Page 16 of King of Ruin
“Who is this?” Mason barks back.
“Umm. Maddie.”
“Maddie?” Mason asks with all the disdain a CEO of a multi-billion-dollar company is capable of.
“Maddie Reid.” Maddie croaks out into the waiting silence.
Mason pauses and I know he’s beginning to understand. I will him to soften his approach but it takes every ounce of my energy to drive the car. “And you’re with my brother, Roman?”
“Yes,” she says, sounding scared out of her wits.
“Tell him what happened,” I direct, punching the gas again.
In halting words, Maddie begins. “I was on a date with Vigo Vendetti and he was dropping me back home.”
“You were on a date with Vigo?” Mason cuts her off. “Have you been seeing each other for a long time?”
This is what I appreciate about Mason. I’m normally good with details but tonight, I’m struggling. Between the head injury and my reaction to Maddie…
Mason is asking all the right questions. Maddie clears her throat. “This matters?”
“Yes,” Mason says. “It does.”
“No, first date.”
“How did you meet?” he asks her, his voice softening. I can hear him closing doors in his house, moving about. Is he getting ready to leave? Come back to Vegas? I hope so. I could use some help right about now. Between Maddie and Luke, I need more hands.
“Bar. Last week. My friend convinced me to go out and he was there.” She keeps going, telling him about the medical student who was out with Vincent. The return to her house. The two pops she heard.
“See anything?” Mason asks.
“She’s vision impaired,” I sigh out, finally turning into the parking garage of my building.
“Hear anything?” Mason asks without skipping a beat.
“I heard the trunk open and close,” she answers. “After the…the shots.”
I lean toward Maddie and the phone. “I’ll check it as soon?—”
“Don’t.” Mason talks to someone off the phone and then he’s back. “I don’t want your fingerprints anywhere near the trunk.”
The word ricochets through me. He’s assuming the worst. That Luke is dead.
My knuckles tighten on the steering wheel as I turn into the entrance for the parking garage. Slowing, I grab my phone from Maddie and hit another button to open the gate.
It clanks open and I pull through, shutting it behind me. As it closes, I let out some air. I stop the car and rest my head on the steering wheel. Fuck, my head is pounding.
“We need to see a doctor,” Maddie is saying. How long has she been talking? I tuned out for a minute, but I hear her now. “I don’t know how he drove, but I’m worried he has a concussion.”
“Thank you, Maddie,” Mason rumbles. “I have a friend that I can send to you for medical care so you don’t need to leave the apartment again tonight.”
“I offered for my friend Lucia to examine him. She’s a vet, not a doctor, but Roman said…”
I lift my head and gently press the gas, pulling into a spot next to the elevator and slump down into my seat. Getting us here, took whatever bits of energy I had left. “You don’t want your friend anywhere near your house,” I say and then I close my eyes.
A small hand lightly touches my arm and then slides up my sleeve, skimming over my neck before delicate fingers twine into my hair. It’s light and soothing but it infuses me with a bit of energy.
I have to get Maddie inside. She can’t do it herself.