The Millionaire's Forever (Entangled Indulgence)

by Sonya Weiss

  Waiting until the coast was clear, Mason zipped his pants, tried to think thoughts that would calm his body down, and then opened the door.

  Jake and Cole were on the porch. Both looking angry as hell.

  Jake snarled, “Are we interrupting anything?”

  Because shredding Olivia’s reputation wasn’t something he had any intention of doing, Mason didn’t respond. He waved his friends in. “What the hell are the two of you doing here?”

  Without being asked, both men walked into the kitchen and took a seat on the stools. “The funny thing about an investigation is when you start investigating, people talk. So when I heard you’d had your attorney digging into Chief Carter’s life, I waited to hear from you about the results,” Jake said.

  “Not a damned word,” Cole said.

  “We know you got the report. So what was in it?” Jake demanded.

  Mason took out a bottled water, offered one to his friends, and leaned back against the counter. “Chief Carter knew less than six months into our sentence that we were innocent. He was told that it was Seth and Bobby who’d started the fire. They framed me to get back at me for kicking Seth’s ass that night. He included the two of you and Adam simply because you were my friends. Chief Carter paid the witness to continue keeping quiet.”

  Excited, Jake slapped his hand on the counter. “Then we have enough to bury his ass.”

  “We do, but we can’t move on it yet. I need a few weeks,” Mason said quietly. His words caused an instant reaction.

  Jake got to his feet, his face a mask of fury. “Tell me you’re not waiting to move on this just so you can have sex with Olivia. Did you agree not to go after her father so she’d give it up?”

  Eyes narrowing, Mason said softly, “Don’t question my integrity. Or hers.”

  “Are you still going after the land or is that on the bargaining table now as well?” Cole demanded.

  “Everything is still on,” Mason said. Before they acted, he wanted to find a way to protect Olivia from any fallout once the media found out what her father had done. Jake shook his head. “Don’t you let us down. Adam deserves justice, and we’re the only voice he’s got now.”

  …

  The next morning, after Olivia and Beth got off the call with the producer of My Dream Wedding, they couldn’t stop smiling.

  “Do you know what this means?” Beth asked, her eyes shining with joy.

  “It means the big bucks and it also means a lot of hard work.” Olivia looked over the notes she’d taken during the conversation with the producer and paused to press her fingers against her brow. She hadn’t felt well since last night and her throat felt like it was on fire. She hoped she wasn’t coming down with something.

  Doing her best to shrug it off, she said, “We’re talking about at least thirteen designs per seasons of the show.” The news was more than good. Once she signed the contract and got the advance retainer up front, she could afford to pay for her father’s care an entire year in advance. That would take so much weight off her shoulders. She sniffed and cleared her throat.

  Beth frowned. “What’s wrong?”

  “Sore throat. Probably nothing.”

  Looking guilty, Beth said, “I was around my nephew all week last week and he had strep throat. You better go get checked out. Strep isn’t something to play with. My cousin had it as a child and my aunt thought it was just a cold. It turned out to be scarlet fever.”

  “I’ll see a doctor just to be sure. I’d hate to spread that around.”

  “Since you’re so obviously incapacitated, why don’t I drive the BMW Mason leased for you and take you to the doctor?”

  “I’ll call a cab. I’m not taking anything from him. I already told him that.” Olivia’s anger flared again when she recalled his high-handed actions, and she knew it was a defense mechanism. She hated that she could still be angry with him and yet want him as much as she did.

  “You might get the cab driver sick,” Beth said.

  Olivia groaned. “You just want to drive the car.”

  Putting a hand against her chest, Beth said, “Now that hurts. I’m only thinking of you.”

  “Fine. Let me call Bonnie and get her recommendation for a doctor in the area.”

  Three hours later, Olivia had a positive strep test and a prescription for an antibiotic.

  “You don’t worry about a thing,” Beth said as she drove them back to Mason’s home. “I’ll handle the meetings and phone calls this week and then I’ll fly out with you at the end of the week for Dad Armageddon.”

