Page 25 of Mason
From somewhere over my shoulder, Duke grits out, “I need for every single one of you to understand something. Lennon is living here at the request of the OG Bastards. So, unless you somehow think you know better than them, I’m going to say maybe you should kindly shut the fuck up and eat your breakfast. It’s the first day of class. Be sure you present yourself in a manner that you’d feel comfortable with me, Bear, or Mason finding out about. That’s it. Fuckers.”
FOURTEEN
DUKE
My phone ringingat this hour can only mean one thing. Frustrated, I hurry from the kitchen down the hall and into the office, closing the door behind me before I tap the screen to accept the call. With no preamble, I mutter, “You have terrible timing. We’re heading out the door for our nine o’clock classes.”
On the other end of the phone, my father chuckles, the sound of his amusement grating on my nerves. “I don’t care what time it is. You should know better than that.”
I roll my eyes. I’m well aware that the man couldn’t care less about inconveniencing anyone else. But make him wait for you or do something he’s not expecting, and all hell breaks loose. “Is this about the alarm? Because—”
“You know it is, son. I’ve been on the phone with Derek already this morning, and we agreed it was best if I call you.”
I’d imagine Bear’s father didn’t take kindly to being awakened by the alarm company in the middle of the night. Bear might hear about it later… but possibly not if Derek foisted the whole thing off on my father. “I’d like to know how exactly this is my fault. You know, you could have warned me that Lennon sleepwalks. What else haven’t you told me? Can she levitate? Move things with her mind?”
“Very funny. How did she manage to get out of the house?”
“Well, I was asleep when it happened, seeing as how it was the middle of the night, Dad, so…”
“Don’t get smart with me.”
I groan inwardly. “Just stating facts.” I press my thumb and forefinger each to a closed eye, rubbing. I don’t have the time for the interrogation this morning. “I imagine she unlocked the door and walked out. But you know what? I’m guessing you knew that already because I’m sure you’ve checked the footage from the camera at the front door. Tell me why you’re really calling.”
There’s an odd pause, at the end of which, my father sighs. “Look. This needs to be kept quiet. But if she says or does anything remotely strange, I need to know about it. Immediately.”
I grit my teeth, not liking the tone of his voice, but also mildly curious. “What am I looking for?”
“Anything at all. Anything that sounds off the wall or like nonsense. More sleepwalking, talking in her sleep, nightmares… Her mother is concerned. Lennon has been increasingly difficult since I married Nikki. We were considering having her psychologically evaluated.”
I run a hand through my hair, trying to think if there’s been a sign that anything seems off with her, but I come up with nothing beyond the obvious trip out of the house last night. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me this before?”
“Never mind that. I just need to be kept in the know. We thought a change of scenery would help. But—”
“Yeah. Well, thanks for dumping her in our laps.” I clear my throat just as there’s a rap on the door. “Sorry, Dad, gotta go. I’ve gotta take the head case to her first class now.” Irritation screams through my veins as I quickly end the call. I can’t believe he didn’t fucking tell me what’s really going on. I’m pissed—no, more like enraged. He could have fucking clued me in. I rake my hand through my hair as another series of raps sounds on the door. “Yeah. Coming.” I pull it open to find Bear, Mason, and Lennon waiting for me.
“It’s just us. Everyone else left on foot about fifteen minutes ago.”
I stoop to pick up a black backpack and hold it out to Lennon, my jaw still twitching with annoyance. “This is yours—your class schedule should be in the front pouch, all your textbooks are in there, an iPad for note-taking, and a paper notebook and pen in case you need it.”
Her eyes widen, but then her jaw clenches, and what I believe to be a show of pride crosses her face. She holds the bag to her chest as we exit the house. On the way down the steps, she asks, “How much do I owe you?”
Before I can answer her, Mason huffs out a laugh, shaking his head. “Nothing, I’d imagine. Daddy Valentine is hard at work again, showing everyone how powerful he is.”
Already irritated from my conversation with him, I mutter, “Yeah, well, he can do shit like this for his stepdaughter since he’s not in prison like your dad.”
Bear grumbles, “All right, cut it out.”
Lennon clears her throat as we approach the SUV. “Seriously. I want to pay for it.” There’s a proud tilt to her chin.
I grit my teeth. “He won’t let you, so drop it. Consider it a gift. Or hell, an apology for dragging your ass to KU.”
She slowly exhales, a scowl on her face mars her forehead with a crease right down the middle. “Whatever. I guess I’ll talk to him myself.” She turns to Bear—and that fucker gets a smile from her. “Is it far to campus?”
“Nah,” Bear says, “we just don’t have time this morning to walk it. Not to mention, you’d arrive on campus hot and sticky.”
Her nose wrinkles a bit, but those luscious lips of hers stretch into another grin for him, and it makes my stomach twist inside. She let him into her bed. He’s had his hands on her. Whether or not they had sex last night, I don’t know, but even the idea that he had his dick anywhere near her pussy makes my chest tight. An unfamiliar feeling creeps over my cheeks, leaving a hot, pink stain. Jealousy. I’m fuckin’ jealous that both Mason and Bear have touched her. Fresh memories of Mason cupping her breasts and whispering dirty things in her ear and wild imaginings of whatever happened in her bed with Bear—they gut me.
And they fuckin’ shouldn’t. I shove all of it down and get in the back of the SUV with her.
