I strolled down the stairs in my lingerie. No point in getting dressed at this point. The evening sunset rolling in through the windows gave everything a light orangey-pink tint. This truly was a beautiful, small town. Upon opening the fridge, I observed that there were only two waters and a handful of odds and ends left. Moving to the pantry, I noticed only a half-eaten bag of chips and a few slices of bread. I guess we’ve been so preoccupied with each other we forgot to check the food supply.
“Uh, Mason!” I called up the stairs to him.
His loud footsteps came thudding across the hardwood flooring. “Everything okay?”
“We’re out of food. Are we allowed to make a food run?” We were not allowed to leave the cabin without approval, since we didn’t know if anyone followed us after Luca found us in the mountains. Leaving the property was a major operation, requiring a copious amount of undercover backup in case of any incidents. We were safe on the property, thanks to an ample number of cameras, trip wires, and a baffling top of the line alarm system.
Mason inspected the fridge and pantry and let out a chuckle. “We should have kept a better eye on that. I’ll make a call real quick.” Mason picked up his radio and phoned in, asking if we had authorization to leave. The person on the other end told us we could not go, but they would promptly send someone out to deliver them. “Looks like it will take a couple hours, but not too long, hopefully.”
I grabbed one of the last two waters from the fridge to help calm my rumbling stomach. “Alright, I guess I should get dressed before they get here, then.” I giggled, looking down at my half-naked body.
“Well, I don’t mind it one bit.” Mason swooped me up, grabbing my bottom and planting a sloppy kiss right on my lips.
I patted his cheek. “Be right back.” I threw on some sweats and a large T-shirt, then made my way back downstairs. We waited patiently, cuddled on the couch, watching a movie. Mason gently massaged my feet.
Finally, a knock on the door echoed through the house. Mason hopped up and went to answer it. “Ben,” I overheard Mason say, “I see they finally let you out of the office.”
“Hey Mason,” the other man, who must be Ben, spoke. “Help me with these bags. There is a lot of stuff.” The two men walked out of the house and returned quickly with several bags of groceries. I raced to the kitchen, hoping to find something to snack on and help them unload it all. “Oh, you must be Scarlett! I’m Ben.” The short, red-haired man with freckles held out his hand.
“Hi,” I returned his handshake, eyeing the bags of food.
“I brought some Chinese too. I figured you guys are probably starving.” He pointed to the large brown paper bags sitting on the dining room table.
“I like you already! Much better than Mason’s first impression.” I joked while grabbing plates and setting the table, giving Mason a wink. Once the boys put all the food away, they promptly sat down to eat.
We exchanged small talk for a while, just chatting about the cute town and sharing stories. “So, how long have you guys worked together?” I inquired, still stuffing my face with Lo Mein.
“Not that long. Mason was training me before he had to take on this mission. I’m technically still pretty new.” Ben admitted.
“I hope he wasn’t too much of a hard ass. He can get very serious when it comes to his work.”
Ben laughed, “He is one tough boss.”
“Guys, I’m right here!” Mason jumped in. I wrapped my leg around his under the table.
“It is the truth, though, man.” Ben responded. “What have you guys been doing to keep busy?”
Mason and I exchanged a secretive smile. “Nothing really. I taught her some self-defense. Other than that, just lying low, watching movies, playing some video games.”
The rest of dinner went by swiftly as it started getting late. “Hey, could I get a look around before I go? It’s so beautiful out here. This seems like the perfect place to retire one day.” Ben asked, not getting the hint that we were ready for him to go.
“Sure, I can walk you around.” Mason was being polite, not wanting him to suspect anything was going on between us. “Do you want to come with, Scar?”
“I am good, getting kind of tired. I’ll probably start winding down for the night.” To be honest, there was just something off about Ben that rubbed me the wrong way. I don’t know if it was the creepy way he was staring at me, or the feeling that he was hiding something, but something just did not feel right. “It was nice to meet ya, Ben.” I waved to him as they walked out the door.
“Bye, Scarlett!” He waved back, Mason locking the door behind them.
They returned about an hour later. “Hey guys, what’s going on?” It confused me why Ben was still here.
“Ben’s car isn’t starting. We tried jumping it, there’s gas in it, I looked over the engine, but we can’t seem to figure out what’s going on. Another agent is going to come pick him up in the morning, though.” Behind Mason’s eyes, I could see some resentment towards Ben.
“Yeah, sorry, guys. I should be out of here early, though. I can just sleep on the couch.” Ben motioned to the couch in the living room.
“Okay, that sucks. I hope someone can get your car running again.” I tried to be polite even though something still felt wrong. Going upstairs to the closet, I got a pillow and blanket for Ben.
