Page 14 of Hidden Resolution (Stonebrooke #2)

“ T he fire marshal called. It was definitely an incendiary device,” Mason informed her, striding into the kitchen.

“A bomb, Mason. You can call it a bomb.” Shonda’s voice wobbled.

He fought his desire to gather her close and assure her he’d keep her safe.

But his arms remained at his sides. His protective instinct didn’t mean a damn thing when safety wasn’t something he could guarantee.

The only reason she wasn’t in a body bag was because he’d stopped her from driving off.

If his anger hadn’t gotten the better of him, she’d be ash and bone right now.

And her death would’ve wrecked him in ways he couldn’t admit out loud.

Too many puzzle pieces didn’t fit. Was it a warning, like the break-ins in St. Thomas?

Or was it intended to finish her this time?

Maybe she’d unknowingly witnessed what she shouldn’t have, and someone wanted her silenced.

But how did her doppelg?nger play into this?

The questions came fast, stacking like bricks in his mind.

“I’m worried for your safety, love.”

“Me, too. I don’t know who’s doing this, making it impossible to put safeguards in place.

Stonebrooke’s tiny police force is stretched thin, looking for the person terrorizing Erica and Zack.

” She couldn’t hide her rising panic. “Oh, crap! Will you call your brother and make sure Erica doesn’t watch the local news?

She doesn’t need to worry about me. Not with all they have going on. ”

His mouth tightened, giving him away. He hated secrets and half-truths. And her pleading don’t-make-this-worse expression twisted him up. But he couldn’t find a single reason to argue against it. With a few quick taps, he sent Zack a heads-up.

“You might want to give your parents a call, too,” he said.

“Fuck! You’re right. Papa will have a meltdown. I’ll contact Nico.”

“Nico?” The handsome maitre d’ from the restaurant? “Why not your father?”

Her silence was suspect.

“Shonda, why don’t you want to speak to your father?”

The casual shrug didn’t fool him.

“Is he still upset with you from the night we had dinner there?” Mason asked.

“Can you please drop it?” She rubbed the spot between her brows and sighed. “I can’t see where it’s any of your business anyway.”

“It damn well is if I caused a permanent rift between you and your dad.”

“You didn’t. I did when I told him whoever I chose to have an affair with was none of his concern. He wasn’t invested in being a parent during my formative years. Starting at thirty-three is too little, too late.”

Her words were cavalier, but the crack in her voice betrayed her. Luigi wasn’t simply late in caring; he had never started, not the way a father should.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Mason asked.

Her snort wasn’t polite or delicate. It was an ugly bark of disbelief.

He scowled. “Why is that funny?”

“Seriously, dude?”

“Seriously.”

“Fine. If you want the truth, I’m more than happy to lay it out for you.” Arms crossed, chin lifted, she was a woman ready to wage war.

And he already knew the coming speech wasn’t going to be flattering.

“You want one thing from me. Every time we’re together, you’re either insulting me or trying to get in my pants. You don’t give two shits about me or my problems. Stop acting like you do.”

The impact landed low and hard. Brutal. And he couldn’t deny it. She had every right to view his behavior through bitter glasses. But it wasn’t entirely accurate.

The truth was, he did care. Only not the way she wanted.

“Why can’t we remain friends? Why does there have to be hostility between us or every conversation turn into a minefield?” he asked, despising his wheedling tone.

Mason closed the distance and braced his hands on the counter beside her hips. Her breath hitched as he filled the space between her thighs. Their eyes met, level for once, and the bottom dropped out of his stomach.

The faint dilation of her pupils, the shift of energy between them. Yeah, he recognized desire the second it hit. It was as familiar to him as his name, because his own blood surged with it whenever he was around her.

His mouth hovered inches from hers, waiting, giving her the chance to pull back.

She didn’t.

Her tiny lean forward sealed their fate.

His mouth crashed onto hers with the desperation of a man making up for lost time.

Three days of separation burned away in an instant.

She whimpered and wrapped her legs around his waist, arms climbing under his shirt as her fingers dug into his back to pull him closer.

Her hands left nothing untouched, matching his in intensity, clutching, stroking, claiming.

Her sweater made it halfway over her head when the first knock came.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Mason growled, breaking the kiss. His chest rose and fell in harsh, broken bursts. “Stop and answer the door, or ignore them?”

Another knock, louder and more insistent, decided it.

“Bella!” Luigi’s frantic voice boomed. “Bella, it’s Papa.”

