MasonsRule-ARe (4 page)

The anticipation of their upcoming time alone had built him to an untenable crescendo. Sitting through this final meeting with Vincent was the ultimate test of his patience.
 

Mason leaned forward and met the other man's gaze. "Yeah, I'm listening."
 

"Bullshit. What's going on? First you change your plans at the last minute to make an unscheduled trip to Vegas when your family is barely clinging to what you all call normal. Now you're asking me to make some decisions for you on these investment acquisitions. You are clearly not yourself."

"Sure I am. You said yourself it would be at least two weeks before any movement on Miss Lewis's legal case. I'll be back before that. Putting some distance between me and my brothers would probably be a good thing at this point." Plus he needed to find some clarity on how to handle the growing family.
 

"Uh-huh. You aren't usually this eager to travel. What's up?"

"I signed a contract with Rebecca Adams yesterday. I’m clearing my schedule for the next few days leading up to the trip." He didn't plan on mentioning this little nugget to Vincent quite yet, but there it was.
 

Silence stretched between them as his friend sat back in his chair and stared deep in thought. This wasn't the first time he and Vincent had gone through this. When one said something the other either didn't like or didn't know what to do with, they both measured their thoughts before replying. It's why they were able to work together all these years.
 

"I'm surprised this is the first I'm hearing of it. Usually you have me vet
all
of your contracts."
 

The look in Vincent's eye didn't quite hit the disapproval level, but it was close.
 

"Not that I have a duty to answer to you, but I used the template you created. And I only made a couple of minor changes, so you don't have anything to worry about."

"Changes?"
 

"All the standard Dom and submissive stuff as usual."

"But?"

"I agreed to an interview with her." Mason leaned back in his chair and waited for the explosion. With his private plans to dismantle Lewis Global and the potential for a murder trial that might finally crack open the last of their family secrets — and force him to take drastic measures — a nosy reporter was the last thing he needed. Unless he influenced the outcome.
 

"You did what?" Vincent grabbed his temples. "It's too early in the day for this shit, Mason. At least tell me I have standard pre-approved access to her interview questions."

Mason shrugged. "It doesn't really matter at this point. Things are unraveling quicker than you can put them back together again."

"We still have to be careful no one puts anything out there that could hurt Tucker's mother. If the police bring criminal charges against her, this is going to be a shit storm of epic proportion and your brother isn’t the only one who will feel the fall out."

Mason worried about Nina above all. His sister was there that night. Covered in blood. Hard to believe after all these years, after the case involving his father's suspicious death had turned cold, something sparked Mrs. Lewis’s odd confession.
 

"And has anyone made progress in discovering why Savannah decided to shock the world after all these years with her public confession that she punished her husband?" He still couldn't believe she'd gone from catatonic in a psychiatric facility to a lucid grieving wife in sixty seconds. It was a little too much like his own mother's Jekyll and Hyde theatrics for comfort.
 

"Not yet. The criminal attorney I brought in says she's still refusing to talk to him. But Tucker is working on her. Thanks to some favors, we have some time to work on her before her case moves forward."

Mason stood and walked over to the window. From the twenty-first floor of his building, the city almost sparkled in the blazing Carolina sunshine. "And that is why I've decided to take this meeting myself. With any luck, this will be the last piece we need in securing the outside investments we need to buffer this family for said coming storm."

"Board members are already grumbling about public perception."

"Of course they are. The backbone of this business was built on a righteous religious platform created by that bastard." He wasn't about to add the word father. He'd never call him that.

Ever
.
 

"His suspected murder all those years ago cemented his persona of revered religious leader. Now that his wife has all but confessed to the crime and spoken out against him... Well, we both know the truth of what kind of evil he hid from the world will not go down easy. Six months from now, Lewis Global is going to be in ashes after the pitchfork carriers come calling. They will be hell bent on tearing this place down. With any luck we’ll be long gone."

Mason didn't want to think about the events surrounding his sperm donor's life or death, but with the recent turn of events he couldn't avoid it. The convoluted bullshit that man pulled in the name of religion sickened him. His need to spread his seed was neither righteous nor revered. If not for the company he’d left behind, and the trust Tucker’s mother set up, a lot of children would have suffered.

He'd come to terms with the fact he didn't give a shit who killed the man a long time ago. What troubled him were the memories of Nina that never went away. Grief-stricken and covered in blood when they'd found her that night. The dead man under her hands meant little to him then or now. But he feared whatever happened that night would forever taint his sister, whether she wanted to face it or not.

"You and your family have more than enough outside assets now to weather just about anything. Why worry about Vegas personally? It can be handled just as easily with a video conference."

"Because I'm taking Rebecca with me." And he couldn't stop imagining what he'd do with her once he got her there. They'd have the ultimate private playground to act out all of her wildest fantasies, or his.
 

"That's different."

He turned back to the table and met Vincent's gaze. "I know. But right now I don't care. It is what it is."

"She doesn't strike me as someone who's uh...into your tastes. At least not the harder edge of them."

"She might not be. She's practically a virgin."

"Are you kidding? How do you know?"

"I didn't have her investigated if that's what you're getting at. I'm going with my gut and experience this time. I've been observing her in the club and while she might have come here with a different agenda, she's got a hunger I haven't seen in a long time. It's so ripe I can smell it."

"It's her other agenda I'm worried about. If I didn't know you as well as I do, I'd fear you were being played."

"I'm definitely not blind when it comes to her intentions. She wants a juicy story, that's for sure. But there's more. Lots more. I can feel it."