After Ben settled on the couch, Mason followed me upstairs and closed the bedroom door behind him. I turned to him with my arms crossed, about to say something, but before I could get a word out, he walked over to me, kissing me fervently. Mason’s arms caught me as I stumbled backward.
“Sorry, I’ve been wanting to do that all night.” Mason apologized.
“Never apologize for that.” My mind still spinning from the kiss. “But what about Ben? We can’t let them know about us or they will definitely pull you off the case.”
“I know. I’ll sleep on the other couch tonight. It will be fine; he will be out of here by morning. Promise.”
“If you say so.” I pulled Mason in for one more kiss. “Goodnight.”
“Sweet dreams, Scarlett.” Mason reached for the door handle and left the room. This is the first night since being here. I’ve slept alone in this room. The bed felt cold and lonely without Mason by my side. Fortunately, it wasn’t as intimidating as the initial night. I quickly fell asleep to the soft hoots and chirping crickets in the dark room muffled by the closed windows.
The next morning when I awoke, Ben was already gone, but his car still sat in the long driveway. I was relieved. There was just something about him that sent dread down my spine. The smell of fresh pancakes and bacon waft into my room, sending me down the staircase into the kitchen. On the counter sat a stack of pancakes, syrup, fresh orange juice, and a pile of hot bacon. My mouth watered at the delectable sight. “Good mornin’ beautiful.” Mason came into view from behind me, softly kissing my cheek.
“This looks so good!” My eyes widened, stomach growling.
“Dig in! I was hoping to bring it up to you.” Mason handed me a plate.
The rest of the day went by quickly, mostly spent learning new self-defense skills and then relaxing with a good movie. Before I knew it, the moon was high in the sky, and it was time to turn in. Mason did his check of the property and set the alarm, like he usually did at night. I lay in bed, Mason holding me close as we fell asleep.
I jolted awake from Mason sitting up in bed. “Hey, you okay?” I asked, still half asleep.
“Shush!” He quietly swung out of the bed and grabbed his gun from the nightstand.
I listened closely, confused as to what startled him. “Mason, wh…”
“SH!” He cut me off, peering out the small crack made by the door.
That’s when I noticed the darkness. The power must have been out. The clock was not lit, nothing was on, and the generator did not kick on. That also means the alarm system was off and the cameras weren’t working. Not a wonderful situation.
Mason motioned for me to grab our ‘go-bag’ and follow him. Did I miss something? What if it was just a blown fuse? “Stay behind me, get to the truck.” Mason whispered, setting my hand on his shoulder. He kicked the door open, and we rushed down the stairs, but that is when it started.
*BANG…BANG…BANG*
Nope. Not a blown fuse! Mason threw me behind the couch, bullets flying at us from all directions. Fortunately, neither of us got hit. “Stay low.” Mason demanded of me. “Stay right behind me.” We crawled as fast as we could to the garage. My heart was racing, my palms were sweaty, stomach churning. The smell of gunpowder and charred cedar arose from the once cozy cabin. At any second, that could be it for either of us.
We finally reached the truck, crawling in from the driver’s side door. The garage door wasn’t opening since the power was out. We were sitting ducks. If one of us were to open it manually, that would be it. “Buckle up.” Mason looked behind him and threw it in reverse. We busted through the garage door, leaving it lying there crumpled up. Again, another loud crash as Mason hurtled into Ben’s car. If it was fixable before, it wasn’t now!
We hit the dirt road, dust flying all around us, speeding down the dark winding road. A pair of headlights chasing behind us. I stared at Mason, trying to figure out what was going through his head. His face was fixated on the road, his lips pierced, and knuckles turning white from grasping the steering wheel tight.
My heart was pounding through my chest, worried we could fly off the mountain or the intruders would catch up to us! Each blind turn came out of nowhere. The once beautifully serene trees were now just a blur flying past us. My breathing became fast, my vision felt heightened, glancing behind us to see how close the other car was. Mason grabbed my head and forced me down as bullets shattered the back window. The sounds of metal meeting metal and breaking glass filled the air. Mason tried to return fire from the driver’s seat.
Loud pops and the sound of pressurized air swooshing caught my attention. “Fuck!” Mason yelled, turning the steering wheel from one side to the other. The truck began to bounce and lose control. Mason tried his hardest to regain control, but that was it. Correcting the skid was impossible on the cramped mountain pass. The last thing I remember, Mason looking at me with regret in his ice-blue eyes, metal being crushed and more glass breaking. The truck tumbled down the long, steep mountainside, taking down every single tree in its path. I was being tossed around like a rag doll. I couldn’t tell which way was up or down.
A shadowy outline of a man stood atop the mountain, looking down at us, holding a spike strip in his hands, and everything went black.
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