Her Vigilant Seal (26 page)

“Take care of my dad,” he told the EMT as Clint came running towards him.

“Mason, what…”

“Not here.” Mason grabbed his arm and led him away from the ambulance and the prying eyes of the police. He pulled him towards his truck.

Mason’s phone rang. It was Drake. “Clint there?”

“Yep.”

“Good, he was the closest. The rest of us will be there between five and forty minutes depending on where we were when we got the call.” Mason looked at Clint. There was no conflict on his face. He was there and ready for action. He had his laptop out and was doing something.

“Mase, are you keeping it together?” Drake asked.

“Yes.”

“He took her, he didn’t kill her. That’s good news,” Drake said, stating the obvious, but it made Mason want to cry, throw up, or kill his friend.

“Gotta go.” Mason hung up.

Clint had his computer booted up and was keying in something Mason had no chance of comprehending.

“Good, her cell phone is on. I’ve got a GPS signal.”

“Where is she?”

“She’s heading north on Pacific Coast Highway.” They looked at each other. It was good news she was moving. Krill had plans for her. All she had to do was survive until they got there.

“Can you arrange for my cell phone to track her cell phone?”

“Hand it over.” Mason gave it to Clint. The man was amazing. After he was done he did the same thing with his phone.

They got in Mason’s truck and Mason took the Five Freeway to Newport Beach, and then turned west towards PCH. Clint used Mason’s phone to keep track of the signal and used his phone to inform the team of their whereabouts.

“Faster, they’ve stopped,” Clint said urgently.

“Where are they?”

“Costa Mesa.”

Clint gave Mason directions. They pulled up to a very small storage unit. The gates were closed. Mason gave a grim smile when he saw the chain and padlock. He went into the back of his truck and pulled out the industrial sized wire cutters and easily cut the chain.

The yard was small and not wanting to alert Krill, they ran instead of taking the truck. In less than a minute they saw a white minivan parked outside one of the units. Krill had the storage door open. The inside of the unit was eerily empty.

Mason motioned for Clint to come around from the back side. He waited a minute for him to get into position. Then he called out.

“Hey asshole, remember me?”

Krill stilled. He squinted into the sunlight trying to make out Mason’s features. Then he calmly opened the sliding door to the minivan and Mason started at a dead run towards him. Clint was running quietly towards the other side of the vehicle.

When Mason got there, Krill had a broken beer bottle against Sophia’s neck and she was awake.

“It’s almost perfect. I thought about getting a knife but I wanted to replay the night exactly. Too bad Dooley’s not here.”

Mason shuddered. The man was evil.

“Let her go.”

“All I have to do is press in. This is right at her jugular. She was supposed to be some fun the last time, and then die. Now she’ll die and quit causing me so many problems.”

Mason could see Clint at the open driver’s side window.

“If you kill her you’ll never see the inside of a prison.”

“Seeing her dead first will be worth it.”

Mason gave an imperceptible nod and Clint took his shot. Sophia started screaming as she was splattered with blood, and Mason jumped in and pulled her out of the van.

“Sophia, I have you baby.” She kept screaming and thrashing. Mason had to hold her and repeat himself a couple more times. Abruptly she stopped.

“Mason? Oh God, Mason!” She sank into his arms. Then she started to cry and clear off the splatter from her face. He yanked off his shirt and wiped all the gore he could.

“Oh baby, I’m so sorry this happened. I have you. You’re safe now. I’m so sorry. You’re safe. I love you so much.”

She shivered and clung to him. She looked up at him as he cleaned her face like he would a child. He pulled her into his lap and cradled her head to his chest and just let her cry.

“I was so scared but I always knew you’d come. I never doubted it for one moment.” Something settled inside of him.

“I’ll always come for you Sophia. I’d die if something happened to you. You’re my world.”

Four Months Later…

“Get a move on Billy, we’re going to be late.”

The door to her brother’s bedroom flew open and he had a backpack slung over one arm and his wetsuit over his other. She winced as she saw the state of his bedroom. Part of her thought she should get on his case to clean it, but she was just too happy having them living together to sweat the small stuff.

“I saw that.” Billy grinned at her.

“What?” she asked innocently. “The fact I’m considering calling the Hoarders TV Show?”

“I’ll clean it when we get back from Mase’s house on Monday, I promise.” Sophia smiled. When Billy Anderson made a promise, he kept it.

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

“Come on, we don’t want to be late. I can’t wait to meet Mase’s parents.”

“I’m going to need help loading the car with the desserts,” Sophia said as she headed to their new apartment’s kitchen.

“Already done, Soph. While you took a zillion hours primping, I loaded my surfboard and the mountain of desserts you baked. You look awesome. Mase’s tongue is going to be hanging out.”

Sophia blushed. She was wearing a new yellow halter summer dress with red heels. Ever since she started going to counseling she found she could sleep and eat, so she filled out the dress a little bit better.

“Thanks, I needed to hear that.”

“So let’s go. Tonight we eat and tomorrow we surf. It’s a perfect weekend.” Sophia grabbed her overnight bag and looked over the apartment before locking the door. She still couldn’t believe it belonged to her. Thank God for Ashley’s lawyer. He’d made her dad start paying child support for Billy so they could afford a new place, and she was going to start taking college courses again. Everything was turned off, and she shut off the last light, and then closed and locked the door.

Yippee! She got to go to Mason’s house for the weekend. She was more excited than Billy.

****

“You know my birthday is the day after Halloween.”

“I know, Mom. Ever since I was fourteen I’ve never forgotten your birthday,” Mason said as he hugged his petite mother.

