Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Knox didn’t even glance up when Mason entered his office and shut the door behind him. The sooner he put this situation behind him, the better. “I want to talk to you.”
Finally, slowly, Knox’s chin lifted and his dark gaze met Mason’s. There was still a trace of anger there and something that seemed a lot like betrayal.
He glared at Mason. “I should cut you loose.”
Mason kept his gaze impassive. “I understand. Do whatever you think is best.”
Knox’s dark eyes searched Mason’s. “You care about her?”
“Yes.”
Knox raked one hand through his hair and sent another lethal glare Mason’s way. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Mason kept his mouth shut. There was no way he was going to tell Knox that it was her idea to keep things quiet. “I should have said something,” he agreed. “I shouldn’t have kept you in the dark.”
“She told me it was her idea.”
Mason neither confirmed nor denied it, and Knox’s gaze narrowed on him.
“Weeks.” Knox grimaced as he pushed from his chair and moved around to lean against the front of the desk.
Mason balanced on the balls of his feet, ready to move.
Here he was within swinging distance, and Mason wasn’t particularly looking forward to getting into it with him again.
“You’ve been together for weeks, and I had no idea. How could I not have seen it?”
Mason lifted one shoulder at Knox’s rhetorical question.
“My sister, man.” Knox planted his hands on his hips and glared Mason’s way. “Why didn’t she say anything to me?”
Mason didn’t know what to say to that, because he wasn’t sure, either. All he knew was, he actually felt relieved that it was out in the open now. “I think she was afraid of disappointing you,” he said. “God knows she deserves a lot better.”
Knox speared Mason with a dark look. “As long as you know that.”
For what seemed like forever, they stood there staring at each other.
Mason had no idea where they stood, either as friends or coworkers, but there were a few things he knew with absolute certainty.
Regardless of what happened with Knox, whether he cut Mason from his life or fired him, Mason still would have chosen Vivi.
She was more important than all that. He could get another job, but Vivi was one of a kind.
Knox’s chest rose and fell. “I’m still pissed at you.” He tipped his head toward the lobby. “But you've always had my back, and I trust you to take care of her.”
Something flickered in Mason’s brain. “Did she tell you that?”
“Yes.”
Knox practically hissed the word, looking disgruntled, and Mason laughed out loud. That sounded so much like Vivi's snarky logic that he couldn't help but shake his head. This woman…
He didn’t realize he’d spoken aloud until Knox replied. “I know. Couldn't even argue with it.”
“Haven't won an argument yet,” Mason lamented.
“Don't expect to, either,” Knox quipped.
Mason snorted, thinking of Vivi and her penchant for off-the-wall trivia. The woman was something else. “I could never be that lucky.”
Knox stared at him. “You know you’re gonna have some serious making up to do.”
Mason cracked a grin despite the situation. Thank God Knox had no idea what had transpired at Vivi's house late last night. He’d made decent headway in the forgiveness department, but he didn’t dare say a word to her brother.
Knox shook his head. “I should feel sorry for you, but you did this to yourself.”
“I’d do it a hundred more times.”
“Let’s just get one thing straight.” Knox pointed Mason’s way. “Whatever happens between you two—I don’t want to hear any of it. She’s still my baby sister, and I don’t want to have to kill you.”
Mason dipped his head in a brief nod. “I’ll take care of her.”
“I know you will.” Knox punched him in the solar plexus. “Ass.”
Mason left Knox’s office and headed to the bullpen to grab his keys. He wanted to stop by and speak with Harrison Grant before he met up with Bennett and Jaxon for recon.
Leaned back in his chair, feet propped up on his desk, Miles lifted his eyes from the folder he was reviewing and nodded Mason’s way. “Hey, I’m gonna go see Dad tomorrow night. Wanna come?”
A hopeful look lit Miles’s face, and Mason fought the urge to groan. Elijah’s words from the other day came floating back to him. No matter what else he’d done, the man was right about one thing. If Mason didn’t make amends now, he might not have a chance to later.
He swallowed his pride and nodded. “Sure. I’ll meet you out there. What time?”
“Six.” Miles looked relieved, and it pricked Mason’s heart. He had no expectations that this was going to go as well as Miles hoped, but he needed to do this for both of them.
“All right.” Mason pocketed his keys and phone. “See ya then.”
He left Vantage, thoughts of Vivi, his father, Tyler, and Russ swirling intermittently through his mind.
