MIRA"You've done it again, haven't you?"I turn quickly to find the blonde lady from earlier. She has a smug smile on her face.Amid all the chaos, I cannot help but ask,"What are you talking about?"She raises an eyebrow and angles her head forward,"Look at him. I have never, ever seen Mason this way. Go on, look at him."I turn slowly, fixing my wide-eyed stare at the scene that continues to unfold before me. Mason's suit is no where in sight. The security men surround him, hands outstretched in a bid to calm him down.Light flashes everywhere, signifying that the cameramen are indeed doing their jobs. God, this is a mess. Those horrible pictures will be all over social media tommorow.But all those aren't really what catches my attention. My gaze finds Mason once again, and I'm momentarily transfixed by what I see.His eyes spark a luminous, dangerous fire. Darkness rolls off him in waves. I have never seen him look so…furious. My heart drops to the bottom of my shoes. Shit! I d
MIRAShe's probably a hooker or a club performer, but I do not particularly care. She's my escape plan.She stares at me through heavily made up, cautious eyes, smacking a gum on her way to the sink. I take a deep breath and walk after her.She turns on the tap, and the sound of running water instantly fills the room."So he won't hear us." She says.My brows lift in confusion. She nudges her head towards the exit."The guy outside. He's following you, isn't he?" Stunned, I begin to stutter." H-how…""Doesn't matter." She cuts in. "I have an eye for these things. What do you need help with? What's a well dressed chick like you doing in a gas station's restroom?"I consider my plan for all of two seconds. She's a total stranger. This could be a trap. I back up a step. On the other hand, if I stay too long, Hurricane might come bursting through that door any minute now.I go closer and grip the sink."You're right, I need help. My life is in danger. I need a phone to call my best fri
MIRA"So, how do you know Hurricane?" I try to ask as absent mindedly as I can, while checking out the strangely luxurious apartment that Julia brought me to just a while ago.She dumps her keys in a ceramic bowl and sinks into a black, classy looking sofa."Long story. Horrible story. Don't wanna talk about it."Since I just met her and do not want to pry, I change the subject."Nice place you've got here."I mean, it's not as luxurious as Vanessa's town house back in New York, or Mason's collection of expensive properties scattered all over the world, but the simple decor excudes class…high class. And everything looks like they cost an arm and a leg."The Capital" turned out to be a small, private lane, not far from the strip Mason and I were staying. Julia's building looks rather…decrepit on the outside, but absolutely gorgeous on the inside. I think she deliberately wants to disguise it.I collapse into the sofa opposite Julia and jump back to my feet once more, too nervous to sta
MIRA"Go! I'll hold him off while you both escape." Julia whispers urgently.Vanessa pulls me in the direction of the back exit, but I dig my feet into the carpeted floors, refusing to leave just yet."Come on, Julia. Come with us." I say, trying to convince her with my eyes.She shakes her head and turns to Vanessa."Get her out of here.""On it. C'mon, chica."Vanessa pulls me, and this time, I do not resist. I look back at Julia until she's out of sight, trying to see if I can make her change her mind.The door rattles again, and panic shoots through my veins. Oh, God, I hope Julia will be okay.We go out through the back exit and run off in the opposite direction. I try to focus on the pounding of my feet against the hard asphalt, or on the beatings of my raging heart. Nothing works.Instead, all I see are images of Julia probably hurt by Hurricane and his men."Do you think she'll be okay?"Vanessa looks back at me, giving my fingers a reassuring squeeze."Who, Julia? She's a bad
MIRA"Shit! We have to go. Now!" Vanessa whisper-yells.My frozen limbs finally kick into motion, and I hurry after her and into the plane. Just before the pilot shuts the doors, I hear a thunder of footsteps as Mason and his men begin to run up the stairs to our floor."Oh my God, hurry!" Vanessa yells at the pilot. There's no point of whispering anymore. Mason already knows we're here.Fear and anticipation sit heavily in my stomach. I silently curse the part of me that wishes Mason would actually be able to stop this jet. The part that wishes he would apologize for humiliating me at the party tonight, and wouldn't hurt me.I sit quietly in my seat, unable to move or speak, trying to control my roiling emotions. The pilot takes his precious time preparing the controls and flipping switches. A numb part of my mind silently yells at him to hurry the fuck up.Just as the plane begins to taxi down the make shift runway, Mason and his men finally arrive. My heart stops as he comes into
ONE – MASONTwenty two years ago.Father is hitting mother again. I hide behind the sofa, my thin arms firmly wrapped around my shaky legs as the "whoosh!" of a belt swinging in the air, and the "slap!" of harsh leather landing against soft skin reaches me over and over again.Our mansion is huge, huge and cold. Everything seems cold. Even the cherry, blue coloured children's room where I slept until two weeks ago feels like depression and death.Mother's cries twist something inside me. I feel anger…muderous, helpless anger. Anger at her for always coming back even after he almost kills her, and at father for being such a harsh monster.When I can no longer stand her cries of pain, I place my hands against my ears. Not that it helps.The reason for today's beating is that mother found father with one of his numerous mistresses from the club, and she confronted him in their presence.Mother is an airhead sometimes. By now, she should know that father has an enormous ego. He does not t
MIRA"...One year after the epic scandal that ended the few weeks old relationship between New York's billionaire and most eligible bachelor, Mason Lachlan and his mystery lady, the business Lord is beginning to show signs of settling down. You would remember that just a few days after the scandalous Lachlan Dinner Affair, Mason already started going out with different options, proving all our thoughts that his relationship with this mystery woman then was never serious in the first place…"" Shut that thing off, sis." Anna says from the top of the stairs of our rickety, Las Vegas home.My eyes snap from the droning television to her, and I immediately replace what I'm sure is a hurt, pained expression with a big smile."Hey, sweetie. Are you ready to go?"She shakes her head with obvious exasperation, comes down the remaining steps and unplugs the TV. I frown at her,"Why did you do that?"She looks at me with rebellious blue eyes." The plan was to forget about our pasts, sis, was
MASONMusic blares in the VIP section of the Delegharo club as I silently watch the strippers twirl and gyrate wantonly on the poles. I press a single button on the wall beside me and the manager comes running."You called, sir. Do you need anything? More wine? Is everything to your taste?"I give him a silent, narrow eyed look, one that tells him that his consistent, lapdog attitude is fast constituting a nuisance.He lowers his head, taking a step back."My apologies, sir.""I need girls. Two of them."He looks at me once more, nodding eagerly." The usual."I nod and return to the open laptop in front of me. By "the usual", he means girls with jet black, waist length hair, slender limbs and forest green eyes. Girls who bear a similar physical appearance to my only obession, Mira Fernandez.It's been twelve months. Twelve fucking months since Mira ran from me. Twelve months since she disappeared into thin air.In those months, I have searched diligently for her. I mean, where haven