Page 1 of Grand Love

Prologue

Mase

The smellof stale smoke wakes me.

My eyes peel open, and I wince at the lights that temporarily blind me. I close them again and swallow. My mouth is scratchy and dry, and as I push myself up into a seated position, my body gets pelted by a wave of pain. I feel battered, and that smell, it’s disgusting.

Looking around the room, I notice I’m not at home. I’m in a hotel room, and not one I’m familiar with. It’s small and dated, with curtains that hang half off the runners. The window is thrown open and I get another hit of the cigarette smoke that wafts in with the breeze.

How the fuck did I get here? I was at the club with Charlie… “Fuck!”

My palms connect with the carpeted floor, and I pull myself up and to my feet, setting the room spinning.

Patting my pockets, I find my phone and see that I have a ton of missed calls. Hundreds of missed calls. “What the fuck?”

Scarlet is at the top, and I call her first, hoping she can come to get me. I move to the door while checking I have my wallet and keys in my pockets.

“Mason! What the fuck?” she whisper-shouts down the phone.

“Scar, I’m on my way home. Is Nina pissed? I don’t know what happened.”

“Are you kidding me?”

I jog down the steps and towards the exit, waiting until I’m clear of the building before telling her, “No, I just woke up in some dingy hotel. The boys must have left me.”

“Elliot said—Fuck, Mason, we’re at the hospital. It’s Nina.”

I pause on the sidewalk, my heart in my throat as my world comes to a screeching halt. “What?”

“She’s at Rosemadden, I can’t tell you why, but you need to get here. Now.”

“She’s at the hospital?” I frown, my head pounding.

“Yes! Where are you, I will send Vinny?”

* * *

We pushthrough the double doors to the ward Vinny led me to and I’m instantly jolted back three steps. Elliot’s hand flattens on my shoulder and forces me into the corridor.

“The fuck, Montgomery!” I roar.

His chest heaves as he stands, hands on his hips, shaking his head. “You stupid fucking” —his palms connect with my chest sending me to the floor when I lose my footing— “prick!”

I tilt my head to the side as I look up at him, my eyes wild. “What the hell are you doing?”

I know he wouldn’t get this wound up over nothing, and that only makes my stomach twist tighter. Something’s wrong.

“You’ve fucked it,” he spits.

“What?” I pull myself up, looking down the corridor at the few people who are staring. “Where’s Nina?”

He grabs two handfuls of my shirt in his fists and crowds me. My annoyance at him snaps, and I shrug him off. “Stop goddamn doing that!”

“You’re not seeing her,” he tells me, adamant, making me frown. “Go home.”

“Don’t be so ridiculous.” I go to step past him, and he blocks me. “Elliot, get out of the way.”

He shakes his head, his eyes full of something heated that burns a lifetime of understanding in seconds.

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