Mind Slide (27 page)

“
They say practice makes perfect.”

Was he joking?

Time to take a chance.

She stepped forward and kissed him again. It was gentle at first, tender. He ran a hand through her hair and caressed her neck. She gripped his back. Her hands slipped under his shirt, and Mason stiffened. Goosebumps rippled across his skin.

There was a quiet sighing, and Kelly realized it was her.

She smiled as their lips parted more. She hadn't kissed a man in over a year, and thought she'd be much more nervous, more uncomfortable.

Everything about her was at ease with Mason.

Grabbing the front of his shorts, she fell backwards onto the bed, dragging him down with her. Mason let out a surprised laugh and cushioned his fall with his hands. She grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him in close, brushing her lips across his cheek.

“
Oops. I fell,” she whispered, trying to sound seductive.

She gasped as he put a hand on her hip. Her finger pulled at a hoop on his shorts to keep him close. Her shirt rose up a few inches, and he traced around her navel with his thumb.

“
Clumsy you.”

He leaned in for another kiss, but veered off at the last second and kissed the side of her neck. She sighed and kicked her sandals off. Curling her leg up to his side, she shifted her hips. He grabbed her foot and slowly moved his hand up her calf, then the back of her thigh. She trembled.

Their clothes needed to come off, very soon.

Kelly hated parts of herself. Her complexion, paranoia, fear of anyone that knocked at her door, the dread that followed her when she was alone.

With Mason, she felt alive, beautiful.

“
I swear, I didn't plan this,” she said, slipping a hand under his shirt. “I just wanted to spend time with you.”

Mason smiled. He would tell her everything about himself, over time. A part of him had fallen for her a long time ago, when he saw her strength in that basement.

He tried to slow his breathing. Her reactions weren't helping, only fueling his own desire. He leaned in to whisper in her ear.

Wrapping an arm around his waist, she pulled down as hard as she could. She lifted her hips and chest up to meet him. She wanted to touch every inch of him.

“
I'm
really
nervous,” he whispered.

“
Me, too. But you're the one who said practice makes perfect.”

They laughed. She pulled her shirt up to her neck, not wanting to remove it completely yet. The bulge in his shorts gave her a clue where this was all headed. They just needed to get some fabric out of the way. But if she pulled her shirt off, she wasn't putting it back on. She wanted to give him a chance to stop, if he wanted to.

She didn't think he wanted to.

“
You can touch, if you want.” She gave him a bright smile. “I don't bite, at least not a whole lot.”

Kelly's eagerness and humor wiped the remaining nervousness from Mason. What this really happening?. It was the last thing he expected. He pulled her shirt off the rest of the way and tossed it on the other bed.

He ran his fingers lightly across her stomach, then her breasts. She closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip. Only a white bra stood in his way. His fingers stopped at the clasp in the front.

His cell phone on the nightstand rang.

Mason laughed as he buried his head into her shoulder. Nothing like a ringing phone to kill a mood, if only slightly.

She hugged him to her, enjoying the feel of her breasts against him. She needed to get him out of his shirt, needed to feel his skin against hers.

She noticed him staring at his phone with a serious look. Glancing over, she looked at the caller ID. The name and number were both unavailable.

“
Do you need to get that?”

Something felt off as he watched the phone ring. He only got calls from the few friends he had and potential clients. He had a feeling it was important.

“
One second,” he said. “Don't go anywhere.”

She laughed. “I'll stay right here. And I'll give you ten seconds.”

He answered the phone. He didn't even get the chance to say hello.

“
Climb off your girlfriend and pay attention.”

Mason sat up in bed. Kelly saw his concern and joined him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

He never heard the voice before, but knew who it was.

“
Gabriel?”

The voice on the other end of the phone laughed.

“
Ah, you know my name. You've been talking to our good buddy Mister Suit. Wow, this is unreal. I thought I was the only one, until I saw you stalking that pasty lady at the mall. She's cute, but I like a little color on my women.”

Mason stood up, his chest feeling tight. He was on the phone with a murderer, the man responsible for Doc's death.

“
They told me they found you, arrested you.”

