MasonsRule-ARe (25 page)

“You’re not going after her?”

Mason whirled to Maggie. “No, I’m not going after her and I’m terminating her contract. Getting involved with her was a big fucking mistake.” He nearly choked on the words getting them out. But the red haze of anger of her leaving him settled in.

“That’s cold even for you.”

“Maggie.” Tucker grabbed her arm and pulled her away from Mason. “Enough.”

“What? He’s being an asshole and someone needs to call him on it.”

“Maybe I am. But I think after waking up to find out my submissive is not who I thought she was and that she tricked me somehow into marrying her gives me the right to be the asshole.”

“You married her? When the hell did that happen?” Tucker asked, looking as shocked as he felt when he found the paperwork on his desk.

“Oh shit.”

Both men turned to look at Maggie.
 

“I think I screwed up.” She looked ready to cry.

“What the hell does that mean?” Mason’s patience was wearing thin.

“Maggie, sugar. What did you do?”

They both blurted their questions at the same time.

“I just wanted to get you both thinking about what I was already seeing. If you both thought you were married, it would make you see how right you really were for each other without that bullshit contract holding you both back.”

“I’m not married to Rebecca?”

She shook her head. “That certificate is just a souvenir replica I purchased in a gift shop. It’s totally fake.”

He turned to Tucker. “Your wife needs a leash.”

“Agreed.”

“That still doesn’t make up for Rebecca’s lies.”

“What does that mean? What did she lie about?”

“I thought she wanted this contract because she was writing a story on me. I was wrong. Miss Adams was fired from her job weeks ago and. as it turns out, Rebecca Adams is not her real name either. It's Becca Gunnarson.”

He waited for that shocker to sink in, when it did he watched Tucker pale. “As in—”

“Yep, her sister was Cyndi Gunnarson.”

“Who’s Cyndi Gunnarson?” Maggie asked.

“Sorry, Tuck. But you’re on your own with this one. We need to get home and take care of Nina. Then when she’s settled, I’ll hunt down Rebecca. She has some explaining to do.”

When he turned to go find his phone, Tucker grabbed his arm. “Does she have somewhere to go? Last I heard, her entire family was gone.”

Some of the blood drained from Mason’s face. Knight mentioned something about her being homeless and he forgot all about it.

Fuck.

***

Rebecca shook two anxiety pills from her prescription bottle and prayed they were enough to get her through this flight. When Mason accused her of tricking him into marriage, everything hopeful inside her died.
 

That meant she was out. No driver. No private plane. And no more Mason. It took half her savings to purchase a last minute one-way flight in coach, but it was worth suffering a little claustrophobia to avoid another confrontation with Mason.

If they were legally married he could have his attorney contact her with annulment papers once she got back on her feet again and found a new place to live. She leaned her head back and sighed. What a mess.
 

Since he discovered who she was before her legal name change, he also probably put together the connection of her sister to his brother. That was still a nugget she hadn’t wrapped her head around. She grabbed her notebook and pen out of her carry-on and started to sketch a family tree. If Mason and Tucker were brothers, that made Nina their sister. From there, she drew lines to each of their parents. Savannah Lewis reported that husband participated in multiple affairs and more than one marriage at a time. So it was reasonable to assume each child truly had a different mother. But she doubted the story ended there. Three did not make many, nor did it justify over a decade of secrets. She wrote down Levi and Gabe to the right and drew circles around them. Levi seemed like a sure thing for a brother. He looked so much like Tucker and Mason it simply fit. Gabe on the other hand didn’t make sense as a sibling. She saw him with Nina and he didn’t act brotherly to her at all. If she had to guess, he was not connected to the family by blood.

This wasn’t good. She did not need to get caught up in any more of Mason Sinclair’s family drama. She repacked the notebook and tried to clear it from her mind. So what if it was a complex mess? It wasn’t her problem.

Surprisingly, the flight went by quickly and she was able to save money at the airport by taking the train and walking the last few blocks to her apartment. As expected, an eviction notice was taped to her door and the locks had already been changed. Her saving grace was the deal she made to save her car from being towed away. It was a small price to pay to reclaim her private belongings. She dropped the envelope off with the landlord and retrieved her car keys.
 

It wasn’t much, but at least she owned the car. She didn’t need fancy uptown apartments or a personal driver for happiness. She did however, really need a job and she might have a better chance at finding something if she stayed in the city. And then be reminded every day Mason was nearby, probably with some new submissive foolish enough to sign his contract.
 

Rebecca threw her bag into the front seat of her car and hopped in. There had to be some way to get over him. Except when she closed her eyes she didn’t see his anger, only the hot scenes. In a way, she didn’t mind his bossiness. Not when he went out of his way to make her feel safe and wanted. That was going to make it really difficult to return to her lonely life.
 

Unfortunately, even without the lies between them, he was upfront and straight with her. It would end. And she went in knowing that.
 

The realization she might never see him again was finally settling in and constricted her chest, making it very difficult to breathe.
 

She put her head down on the steering wheel and let the emotions out.
 

She wanted her Dom.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Mason and Tucker went straight to Gabe’s house from the airport. Their friend had reassured them over the phone he had the situation with Nina well in hand, but Mason had to see her for himself.
 

Gabe recently moved into a huge house on the lake only a few miles away from Nina’s cafe. He hadn't grown up in the area, so his memories of life here were not tainted by scandal and betrayal. He loved it here.
 