  “Don’t make me laugh. I’m not an invalid, and the doctor did say that I wouldn’t be contagious once I’d been on the antibiotic for at least twenty-four hours.”

  “Maybe we should use the place Mason set up for the business. Just for the week until you’re better.”

  “No. Once I give on that issue, it’ll be too easy to give on others. Besides, I like taking care of myself. I don’t need a man to do that.”

  “Trust me, I can think of other uses you might have for Mason,” Beth said.

  So could Olivia. In great, vivid detail. “Until I get better, just hold the meetings in a conference room of one of the hotels.”

  …

  Three days later, Mason paced his office. He should feel ecstatic. Satisfied. The ball was slowly rolling. Cole and Jake were on their way to his office to pick up copies of the proof he had. So why the hell did he feel so damned twisted up inside? Like he was setting Olivia up?

  The verbal foreplay was still going on with her, but they hadn’t shared so much as a touch since the night she’d said the universe had saved her. Whatever the hell that meant. She still acted angry with him for leasing an office for her and adamantly refused to accept that or anything else from him. His glance strayed to the desk and he remembered her being splayed against it, his body pushing against hers. He wanted her, but more than that, he wanted to spend time with her. To talk with her, to laugh with her.

  “Mason, Cole and Jake are here.”

  Mason lunged for the phone like it was a lifeline. “Send them in.”

  As soon as his friends came in and settled on the sofa, Mason said, “Once we start this, there’s no backing out.”

  His friends shared a glance.

  “We have no intention of backing out,” Jake said.

  Cole hit the desk with his fist. “He’s not talking about us, he’s still talking about himself.”

  Jake’s mouth dropped open and he snapped it closed. Eyes narrowed, he said, “Please tell me you’re not about to blow this. I won’t let you. I’ve waited too long.”

  “I’m not going to blow it. Once I have a conversation with the district attorney and we give him a copy of the proof we have, an investigation will begin and it can’t be undone.” Mason ran his fingers through his hair and walked to the windows that gave him a panoramic view of Chicago.

  “That’s what we want,” Cole said. “That’s what you want, too, right?”

  Turning, Mason faced his friend. “Of course.” He pushed aside the thought of Olivia. He would do whatever he had to do to make sure that her business didn’t suffer because of him revealing her father’s past actions.

  “I don’t know what’s going on between you and Olivia, but you need to let that go,” Jake said. “Have you forgotten that she could have cleared us all and didn’t? Her silence damned us to that hell just like her father did.”

  For the quiet space of a few minutes, Mason stared at his friends. “Whether she could have cleared us or not is debatable. She doesn’t remember what happened that night.”

  “Then you should tell Olivia that you saved her from being raped,” Jake said.

  “What good will telling her now do? It won’t make a difference,” Mason said quietly.

  “You always did have a thing about protecting her,” Cole said.

  “Instead, you should have looked out for my brother,” Jake said.

  Mason inhaled sharply and he did hi
s best not to snap back in anger. “I would have died for any one of you, the same way you would have died for me. Though we weren’t related, I considered Adam my brother just as much as you did.”

  Dropping his gaze, Jake said, “You’re right. My bad.” He raised his eyes. “We’re so close to justice I can almost taste it. I don’t want anything to screw that up. I promised Adam.”

  “We all made that promise,” Mason said quietly.

  The men were silent for a moment. Mason looked at his friends, took a breath, and said, “Then it begins.” He reached for the phone.

  Chapter Eleven

  “This would be a lot easier if you’d just take Mason’s private plane,” Beth grumbled as the two settled into their seats in the coach section of their flight.

  “I could afford these tickets because I got an incredible deal on the latest shipment of material we needed. I really don’t want to take anything from Mason, so as long as I can scrape together the funds to provide what I need, I will,” Olivia said.

  “Personally, I can’t understand not taking a little something from him. After all, he upended your entire life. He should pay.” Beth gave her a look. “Don’t you think so?”

  “I don’t want anything from him.”

