Protect My Heart

Chapter 32

Clover

"No. No. No. No," I whispered, my feet taking me to the scene of the crime.

The medics surrounded him, pumping his chest.

But as soon as I took another step, arms wrapped around me from behind. "Clo, no. Don't go there."

I tried to push his arms off, but he wasn't budging. "No. Mason... I need to get there. I have to be with him. Let me go."

With a sullen face, I watched the medics lift him onto a stretcher and take him away, straight into the ambulance truck. Elisa got in too, shaking and shouting at them. The truck rode off, leaving behind the family home that was being watched over by Elisa's sister.

I collapsed in Logan's arms as an officer walked up to us. He enquired about the accident and said they hoped to catch the driver. But those people didn't know the full story, how there was a deadly man out there seeking revenge. My husband held on to me throughout the conversation, close to his chest. The officer tried to speak to me, too, but my mouth couldn't form any words. Logan got so livid that he had to excuse us, taking me back to the house, not caring about the officer's shouts.

I knew how he could be when I was upset. He'd push everyone besides him away. He knew how to comfort me best.

Back inside, I curled against him on the couch, our daughter still at the Bringham residence. I couldn't let Mia see me this way. Or better yet, see her uncle in a critical condition.

The thought caused another waterfall to erupt out of me, squeezing him tight. "What if-What if he doesn't –"

No. Not Mason. Not my best friend. The sibling I would've never thought to have.

"No. Nothing's going to happen to him. He's strong and I know damn well that he'd never leave his family. He'll fight. He wants to live."

He pulled me to his lap on the couch, his fingers tangling in my hair. I breathed shakily into his neck. "It's all my fault. You and I... we should have never... we shouldn't have done anything together."

"It's neither of our fault. It's Jackson's. He is the one to blame. He's hurt Mason, and he's harmed us over the years."

"I know, but I can't help it," I cried out. "I want to see Mase. Let's go see him. I want to see he's okay."

Logan tugged me flush to him until our hearts beat in unison, shutting down my protests of crawling off. "Not now. We'll go tomorrow. You're too fragile to go out. We'll let Mia stay the night too. She shouldn't see any of this. If we go there tonight, Jackson might see and get upset. I can't let him do something worse."

We spent the rest of the evening embracing each other, our souls entwined, like how it used to be. Logan had called Elisa to ask about Mason and she said he was in surgery. My brain wouldn't quit worrying about Mason, wondering about his every breath, every rise of his chest – if there was any.

When Mason and I reunited at the last year of high school, I never expected him to be something out of a dream. I was still reeling from heartache around that time, and he just swarmed in. My own brother had abandoned me at the time and the party had left me in fear of men. Then logan waltzed in and swept up my heart. Until Mason came in right after and made me laugh and enjoy the company of a man.

I'd never bonded with anyone the way I did with Mason. Male friends were out of the questions, even barely male acquaintances. But then that first day he'd asked me about the party, so concerned and hating Jackson on my behalf. He didn't criticize or shame or make me feel about myself in any way. He simply existed and loved me like a sister.