The Hunt for Summer (NSC Industries) (24 page)

I looked at them
both before I inhaled deeply then nodded “Okay, but when she’s out I’m tying
her to my fucking side.”

Mason smiled sadly
“She loved Ryan, Lucas. She’s just doing what she thinks is gonna help you. To
her, she can’t bear to lose any more people. And I know she’ll blame herself
for what’s happened.”

I nodded my
agreement but it still hurt like fuck that she had left me and not trusted me
to protect her.

An hour later Ava
descended the stairs and every jaw in the room hit the floor.

She wore a tight
black leather skirt, a red halter neck top that barely contained her large breasts
and knee high leather kinky boots.

She smirked at
everyone “I look like a fucking tart!”

“You are a fucking
tart!” Nate retorted and she glowered at him.

Mason came to stand
behind her and placed both hands over her breasts and growled in her ear “You
look like I could fucking bend you over in front of every fucker in this room
and bang the life out of you.”

“Shit, Mason,” Nate
growled “she’s my best friend and practically my sister. Don’t talk like that
in front of me.”

Liv rolled her eyes
and cupped Nate’s crotch. “So you don’t want me doing this in front of Ava” she
said as she massaged his private parts.

I could see his
adam’s apple bob and he swallowed heavily “Angel, carry on and I’ll be doing
what Mason just promised.”

Everybody laughed
and I frowned at how relaxed everybody was whilst my girl was holed up in some
nutter’s house.

Ava caught my
distress and took a large breath “Okay, let’s do this.”

Mason gripped her
chin and tilted her head back so she was facing him “You know what I said,
baby. DO NOT take him on by yourself. You wait for me, okay?”

She rolled her eyes
at him “Mason, I’ll be fine but I’m warning you, he touches Lay or me, he’s
going down.”

Mason glowered at
her but sighed and nodded.

“Okay guys, let’s
fetch little Willow home.”

Chapter 27
   

Layla

He was slowly
torturing me. He had opened the door to me eight hours ago, never said a word
but smiled smugly at me and led me up to my room.

It had been prepared
ready for me. He had known that I would relent and give in to his demands. It
had angered me at first, his self-assured smugness, but then I thought of Lucas
and how safe he would now be and I had swallowed back my temper.

Because I was back
under my own steam, I had the whole of the house to my discretion but he still
hadn’t faced me.

I knew it was coming
but he was making me wait, the slow torture of apprehension was worse than the
delivery of his punishment and I had so far watched numerous amounts of
television, made endless cups of hot chocolate and just pottered, desperate for
any kind of distraction.

Don’t get me wrong,
I wasn’t free, far from it. His minions watched every move I made and I
currently counted about seven of them, Diablo making eight.

I don’t know why I
had scoped the place out. It must be Mason’s training kicking in but there was
only one of the men here who worried me… Diablo.

I walked through the
huge foyer, its shiny marbled floor reflected back at me and my eyes widened at
how gaunt and empty I looked but I told myself that was a good thing. An empty
person was unbreakable, incapable of anymore heartache, so I smiled back at the
unrecognisable person staring up at me from the mirrored floor tiles and saluted
her before I continued towards the kitchen.

“Kayla” Henry
greeted from the kitchen table and I gave him a small smile. Henry had been
Diablo’s right hand man for well over ten years now and his loyalty to Diablo
would see me safe from Diablo’s other randy devotees.

“You want a drink
Henry?” he shook his head and held up a mug to show me he already had one.

I nodded and walked
across the huge kitchen and opened the house size fridge and removed some milk
and filled my cup.

“Miss Kayla, please
let me do that” Jan, Diablo’s housemaid said behind me and I shook my head,
“Need something to do Jan, I’m going mad.”

She gave me a sad
smile but took the cup from my hand “I insist. Please, sit.”

I sighed before
plonking down in a chair beside Henry.

“Where’s Diablo?” I
asked Henry.

He eyed me warily at
first but answered me eventually “He’s out somewhere. I’m sure he’ll come and
find you when he gets back.”

“I’m sure he will” I
answered as the front doorbell ping ponged and Jan frowned but went to answer
it.

I took over her job
and finished my chocolate before I made my way back to the lounge.

“Oh, gawd. Ta’ so
much, treasure. Dunno what I’da done if ya’d said nah.”

I frowned at the
voice coming from the front door; it was kind of familiar but unfamiliar at the
same time.

“Come in and I’ll
show you to the restroom” Jan said as she opened the door fully.

I gripped the handle
on my mug tightly as Ava entered the foyer dressed as a prostitute and my heart
suddenly settled in my mouth.

Her eyes flicked to
me but other than that she didn’t acknowledge me as Jan walked her through the
hallway towards the bathroom at the bottom of the stairs.

“Cheers, sugar. Be
right out.”

I had to do something
to get rid of her. If Diablo’s men saw her dressed like that, she wouldn’t be
getting out of here alive.

“Oh crikey Jan, this
chocolate’s shit, dunno what I’ve done to it. You couldn’t be a love and make
me one of your special ones could you?”

Jan’s eyes flicked
from me to the bathroom where she waited for Ava to exit from. “It’s okay; I’ll
see the girl out.”

