Best Wishes & Mending Fences
I am half in love with Mason already. He's just so much fun. Thanks, Terri!--Maer
Tuesday, 09 Aug 2011
Caroline’s Brownstone
Mason opened the front door to Irina's knock and eyed the investigator with a hooded gaze. He'd not forgotten the altercation in the hospital garden... and his stance was balanced evenly, as if this time around she wouldn't be getting the blind hit. His jaw was tight. "Caroline's resting in the family room," he informed her, stepping back to allow her entrance. "Go on through." He pointed the way down the hall toward the comfortably furnished room where Caroline lounged on the couch.
Irina swept him with a glance and gave him a solemn smile and a nod. "Thank you." After all, he didn't have to let her in. He had significant inches and pounds over her if it came to a fight and she could tell there'd be no getting the drop on him as she'd had the other night. Not that she had any intention to. She'd said her piece. What he did with it was up to him and from what she could see, he might have actually listened. She passed inside and turned as he shut the door. "How've you been holding up?"
Caroline wasn't the only injured party and Irina was still keenly aware how disorienting it could be to have one's reality so thoroughly twisted around. She herself was still dealing with it.
His blue eyes on her remained cool. "Well as can be expected," came his response. He paused at the hallway, his Southern manners not allowing him to precede her through the hallway. Not to mention right about now he wasn't sure he trusted her at his back either. "It ain't what I was expectin'," he conceded. "But it is what it is." He waited for her to go down the hall.
"That's the truth," Irina said and since the man was clearly waiting for her to go first, she went. She took the hallway to the rear of the building, where the family room lay with its tall French windows overlooking the garden. The sun shone and sparkled on the freshly watered plants outside and the light off the droplets was dazzling. This late into the season, the summer flowers were approaching their last hurrah but someone had set out potted mums on the veranda steps. Irina fleetingly wondered if whoever had set them there had known the hidden meaning behind them: rest, ease, long life, and happiness.
It also means death. At least they're not white. That would be doubly ill-omened.
Irina spied Caroline on the couch facing the garden and she gave her friend a smile. "Hey," she said. "Feeling better?"
Caroline's head came around as Mason escorted Irina into the family room and she smiled slightly. "Irina, it's good of you to stop in. I'm doin' just fine, thank you so much." The drawl in her tone was deeper, perhaps a touch slower even than usual, a sign of fatigue perhaps. Her eyes came up to Mason's and lingered there.
His fingertips brushed her cheek and he told them, "I'll bring in some tea. Y'all enjoy your visit." He slipped out of the room on silent feet, giving Irina the glimpse of a holster at the back of his waistband. He'd apparently been expecting trouble... or perhaps was just that much on edge himself.
Caroline watched him go and then her eyes came back to Irina. "I understand you spent a good deal of time at the hospital. You didn't have to do that, but I appreciate it greatly."
Irina looked aside at Mason's caress, giving the couple what privacy she could. You'd have to be blind as a bat not to see how much he loves her. Or that gun, either. Good. It might not stop a vamp, but it's better than nothing. When Mason moved away, she said, "I couldn't do less. I just wish I could have done more."
"Not much more anyone could have done," Caroline agreed easily. "Unless it was move fast enough not to make me nearly die for something that wasn't even remotely required." She rolled her eyes expressively. "I understand after the fact that Zadie had the matter well in hand, but... well, I'll consider it a lesson well learned." She smiled and gestured for Irina to go ahead and sit as Mason brought a tray back in with a pitcher of cold sweet tea and two tall glasses full of ice. He left the women to their discussion, heading back toward the kitchen table once more. "He's workin'," Caroline explained. "Tryin' to reschedule the Elvii for a concert series." She clears her throat. "It weirds him out to learn that they're... what they are."
Irina took the seat offered, relieved and humbled by Caroline's response. Despite what she knew of Caroline, Irina also knew that everyone had their limits and she didn't know where Caroline drew hers. Mason's, on the other hand, were pretty clear.
"I suspect that's not all that's weirding him out, but I'm willing to help wherever I can. I've been looking into how it's all supposed to work because, after all, I'm in the same boat as he is. We're both going to need to know the ropes." Irina poured the tea to spare Caroline getting up and handed her a glass.