  “Nothing at all?”

  “Nothing.” Nothing that she should take, that’s for sure. Olivia thought about the latest near miss between her and Mason. But for the knocking at the door that night, she would have ended up sleeping with him again. While she wanted that with a terrible, unquenchable thirst, she couldn’t shake the idea of what a mistake it would be. She didn’t relish the thought of feeling more for him than she already did and ending up with him walking on her heart.

  “Still think you’re doing the right thing by flying in to talk to your father?”

  “I do think so.” Olivia nodded and leaned closer to Beth when a passenger to her left bumped an elbow against her. Again. Sure, there would have been more perks returning to Texas in Mason’s private plane, but she was afraid that giving in on one point would lead to her giving in on other issues as well. Then that would lead to her giving him her heart and him giving it back to her in pieces.

  “Do you want me to go to the rehab place with you, or do you want to go by yourself to talk to him?”

  “I’d better go alone. No use in him getting mad at you, too. I asked Larry to be there since he worked closely on the case with Dad.” She crossed her legs, wishing she’d worn something more comfortable instead of the knee-length black-and-fuchsia burlesque-print dress she’d picked out. The lining had netting to make the skirt flare and it made her itch. Either that or it was her nerves.

  “You know whatever you find out, I’m here for you, but I wouldn’t count on your father being too forthcoming,” Beth said.

  That’s exactly what worried Olivia. The more time she spent with Mason and went over what he’d said, the more she’d started doubting her father’s version of events concerning that night. She’d gotten to know Mason and had come to realize there was no way he’d lie about something like that. Yet…her father. She was torn between wanting to believe both of them. The doubts stayed with her throughout the flight, and by the time they landed in Texas and she and Beth parted ways for a while, she had a knot of dread in her stomach the size of a cantaloupe.

  Outside the rehabilitation center, Olivia debated how to approach her father. Lead up to it? Come right out and ask? She bit her lip. Her father had taught her to just get the hard stuff over with rather than letting it fester into worry. That’s what she would do then. Come right out and ask him about that night.

  Shouldering her purse, she walked into the building and headed for her father’s room. Like she’d asked, Larry was there, slouched in a chair, his eyes in a half-closed position. They snapped open when he saw her.

  Her father wouldn’t look her direction.

  Olivia seated herself in front of him and took his hand between both of hers. “How are you, Dad?”

  “Go.”

  “Not this time,” Olivia said firmly. “I want to know about the night of the fire.” When Larry let a muffled curse escape, Olivia swiveled her head toward him. “Larry, what do you know?”

  “Ah, hell, Liv. It’s better to let the past stay where it belongs. No use in stirring stuff up.”

  “Larry, I want to know what happened.” She returned her gaze to her father. “Starting with why I had bruises when I woke up after the party. I also want to know why you zeroed in on Mason as the one who started the fire.”

  A moan, filled with pain, escaped her father’s lips and Olivia swallowed, pressing on. “Please. I have to know.” When a tear slid from the corner of her father’s eye, Olivia said, “Larry, if you know something…”

  Larry nodded and scooted to the edge of the chair. “Carl, it’s time to let it all go.” Taking a breath, he said, “The night of the fire, you went to that party your daddy told you not to go to.”

  Olivia nodded. “I wanted to drown out the pain from Mom’s death.”

  Her dad rocked back and forth and Olivia’s eyebrows rose in alarm.

  Larry shook his head. “He feels terrible that he wasn’t there for you after your mom died.” Looking uncomfortable, he fidgeted with the arm of the chair. “Your father found you unconscious in your bedroom in your underclothes.”

  “So how did that lead to him assuming Mason started the fire?”

  “Seth found your daddy a few minutes after the fire started and told him that Mason left the party with you and tried to assault you. He said he and Bobby followed you home because he was worried about you. After the two of them stopped Mason from hurting you, Mason set fire to the police station in retaliation.”

  Olivia closed her eyes, then opened them. “No, he didn’t do it.” Her heart ached. “Mason was set up.”

