1 Saved By Fate

The open road brings him peace, just a long stretch of smooth asphalt to keep him company, cruising through the mountain pass, Troy's cruiser bike hum in music to his ears until he reach his sanctuary in the hills. Coming home always brings a sense of peace to his soul even though he has been here with nothing but cricket and wildlife to keep him company, he prefer it that way.

He comes here to get away from the rat race he lives in, but if Sophie his secretary needs to reach him, she has his satellite phone.

He hasn't taken a vacation since starting Mason XI, 7 years ago, and after the last case, Sophie demanded that he takes one vacation or she was going to quit. Sophie had worked for him for 6 years, she was an angel sent from above, after five secretary storming out and calling every name in the book, she claims to tolerate him because he's just like papa, who was an XI, he was shot and killed during an investigation, and she thinks it's her duty to keep the same from happening to him.

He was only twenty-three when his own parents were murdered in their home. The scene was made to look like a random robbery, although only a few pieces of jewelry and some antiques were missing. The police said his parents came home from the country club surprising the robbers; no witness was their motto. They were bound, gagged, and shot execution-style in their bedroom. After two years of no leads and the case getting colder by the minute, He decided to go hunting himself, which led to Mason XI. With the help of his friend Jake, who is an agent with the FBI, They were able to put two thugs away for life without the possibility of parole. His dad's business partner who ordered their murder only received twenty-five to life with the possibility of parole; granted he will die in prison of old age before he ever sees that day.

His inheritance was his father's investment firm, which he didn't want. It's one of the top Fortune 500 companies in the world. Many people might think he hit a gold mine, but he's not the business suit corporate type; sitting in a stuffy office with other suits is not his idea of a dream job. His dad expected him to take over from him and was ready to train him to be his protégé, so he's sure he turned over in his grave, when he decided to sell most of his interest in the company to one of his other business partners. It was the best for all parties involved. His partner assured him that his dad's employees would remain with the company and be taken care of. The monthly residual checks from his retained interest in the firm are donated to different foundations, which were handled by his secretary Sophie.

With both his parents gone and no siblings to care for, he had put all his energy into building his cabin. With a solar system and a private well, he has everything needed to retire up here someday. At thirty-one, it won't be soon. Not because he need the money, but to keep himself from becoming a hermit.

His inheritance is enough to set him up for life and any family he leave behind; which is not in the cards for him, the family that is. He like his solitary life and only crave a woman's company for one thing; unfortunately, dollar signs have them craving so much more than he's willing to give. They only seem to want more once they realize who he is; Google has definitely not done wonders for him being the only heir to a multi-million dollar company tends to bring a lot of unwanted publicity. Since he never planned to take a wife or have any children, he thought he could splurge on his private get-away.

Two hours into his scenic drive, his private road welcomes him home. Turning off the winding, mountain, paved road onto an unkept dirt one is not what he'd normally do to his bike, but he haven't been here in six months to maintain it, so he'll just have to go slow. The sunset is amazing, at least what you can see through the trees anyway. The temperature is cooling to a comfortable 65º, much better than the humid 78º in the concrete jungle where he earn a living. Purchasing this mountain eight years ago was the best investment he'd ever made. The two hundred and fifty acres provides him the privacy he craves.

When he flip on the bike lights to show him the way through the thick evergreens up to his home, the beam highlights the dirt road up ahead, but what catches his attention is not normal for his neck of the woods. "What the hell!" Stopping his bike, he angles the headlight toward the small form. From the looks of it, a wild animal was planning on a meal, and he may have interrupted.

Holding his breath, he listen for sounds to give anyone or anything away, but the forest is eerily quiet, like it's "trying to warn him that something is out there. Hopping off, he grab his .45 from his shoulder holster and rush forward. As he get closer, he sees the crumpled and bloody body of a child lying two feet from the roadside. The long dark hair covering her face is matted with dirt, leaves, and blood. he reach down to touch a cold, bare shoulder and she moans. "Son of a bitch!" "

Her body temperature is low, and she starts to shiver uncontrollably; he need to get her inside before hypothermia sets in. As gently as he can, he picks her up and quickly moves to his bike. Trying not to move her too much, he hold her close to his body as he mount his Cruiser Harley. When he have to shift her a little so he can drive home, he glance down to see her mouth open on a silent scream. Tears stream from her eyes to mix with the coagulating blood at her temple. Considering the condition her body is in, he imagines that she's in a lot of pain, but he had to move her. It pisses him off that he's adding to her anguish, and his blood boils at what has possibly happened to this girl. he start up and heads home.