Devil's Masquerade

MASON

I am not a hero. I know that, and anyone who takes a good look at me would know it too. I’m not the kind of man who swoops in to save the day. I’m the kind of man you’d need saving from.

I am every bit the villain people think I am, and I never felt the need to apologize for it. I’m not ashamed of it either. But there are things I am ashamed of. Things I did in my past that affected people who should have been safe. I was paying the price for those past actions now.

My secret, my biggest secret, had the potential to ruin everything I built with Lauren. A relationship I have come to value more than I thought possible.

Long ago I realized I was not capable of love the way most people are, but Lauren changed that. She changed everything.

The vows I shared with Lauren mattered. More than anything.

I was no stranger to pain. I knew it well, and it knew me. We were old friends. But there were different kinds of pain, and they came in different shapes and sizes.

The greatest pain I could ever imagine, more than the idea of losing Lauren, was hurting her. I would do everything in my power to make sure no one, including myself, did anything to hurt her.

***

I kicked the door open, the screech of metal echoing through the warehouse as I dragged Diego in behind me by his collar.

His body was limp and beaten, but I didn’t care. He’d served his purpose and he deserved every ounce of pain I’d inflicted on him, if not more.

Lauren was here. That’s all that mattered to me now. I knew that Ginny was keeping her somewhere in the building. I just had to find out where.

It pained me to think of Lauren tied up somewhere in the dark, not knowing where she was or if anyone was coming to save her.

I would do anything to save her. I’d burn the whole place down if I had to in order to find her.

With a grunt, I swung the man’s body forward, throwing him to the ground in front of me. He hit the concrete hard, a broken sound escaping his throat as he crumpled at Ginny’s feet.

She looked at him with a mixture of disdain and disgust before she looked towards me.

I scanned the building and made out about half a dozen heavily armed men stationed around us. Ginny knew better to come here alone. Her men stood on the periphery, but I didn’t dare make any drastic moves until I knew exactly where Lauren was.

My eyes locked on Ginny. She stood there, that smug smile plastered on her face like she was still in control. But she wasn’t. Not anymore.

“I brought back your lackey, Ginny,” I said. “Maybe you’ll think a bit more before you have one of your men tail my wife and I, especially after such a public gala.”

“Ah,” Ginny said, not batting an eyelid. “That’s where he went. Looks like you’ve been taking care of him well.”

She pushed at his shoulder with the tip of her shoe, making sure not to get blood on her designer heels.

She clearly didn’t care at all that the man before her, one of the men she employed, had been beaten to a pulp. She held a gun in her hands, showing me that she was armed and willing to use it if necessary.

“I’m not afraid to use force, Ginny,” I said, my voice low, barely controlled. “Especially when it comes to protecting the people I care about.”

~Lauren.~

Lauren was the only person in this world that I truly cared about. She had become my entire world.

I would tear apart this whole place to get her back.

I would tear apart ~anyone~ who got in my way.

Ginny’s games had gone on long enough, and I wasn’t about to let her walk away from this unscathed.

It was about time she got the justice she deserved and I was more than happy to dole it out myself.

Ginny’s smile widened as she watched me. Her eyes gleamed with amusement.

“Force, Mason? How very... predictable.”

~Predictable?~

She had no idea what I was capable of. She might have known me all those years ago, but I was a different man now.

A man with nothing left to lose.

“I’ll do whatever it takes,” I said, my tone hardening. “If that means hurting you, so be it.”

“I thought you turned your back on this life,” Ginny said. “Don’t want to fall back into old habits, do we now Mason?”

I leaned down to drag Diego up to his knees and tightened my grip on his collar. My chest heaved with adrenaline as my eyes stayed locked on Ginny.

Ginny stood a few feet away, her icy gaze flicking between Diego and me. She took a few steps back, but kept her gun help at her side.

The weapon glinted ominously in the low light, and she held it up just enough to let us all see. My heart pounded harder, but I didn’t move. Not yet.

Ginny’s smile twisted, her finger brushing the trigger ever so slightly.

"You think I won’t use this?" she taunted, her voice dripping with venom.

I raised an eyebrow, my gaze never leaving her weapon. I took a slow, deliberate step toward her. I needed to show her I wasn’t afraid to make a move, but I had to be careful with Ginny. She was willing to do whatever it took to get what she wanted.

"We both know that gun won’t stop me, Ginny," I said. "But you’re not stupid enough to think it’ll end well for you if you try."

Ginny held her ground, but the gun wavered ever so slightly in her hand.

"You don’t get it, do you? I am in control here, Mason."

"No, you’re not," I cut her off and glanced at the weapon again, then back at her. "If you pull that trigger, I promise you, this ends badly. Not just for Diego, or for me, but for you."

The tension was thick, suffocating. I tightened my grip on Diego’s collar, ready for whatever came next.

Ginny’s calm, smug expression only fueled my anger. She thought this was all just a game.

I took another step forward, every inch of me ready for violence.

“I’m not afraid to beat the answers out of you if I have to, Ginny,” I growled. “I’ll do anything to find Lauren. Where is she?”

Ginny’s smile widened, her eyes gleaming with a strange satisfaction.

“Ah, there it is,” she said, her voice dripping with amusement. “I knew there was still a bit of the Omens left in you.”

I froze, my fists clenching at my sides. The Omens. The name sent a rush of memories I’d buried deep flooding back, but I shoved them down, refusing to let her get in my head.

This wasn’t about the past.

This was about Lauren.

I never wanted to become this version of myself again. I never wanted to think about that part of my life. But if this was the only way to protect Lauren, I would do whatever it took.

