Page 66 of The Associate

Chapter 23

Genevieve

Mason comes back into his room with a bag in hand. “Here’s some of your clothes, you won’t be staying down in your room any longer.”

“Mason, what is going on?” I ask.

“Sal is more paranoid, he will do anything to hurt you.” He sighs. “Which includes trying to kill your dog.”

“I fucking know that!” I shout. “But why!”

How many people in this house listen to Mason and his commands? Maybe I need to leave this house and find somewhere safe to live. I don’t know how many people are one hundred percent loyal to my father.

He turns around, anger crossing his face. “If I fucking knew the answer to that I would be stopping it right now! “But, if you haven’t noticed, he pushed me out of his inner fucking circle the day he made me your fucking babysitter. He still sends me on jobs, yes, but I am never part of the full debriefs anymore.”

I can tell this is eating up Mason, he wouldn’t have snapped at me like this before. Not being the go-to man anymore is one thing, but my father is slowly pushing him out of the second-in-command position. He hates not being there because not being second means you aren’t anything at all.

Mack must be the new guy coming up into the second role; who else would he have taken on if not for the guy who kicked my door down?

“I’m sorry,” I blurt out before I can stop myself.

He turns and faces me. There’s a darkness in him that I have never seen before and what makes him look more threatening are the shadows covering half his face and body. “For what?” His eyes are burning through me.

I take a step towards him, placing my hand against his chest. “For getting you into this mess. For making my father think you have done something to me, for everything.” My head drops and I look at the carpet under my feet.

His hand comes in under my chin, lifting my head until he is looking into my eyes. “You have no reason to be sorry, Princess.” He kisses me gently, the look on his face softer. “I’m the one who has to be sorry.”

“For what?”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” he says, kissing the top of my head before he steps away and walks into the bathroom.

What the fuck is going on?

I sit down on the floor and Mia comes over to me. She is always a good comfort when I am upset. I almost lost her today, the last part of my mother and I almost lost her. I am never going to let her out of my sight again.

“Are you ok, girl?” I run my hand over the top of her head.

She lets out a little huff and licks her lips.

“I won’t leave you alone again, I promise.” I pull her close to me and she curls up in my lap. “I love you, Mum.”

I close my eyes and lean against the wall, Mia in my lap.

I must have drifted off to sleep because I wake up lying in Mason’s bed, Mia lying down at the side. The room is in darkness and there’s no sign of Mason.Strange.

* * *

I spent the rest of the night listening to Mia’s breathing as I stare at the ceiling.

The way my father is acting now scares the life out of me and I don’t want to be alone, ever. So when I wake up and Mason isn’t even in the room, the nerves overcome me and I start tossing and turning.

It is four in the morning. Father would be asleep. I am unsure if he will have someone else watching me, but surely Mason wouldn’t be too far away if I scream loud enough.

Climbing out of bed, I need to take a walk to clear my mind. Even if it is just inside the grounds of the mansion. I can’t risk walking outside the gates.

Mason has managed to pull all my clothes out of my wardrobe and bring them up to his room and when I go looking for them, I found them tucked away nicely in his wardrobe. So I pull out a pair of leggings and an oversized tee, slipping on my runners. I make my way out into the hallway and down the stairs.

Looking around to make sure there is no one else around, I slip out the door and into the cool air of night.

---