I rushed into my room, grabbed a duffle bag, and began packing a few essential clothes, undergarments, my toothbrush, and some things for Chester (I found him hiding under the bed).
“Where are we going?” I asked when we were in Mason’s car heading down the road at the speed of light.
“My place,” Mason said. “They won’t think to look for you there.”
“Are you going to tell me what is happening? Why did they just suddenly decide to take me out like that?”
“Well, you knew it was coming for a while, right?”
“Yeah, but you said back there that this is your fault. Explain. What did you do?”
“When I was a teenager I got involved in the Zefarri family. Eventually, I left and started my businesses, but I’ve maintained some minimal contact over the years. Well, the Scarluccis are their biggest rivals; always have been. I asked the Zefarris to intervene and get you the extension. You should have just let me paid them off and been done with it.”
“Don’t put this on me,” I said. “You said you were going to fix this and give me more time. Well, that didn’t happen.”
I knew that Mason was right, but I’ve always been stubborn. I didn’t want to admit to myself that if I’d just had him pay them off I would have been fine, even if I did feel indebted to Mason. I somehow thought that might turn into guilt on my part and that I would feel compelled to give the idea of us as a couple a chance. If that was even something Mason was interested in, which I still had no idea on. What the hell was I thinking? I knew I was wrong and foolish. I’d just been so stressed that I wasn’t thinking clearly or making the right decisions. Sometimes pride could be a monster, and if you let it run the show for too long, eventually you ended up paying for it.
That was the last thing I wanted.
“You’re right,” Mason said. “I tried to fix things and somehow it got worse now. I almost got you killed. Fuck. I should have known better. What the hell was I thinking?”
Mason slammed his fist on the wheel.
“No, it’s ok. I should have listened to you to begin with and just paid them. What kind of a moron am I?”
“Hey, you can’t fault yourself for having principles and standing behind them.”
He had a point, but I could see he was just trying to make me feel better. I’d been stupid.
We drove another thirty minutes until we arrived at the front gate of a sprawling estate. It was a way outside of the city, but very beautiful. I knew that Mason was rich as could be, but I’d never thought about what exactly that meant.
“I thought you lived in town?” I asked.
“Yeah, but this is my weekend place, my main home. It’s where I come to get away from it all and relax. No one is going to find you here.”
“Wow, this place is intense,” I said. “What’s it like to have whatever you want?”
Mason shrugged. “I’ve never really thought of it that way. I love what I do; the money is more of a side effect.”
“I love what I do, too, but I’ve never enjoyed side effects like this.”
Mason laughed.
I had no idea how long I was going to have to stay there with him, but at least I knew I would be in comfort, and that was putting it so mildly. Living in the lap of luxury was just the right way to spend some time after two men with machine guns had broken into your house and tried to murder you.
Mason parked the car and led me inside the mansion. I tried to hide my shock and awe as I entered the place. It was like nowhere I’d ever been before. It was by far the nicest, ritziest home I’d ever been in.
I knew I would enjoy spending some time there, but I didn’t want to let myself get too comfortable. I was planning on getting back to my normal life soon. Somehow we would find a way to get me out of the hot water I’d slipped into.
I just didn’t know how.
Mason gave me the tour, starting with the living room, and continuing to the kitchen. The furniture was so nice that I didn’t want to get too close to it, let alone sit on it. I kept thinking that somehow I was going to do something to ruin it and I’d owe Mason several thousand dollars to replace it.
“Have you actually been in every single room?” I asked after about thirty minutes on the tour.
Mason paused. “I’m actually not sure. There are some rooms I never go in and forget about. Then one day I’ll find myself there and I’ll have the weirdest feeling of déjà vu. It’s uncanny.”