The Price of Mason (Forbidden Men 10)

Yeah, it probably would be too big for a tiny little dog like Gidget if it had fit me just right.

“No problem,” I said, lifting Gidget in order to hand her over to her owner. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” The man smiled gratefully as he took his pet back, only to crinkle his eyebrows and ask, “Hey, how did you know her name?”

I froze, no lie readily coming to mind. “I… I’m sorry, what?”

The man tipped his head to the dog as he slipped the collar back around her neck. “You called her Gidget. How’d you know that?”

“Oh.” Mind still blank, I just stared at him. “I…”

Don’t ask me that, I wanted to say. And don’t wear your red Speedo again until you wash it first.

“Oh, I told him,” a new voice said, causing both me and Gidget’s owner to glance over in surprise.

When I found Eva Mercer strolling toward us, I gaped at her badly. There was no earthly reason why she would come to my rescue, unless there was some kind of ulterior motive behind it.

Shit. I immediately wondered what her motive was. It couldn’t be good, that was for sure.

The man smiled. “Well, hey there, Eva. I didn’t know you were here.” He glanced past her. “Are you parents around too?”

She smiled and waved an unconcerned hand toward the front entrance of the club. “They’re inside, eating.” Then she touched my arm, making me jump as she drew me into the conversation. “Mason and I are old classmates. We were talking when you pulled up with Gidget, and I told him her name then.”

“Ah.” The man looked at me with a new expression as if he accepted me now as one of them since Eva had vouched for me. “That makes sense.”

Eva glanced at me with a small smirk. “Yes, we think it’s just adorable how you treat her like one of the family.”

Grinning with affection, the man lifted Gidget to his face and she happily licked his cheek. I winced, remembering when her dog tongue had been in my ear. Seriously, how could he stand her slimy, wet dog breath?

Grinning at Eva, he answered, “Yeah, she keeps me company on those nights when Greta’s working late at the hospital.”

I could only guess that Greta was his wife, the client I had served.

With a teasing grin, Eva set her hands on her hips. “Dr. Masterson,” she scolded. “You two are leading surgeons in that hospital. Can’t you guys even schedule yourselves so you get the same days off?”

Dr. Masterson merely laughed. “I’m not sure we’d know what to do with each other if we ever had free time together.” Snuggling his face into Gidget’s fur, he grinned at the dog before nodding to Eva. “I’m going to head in and say hi to your folks.” Then he sent me a head bob. “Thanks for catching my girl here.”

“Anytime,” I said, watching him walk away and feeling like the ultimate slime ball for smiling at him as if we were pals after everything I’d ever done with his wife. What a fucking joke I was.

Eva sighed from beside me. “He seems like such a good, stand-up, respectable doctor, doesn’t he?” she said as she also watched him enter the building, her expression turning sour. “You’d never guess he gets off on kiddie porn and watching fathers molest their daughters. Fucking prick bastard.”

I glanced at her, my eyes wide. “What?”

She turned abruptly to face me. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

My brow pinched into a frown. “For what?”

“For saving your bacon just now.” She lifted her eyebrows meaningfully. “I could tell you were floundering for an answer as to how you knew Gidget’s name. So I had to guess you’d learned it when you were at Dr. Masterson’s house…with his wife, who’s also Dr. Masterson, by the way. Dr. Greta Masterson… In case you never learned her name while you were screwing her.”

I said nothing, just watched her, wondering what she wanted from me.

“So, yeah,” she went on, snickering bitterly. “I know you’re probably wondering how you could ever repay me, right? Well, never fear, because I have just the solution.” Shifting her expression into a bright smile, she said, “Stay the fuck away from my cousin, and we’ll call it even. Okay?”

I pulled back and lifted my eyebrows. “Excuse me?”

Eva stepped close. “Stay…away…from Reese.” She lifted her eyebrows right back at me. “Was that clear enough for you?”

“No,” I said, growing pissed on Reese’s behalf as I backed away from Eva. “You don’t control her and decide who she can and can’t befriend.”