Caroline takes the filled glass, shifting her weight to settle more curled up against the arm of the couch. "There are a great many things about this life that all of us have yet to learn," she admitted quietly. From beneath her lashes she studied Irina and added, "I'd have to say that part of what we need to teach you is how to get along in the South without gettin' your head removed from your neck by some vampire who is far older and requires different manners than you're used to." She smiled, taking any sting out of the words. "He's bound and determined that we'll make the best of it all."
"Yes," Irina said fervently. "I do. He does. We will. The alternative is not an option." She sipped her tea and wondered if part of that education would be learning to accept an extra 10 pounds from all the sugar she'd be imbibing on a daily basis. Well, darlin', when in Rome ... Besides, it's just good manners to smile and suck it down.
"Speaking of which, have you set the date?" Irina nodded at Caroline's ring glinting in the light from the garden. "If you're making a future together, that's a good place to start."
"I haven't wanted to talk about that as yet," Caroline admitted. "But... soon." The word held a tone that said it might be closer to "tomorrow" than "the end of the year." She paused and then commented, "My mama's goin' to be a handful on this, but I'd like to be married before I get pregnant, and well...." She blushed. "It seems as if we're suddenly in a hurry for that, too." Her lips quirked in a grin.
"I'm sure." Irina dropped her gaze even as she answered Caroline's grin with one of her own. From what she'd seen of Mary Alice Thibideaux when she sat watch at the hospital, Irina privately reckoned Caroline would be more successful—and enjoy—accomplishing the last than exerting any control over the first. Aloud, she merely said, "I wish you all the best."
Caroline laughed quietly at the well wishes. "I'm not entirely certain how to take being wished well with ... carnal pastimes," she admitted, more than a little amused. She took a long breath and laid her head back against the couch. "Lord, Irina.... life is so much more complicated now," she murmured tiredly.
"And I won’t complicate it further by wearing you out." Irina put her sweet tea down and rose to give Caroline a careful hug. Her friend was warm and solidly alive but recent events brought home how fragile life could be. "Do you need Mason to get you anything? I can tell him on my way out." She actually wanted to do a little fence-mending with the man, but there was no need to make Caroline anxious by telling her. If things worked out, there wouldn’t be a ruckus. If they didn’t, Caroline find out soon enough and for the sake of her friend’s peace of mind, Irina wanted to keep the complications to a minimum until then.
"No," Caroline replied, and then hugged Irina in return. "I'll see you in a day or two, then." She offered a tired smile and set her own glass down on the low table, scooting lower into the sofa to close her eyes for a nap.
"I'll see you then," Irina affirmed and slipped away to the kitchen. Separated from the rest of the room by custom cabinets and a marble breakfast bar, it offered Mason the perfect place to watch everything unobtrusively and remain nearby. Sure enough, she found him by the pantry, leaning against the counter and keeping a keen eye on Caroline. The aroma of coffee met Irina's nose and she spied the cup he held at his hip. She took one measured step inside, met his gaze and said softly, "If there's any more coffee, I would really appreciate some."
Pursing his lips slightly, the man pushed off the counter and turned. There was already a cup waiting for her on the marble counter top, all he had to do was fill it. He did so and passed her the cup with his free hand, then resumed his casual pose against the counter this time with his arms across his torso and the cup at his elbow. "She's still pretty fragile. More emotionally and physically drained than actually injured," Mason told her calmly. "Moody. To be expected I'm told, but ..." His blue eyes studied her. "Watchin' her cry about tears my guts out, frankly." He sipped his coffee. "You got something brewin' in that head of yours, spit it out," he said, the tone not so much a request as an order. Their last meeting didn't go so well.
Irina cut a glance past the bar to Caroline and saw she was asleep. Or maybe she's faking it and eavesdropping. Or she would be, if she could hear. Caroline had said that Evangeline claimed she could restore her hearing. Irina resolved to ask Renny about it the next time she saw him. That's for later, DiSanti. Deal with what's in front of you first. Mason's waiting.
"I owe you an apology for the other night. Since Miz Hardin has recruited me to keep an eye on her granddaughter, she feels it would be best if you and I were on better terms than at present." She sipped her coffee, using the pause to let her words sink in. The brew was bitter but no more so then the obligation she'd shouldered: spinning a web of lies and half-truths in service of a secret, protecting the lives of people she cared for and staying one step ahead of beings far more powerful than she. If Cecilia Hardin ever found out the truth, what would she do? It was an errant thought, but an arresting one. Irina firmly put it away in a file marked ‘Later’ and turned back to the task at hand. She set her cup aside and leaned against the counter and looked at him.
