Page 74 of Unburied

Shock rippled through him, and he eased off the accelerator before he realized what he’d done. It took him a minute to find his voice, still not quite believing that his father was calling him. “Pop?”

“I—” He broke off, and the sound of harsh coughing filled the line.

A dull pain twisted through Mason's heart. No matter how much of a pain his father was, he was still his father, and Mason hated to hear him in pain.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” he apologized when he came back.

“No problem.” Silence descended once more, and Mason clutched the phone tightly. Why was he calling him? His heart thudded hard against his ribs as nearly thirty seconds passed quietly. Finally, his father spoke again.

“Talked to your brother yesterday.”

Mason stayed silent, knowing instinctively that he had something to say.

“He told me you took a bullet a few days ago.”

His father’s voice was thick and gruff, and Mason cleared his own throat at hearing the emotion in his father’s. “I’m fine.”

“Good.” He hesitated again. “And your girl? She good?”

“Yeah, she’s okay,” Mason said, not wanting to offer too much.

“Good,” he repeated. “I’d like to meet her. If you want to bring her by,” he added.

Mason wasn’t quite sure what to say. Part of him still didn’t quite believe him. “I’ll see what we have going on,” he said after a few seconds.

“Well, I’ll let you go,” his father said. “I’m sure you’re busy.”

“Thanks for calling,” Mason offered. The conversation was stilted and awkward, but it was more than they’d shared over the last dozen years. He had to at least give him the benefit of the doubt. “And I’ll bring Vivi over to see you soon.”

They hung up just as Mason pulled into the apartment complex, and he put the truck in park, then sat there for a second, wondering what had just happened. He felt like it was some kind of sign. Maybe it was time to put the past behind them and move on once and for all—and he knew exactly where to start.

He grabbed the box resting on the seat next to him and stowed it in his sling as he made his way into the building. Inside the apartment, he found Vivi in their bedroom, her back to him as she folded clothes and stowed them in the dresser. “Hey, beautiful.”

She threw a smile over her shoulder at him. “Hey, yourself. Feeling okay?”

Her gaze dropped to his arm, and he nodded. “Good enough.”

His shoulder still ached, but he wouldn't tell her as much. The sling was uncomfortable, the bandage over the wound bulky and awkward, but the doctor had insisted he wear it for the next couple of weeks. He’d tried to leave it off today, but Vivi had made him promise to keep it on. And God knew he couldn’t tell her no. Where she was concerned, he had zero willpower.

The fact that he’d almost lost her had shaken him. He still remembered the helplessness of standing there, seeing the pistol pressed to her temple. Fortunately, the emergency function on his phone worked like a charm, alerting the authorities that something was wrong.

He didn’t remember much after the struggle with Harrison, only Vivi’s pretty face as she hovered over him, doing everything in her power to staunch the flow of blood and screaming for help. He’d apparently lost a significant amount of blood and passed out, scaring out of Vivi. When he woke up several hours later, he found her perched next to his hospital bed. He was fairly certain security wouldn’t have been able to remove her if they’d tried.

Thank God, she hadn’t been hurt. He couldn’t say the same for Harrison, though. The blunt force trauma of the blow to the head had caused a massive bleed, and he’d died shortly after arriving at the hospital. Vivi seemed to be dealing with it extraordinarily well so far, but he was waiting for it to catch up with her. Either way, they’d take it one day at a time, and he planned to be by her side every step of the way.

The police currently had Ellen’s house cordoned off, and he knew that when they searched the property, they’d found Russ’s remains in the backyard. They had told the authorities in their statements that Harrison was responsible for killing both Russ and Tyler. They saw no reason to mention Elijah.

To his surprise, Elijah had come to visit while he was in the hospital. He apologized for everything that had happened and offered to tell the police about his involvement. Though Mason appreciated the offer, he couldn’t let Elijah ruin his life like that. Elijah had a family to take care of, and with Harrison gone, there were no more loose ends. Mason understood that Elijah had just been trying to protect Vivi and Ellen; it wasn’t his fault Harrison had taken things too far.

Ever since Mason had been released two days ago, they had been staying at his house. It didn't seem to bother Vivi in the least, but they hadn't talked about what to do with Ellen’s place. All he knew was that his future was with Vivi, and he needed to lock her down sooner rather than later.

“I have something for you.”

“Oh?” A pleased smile curved her mouth as she studied him. “What is it?”

Heart racing, he took the little black box from inside his sling and tossed it to her. She caught it deftly, and he watched a dozen emotions flash across her face as she studied the object in her hands. Her mouth opened slightly, then snapped shut again as her eyes lifted to meet his. “Is this what I think it is?”

Blood rushed in his ears, and he bit down on the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. “Depends what you think it is.”