No one locked their doors on the ranch, which was expected, but Colt had made it clear Mason’s house would be locked at all times. Not used to carrying a key, Katie had been temporarily locked out a few times. Trina, Wes, and Levi all had keys too, though his brothers always knocked first.
Katie glanced from Mason—who still stood at the edge of the foyer—to Colt and back as she kicked off her shoes and then frowned.
“Mase, are you okay?”
Mason nodded, but his back was to Colt, so he couldn’t see his expression, but he didn’t need to know that it would be a strange mix of shell-shocked and debauched.
She sent a questioning glance to Colt as she walked toward the dining table with an arm full of paperwork. “Colt?”
Colt shook his head and turned to grab a glass from the dish rack. He filled it with water and took a minute to rinse the taste of Mason from his mouth, settle his equilibrium, and remember what it was he was here for: protect Mason’s life, not get into his pants.
When he turned back, Levi was kneeling down petting the dogs, and Wes was looking at him like he could see everything Colt was thinking—and had been doing. It was a trait that made Wes excellent at his job but also highly annoying when it was aimed at Colt.
“What have you got?” Colt said gruffly. He tugged at the collar of his shirt. His body was still humming with the fading remnants of that unwise kiss. He sat at the table and called on every focus technique he’d ever learned so he could concentrate on work and not on how much he wanted to kiss Mason again.
Emotions stampeded like wild horses through Mason’s mind, shaking the metaphorical ground under his feet—elation that Colt had kissed him, that the fire between them still burned. Humiliation at the horrified look on Colt’s face when they were interrupted and broke apart. Anger that Colt now seemed set on keeping as much distance between them as possible and refusing to meet his eyes. And disappointment in himself for falling right back into Colt’s arms like they’d never parted.
He sat beside Katie, across the table from Colt. She gave him a long assessing look while Wes and Levi pulled up chairs on either side of Colt.
“What’s up, Mase? You look flushed.” Katie pressed her wrist to his forehead before he could jerk away.
He narrowed his brows and frowned. “I’m fine. Just . . . It’s been a stressful day.”
She nodded as her expression softened. He sent up a silent thank-you that she didn’t press like Trina would have. Trina would know he was lying. Trina would somehow know what had been going on before everyone had descended on his house.
The front door swung open again to let in said sister and her husband, Brett. “Sorry we’re late,” she said.
Great. . . That’s what he got for thinking about his other sister.
Mason glanced across the table at Colt as Trina and Brett pulled up their chairs, but Colt was staring at his phone like it held all the secrets of the world.
“Okay,” Wes began. He opened his laptop. “Nick called you with an update on the truck, yes?” Wes looked to Colt, who nodded.
“What exactly does ‘tampered with’ mean?” Mason asked.
Levi answered as he brushed dog hair from his jeans and shirtsleeves. “It means that someone deliberately cut the brake lines. That’s not something that happens by accident.”
Dread turned the blood in Mason’s veins to ice. His skin grew clammy.
“Someoneactuallytried to kill me?” he choked out. He really hadn’t wanted to believe it, but it was clear now that he’d been foolishly ignoring reality.
A low growl drew his attention to the other side of the table. Colt was looking at him now, but his stare was so intense the heat of it hit Mason like a bonfire. The muscles in Colt’s jaw flexed, and Mason could hear the grinding of his molars. As could everyone else at the table.
Wes and Levi exchanged a look over their brother while Mason’s sisters’ gazes bounced between him and Colt. Mason ignored all of them and shifted on his seat, fighting the need to get up and leave the room. He needed space to breathe and settle his emotions. Spinning from fear to anger to lust as though he’d been caught up in a relentless emotional tornado was exhausting.
“Yes.” Wes broke the heavy silence that had fallen over the room, regret clear in the deep rumbling tone of his voice. “Whoever is behind this has escalated beyond trying to scare you, Mason. They are actively trying to harm you now.”
“But why?”
“That’s what we’re here to find out,” Levi said.
Trina slid an arm around Mason’s back, and he leaned into her support.
“And to prevent it from happening.” Colt spoke for the first time since everyone had arrived. His voice was hard, expression determined, and his oath eased the tension in Mason’s chest. They had their issues, but Colt was there for him regardless.
“Have a look at this, and let me know if any of you have an idea who it might be.” Wes tapped his fingers over the keyboard and then turned the laptop to face Mason.
A video began to play on the small screen. It was that grainy, monotone green of night-vision recording from one of the cameras Mason had installed on the outside roof corner of the medical barn.