"I should have found a better way to get my point across but the point remains: you have to be careful about what you say and do where it involves vamps. As a ghoul, you have to keep the secret and not do anything to discredit the vamp you're Bonded to. That would be Zadie but because you are publically acknowledged as Caroline's fiancé and she’s Bonded to Evangeline, that makes things more complicated. Evangeline's second only to the Prince and she's got an image and status to maintain. Anything that involves Evangeline involves Eliza, too. And they're a combination you do not want looking your way in anger. Aside from bringing down their displeasure on your head, do you really want to bring it down on some unsuspecting civilian who overheard something you said which they later mentioned where they shouldn't? I wanted to tell you this at the hospital but I couldn't. There were too many innocents around for it to be safe. For them or for us. And for the record, I didn't bring Caroline into any of this. I was brought in via a different party and unrelated to anything involving Caroline. Jesus, but that was a helluva wake-up call."
She sighed, picked up her coffee, and stared at the garden off the family room, her teeth worrying at her bottom lip. Should I tell him? Why not? What would it hurt? Her voice was quiet when she spoke, as if to herself than to anyone who might be listening.
"You know, I've walked in the presence of some pretty bad shit. Prison wards. Gangs. Mob. Rapists. None of them felt as deadly as a room full of vampires with the full knowledge that I was nothing but a mortal." Irina cut a look at him. "Being a ghoul gives you an edge, Mason. Accept it. Hone it. Use it. If you think Caroline's vulnerable now, what do you think will happen to her if you end up dead?"
To his credit, Mason listened to her speak her entire piece silently. His blue eyes were cool on her but not overly hostile. He'd already had a few days to sort out his thoughts on this matter, and after speaking with Zadie there were certain things he already understood. "Don't you worry about Caroline, Irina -- she's a hell of a lot tougher than you think," he murmured. "And now that she's got me, Cord, and you... I'm thinkin' she's likely to be one of the best protected ghouls in this town." He smiled faintly and it wasn't a pleasant one. "Makes you wonder what'll happen when they turn her, don't it?"
He let her stew about that and softened his tone. "The fact that you were doin' what you were doin' to protect Caroline is the only reason I didn't put you through the hospital's retaining wall that night." Mason paused. "That an' the fact that I was raised not to hit a girl." He eyed her. "You ever pull that butch dyke shit on me again, and that last part won't hold anymore." The warning was stated in the most matter-of-fact tone -- he was merely giving her fair warning. "You an' I'll rub along just fine long as her safety is your priority."
"Fair enough," Irina said, heeding his warning. She stuck out her hand for a shake, wanting the press of flesh and bone to seal the deal.
He took her hand, shaking it firmly. And then Mason smiled faintly. "You're a piece of work, DiSanti," he muttered.
"You're not too shabby yourself," Irina said, returning the smile. She picked up her coffee. "What do you know about grenade launchers?"
Mason blinked owlishly over the rim of the cup he'd just raised to take a swallow from. He managed not to choke on the mouthful. "Grenade launchers?" he asked, flummoxed. "Enough to know that putting one in your hands could be right deadly for someone and I ain't entirely sure who." There was a pause. "Why?"
"Fire. It's one of the things that vamps can’t heal instantaneously. It hurts them and it slows them down. You were there, Mason. You know just how fast they are and how useless bullets are against them. If I'm ever going to mix it up at a vamp party again, I need to hit them hard and from a distance. A grenade launcher loaded with flares should do the trick." Irina sipped her coffee, her voice quiet and her eyes narrow as she stared at the garden. "Imbed the flare in their bodies where they can't dig them out and watch them burn."
Damn. Mason.... could almost like this woman. Butch dyke and all. He chuckled and shook his head. "I like the way you think," he commented. "I'll see if I can get my hands on such a thing, but I ain't promisin' nothin'."
"Thanks. I wanted to pitch that idea past you, see what you thought." Irina drained her cup and set it aside, her voice steely as she continued. "I was a cop for seven years. I've been a ghoul for a week and a half. There's damned little overlap. I need new tactics and I need them fast to protect my friends and survive. Otherwise there's no point in trying and I should let the vamps kill me."
"Well, I'm thinkin' that goin' whole hog on the grenade launcher idea might be overkill," Mason replied mildly. His grin was cheeky. "But I guess I might like you a little more'n I thought if that's the way you're thinkin'," he admitted.
