Page 63 of Mason

“We had a scare last night. His blood pressure bottomed out, and the swelling came back. If it doesn’t go down, they’re going to take him into surgery.”

Angel. Angel was here.

“Jo will murder him if he dies on her.”

“Have you heard any news on your sister?”

“No. The police don’t have any new leads. Whoever took her, they’re so far under the radar, there are no traces. That’s what Detective Lang told us.”

It was one of Jo’s sisters. Jo was missing. The fucker took her. He had to wake the fuck up, and wake up now.

Pain slammed into his head when he struggled to wake up, and his breathing got uneven. He didn’t feel good. Not at all.

“What’s wrong?” the girl asked.

“I don’t know. Get the nurse now.”

More pain flooded into his head and spread.

More voices blurred together.

All his energy drained in a heartbeat, and he sank back down into the murky waters of oblivion.

***

Mason groaned and swatted at the hand on his arm. He was dead tired and didn’t want to wake the fuck up.

“Mason,moy sladkiy mal'chik, please wake up.”

Mama? She was the only one who ever called him “my sweet boy.” What was she doing here?

“Mama?” he murmured, but the words came out cracked and hoarse.

“Thank God,” she whispered, and her lips were on his forehead. “Open your eyes for Mama.”

He tried, but it was so hard.

“Come,moy sladkiy mal'chik, you can do it.”

He took in a breath and relaxed. It took him a moment, but he managed to open them a sliver, and just as fast, he closed them. The light felt like a knife slicing right through his head.

“Light,” he managed to gasp. “Hurts.”

His mother made some kind of clucking sound, which reminded him of when he was little and she’d do the same thing every time he got sick. It was just as cute now as it had been then.

“There, light is all gone.”

He attempted to open his eyes again, and she was right, the light was gone, so he blinked them fully open. But it was still fucking hard.

“There you are.” She smiled down at him, her face pale in the darkness. Maybe that was why it stood out to him so much. All that pale, white skin against the backdrop of the dark room. She looked ready to drop herself.

“Mama?”

“Yes.” She laid a hand on his cheek. “Mama is here, baby boy. Mama is here.”

What was going on? What happened to him?

“Mrs. Kincaid, we need to run a few tests. Will you step out of the room, please?”

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