“It didn’t take long for Diego here to break,” I spat at her. “You really should be more wary about the men you hire. I always thought you were more discerning than that, Ginny.”

“Is that so,” she asked.

Her flippant attitude stirred the anger in me even more. I felt I couldn’t control myself and it was already so difficult to manage my anger thinking about what she could have done to Lauren.

If anything happened to her, I knew I didn’t have the self control to hold back the rage burning inside of me.

“Diego led me here,” I snapped. “He gave up your headquarters, it took awhile, I’ll give him that, but he broke eventually. Everyone does. You will too, even if I have to make you.”

Her laughter caught me off guard, sharp and mocking, echoing through the warehouse.

“Oh, Mason,” she cooed, shaking her head. “I wanted you to find me.”

I narrowed my eyes, my pulse quickening.

“This,” Ginny said, gesturing to the warehouse walls around us, “this was all part of my plan.”

She stepped closer, her eyes never leaving mine, that twisted smirk still on her face.

I took another step forward, ready to make good on my threat, but Ginny raised a hand, stopping me in my tracks.

"Before you get any ideas, there’s something you should see. You’ve got an audience, after all.”

My pulse spiked.

~Audience? What did she mean by that?~

She turned to the shadows behind her and snapped her fingers.

“Bring them out.”

I tensed, watching with bated breath as two of her men stepped forward from the darkness, dragging two figures with them. My heart pounded as they came into view.

I watched as Lauren stepped forward. I could see her hands were bound behind her and the man pushed her roughly to get her to move faster. I also registered that her father was next to her bound in the same exact way. Ginny must have used him to get to Lauren.

I didn’t have time to think about why Ginny did what she did. I had to make sure Lauren was okay. I scanned her body quickly to see if there were any cuts or bruises. She looked fine for the most part, just disheveled.

When I finally looked at her face, I saw her eyes were wide with fear and confusion. She looked at me in a way that made my gut twist.

The moment she saw me, our gazes locked.

For a second, the world seemed to stop.

Her fear was palpable. Her fear of me.

“Lauren…” I breathed, barely able to keep my voice steady.

Ginny’s voice sliced through the air, her smugness returned tenfold.

"Surprised Mason, darling? You must be,” she paused for a moment, walking towards Lauren. She tried to caress Lauren’s cheek, but she flinched away.

“Not nearly as surprised as my lovely adopted daughter here,” she said. “Tell me, Lauren, what do you think of your dear husband now?”

Ginny’s gun lowered, but her smirk remained. She looked between them, amused, taunting.

“Mason, Mason, Mason…” she purred. “What happened to you? You’ve gone soft.”

I had no words. Knowing that Lauren had seen the violent, anger fueled side of me left me feeling numb. I never wanted her to see that side of me.

“You used to be ruthless,” Ginny continued, stepping closer, her smile widening. “Diego still has his fingers, for God’s sake. The old you would’ve cut them off first, just to make a point.”

I stiffened at the jab, but still didn’t move. With every word she spoke, I could see the color draining from Lauren’s face.

Ginny leaned in, her voice a mocking whisper.

“What would the Omens think of you now? You used to be one of their best.”

I tried desperately to make eye contact with Lauren, I could tell she was reeling from the information about me, about my past. I hadn’t even realized I’d loosened my grip on Diego, but when I felt him jerking forward to break free, I reacted on instinct.

As his fist swung wildly, aiming for my face, my hand shot out, catching Diego’s arm and twisting it behind his back in one fluid motion. With a brutal shove, I slammed Diego to the ground, face first.

Lauren flinched at the sound of bone cracking against concrete, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop, not now.

My fist came down, once, twice, blood splattering with each strike. Diego’s body jerked, but I didn’t let up. The violence in me, once controlled and hidden deep down, was now fully unleashed.

“Mason, stop!” Lauren’s voice cut through the haze, but it barely registered.

Diego groaned on the ground, trying to prop himself up, his face smeared with blood.

“Stay down,” I growled.

But Diego, whether out of sheer stubbornness or desperation, didn’t listen. His eyes flickered to Lauren and I knew immediately what his next move would be.

With a sudden burst of energy, Diego lunged in her direction, reaching out to grab her. Maybe he thought she would be his way out. Maybe he thought she’d save him.

He was wrong.

My eyes snapped to Diego, and in an instant, my protective instincts kicked in. I grabbed Diego by the back of his neck and slammed him to the floor. The sharp crack of bone echoed through the room.

I rained my fists down over and over again, until Diego was no longer fighting back.

My breath came in ragged gasps as I looked down at Diego’s unconscious form, blood dripping from my knuckles. I stood there for a moment, towering over the man who had tried to hurt Lauren, but now there was no longer any threat.

“There he is. That’s the Mason I remember.”

At those words, I froze. My bloodied hand hovered in the air for a moment, trembling. Slowly, I looked up. My gaze flickered from Diego’s unconscious form to Lauren, who stood frozen in place, horror etched on her face.

My heart sank.

“Lauren…” I whispered, but she didn’t move.

She saw me now, not as the man who came to save her, not as the man who claimed to love her, but the man who could do ~this~.

The man who could snap and become a monster in the blink of an eye. It didn’t matter that I was only trying to protect her. She’s seen the darkest side of me.

My chest tightened as I stood, hands stained with Diego’s blood. I looked at Lauren, willing her to understand why I’d done the things I had.

But instead, I watched as the warmth in her eyes drained away. She took a small step back, as though she was looking at a stranger.

As though she was looking at a…

“Monster,” Lauren whispered, her voice barely audible, but it echoed in my head like a gunshot.

My heart shattered into a million pieces.