Liability (Suncoast Society #33)(60)

Tilly reached over and laid her hand over his. “It’s okay,” she softly said. “We’re beyond that right now. She needs it.” She unfastened her own and wrapped it around her right wrist several turns before buckling it again.

With a sad sigh, he held Kim close, rubbing his cheek against the top of her head and wishing he could comfort her…more.

That was impossible, however, because he knew nothing could comfort him. How could he expect to comfort her when she was hurting just as badly as he was?

It was nearly one a.m. when Tilly finally corralled them and talked them into leaving the hospital. They all needed sleep, and for now, at least, there wasn’t anything to do.

But Cole and Kim didn’t want to go home.

Cris took Cole’s car keys while Tilly rode with Landry. They drove them to Mason’s condo.

There was a big dent and paint scrape along the back of Mason’s car. Cole sent Kim on ahead into the condo after making sure Tilly had the keys, while he and Landry and Cris looked at the result.

He wouldn’t let Kim see that video the deputy had shown him. He couldn’t.

Just thinking about it, and now seeing the scene of the attack in person, filled Cole with anger. As he stared at the spot on the sidewalk where he knew Mason had landed because of the blood stains, he clenched his fists, struggling not to scream in rage and anger and grief.

Landry and Cris stood on either side of him, hands on his shoulders.

“Remember that you must be there and stay strong for Mason and for Kim,” Landry quietly said. “There will be time for anger—later. Right now, you must do what must be done.”

“I don’t know what to do,” Cole admitted. “I thought I did. A few months ago, I would have known exactly what to do. How do I comfort her and be strong for her when I need him? How the hell did I fall in love with him so fast?”

“We are complicated creatures with very basic needs,” Landry said, no hint of humor in his tone. “We need love, stability, strength to lean on. You’re both in shock right now, and rightfully so. But you have all of us to lean on. Don’t try to shoulder it on your own.”

He let the men take him inside. Kim was already curled up in Mason’s bed, his pillow in her arms and sobbing into it as Tilly sat next to her and looked up at their entrance.

“Try to get some sleep,” Landry said from the bedroom doorway. “We will be back tomorrow morning to pick you up at nine and take you to the hospital.”

Tilly stood and walked over to him. Hugging him, she whispered in his ear, “I left Mase’s stuff on the dining room table.”

He nodded, still frozen, still processing.

The three of them left, and he forced himself to go lock the door after them.

There on the table sat the plastic bag, and Mason’s keys.

He turned off the lights and returned to the bedroom, kicking off his shoes and stripping before rounding the bed to where Kim lay.

“We need to get you undressed, pet,” he said, choking back his own tears.

It was like undressing a child, a doll. She didn’t want to let go of Mason’s pillow and part of him wanted to wrench it from her, shove his face into it, and inhale.

Finally, after setting his phone alarm to wake them at eight, he was able to get into bed with her, the pillow between them as he cradled her against him and closed his eyes.





Chapter Twenty-Three


Kim lay there the next morning in the dim, grey light, wishing it had all been a really bad nightmare.

But the fact that they were at Mason’s, and he wasn’t there, was proof enough.

Cole lay asleep next to her, stretched out on his side and facing her. Even in sleep he looked as agonized as she currently felt.

She carefully got out of bed and shut off his phone alarm so it wouldn’t awaken him, then went to use to the bathroom. When she emerged, Cole had, in sleep, pulled Mason’s pillow to him.

Hugging herself, she choked back a ragged sob and hurried out to the kitchen. It was only 6:30, and she didn’t want to wake him up any sooner than necessary.

With her arms still wrapped around herself, she stopped in the middle of the kitchen.

She should…Coffee. Breakfast.

But he wasn’t there to do those things for.

He wasn’t there.

Her knees unhinged and she sank to the floor, still hugging herself, silently sobbing, rocking herself. Even as she knelt and touched her head to the floor, gulping in painful breaths and trying to stay quiet.

He’s not here.

Last night had been a blur. A painful, agonizing blur where every beat of her heart repeated the same thing.

Master.

Master.

This wasn’t fair to Cole. She knew how much he loved Mase, too, and knew he was struggling to deal with his own pain, much less unsure how to help her through hers.

It took her a while to pull herself together. On shaky legs she stood and washed her face in the kitchen sink, blowing her nose in paper towels. Trying to breathe, trying to think.

He needs me.

More importantly, she knew Cole needed her to suck it up so he could have the time he needed to grieve. Cole would do his damnedest to be strong for her to his own detriment. They had to face this together, as partners. She didn’t own the rights to falling apart.

Mason was her Master. But he was Cole’s boyfriend. More than that, his partner. She saw the love in the man’s face when he looked at Cole. The same depth of emotion she saw when he looked at her.