The Price of Mason (Forbidden Men 10)

“Okay.” I lifted a hand to interrupt and get her back on track. “What exactly did you lie about?”

“Oh. Right.” Rolling her eyes at herself, she explained, “It wasn’t just any client that messaged you this morning. It was Mrs. Garrison.”

My face drained of color as I gaped at her.

“She wanted you to come back.” Reese rolled her eyes dramatically. “Said she had her finger on Jeremy’s number and was going to call him if you didn’t go over there tonight at ten.”

I glanced at my watch. Ten forty-five. Shit, what if she’d—Wait.

I snapped my attention back to Reese. She’d walked far enough to go somewhere close to my house in order to retrieve her car…and in turn, close to Patricia’s house.

“What did you do?” I gasped in horror.

Her smile bloomed proudly as her chin went up. “I answered the text for you, telling her I’d be there. Except, she thought it would be you who showed up. Not me.”

“You went to her house? You actually…holy shit, babe. What did you think to accomplish there? What did she do to you? Are you okay? Did she—”

Pressing her hand to my mouth, Reese cut me off with a scowl. “I just love your faith in my ability to take care of myself,” she muttered. “Really.”

I shook my head, my eyes wide with worry.

Wrinkling her nose, she turned her frown into a grin. “Though, I must say, your concern is seriously adorable.” Then she let go of my mouth so she could lean in and stamp a quick kiss to it.

“So, anyway. She was all, ‘what’re you doing here? Get out of my house.’ And I was like, ‘no way, bitch. Not until you agree to stay away from my man, foreva.’ And, well, you can probably guess how that went down. Like a turd in a punch bowl, that’s how. You’re just too irresistible to quit, even for a deranged, psycho cougar witch like her. So I broke into her laptop—well, I’d actually broken into it before she realized I was in her house, but you get the gist, right—and I sent an email to Jeremy, right in front of her, giving him my address, with a how-you-like-me-now smirk. God.” She clutched her stomach and blew out an amazed breath. “I wish you could’ve seen the look on her face when I took away her ability to blackmail you anymore. It was so classic. I might come again just thinking about it.”

I stared at her, not sure what to say.

No, wait. Yes, I did.

“You did what?” I cried. “But you…she…how could you send him your new identity? Are you insane?”

She scowled at me, only to pause and gasp as if remembering something. “Oh, that reminds me. I’d better check my inbox of that new,” she paused to wink, “email account I set up this morning.”

She lunged for her purse she’d dropped nearby and pulled out her cell phone. “I created it under the name Jeremy Walden. Need to check if I have any incoming messages.” After opening the app, she gave a gasp of mock surprise. “And what do you know, I do.”

When she showed me the new message from one Patricia Garrison, my mouth fell open. “You faked her out.”

Reese tossed her hair and lifted her face. “Yep. Now, how would Jeremy respond to this letter?” She drummed her chin and hummed to herself. “If you were a psycho stalker ex-boyfriend, what would you say?”

“Thanks?” was all I could guess.

She smiled at me and kissed my cheek. “Perfect.” After typing out her response, she pushed send and announced, “There. That sounds like something he’d say.”

I shook my head and shuddered out a breath, afraid to let myself believe my problems with Patricia might actually be over.

“This was dangerous, Reese,” I admitted. “I can’t believe you risked so much just to free me from her.”

“Hey.” Cupping my face in her hands, she smiled reassuringly. “I would risk it a thousand times over to help you any way I could.”

I leaned in and rested my forehead against hers. “I still don’t deserve you.”

“But I’m here anyway.” Fluttering her eyelashes against my cheek, she murmured, “Whatever will you do with me now?”

Drawing her in until she was as close as I could get her, I decided, “I guess I’ll just have to cherish you with every breath I have.”

* * *

I had an appointment with my advisor Monday morning before class. If I hadn’t set it up the week before and it was basically the only free hour we had open at the same time, I would’ve blown it off and stayed wrapped in Reese’s arms. As it was, I groaned in rebellion when I had to untangle my limbs from hers.