Chapter 19

 

Mason pulled into the police station, relieved to see his brother’s cruiser parked in its usual spot. He needed advice—advice only a Sheriff could give him. He put the truck in park and headed into the free-standing building.

His nerves had been on high alert ever since yesterday when Cassie came home looking visibly shaken. His heart had dropped into his stomach as he scanned her up and down, trying to make sure all of her was intact and safe.

Martha, Matt’s dispatcher/secretary, greeted Mason with a smile as he walked in. She had been doing this job for twenty plus years, and never thought twice about reminding Matt of this fact whenever they had a difference of opinion. Mason loved the woman for how she handled his by-the-rule-book brother, and how she refused to change her ways no matter how much he insisted. She got away with it because she was efficient in her job, and she was a damn hard worker.

“He in his office?” Mason asked as he moved passed her.

“Hello to you, too. So nice to see you again,” Martha said with sarcasm dripping on every word. “I’m lovely. Thanks for asking.”

“Sorry, Martha. You know it’s always a pleasure to see you. I just really need to see Matt. It’s urgent.”

“Why didn’t you say so? He’s back there drowning under a stack of paperwork. Just go right on in.”

“Thanks.” Mason hurried around Martha’s desk and went right to Matt’s office. He didn’t bother to knock as he flung the door open and stepped inside, grateful that code for “a lot of paperwork” didn’t really mean he was sexing up his wife. Mason found relief when Shay was nowhere to be found, and Matt really was staring at his computer screen.

Matt looked up, eyes glossy from too many hours behind that screen, and sat back in his chair. “Well, this is an unexpected surprise.”

“Can we talk?” Mason asked, and he had a feeling he looked a little deranged since Matt didn’t make a joke or question him just waved his hand to the chair that sat on the other side of his desk.

Mason shut the door and sat down in the chair, tapping his fingers on his knee nervously. Matt eyed him intently, then stepped out from behind his desk and leaned against the front of it, arms crossed over his chest. “What’s going on?”

“You were right about Cassie having a past.”

“Go on.”

“It wasn’t her. I mean, she didn’t break the law or anything.” Mason ran a hand over his face, trying to calm himself enough to gather his thoughts. He needed to stay levelheaded so he and Matt could fix this. He needed to fix this. There was no way he’d be able to sleep at night if he knew Cassie was in danger. He wanted to make sure he could do everything in his power to protect her. To keep her far away from that bastard.

Mason took a deep breath and swallowed down the rising emotion. “She was in an abusive relationship,” he finally said, the words hanging in the air like an ugly black cloud. He pushed forward. “The guy beat her. Controlled her. She was living down at Turtle Creek because when they were here during bike week, he beat her so bad she finally left him. Except she had nowhere to go, and she needed to hide so he couldn’t find her. Anyway, she’s pretty sure the bastard went home to Florida, but the other day I got to her place, and she wasn’t there. She had gone for a hike, so I waited. When she came back she looked panicked. Scared. Not like herself. I questioned her, at first she blew me off, but dammit man I knew something was off. You know when you just know?”

Matt nodded, making Mason feel like he hadn’t lost his damn mind. There was more, and Mason spent the next twenty minutes relaying the rest of the story to Matt, trying not to let his emotions overtake his words. He needed to get everything out so Matt knew exactly what was going on. Mason was desperate to keep that piece of shit as far away from Cassie as possible, and the only person who could help was standing in front of him.

There were few times in his life when he needed his big brother, but when he did, Matt never disappointed. He was always there for him. Mason only hoped that he could be there for him again. Tell him exactly what he had to do in order to keep Cassie safe, because if something happened to her… He didn’t even want to think it.

“I’ll put a picture up here at the station. If any of my officers see him in town we’ll take care of it. But she really should file a restraining order. Without it we’re limited to what we can do.”

“She’s afraid if she does he’ll be able to find her.”

“Then we can arrest him for violating the order.”

“No, she’s not using herself as bait. I won’t allow it.” There had to be another way. He wasn’t about to let Cassie dangle herself out there in hopes that this abusive bastard would come for her. No way in hell. He would not allow her to subject herself to that, nor would he allow a chance for that asshole to slip through the cracks and get to her. There had to be another way.

“We can fill out all the necessary paperwork and get a hearing scheduled,” Matt said, and Mason’s hope began to dwindle.

This wasn’t the answer he had been hoping for. He didn’t know what exactly he was hoping for, maybe a damn miracle, but it sure as hell wasn’t this.

“Since he is out of state we have two options,” Matt continued. “Serve him the papers through a courier service, or we can post an announcement in his local paper. Even if he doesn’t see it, it’s still considered being served. That way, there is absolutely no contact with him, and we can hope that he doesn’t see it. Without the restraining order, she’s not protected. If she files, and he ever steps foot in this town, I will have him arrested in a heartbeat. Without it, we have no legal ground to stand on. I can have my deputies harass him for speeding or suspicion, but I won’t be able to stop him for long. If he comes here looking for Cassie, and she doesn’t have an order of protection, there’s only so much I can do. Legally.”

“Maybe he’ll never come here. I mean I’d like to think that he’s done with her.”

Matt shook his head and then looked at Mason with that bigger brother stare that Mason hated. He knew whatever he was about to say was serious. “I’d like to think that, too, but we have to be realistic here. A guy like that will look at this like a game, and right now she’s winning. It’s only a matter of time before he tracks her down and regains control.”

“Fuck,” Mason said, running a hand over his face like that could wash away this damn nightmare.

“It sucks, I know, but it’s all you have. Get her to file the paperwork, and I’ll get the hearing moved up. The faster it’s done the better.”

“I’ll talk to her.”

“Don’t just talk to her, convince her.”

“If it was up to me, I would throw her over my shoulder and bring her here myself, but she’s been through so much. I can’t demand things from her. She needs to have the control.”

“I get that, and you’re a good guy for realizing it, but sometimes you have to cross a line in order to protect the ones you love. So, if you two get in a fight about it, remember that you’re doing it to protect her. She might not understand now, but one day, she might be grateful to you for making her do this.”

Mason leaned back in the chair, his mind going in a million directions. If he forced the issue, he could lose her, but if he didn’t, he wouldn’t be the only one who might lose her. Her life was more important, and when push came to shove, he would do what he had to do to get her to file the damn report.

“I could kill the son of a bitch,” Mason finally admitted. “I swear to god if he ever shows his face in my town I won’t hesitate.”

“As your brother, as someone who is married and has a kid on the way, I get it. I do. Probably more than anyone else. But as the Sheriff, I am begging you to let us handle it.”

“I can’t make any promises.”

“Mason,” Matt said as Mason stood from the chair and headed to the door. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

He stopped and turned back to his brother. “I will do whatever it takes,” he said, then walked out before Matt could get in another word.