The pain of the past didn't keep Tucker away either. His rebuilt home was tucked around the backside of the lake and he and Maggie lived there now.
 

Gabe answered the door so fast, Mason wondered if he was standing on the other side waiting for them to arrive.

“Where is she?” Mason didn’t mince words and usually Gabe appreciated that.
 

“I told you on the phone, it’s not a good time. She’s resting.”

“You left her alone?”

“Of course not. I have a full-time staff to watch over her when I’m not available. And Tori’s been spending a lot of time with her during the day while Hannah is in school. She’s with her now.”
 

“Then we need to talk.”
 

Gabe eyed him warily for several long seconds before he relented and pulled the door open. “Levi is here too.”

“Then we all need to talk.”

“I agree. But not out here.” Gabe tilted is head toward the back of the house and motioned for them to follow him. Gabe led them through the kitchen and down the stairs into the basement, closing the door behind him. The room opened up in a cavernous space that was fully furnished, with multiple flat screen televisions and a sizable wet bar in the corner.

“Nice set up,” Tucker said.
 

“I like it. Drink?” Gabe walked behind the bar and pulled down four glasses and a bottle of scotch.
 

“No.” Mason wasn’t about to touch any more alcohol any time soon.
 

The glass door that led outside to the patio opened, and Levi strolled into the room to join them.

“'Bout time you got here. I thought you were lost in your new Vegas playground.”

Mason’s face went still. “You’d think this family could handle me gone for a few days without falling apart.”

“This house of cards has been crumbling for a while now. We all know it’s just a matter of time.” Levi looked bitter as he said it.

“And who the hell do you think’s been holding this shit together?”

Tucker stepped between Levi and Mason. “Whoa now. We aren’t here to fight. We need to pull our shit together and figure out what’s next.”

“The truth is always a good place to start,” Gabe offered.

The three of them turned to look at their long-time friend. “And how much do you already know?” Mason asked, his back teeth grinding to stay calm.

“From what I’ve picked up over the years and the last few days? Probably just about everything.” He came around the bar and sat on the arm of a couch. “Between Mason’s iron fist and the two of you checking out of the picture for so long, I knew y’all were hiding a lot more than a BDSM lifestyle from a bunch of religious assholes. I just didn’t know what it was.” Gabe took a sip of his drink. “Until Savannah shocked you all by holding a press conference and for all intents and purposes, told the world she killed her husband. Although good luck to the cops if they can prove that. That house fire did a lot more than destroy a house, didn’t it?”

Mason fought the desire to hit something as his closest friend laid out their darkest secrets like they were clues in a fucking game and not the life altering events that shattered their lives.
 

Gabe continued. “At that point I thought I had it all worked out. Finally. But I still couldn’t figure out how much Nina played into your house of cards and if this would somehow crash down on her too.”

A press of guilt slammed into Mason. “I did everything I could to protect her.”

“We all did,” Tucker said.
 

“But you can’t protect her because you don’t really know what happened that night, do you?”

Mason couldn’t count the number of nights he laid awake reliving that long ago night. His big plan to confront his biological father had gone up in smoke. Literally.
 

“She was so young and innocent. And a madman took it all away that night.” The images came to him like they always did. Like a vivid retelling of a tragedy he could never forget. “She was hysterical by the time we arrived.” Tucker and Levi stepped closer, each putting a hand on his shoulder. “She was covered in blood and a knife was buried in his chest. We did the only thing we could under the circumstances. We got her out of there as quickly as possible.”

“How does Savannah come into all of this? She was there, right?”
 

Mason nodded. “We didn’t know at first but Nina started screaming that we had to save her from the fire so we went back in. Tucker found her first so I hung back until they were clear.”

“Why would you do that? The house was on fire.”

Mason looked at Tucker, then Levi. “I had to make sure she was clear. I wasn’t going to let him hurt her from the grave.”

“You took the knife,” Levi said. “I wondered why it was never mentioned in the reports.”

“Fuck, man. Please tell me you don’t still have it. That knife can never be found.”

Mason shook his head. “Long gone. Six weeks after the fire, I drove it four states away and had it melted down.”

“And you’ve been fixing our shit ever since.” Levi scrubbed at his face.
 

“If Nina killed the old man, he fucking deserved it. She may have come out of that house covered in his blood, but her clothes were torn and she had the beginning of a black eye. He hurt her first. I hope that bastard is burning in hell.”

“She did.”

All three brothers turned to Gabe. “What?”

“She’s been having nightmares for weeks. Refused to tell anyone until I brought her here. When those nightmares come she talks in her sleep. She’s either going to start remembering the details or go insane.”

Mason jumped up. “Fuck. We’ve got to do something. Get her some help.”

“You had your chance. She’s mine to protect now.”

Mason stilled. “Come again?”

Gabe’s spine stiffened and his eyes turned dark. “You heard me. I’ve held back for years, afraid to push her because of the shadows in her eyes. Now the past is consuming her and I’ll be damned if I lose her for good. So I’m. Taking. Care. Of. It.”

“The fuck you are.” Tucker’s voice sharpened. “We’re her family.”

“No disrespect, but what the fuck has that gotten her so far?”

Mason seethed, flexing his fingers, ready to attack. “You think by saying no disrespect you can say whatever the fuck you want and we’ll all start shitting hearts and kisses for it?” He closed the distance between them. “Fuck you, Gabe. She doesn’t need some sort of white knight in shining armor who doesn’t know what the hell he is doing.”