  “The gas can had Mason’s fingerprints all over it. We didn’t find out until later that Seth had stolen it from Mason’s father.”

  Her heart racing ninety miles an hour, Olivia asked, “When did he find out the truth?”

  “Six months after the boys were sent away.”

  “He didn’t do anything?” Olivia pressed a hand on either side of her father’s face. “Dad, please, please look at me and tell me you did something to try to fix it.” Tears slipping from her eyes, she leaned her forehead against his. “Please tell me that you attempted to get Mason and his friends released.”

  “He didn’t.”

  Olivia wiped her tears. Her heart was shredded. Mason had done nothing to deserve the way he’d been treated. She couldn’t bear to think about what he’d endured. The belief that Mason was a good man had been the correct one. She could barely stand to look at her father. How could he? “You knew, Larry, and you didn’t do anything either.”

  Larry got defensive. “Carl is my friend. Do you know what would have happened if I would have told anyone?”

  “But Mason and his friends were innocent. He…he was beaten there. His friend Adam died because of a guard.”

  “There’s no proof of any of that, and that’s not what the coroner said,” Larry argued.

  “I believe that Dad got the coroner to lie for him to cover that up.”

  Larry’s mouth gaped. He looked at her father. “Carl?”

  Her father groaned, turning his head from side to side.

  “You covered up Adam’s death because you were responsible for everything that happened, weren’t you?” Olivia demanded. “You were afraid for the truth to get out. You didn’t want everyone pointing a finger at you, blaming you indirectly for Adam’s death. You wanted Mason convicted because you believed Seth, didn’t you? I couldn’t figure out why Mason was so adamant that you’d set him up.” Olivia laughed, but it was a sound without any merriment.

  Her father’s brows drew together in anger.

  “I think I figured it out. You thought Mason tried to attack me and you didn’t want me to have to face all the publicity of a trial so you thought you�
�d take care of justice in your own way. In a twisted way of trying to protect me, you crossed a line, Dad.”

  When her father didn’t respond, Larry said, “How can you choose Mason over your own father?”

  “I’ve seen the scars on Mason’s back and you know what…I believe him about Adam and about everything.” Olivia got to her feet and pressed a hand to her heart. “And I don’t for one second believe that Mason tried to assault me. He’s an honest man. Seth lied. Please, Larry. No more lies.”

  “They never admitted it, but we’re pretty sure it was Seth and Bobby who tried to attack a couple of other high school girls. Your father figured that out later.” Larry looked away.

  “Then…then Mason saved me from them that night.” Olivia blinked. “What have you all done?” She snatched her purse. “You let him rot there when he was my hero, not my attacker… I have to go…”

  She started to leave, and Larry jumped up to grab her arm. “Your father didn’t correct his mistake because the reporters would have been all over the story. It would have been a nightmare for you. Besides, just because Mason rescued you doesn’t mean he’s any good. Maybe he deserved to be in the facility for stuff he didn’t get caught doing. Maybe what happened to him was Mason’s karma.”

  “You’re wrong.” With her back to her father, Olivia said, “You have to make this right. Both of you. You owe Mason and you owe his friends. If nothing else, a public apology to clear their names.”

  When Larry didn’t answer, Olivia walked out of the room and down the hallway, her mind reeling. Minutes later, standing in the hot sun, she had no idea how she got there. Seth and Bobby. Olivia’s anger boiled. Those bastards. Rats. That explained the smirk Seth gave her when he was at her shop. If she ever saw him or Bobby again, she was going to make them sing soprano the rest of their lives.

  She paced the sidewalk. Her father had known the truth. Larry had known. They’d failed to do what they’d sworn to do. Uphold the law. They would never apologize. Never make an attempt to make amends. Somehow, there had to be something she could do to… Olivia stopped pacing.

  There was. The land. She would see a lawyer and have paperwork drawn up to give the deed of the land to Mason. It was the right thing to do, and she thought her mother would approve. Her family had wronged his.