They exchanged a wary glance.

Mason stepped back.

“Well, I guess it’s option one,” she said, not moving.

“Think he has a gun?”

Laughter sounded through the layers of the sweater she was putting back on. Before she could finish, Mason caught her hands and held them high.

“One last glimpse,” he murmured with deep regret.

“You’re such a sweet talker.”

“I’ll remain behind the island until I get my situation under control.”

Her light giggle softened the existing tension between them. He helped her down and kissed her tenderly. “Signal me if I should intervene. Eye twitch. Flip of the bird. You know, our standard code.”

“Thanks, but your smoothing-over techniques suck.”

“I’m wounded.”

Her snort followed her to the door.

Luigi entered faster than a Florida storm front. The air around him shifted, becoming sharp, electric, and commanding.

“Sit down, Bella. I have bad news.”

“What’s going on?” Shonda asked, apprehension in her tone.

Mason joined them.

“Your mother’s house burned down earlier today,” Luigi said grimly.

“What?” Her hand flew to her mouth as Mason dropped beside her, fingers curling around hers. Her shock gave way to her panic.

“Is Eva… is she…?”

“She’s fine. She was in Malta for a few weeks, but is flying back soon. The house is still in my name, so I’ll handle the paperwork.”

“Wait! You came to tell me about Eva. So, you haven’t heard about my car?”

Luigi stiffened. “What about your car?”

She gave the short version.

Her father paled, and worry built behind his expression, layer by layer.

“Mr. De Vitis, may I pose a delicate question?” Mason asked.

“Yes.”

“In St. Thomas, I saw a woman who was identical to your daughter. Did you or your wife ever have another child before or after Shonda? Maybe one who might’ve been put up for adoption?”

“No!” Luigi’s voice boomed with outrage. “I would never agree to give away my own flesh and blood.”

“I already told you I was an only child, Mason. Why would you ask such a thing?” The anger vibrating in Shonda’s voice didn’t bode well for him.

He suddenly had father and daughter to contend with.

“My parents have always had the money to care for another kid. What reason would they have for giving up a child?”

He ignored her and kept his gaze locked on Luigi.

The man’s scowl transformed into an expression of confusion, or perhaps realization.

“Did you remember something, sir?”

There was a weighted pause.

“Shonda was a twin,” Luigi said, his voice filled with remembered grief. “Her sister was stillborn.”

Shonda gasped. “Papa, I never knew that.”

“Eva went into labor two months early. I was in Italy, and by the time I returned, your sister was gone. Your mother blamed me. Perhaps the death was brought on by the stress of my absence. It was the beginning of the end for us.”

Tears glistened in his eyes before one dropped to travel along his leathery cheek. Shonda jumped up and wrapped him in a comforting hug.

“I’m sorry,” Mason said, meaning it. A loss like theirs was hard to comprehend. “I didn’t intend to dredge up the past. I just…”

Luigi waved him off. “These memories sit close to the surface when you’re my age, and it doesn’t take a lot to stir them.”

“To clarify, Eva was never pregnant before or after?” Mason probed gently, wishing he didn’t have to.

“No. Not with my child. If she and Nolan…” He shrugged.

“When she married Nolan, I was seven,” Shonda offered. “I would’ve noticed.”

Mason nodded. “Which side of the family carries twins?”

“Eva’s,” Luigi replied.

“What are you thinking, Mason?” she asked, her frown deepening with confusion.

He hesitated, weighing the damage truth might bring. If he was wrong, it could cause undue pain. If he was correct, well, he’d open up a whole other world of problems for her.

“Mason.”

Glancing between them, he came to a decision. “I think we need to review your family’s life insurance policies, especially your mother’s.”

“You think someone wants to kill her?” Her voice rose.

“Take a step back and look at what’s happened, love.” Mason stayed calm in the face of her disbelief. “Eva’s house went up in flames. Your car exploded. These aren’t coincidences. My guess is revenge or financial payout, or both.”

She turned to her father, pale and shaken. Together, they absorbed the full gravity of what he’d suggested.

“But why?” she asked. “I don’t get why anyone would want to harm either of us.”

Luigi gripped her hand and met Mason’s gaze. “I agree with Shonda. Eva’s wealth was substantial at one time, but her fortune has evaporated over the years under the weight of indulgence and pretense.”

“To an outsider, her financial status might not be as obvious,” Mason concluded. “She continues an elaborate lifestyle by anyone’s standard, doesn’t she?”