"It is," Irina nodded. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him more, but caution made her reconsider. Her competitive nature disliked showing weakness and she wasn't entirely convinced Mason's trust could weather the revelation that she could not be ghouled, that she lacked the advantages of the blood that Bonding conferred. Aloud she said, "Right now I'm taking stock of what works and what doesn't, where I can improve on things. I also need a permanent place to live. I can't stay in the B&B forever. Too risky." She shrugged. "Maybe Zadie and Granma Willi can take me in. Their wards make it a safe place to sleep at night. Speaking of which, are you and Caroline thinking of installing those here?"
He didn't even have to stop to consider. "Absolutely. For right now, I think we're safe enough. But when Caroline gets pregnant, she's going to need all the cover she can get," Mason said. And it wasn't an 'if' she gets pregnant, it was a very definite 'when.' He wasn't messin' around, he was tying the woman to him as quickly as humanly possible. In every way he could find -- legal, physical, emotional. "Might want to think about a flamethrower -- it might work better."
"Maybe. I thought of that. There's more collateral damage, though. I'm not that big a fan of arson. Too many homes have burned down already." She paused and pictured it in her head, thinking back to the beers she'd shared after hours with SWAT officers over the years. "Besides, it's too visible at night. I might as well take out a neon sign saying here I am. Muzzle flash on something like an M32 is minimal. Still ... for those locations where I have more room, a flamethrower would be nice."
Mason laughed at her. He couldn't help it. "You shoulda been an infantry guy," he told her. It was a form of compliment, but perhaps a little backhanded. He'd never met a woman so much like a guy in his life.
"Thanks," Irina breathed a laugh. "That's the nicest thing anyone's said to me all week. So …" She quirked a brow at him. "You packin'?" She knew he was, having glimpsed his piece earlier, but she was hoping he’d pull it out and show her.
Those laser-bright blue eyes came back to her and Mason's tone was mild. "If you didn't already know the answer, you wouldn't have asked the question. And yes, I have a concealed carry permit for it." He reached behind him and pulled the Glock 9mm from the base of his spine, his fingers nowhere near the trigger as he laid it on the counter for her to see.
It was the compact variant of the Glock 19, the same as what she currently carried. Suppressing a grin, she unholstered hers and put it on the counter beside his. "I have a SIG that I alternate with but this is my everyday gun. Got fond of this model back on the force. Do you have any recommendations as to a decent shooting range in Natchez? I confess I've been too busy of late to hunt one down. I need to find one. I'm getting rusty."
He retrieved his and put it back in his waistband with an economy of motion that spoke to regular use. Mason smiled faintly. "Davy's out on the east end of town is good. And he won't ask any questions either. Tell him I sent you." Growing up on the other side of the tracks had its advantages.
"Davy's it is. Thanks," Irina nodded, checking the safety and holstering her piece at her back. She tugged her linen jacket straight to hide the grip. She eyed his arms next, gauging their tone with a flick of a glance before leaning against the counter again. "You do any boxing?" she asked. He was in good shape and she was willing to bet he jogged regularly too. Watch it, DiSanti. You're damned near flirting and he's a married man. Or will be soon.
Setting his coffee cup down on the counter, Mason eyed her. He wasn't stupid in the ways of women and their flirtations. But there were certain things that he wouldn't entertain -- or ignore. "I box," he admitted. His forearms and hands gave him away. "Also do a bit of kickboxing. And I'll happily take you shooting and spar with you." The unspoken words and nothing else were tagged to the end, and he was quite sure she'd see them as if they were written in neon. Unless she was entirely clueless -- in which case, he'd tell her in no uncertain terms.
"Thought so," Irina added, her tone acknowledging the unspoken caveat as well. He'd learn soon enough that she wasn't interested in him that way. "Name a day you're free and I'll meet you then. And thank you, I appreciate this."
Mason nodded slightly. "I'll get back to you on it," he told her. "I want to make sure she's stable before I'm out of the house." His eyes slipped toward the family room where Caroline was sleeping, his lips quirking into a faint smile. "If you don't mind sittin' with her down here for a little bit, I could use the time to get some work done, though."
"Sure thing." Irina pushed off the counter, pulled out her cell phone, and held it up. "Trade numbers? I'll put yours on speed dial so I can call you if something happens with Caroline." Getting Mason’s number on her cell phone took fifteen seconds and less than a minute later, Irina was settled in a comfy chair in the family room watching Caroline sleep.
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