“Let’s never speak of the day again.” They both laughed. He was so happy having his parents, Billy, and Sophia in his house for this first weekend in November. He looked over to where Sophia was helping Tony with his eggplant parmigiana.

“Mason, you’re not paying attention.”

“What Mom?”

“I said I know what I want you to get me for my birthday this year.”

“Okay. But I already bought your gift.”

“Well return it. I want a daughter.”

“You just met Sophia today, how do you know you want her as a daughter-in-law?” His mother pulled him out of the kitchen, through the crowded living room, and onto the front porch.

“Mason, let’s be serious for a moment. I have never seen you happier in your life. I know how much your career means to you. It has given you a wealth of satisfaction. I couldn’t have been more proud. But listening to you on the phone for the last few months has warmed my heart. You are head over heels in love with this girl, and everything you’ve told me about her is true. She is such a good person and she is just like me.”

“What do you mean by that?” Mason asked, really curious. He loved his mom to death but she could be a bulldozer. He didn’t see where Sophia was a lot like her.

“Sophia thinks the sun revolves around you the same as I do.” Mason’s heart clenched as he saw his mom’s eyes water.

“You got it wrong. I know I’m the lucky one because I have the two best girls in the world who love me.”

“Sweet talker. You get that from your dad.” He hugged his mom, so happy she and his dad were here for this special occasion.

“So do you have the ring?” She gave him a knowing grin.

“You’re sure I’m going to propose today?”

“I didn’t raise a stupid man.”

Mason laughed.

“No, you didn’t. Sophia is the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I’m going to do my damnedest to make sure she's by my side for the next fifty years.” Mason gripped the ring box in his pocket and swallowed hard. Today truly was the first day of the rest of his life.
They went inside and he was in time to take a huge bowl of macaroni salad out of Sophia’s hands.

“I’ve got that, honey. Why don’t you go out and grab a seat next to Peter and Ruth.” Sophia smiled at him and then grinned at his mom.

“Have you met Peter and his wife, Linnie?”

“No, but I want to. How’s he doing?” Mason watched as they proceeded him out the kitchen door. It was great to see how comfortable Sophia was with his mom, considering how worried she’d been to meet her. He stopped for a moment as the kitchen door shut behind him. His backyard was filled to the brim with his friends and family.

“Quit dawdling. People won’t start eating until the host sits down and I’m hungry,” Drake yelled.

Mason laughed. He went and sat next to Sophia who leaned into him. He couldn’t wait for tonight. Drake winked at him. Clint gave him a nod. Everything was going to be in place.

****

Big warm hands caressed her back and Sophia arched into Mason’s body. The man’s touch was magic and she couldn’t get close enough to him.

“Are you awake, honey?”

“Oh yeah,” she whispered against his neck breathing him in. God, he smelled good. Her hands roamed downwards, but he caught them and brought them to his mouth, and kissed her palms.

“I have a surprise for you.”

She wiggled closer and felt his surprise rising against her lower body.

“Not that,” he admonished. “I need you to get up and get dressed.

“Huh?” She glanced over at the clock on the nightstand. It was two thirty in the morning.

“No questions,” he gave her a slow and soft Mason kiss. She would now do anything he asked. “Up woman, get dressed.”

She grinned. She put on a jeans and a hoodie, and took a moment to admire Mason pulling on clothes. The man was sex on a stick, and he was hers!

“Come on time’s a wastin’.” She gave a brief thought to Billy and then remembered Linnie and Fred were staying in the house. So all was good. Mason had them in his truck in no time. She didn’t ask any questions as they headed towards the ocean. It didn’t come as a shock the beach was their destination. She figured they were headed to Moonlight Beach, but when he passed it, she started to get curious.

She shot him a sideways look and he grinned. This was so cool. With her having custody of Billy they didn’t get a chance to be on their own very much anymore. So she was soaking up this adventure. Mason pulled up to an area that was a private beach clearly owned by some of the expensive homes nearby. Again she looked at him.

“A surprise, remember?” He helped her out of the truck and she saw some lights up ahead. As they got closer to the path to the beach she saw on either side there were candles lighting the way towards a canopy covered blanket.

“Mason, what?” He pulled her into his arms and gave her a long slow kiss.

“No questions.” He held her hand, and they followed the lit path towards the blanket. When they got there, she saw it was her pink blanket and she stared down at it in wonder. The entire canopy was surrounded by tea light candles. Mason helped her step over them and they stood in the center and she looked at him.

“I don’t understand.”

“It’s simple. You’re my world.”

She watched as he got down on one knee, and the world stopped. All she could hear was the ocean and her heartbeat. He pulled a small box out of his pocket. He opened it up, and inside was a ring that shined.

She sank to her knees.

“You are my everything. My hero.”

“So you’ll marry me? You’ll be mine for the rest of our days?”

“Yes, a million times yes.” She flung her arms around his neck and he held her close. Through her tears, she could see the vast ocean and realized every one of her big dreams had come true.

If you enjoyed this book, or any book, please consider leaving a review. It’s appreciated by authors more than you know. Thank You! Caitlyn

Caitlyn O’Leary was raised in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. She has always been an avid reader. Her earliest creative writing endeavors consisted of “ghost writing” exercises where she pretended to be her younger brothers and sister when she did their homework assignments.

Years in corporate America honed her ability to manipulate words by day and at night she read everything she could get her hands on, including many steamy romances.

Now happily married to her long, tall Texan and living in Southern California, Caitlyn has finally found the time to write erotic happily ever afters. She enjoys swimming, traveling, babysitting for her nieces and nephews, spending time with friends and family, and doing lots of “research” with her husband for upcoming novels.

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