Page 58 of Kade

God. I didn’t think I could hate this guy any more…

He began walking away.

I took out my phone, and a flood of calls and texts were coming in. I hadn’t silenced it, so that meant he had a cell jammer on him.

“Mason,” he said.

I looked up.

His eyes were dark with promise. “I will find out who used my name to force your father into that position.” Another layer slid away, another mask, and I could see the killer inside of him, the monster who had conquered the mafia world. “When I do, I’ll handle my own retribution.”

“Is that a promise or a threat?”

“It’s just what I’ll do.Nooneuses my name as a manipulation.”

He returned to his vehicle. Within seconds, all five SUVs were gone.

My phone began ringing.

22

MASON

Sam’s call came through first, and I hit accept. “I’m fine.”

“What?” she asked.

I stopped walking. “You’re calling to make sure I’m okay, right?”

“No, but now I’m wondering why I would’ve been doing that.Areyou okay? What happened?” She made a frustrated sound. “Never mind. You need to come home.”

I picked up my pace again. “That’s where I was heading. What’s going on?”

As soon as I got into the Escalade and the phone transferred over, I could hear noises in the background. “Is that—is someone yelling?” I drove through the gate and looked over. There was no guard. I made a mental note to have someone look into all four of those guards—and fire them if they were still breathing somewhere. Actually, that seemed imperative, so I pulled over and sent Channing a text to see if he could look around the place.

Sam huffed. “I don’t even know what I’m seeing.”

Channing: What am I looking for? Aren’t you there?

“Try to explain,” I clipped out, typing on my phone at the same time.

Me: Four bodyguards. Did my daughter not contact you?

Channing: She called, but I couldn’t answer. She didn’t leave a message.

Channing: Like theirbodies?

“So you know Mark and Cass broke up last summer?” Sam was saying.

“I didn’t.” My phone buzzed again.

Channing: Mason. Wtf?

Me: Emergency at the house. I’m still trying to figure it out. Lmk.

I tossed the phone and gunned the engine.

Sam had quieted. It took me a full block to realize that. “Sam?”

---