She pursed her lips
but nodded. “Make sure she gets out though, Miss Kayla. If Gary sees her
dressed like… that, well…”

I lifted my eyebrows
and rolled my eyes “Yeah, I know what you mean.” She took my mug from me and
looked at the contents and frowned but shrugged and went back into the kitchen.

I waited until she
had disappeared and tapped on the door. It opened slightly and Ava’s hand shot
out and dragged me in with her.

“What the hell….”

I didn’t finish that
sentence as Ava’s fist shot out and everything went black.

***

I groaned as my head
throbbed and I forced open my eyes. I blinked at an angry glowering Mason who
was staring at me from across the room.

I shot up and sagged
in despair when I realised where I was “What the hell, Mason?”

He lifted a brow at
me and pursed his lips before he stood slowly from the chair and stalked across
the room to me.

His hands rested on
the edge of the bed and his face came within an inch from mine. “Do you fucking
realise what you have done?”

I gulped at the rage
coming off him but my own anger flared “I didn’t ask you to come in, all white
knight hero, gun wielding conqueror, Mason. Do you even realise what
you
have done?”

His eyes narrowed
and he clamped my jaw between his thumb and finger and turned me to look at
him.

His wrath hit me
full on and my blood froze at the sheer rage he radiated. “I risked my wife for
you Willow. My wife risked her life for you. Do you even comprehend that?”

I stared at him and
chose my words carefully “Mase, I went off my own back. I went because I wanted
to. I went because it was my choice to go back; not yours, not Ava’s, mine. I
did not need fucking saving!”

He was about to say
something when Ava walked in and my heart stopped at her huge black eye “What
the hell happened?”

She smiled at me.
“Don’t worry, Hun. The guy came out worse than me. Gave him a bit of a
surprise” she chuckled and I knew if the punch she gave me was anything to go
by then the bloke behind her full on strength would yes, be very surprised.

Mason continued to
glare at me and I glared back “Well? Are you gonna fill me in on what went
down?”

His lips curved into
a malevolent grin and I shivered at the wickedness in it “Let’s just say Diablo
doesn’t have as many pupils to teach his vile lessons to.”

I closed my eyes in
distress and groaned “Fuck, Mase. Thanks and all that but you have just signed
my death warrant… and Lucas’s. Diablo won’t take this lying down.”

His eyes fired and
the growl that left his throat had me slithering backwards on the bed to get
away from him.

“He just signed his
own death warrant, Lay cos’ I aint giving up till the man goes down. It’s a
shame he wasn’t there when we pulled you out.”

He pulled back and
left without saying anything else and I knew he was trying to rein in his anger
with me.

Ava plonked down
beside me on the bed and sighed heavily “Sorry about the hit, Lay, but I knew
you wouldn’t come out if you were conscious.”

I shook my head at
her and stroked my finger across her bruised cheek bone “Who did this?”

She shrugged “Tall
grey haired fella.”

“Henry.” I said
simply.

She winked at me “He
didn’t think I could lay him out, the shock registered on his face before he
went down. Was quite funny really.”

“Did you hurt Jan?”
I asked hoping they hadn’t.

Ava shook her head
“No, she ended up tied up but she wasn’t hurt. Mason and the guys took the rest
out though so… sorry if any were your friends but they wouldn’t have let us
walk out of there with you otherwise.”

I shook my head but
shivered when I thought of Diablo’s fury when he returned, especially if Henry
was dead.

“You have to be
careful now, Ava. He has surveillance camera’s everywhere. He’ll recognise all
of you and hunt you down.”

She smiled wryly.
“That’s where your boyfriend came in handy, Lay. He hacked into Diablo’s
security cameras and
accidently
deleted all the previous 48 hours recordings”
she smirked.

I sucked my lips in
at the mention of Lucas.

“Where is he?”

Ava sighed heavily
“He’s a little angry with you at the moment. Give him a while and he’ll be
here.”

I nodded faintly and
turned to the window. “But he needs protecting now. I need to hire some
security for him.”

She smiled widely “Already
on it, Lay, for you too.”

“No, Ava. You need
to leave me be. If I’m an easy target they’ll go for me instead of Lucas.”

Ava scoffed loudly
“You gonna tell Mason that?”

I rolled my eyes
again but left the argument knowing I wouldn’t win against Mason.

“I need to get home”
I said as I climbed off the bed and approached the en-suite. Ava followed me in
and stood regarding me as I pee’d.

“That’s okay but you
take Neo with you.”

“Neo?”

She nodded slowly as
I pulled everything back up and washed my hands. “Neo, security, bodyguard,
protection. Whatever you wanna call it but he comes with you.”

I sighed but nodded
and stretched my aching neck “Fine.”

I had relented
easily because it was simpler that way but I was under no illusions that one
guy, even if he was a hefty bastard, wouldn’t protect me against Diablo.

Just because Mason
had taken most of his men out didn’t mean there weren’t others. Others Diablo
would pay well to get to me.

I knew I would see
Diablo again soon, and for now all I could do was sit back and wait because
that’s what he enjoyed; the element of surprise, the chase, and the hunt.

Chapter 28

Lucas

Red was pale when I
entered her lounge. A big dark skinned bloke had answered her door and I knew
he was her protection, Mason had even insisted I had my own muscle currently
following me around.

Her eyes lifted to
mine when I walked in. She knew I was angry the way her throat bobbed and she
sucked in her lips.