Caught in the Crossfire

CHAPTER TWELVE

Mason’s head whipped sideways as pain exploded in his jaw. Blue-and-white lights lit up the night as he staggered back against the truck, hand to his jaw.

“What’s going on here, Mason?”

Terrific. The police chief himself. “It’s nothing, Ethan.”

“Try again. I just saw this man punch you. Do you want to press charges for assault?”

He shook his head. Man, talk about pouring fuel on the fire.

“Are you sure?” Ethan pressed.

“Let it go.”

The six-foot-four police chief pointed at Fitzgerald. “Step over to my vehicle. We’re going to have a talk. Mason, be at my office tomorrow morning at 7:00. Don’t be late.”

Mason drew in a slow breath. He’d had his required meeting with Ethan the morning of Riva’s death. Ethan scheduling another meeting wasn’t a good sign. “Yes, sir.”

Ethan motioned for Fitzgerald to precede him.

From the corner of his eye, Mason noticed a subtle movement to his right. Not far away, Gene Patton stepped back into the shadows. The confrontation with Fitzgerald ought to make Patton’s day. He’d witnessed the punch and would be sure to spread the news about the fight. By the time the news spread, however, Mason was sure to seen as the aggressor.

Mason climbed into his truck and cranked the engine. His jaw ached. He’d had plenty of punches to the face and body during his years in prison.

Nicole would flip when she saw his jaw. At least he had the satisfaction of knowing that he’d warned Fitzgerald to stay away from her. She had enough to deal with without adding additional baggage from his past.

He arrived at home ten minutes later and walked into the living room with the to-go meals.

Nicole’s smile of welcome faded. She scrambled to her feet as Matt moved closer to look his jaw and whistled. “What happened?”

“I ran into Fitzgerald at the diner.”

Dawn frowned. “Who’s Fitzgerald?”

He explained his history with the Fitzgerald family.

Matt handed him a chemically-activated ice pack, then took the bag of meals and handed them to Dawn. “Did you hit your head against anything?”

“I’m fine, Matt.”

“Why didn’t you defend yourself?”

Nicole threaded her fingers through Mason’s. “How do you know he didn’t?”

“His hands. Answer the question, Mase. You know how to deal with an attacker. Why didn’t you use your training?”

“Besides the fact that diner patrons were watching from the windows, I figured he had a free shot coming. The anniversary of his sister-in-law’s and niece’s deaths is in two weeks.”

“That doesn’t give him the right to hurt you,” Nicole insisted.

Matt scowled. “I know you couldn’t be the aggressor without landing behind bars, but after that free shot, you should have ended the confrontation with him on the ground.”

“If he’d tried to punch me again, I would have. As it was, I didn’t have a chance to respond. Ethan was close enough to see what happened and lit up the night with his cruiser lights. He asked me if I wanted to press charges.”

“Are you?”

He shook his head. “If he comes after me again, I will.” Mason looked down at the woman he adored. “If he comes after you, all bets are off. I will take him down. No one is going to hurt you again.”

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