4

Mason

A phone rang early, too damn early.

I woke up, my head foggy, and grunted.

The phone just kept ringing.

"Shut that thing off," I said to the girl in my bed.

She shook her head. "It's yours, baby."

"Oh shit," I said, realizing she was right. I quickly grabbed my phone and flipped it open. "Yeah?"

"Mason." I recognized the voice instantly: our club president, Phoenix. "I need you to come in early."

"Okay, prez," I said. "How early?"

"Now."

"Okay," I said, getting up. "Be there in ten." I hung up the phone.

The girl looked up at me. I couldn't remember her name, and I really didn't give a shit. In the cold light of morning I realized how empty the night before had been, picking her up at the fucking bar, bringing her back to my little apartment, and fucking her brains out. She smiled at me.

"Got time for another round, baby?" she asked. "I'm still sore from last night, but in a good way."

"No, thanks," I said. "I'm leaving. Don't be here when I get back."

She made a face. "No need to be an asshole."

I got dressed and ignored her. I tossed on some jeans a T-shirt, and my vest with the Sandcastles patch. I strapped on my gun, assuming I was going to need it. The girl just watched me from the bed, her eyes dripping sex.

I paused at the door before I left. "If you steal anything, I'll kill you. Got it?"

"Fuck you," she said.

I grinned at her. "You'd like that." I turned and left.

I didn't need to be an asshole to her, but it didn't matter. Women liked me, always had. I didn't have trouble finding one woman after the next to bring home and fuck. I was good at it and always left them wanting more, but I never gave it to them.

That just wasn't my style. I lived a fast, hard life and didn't have the time or space to let anyone inside it. They were a warm body for a night, a hard, intense fuck, and then they were gone.

I couldn't be nice the next morning. I'd let too many dumb girls think I was going to call them again by doing that. No, it was better for both of us if I was a dick. It just hammered home the truth that I was never going to bring her home again, if we ever even saw each other.

I got outside my beat-up place and found my bike. I hopped on and took a second to look around. I lived in a shit neighborhood in a shit apartment building, and it suited me just fine. I was barely there anyway. I mostly just used it to sleep and shower. Otherwise, my life was at the club.

I fired up my bike and rode out, the wind whipping through my hair.

I got to the clubhouse in ten minutes. I parked the bike and hopped off. There weren't many bikes parked out there; I recognized Phoenix's and a few other council members', but that was it.

Probably too early for most of the boys to show up, let alone wake up. We were a hard drinking bunch, and as such we tended not to be a morning crowd.

I pushed in through the front door and immediately spotted Phoenix sitting at the bar. He had a plate of food in front of him and was sipping a big mug of coffee.

Phoenix was a scary man: intense, powerful, and a great leader. He'd singlehandedly taken the Sandcastles from a minor gang to one of the biggest in the country. It was because of him that we had so much power.

I'd been a part of it. Maybe not those early wars, but a lot of the stuff later on. Some guys claimed seniority, but I didn't give a shit about that. The club was my home, and that was all.

"Morning, boss," I said to him.

"Morning. Take a seat."

I pulled out the stool next to him and sat down.

"Coffee?"

"Yeah," I said.

Phoenix nodded at TomTom, the pledge who was working behind the bar that morning. He returned with another mug of hot coffee, which I drank gratefully.

"Bet you're wondering why I called you in so early," Phoenix said.

"Yeah," I said, "I am."

"You have fun last night?"

I shrugged. "Sure. Went to another place with a few boys. Nothing special."

He nodded thoughtfully and took another bite of food. I watched him chew and swallow, the silence deafening.

"I have a job for you, Mason," he said.

"Name it and it's done."

He looked at me. "I need you to be Leilani's bodyguard."

That stopped me in my tracks.

"What?" I asked.

"Leilani. My girl. You need to be her bodyguard."

I screwed up my face. "Why?"

"I have something going down, something big, and it involves her. I can't say more than that, but she might be in trouble. I need you to make sure she's safe."

I nodded slowly, not sure what was happening here. It was very unusual for us to be a bodyguard, especially a high-ranking enforcer like myself. It was even more unusual for Phoenix to want one of the boys to be around Leilani.

"Okay, boss," I said. "I can do it."

He nodded. "Good. She has work today. Get to her apartment and don't leave her side until I tell you to."

"Got it."

He pushed me a slip of paper. "Her address."

I pocketed it. I went to get up but hesitated. "Why me?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "You've been around a long time, right, Mason?"

"Sure," I said.

"I feel like I've watched you grow up in this club. You're like family."

"The club is my family," I said.

"You're about her age; you two seem friendly enough. Not too friendly," he added, giving me a look. "You're good at what you do. Competent, serious, smart. I trust you."

"Okay," I said. "Thanks, prez. I won't let you down."

"I know." He turned back to his food and began to eat again like I wasn't even there.

I turned and left the club, my head spinning.