"Maybe I should take a peek at her background. Make sure there isn't something we should know about."

Mason shrugged again. "I know you're going to do what you think you have to no matter what I say. But I don't think my gut is wrong. Walking into Purgatory changed her."

Vincent laughed. "Of course it did. Purgatory changes everyone."

"Smart ass. You were a kinky fucking bastard long before you walked through those doors. We just gave you an outlet."

"And that's exactly my point. If you aren't careful, you could put this club and what you've built at risk. I'm not sure all the members are willing to be dragged through any public messes along with your family. Most of them don't even know you have family, other than your mother and stepfather."

"I hear you, Vincent. Loud and clear. You're just going to have to trust me. Rebecca is different. Have I ever steered you wrong before?"

"All the damn time."

"It's called keeping you on your toes, Knight. Now let's go over these Vegas contracts before I head out for my next meeting. I’m serious about clearing my schedule this week so I can take that trip."

"I wouldn't have minded getting a first-hand look at these sweet rooms." Victor opened the folder that contained color photographs of the entire property, including the level of private suites specifically designed for the rich and kinky.

When one of them caught his eye, he picked it up and handed it to Victor. "I want this one for the entire week."

"Then I'll arrange it. I just hope you know what you're doing with the reporter. This situation makes me nervous."

Mason laughed. "Everything I do makes you nervous. You like everything neat, orderly and in its place. I've been waiting for more than a decade for that to happen and I think we both have to accept it isn't in the cards. This family is fucked up and it's about time to learn to live with it instead of change it."

"Impulsive trips to Vegas don't help." Vincent handed him a thick stack of documents. "You'll want to get these signed while you're there. Everything is marked for you."

Mason took the papers and nodded. "Not impulsive, Vincent. Decisive. I've given this contract with Rebecca a lot of thought. It's the best way to get it out of my system so we can get back to the important issues at hand."

Vincent smirked. "If that's what you think this is, then I wish you luck. You're going to need it."

Friend or not, Vincent was starting to get on his nerves. "I don't even want to know what you mean by that. Is there anything else I need to know before I leave?"

"Use protection."
 

Mason shoved from behind his desk and stood. "You're fucking hilarious. It's a good thing I don't have the patience to find a new attorney. One who doesn't feel compelled to share his opinions on my personal life."

Vincent smiled. "You just want everyone to agree with you."
 

"Damn right."
 

Vincent shrugged. "People in hell want ice water too. Guess you'll have to suck it up when I tell you to be careful."

"Duly noted." Not that his attorney's warnings changed a damned thing.
 

"Call me if you need anything before next week. If you change your mind, I’d be happy to go."
 

“I’m sure you would.” Mason nodded as Vincent spun on his heels and disappeared through the doorway.
 

He didn't really blame his friend for being cautious. If the circumstances were reversed and Vincent wanted to get involved with someone who had questionable motives, he'd be all over his ass. Not that it mattered at this point. He made a contractual commitment to the lovely Miss Adams and he'd move heaven and Earth to honor his word. He only hoped it didn't come back to bite him in the ass.
 

The phone on his desk buzzed pulling him from his thoughts. "Mr. Sinclair, your driver is here."

He pressed the intercom button. "Thanks, I'll be right out." He gathered all the paperwork Vincent left with him and pushed it into his briefcase. As much as he wanted this trip to be all about Rebecca, he couldn't ignore the pending purchase or expansion this meant for Purgatory. He had to find a way to mix both business and pleasure, with an emphasis on pleasure. Mason locked the file drawer of his desk and slid his keys into his pocket. First he had to get to the airport and then he'd start the next phase of his plan.

He only hoped she was ready as she claimed to be.

* * *

Rebecca stared down at the small bag she packed, and fear gripped her insides. What the hell was she doing?

Her plan when coming to Charlotte had nothing to do with getting laid by a kinky gazillionaire or jetting off to some unknown location for a lurid tryst. She rubbed her stomach and hoped the burning would go away soon. But she signed that damned contract and given her word, and the idea of going back on that now made her almost as sick as the plan to go through with it. One obsession was unhealthy enough, now she was perilously close to having two. Her tiny one-bedroom apartment was closing in on her.
 

She grabbed an extra role of Tums from the shelf and plucked one from the package before dropping them into her purse. Maybe she had lost her mind, maybe she hadn't, but the anxiety in her stomach appeared to be real. In case things got worse, she also slipped the prescription bottle for Xanax into her bag. Better to be prepared than to embarrass herself further with a total freak out halfway to wherever the hell they were going. Stomach acid and anxiety. Wasn't she a fount of sexiness at the moment?
 

Thankfully, her sex appeal wasn't the highest item on her priority list. While that contract had been all about sex with a little deal on the side for an interview, a lot more was at stake for her. Would it be enough for her to finally put her sister's death behind her? Or was she about to lose everything thanks to a few too many nights in Purgatory?
 

She reached for the closet door and pushed it closed behind her so she could see the back of it again. She set up everything here about her sister's murder case for this reason: to remind her every day of her goal. She had to stay on task. There, in vivid color and grainy black and white, were the images of her suspects. Mason Sinclair, Levi Hawkins, Tucker Lewis and Gabe Michaels. Over time she'd loosely connected all four men, starting with their days in college. Not that they made it easy. Since their good old college days, there contact was limited to financial transactions and a few get-togethers at either Purgatory or the adjacent restaurant, Fire and Ice. Infrequent enough that most people wouldn't notice, but enough for her to establish a subtle pattern.