“
I'm as free as a bird. You were played, my friend. They wanted that little flash drive you got in the laptop over there. And you found it for them.”

Mason looked across the room at the laptop on the table. The flash drive was still docked in the USB port.

“
You're here. In the room with us.”

“
I was, until you started making out like teenagers. Now I'm in the lobby watching two men with guns get in an elevator. I don't think they're room service.”

“
What?”

“
Good luck. I'd get out of there, if I were you. I hope we talk again.”

Gabriel hung up.

Mason ran to the front door. He cracked it open and peered down the hall. He heard a chime and saw the elevator doors open.

Two men in suits emerged, both holding guns outright.

He shut the door and slid the tiny bolt in place above the handle.

Gabriel wasn't lying.

“
Mason, what is going on?” Kelly asked. She sat on the edge of the bed and slipped her shirt back on, then her sandals.

He hurried to the bed and started sliding it across the carpet. He managed to wedge it between the dresser and the door.

He took a few steps back, not taking his eyes off the door. Kelly grabbed his shoulder from behind and stood next to him.

“
Mason?” Her voice shook with fear.

A key-card slid through the lock outside. The door opened, but only an inch. The bed held in place.

“
We're in trouble.”

Whoever was on the outside started pounding on the door. They said nothing, but Mason could hear the frustration in their grunts.

Mason and Kelly both backed up a step. She let out a startled cry, not taking her hand from his shoulder.

He remained calm. Maybe it was the years spent on a lab table that numbed him to two men outside wanting to do him harm. He went to the window and looked at the swimming pool three floors down. A woman in a bikini swam to the side and climbed out using the ladder. Kids ran laps around the edge, but it was empty.

He grabbed the chair near the table and swung it at the window. It exploded as glass rained down below.

The pounding outside the door went quiet for a moment. Mason didn't slow down. He pulled the flash drive from the laptop and sealed it once again in the two zip-lock bags.

Kelly grabbed him by both shoulders. “Would you please tell me what's going on?”

“
I don't know.”

She shouted when the door shook again. They both turned to see the head of a fire ax sticking through the wood. They were chopping their way in.

“
But that can't be good,” he said.

He brushed glass off the sill and poked his head out. It would be an easy jump. They could hit the pool with no trouble.

“
I know you don't expect me to jump out a window.”

He pointed to the door. He could see more of the hallway, and the large man in a suit knocking the door away like it was nothing. His partner stood behind him.

“
You could go that way.”

He shoved the flash drive in his back pocket and stood up on the sill. He grabbed the top of the window frame to keep balance and held out his hand.

“
Oh my God,” Kelly said. She took his hand and climbed up next to Mason. “I'm in love with a crazy man.”

He heard the door splintering behind them.

“
Jump as far as you can. Get out fast, head to my Jeep. You ready?”

“
No.”

“
Let's go.”

They jumped together. They held hands as the pool rapidly rushed up to meet them. Kelly screamed, and let go just before they hit the water to cover her face.

She smacked the bottom of the pool, the wind rushing out of her. She opened her mouth to scream in pain, and inhaled a mouthful of water. She pushed with her legs to break the surface, then felt an arm around her.

Mason dragged her to the side of the pool. He lifted her to help her climb out. She coughed and gagged as she stayed on all fours.

He was vaguely aware of people standing and gawking at them. He risked a look up to see two men leaning out of the broken window.

“
We have to go, Kell.”

He pulled her by the hand. Their water soaked clothes and shoes made them feel like they were moving in slow motion. They left the pool area through a gate and ran to the parking lot. He threw the zip-lock bags with the flash drive in between the seats as they climbed inside his Jeep.

Her hands started to shake as she buckled her seat belt. “We just jumped out of a hotel room.”

“
Yeah, I know,” Mason said. “Hold on.”

He sped out of the parking lot. As they passed the front of the hotel he saw two men, neither one of them from the night before, running through the front door. He didn't think they would try anything.

He was wrong.

Mason's eyes lit up as he saw them raise their weapons.

He made a hard turn onto the street, cutting off two cars and making them slam their brakes.