The Dom Identity (Masters & Mercenaries Reloaded 2)

Why would he drive? It was five hours on the road but roughly thirty minutes in the air. “Is there something wrong with the corporate jet?”

“No. He’s supposed to use it tonight. He’s due in New York for meetings tomorrow. That’s the weird thing. He’s got a flight scheduled for midnight and a hotel room booked,” MaeBe replied. “So I have no idea why he’s up here.”

Michael didn’t like it. He looked Kyle’s way.

Kyle nodded. “I’ll help MaeBe figure out where he is.”

“The Benedict family has a suite at the Fairmont.” MaeBe picked up her cell. “I’ll make some calls.”

Kyle looked to Michael. “We’ll figure out where he is and what he’s up to.”

“Thank you. I’ll be in my office. I need to make a call. Let me know if you find anything.”

He didn’t like the idea that Junior was in Dallas. He definitely didn’t like the idea of the man sending a quarter of a million out in crypto. Something was about to happen. It was an instinct he’d honed over the years. Things were starting to converge, and Junior was getting nervous. It was precisely why he’d tried the dumbass blackmail setup on Vanessa.

The thing is it might have worked if Michael hadn’t been around. If they hadn’t been investigating Vanessa, no one would have turned on the cameras and gotten proof that someone had messed with her computer. Otherwise, her reputation might have doomed her.

A reputation she hadn’t earned and didn’t deserve.

He glanced down at his cell, and his mother had left him a text.

Darling, I’m taking Vanessa some lunch and then heading back to the ranch. Be patient with her. We’ll win her over.

He loved his mother so much. She might be his secret weapon. Not money or good sex or the fact that he adored Vanessa. His mother being kind to her, offering her real maternal affection, might be the thing that got Vanessa to forgive him.

He walked to his office, his brain humming with thoughts.

Did he really want a relationship that was predicated on Vanessa’s need for a loving mother?

Yes. No question about it. He would take her any way he could get her, and he would make it work. He would love her so long and so well she would forget how they started. He would make her such a part of the Malone family that the neglect she suffered would be a distant memory.

He dialed her number and got sent to voice mail. He started to hang up, but decided he needed to say something to her. Right now.

“Hey, sweetheart. I know this is weird because we’re in a fight, but I need you to know that I love you. No matter what. If you can’t love me back, I still love and support you. My family does, too.” He had to take a breath to steady himself because emotions flooded through him. “And your sister was wrong to not tell you. I think she would have eventually. I think she thought she had more time. But you deserved the chance to say good-bye. You deserved the chance to try to take care of her, and I know you would have. You would have stayed with her until the end. The way I’ll always be there for you. I know I screwed up, but I want to share this life with you. I want you there by my side through everything. I won’t lie to you again. I won’t omit a thing. I’ll share it all if you can find a way to forgive me. I love you. Maybe we can talk tonight. Have a good day, baby.”

He hung up and realized he hadn’t shut his door.

Charlotte Taggart stood in his doorway. There was a fine sheen of tears in her blue eyes. “That was beautiful, Michael. I’m so glad you found her.”

At least it was Charlotte. Ian would have given him hell. “Now the problem is keeping her.”

Charlotte sniffled and straightened her shoulders. “Oh, it’s worse. I came to bring you to the conference room. One of the big talk shows is running an interview about Vanessa, and it’s not pretty.”

Fuck. It was one more thing converging on a day that felt like it was the beginning of a whole bunch of dominoes falling. He followed Charlotte toward the conference room, a sinking feeling in his gut.

Chapter Eighteen

“Are you sure she shouldn’t join us? It feels weird to have her standing there.”

Ava smiled and waved over to where Tessa stood inside the private dining room Julian Lodge used when he entertained clients. It was on the floor above the club, and Vanessa couldn’t stop thinking about what happened right below where they sat. Michael had offered to take her in a few days, to let her play and talk to her friends and be the person she got to be when she was in The Club.