Just after three o’clock, he entered the welcome air-conditioned lobby of the law office.
He threw a smile at the receptionist as he gave her his name, then took a seat to wait.
He hadn’t told Vivi where he was going, and he wondered how she’d take the news.
It was nothing against Vivi, but he wanted to speak to the man one-on-one without any distractions.
A slender, distinguished-looking older man opened the heavy oak door, and his piercing blue eyes met Mason’s. “Mr. Kane?”
“That's me.” Mason stood and held out his hand as he approached. “Thanks for taking the time to see me.”
“Of course.” The man shook Mason’s hand, then gestured to a conference room in the hallway. “We can speak privately in here.”
After he'd closed the door, he took a seat across from Mason and eyed him shrewdly. “What can I help with today?”
Mason gave him a brief rundown of who he was and what he was doing there. “It's come to my attention that you filed the papers for Ellen’s divorce.”
The man was silent for a moment as he studied Mason. “May I ask how you know that?”
“I've been pulling some information for a client, and the divorce papers came up—along with your signature.”
“That's true,” he admitted. “It was a difficult time for Ellen, and they were hoping to keep things quiet.”
“Was there any animosity between Ellen and Russ?”
He shook his head. “Everything was fairly amicable. From what I understand, Ellen was deeply depressed after Christine's death and the marriage began to crumble. They were separated for a good period of time before she actually filed for divorce.”
Mason chewed on that for a moment. “Was that the last time you saw Russ?”
“I believe so,” Grant said slowly. “It's been a while, but I remember he was living up around Orlando at the time, probably is still there.”
“Actually,” Mason replied, “he's not. That's why I'm here. Russ is an extended family member of my client, who has been trying to reach him. But we've been unable to find any trace—no phone number, no tax information, no DMV records.”
“Perhaps he doesn't want to be found.” Grant lifted one shoulder. “I think the divorce was hard on both of them, so it wouldn't surprise me if he wanted nothing to do with the memories here.”
“That may be,” Mason said, “but I need to explore every option for my client.”
Grant stared at him for several long seconds. “And would that be Tyler you're talking about?”
Mason was more than a little surprised he knew about Tyler, but he tried to mask it. “I'm not at liberty to discuss it. I apologize.”
He nodded slowly. “Well, hypothetically speaking, if it were Tyler looking for him, I would tell him the exact same thing I did last week.”
He'd spoken with Tyler? “And what would that be?”
Grant sighed. “If you found the divorce papers, you'll also find that I drafted the original trust fund in Christine's name as well. She wanted to be sure her son would be taken care of. None of us knew what she planned to do. I felt so guilty afterward, like I should have known. But she exhibited no signs of depression that Ellen saw.”
Mason wanted to argue that her diary was a direct contradiction, but he kept his mouth shut. “So you've known about him all along?”
“I have.”
“What about the father?”
A deep sadness filled Grant's blue eyes but was gone a second later as he lifted his hands. “Although I set up the fund for Tyler, Christine never revealed the information to me.”
Not the answer Mason wanted, but it was expected. “Well, thank you for your time. I appreciate it.”
“Of course.” Harrison stood and walked with Mason toward the lobby. “Tell Vivi I said hello.”
“I will, thank you.” Mason nodded and headed toward the parking lot.
He still wasn’t sure what all this meant.
They were getting close to something—to whom or what, he wasn’t precisely sure.
All he knew was, Vivi and Tyler needed answers and he was going to do everything in his power to find them.
Then they could put all of this behind them once and for all and move forward with a clean slate.
Now that things between Vivi and Mason were out in the open, he felt freer. Lighter. He couldn’t wait until they’d tied up all of these loose ends so she could finally be free of her demons, too. He wanted her to have closure for whatever she’d endured as a child, whether she remembered it or not.
He’d encouraged Vivi to speak with the physician she’d visited as a child, but the man had retired and moved to Phoenix.
Though Mason wasn’t entirely sure the doctor would have any additional answers for her, he felt like anything could help.
She’d only had the nightmare once more since the night she’d discovered Russ’s identity, but she’d woken right away as soon as he reached for her.
Mason loved being the person she depended on.
He loved that she could turn to him when she needed something—anything.
She was fiercely independent, but still comfortable enough with him to share her fears and worries.
He wanted to be her shelter, her protector, her safe haven, just the way she was for him.
He couldn’t begin to dissect the feelings that welled up inside him at the thought of a future with her. All that mattered was they were finally moving forward—together.