Shonda nodded. “Okay, I’ll give you that, but why me?”

“I haven’t quite unraveled the reason yet.” He had. Truth hovered on the edge of his tongue, but without proof, he wasn’t ready to mention it aloud.

“I can obtain the financials and life insurance policy for Eva. There is one for Shonda as well,” Luigi offered.

“Thanks,” Mason said.

“Papa, Eva… she…”

“It’s okay, child. You can tell me. I’m well past being hurt by her insults.”

“She said you had multiple affairs during your marriage to her. Did you father any other children?”

No amount of control could mask Luigi’s flare of fury. He was nowhere near past hurt.

Mason immediately recognized the direction in which Shonda was headed. It aligned too well with his own suspicions.

“You think maybe a bastardized child is seeking revenge against you and your mother because they missed out on the whole perfect family gig?” he asked.

Eyes locked on her father, she gave a sharp nod.

Luigi’s voice dropped to a ragged whisper. “She was wrong. You and your mother were my whole world, Bella. You’ve never believed me before, but you need to believe me now. I love you.”

Unwilling to intrude on their tender moment, Mason slipped outside and onto the balcony.

His chest squeezed tight.

Witnessing a father love his daughter as fiercely as Luigi did Shonda had triggered a long-buried ache.

Mason was only five when James Sharp walked out.

No note. No warning. No goodbye. Dear ol’ Dad left his kid standing in the backyard, glove in hand, waiting for a bonding moment that never happened.

The coward had snuck out as Mason waited over forty minutes. Crushed.

Anger surged, familiar and corrosive. What kind of man promised a game of catch, then ducked out the front door? The bastard didn’t deserve the space he’d ever taken up in Mason’s heart or mind. And if he ever dared show his face again, well…

The front door opened and closed behind him, signaling Luigi’s departure.

“Mason?” Shonda’s voice floated to him.

“What?” Eyes fixed on the woods beyond her property, the word fired out before he could pull it back.

A frown creased her brow. “Why are you suddenly upset?”

No way in hell could he admit the truth. Seeing her receive the love he never received opened a canyon inside him, and he didn’t know how to bridge the gap.

“Not a damn thing other than the fact someone’s trying to kill you. And although I have a million and one things I should be doing, I’m stuck here.”

She flinched.

Shit.

His ugliness echoed back in the worst possible way.

Her recoil was like a slap, and his regret was instantaneous. “Ah, love. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”

Too late. She was having none of it. Her expression shuttered.

“I’d like you to go,” she said stiffly.

“You’re cracked in the head if you think I’m leaving you here alone with a potential killer on the loose.” He jabbed a finger toward her, emphasizing his point. “Not happening.”

“I won’t be alone. I’ll call Samuel to come stay.”

His blood turned to fire. “Who the hell is Samuel?”

“I’ve offered a solution. You’re free to hightail it back to your bachelor pad and carry on with a clear conscience. I don’t need you.”

Oh, but the idea of her calling another man caused sweat to break out on his upper lip and his hands to shake.

“You damn well do need me,” he bit out, unsure why he was fighting to stay when all he’d wanted minutes ago was distance. “The one thing we do know in this whole mess is that I’m the only one not trying to kill you.”

“Wrong.”

He blinked. “Excuse me?”

“You know one other person who isn’t trying to kill me. Your brother, Dane.”

His stomach flipped.

“You can ask if he’ll babysit me while you go handle your million and one things.”

He wasn’t mistaking her tone or the sneer wrapped in silk.

“Whatever. I’m the one trying to help here, but I didn’t sign up for you to bust my balls,” he replied, annoyed by her refusal to accept his apology.

“Really, Mason? You view the situation as me out to bust your balls? Not as you insulting me?” Her voice sharpened, making his heart thud.

“Well, I’m so glad we cleared it all up.

Call your brother, or I’ll get the number from Erica.

Either way, I want you gone.” She pivoted and stormed toward the slider like she couldn’t get away fast enough.

Panic hugged his chest, and he gave chase.

“We aren’t finished! Get back here!”

“Oh, I’d say we damn well are,” she shouted over her shoulder, snatching her purse from the coat rack. “You have exactly one minute to get the hell out of my apartment before I call the police and have you arrested for trespassing.”

A blood vessel throbbed at his temple, the pressure building behind his eyes and teeth.

“You’re crazy, you know that?” He grabbed his coat and stomped toward the door. “I’ll be outside until you come to your senses.”

“Bundle up. It’s going to be a long-ass night.”