Page 47 of The Associate

“Where are you hurt?” He walks over to me. “Are you ok?”

I laugh. It may seem crazy but I laugh right in his face. “Like you fucking care,” I spit. “You should see the other guys.”

“Who?” Concern laces his features.

“Rico and some guy named Jace,” I say. I look down, noticing a sticky red patch on my shirt. “Fucking hell, this was my favorite shirt.”

“How did Mia know to come here?” He looks at Mia, standing by my side.

“They were going to kill her.” I give the top of her head a little scratch. “I unclasped her and told her to run. She knows what that means.”

“The blood.” Mason looks at my chest and then at my hands.

“A little of mine and a little of Rico’s,” I grin.

He steps closer, his eyes scanning my body for any more cuts. “Your side, blood.” He touches the area above my hip. I flinch at the sting. “Still fresh. You’ve been stabbed, Viv.”

I glance down at my side. “So I have.”

The knife falls from my hands, clattering against the tiled floor, and my eyes look up at Mason, shock now starting to set in. The room starts to spin, then goes dark, and the last thing I remember is falling to the floor with a heavy thump.

Chapter 16

Mason

Irun to her side as she collapses to the floor.

That motherfucker is too close to home, too close to Viv.

He touched her. I am going to fucking kill him. Whilst she was talking, I started to see red. I wanted to walk out that door and go and find where the prick is.

I’m proud of her for getting away, but the moment she is better and able to move, I will start training her in combat. She needs to learn proper self-defense. I’m just happy that she had the knife with her.

She didn’t realise that she had been stabbed in the side, and the pure adrenaline and fear coursing through her body had to be what got her home before they could catch up.How could I let this happen?I hate knowing that this was my fault, that if I weren’t such an asshole to her earlier, she never would have needed to go outside.

Now we know that Rico is watching her every move. He knows that she is our weak spot.

She needs to get to the in-house medics. They never ask questions and are paid to fix injuries, not ask how they happen.

I scoop her up in my arms. “Flynn,” I call out to the man who is closest to me.

“Yes boss?” I have to take charge in this situation.

“Take the dog back to Genevieve’s room, there is a crate in the right corner as you walk in.” I point down the hall. “Give her some food and water and then come and clean up the blood here.”

“Right away, boss.” He quickly goes about what he has been tasked with. Sal isn’t around at the moment so everyone just does what I say. When Sal is around, it always irks me when they question my authority, looking to him for confirmation of my orders.

I begin walking down the hallway towards the basement stairs. The medics are down near the gym.

Her lips are turning a slight shade of blue. She is losing oxygen, her breath becoming laboured. “Come on Princess, stay with me,” I murmur as I make the last few steps to the medic’s room. “Please, please, princess, you cannot go out this way!”

I kick the door open and I rush her over to the nearest bed. “Doc! Where are you?” I call out.

“Mr. Hawthorne?” A new doctor steps around the corner, one I have never seen before. How he knows me, I am not sure. “Are you alright, Sir?”

“I’m fine.” I look down at Viv again, her breathing shallow. “But she’s not.”

“Who is she?” he asks. The doctors are only instructed to look after Murwood members, so I can understand his hesitation.

---