Truth or Dare (Liar Liar #2)

Truth or Dare

Part Two in the Liar Liar Series

C.A. Mason

Copyright © by C.A. Mason

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Persons, places and other entities represented in this book are deemed to be fictitious. They are not intended to represent actual places or entities currently or previously in existence or any person living or dead. This work is the product of the author’s imagination.

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Truth or Dare © 2014 C.A. Mason

Chapter One

Maura looked from me to the phone in my hand, her beautiful face registering shock and disbelief. “You can’t be serious.”

“I’m dead serious.” I scrolled through my contacts before flashing her the screen. “That’s his cell number, right?” I came prepared to follow through on my threat, in case she decided to call my bluff.

“You can’t…” She blew out a breath when she saw my face was unyielding. “I mean, you can, but why would you want to?”

“Your fiancé needs to know about us.”

“Why?” She wrapped her hand around her neck, covering the faint scar. “Why are you doing this to me? I thought we got along well, liked each other, so why are you trying to ruin my life?” When I remained silent, she became desperate. “Did a woman cheat on you and now you’re on a crusade to punish every woman who’s unfaithful to her man? Is that it? Did I fail your test when I—”

I raised my hand to silence her ramblings. “Enough with the psycho-babble, angel. I’m doing this for your own good.”

“My own good?” she shrieked, the hand around her neck clenching tighter. “You’re turning my whole world upside down for my own good?” She lowered her voice when she heard voices outside her door. “Look, I know I did a really shitty thing cheating on my fiancé. I’ve never done anything like that before, and I never will again.”

“Prove it.”

She paused, as though waiting for me to up the ante. “How?”

“Go out with me tonight.”

“What?”

“I’ll push you to the limit of your control. If you snap, we tell him. If you’re able to resist, this game is over, and I declare you the winner.”

“You’re insane,” she muttered, covering her face with her hands.

I raised one shoulder. “Maybe. Or maybe I just want to prove to you this connection between us is too intense for either of us to ignore.”

“I don’t know what you want from me. What do you hope to gain from this?”

“I want you to be mine,” I said, looking in her eyes, daring her to look away. “That won’t happen as long as he’s in the picture, so whatever it takes to get rid of him, I’m willing to do it.”

“Why are you so obsessed with—”

“Not obsessed, angel,” I said, raising a finger to halt her words. “Determined. There’s a big difference.”

“What happens if you win, if you break me?” She looked at the ground. “I tell Jeff, lose any hope of a future with him, and you get tired of me inside a week and cast me aside?”

“Not gonna happen.” If I was still intrigued with her after so many years and all that had gone down between us, then that flame would never burn out. She was under my skin, and nothing would change that.

“How do you know?”

I reached for her hand. I could offer words to reassure her, but they would only make me sound more unbalanced.
I wanted to marry you long before you agreed to marry him.
You promised you would be mine forever.
“There are some things I just know instinctively. The first time I laid eyes on you, I knew you were different.”

Of course she thought I was talking about the moment our eyes locked at the hotel, but I was thinking of a summer a lifetime ago when she was lying on a lounger by her parents’ pool, wearing a black string bikini and oversized shades. She’d raised her glasses, winked at me, and I was hooked.

She tried to pull her hand away, but I tightened my grasp. “Things like that don’t happen in real life, Blaise. Men like you don’t have a one-night stand with some random woman only to realize you can’t live without her.”

“How can you be so sure?” I kissed her hand, drawing her in with my eyes. “How can you be sure I haven’t been thinking about you since you left? How do you know I haven’t been losing sleep because you keep sneaking into my dreams?” I leaned in to whisper in her ear, “How do you know I’m not losing my fucking mind over you?”

Maura jumped when someone knocked on the door. She crossed the room and opened it. “Daddy, what are you doing here?”

He laughed. “I work here. Remember, princess?”

So we meet again, Mr. Lancaster.
I hadn’t seen him since my trial. The years had been good to him. He still had a trim physique and a thick head of silver hair, his eyes and skin tone the exact same shade as his daughter’s. I wondered if he would see something in me Maura hadn’t. Would he notice a mannerism I hadn’t been able to quash? Would there be a spark of familiarity?

Coming back to New Hampshire was risky, I knew that, but it was also necessary. Whoever had abducted and raped Maura could still be there, living in
her
town, perhaps within walking distance of her home. I couldn’t rest until I’d looked into his eyes, made him beg for his life, and watched while he was tried and convicted the way I had been.

Eric Lancaster walked into his daughter’s office without waiting for an invitation, but he stopped abruptly when he spotted me on the sofa. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know Maura was with a client.” He frowned, pointing at me. “Hey, you’re Blaise Walsh, the owner of that fighting—”

“I am,” I said, cutting him off. I’d learned a long time ago how to assert my authority with men like Eric. A part of me had been looking forward to our meeting so I could cut the man who’d always treated me like a second-class citizen down to size.

I stood, offering my hand, mainly because I towered over him and enjoyed looking down on him for once. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Well, the pleasure is all mine.” His eyes twinkled with enthusiasm as his hand pumped mine. “Maura mentioned she was planning an event for your organization, but I thought a man as prominent as you would be far too busy to come here to meet her. I just assumed she would have to go to you.”

It irked me that he thought his daughter’s time was less valuable than mine. I also sensed he wasn’t thrilled Maura had wasted her Ivy League education on a career as trivial as event and wedding planning.

“Tell me something,” he said, slipping his hands into the pockets of his dark slacks as he rocked back on his heels. “Why Maura?”

I quirked an eyebrow at him before glancing at Maura. A faint blush rose to her cheeks, and I could tell she was embarrassed by her father’s question. “I’m afraid I don’t understand your question.” I did, but I wanted to see if he had the audacity to spell it out.

“There must be hundreds of qualified event planners in New York,” he said. “Why come all the way here?”

Okay, so he hadn’t been as condescending as I’d expected him to be, but that didn’t mean he’d scored any points. I still hated him. That may be unreasonable, but I viewed him as the reason Maura had kept our relationship a secret. Not to mention her refusal of my impromptu marriage proposal.

Smirking, I glanced at Maura. “My business contacts are spread all over the world, Mr. Lancaster. I look for talent, not geographic proximity, when compiling my team. I realized a long time ago most people would travel to the ends of the earth if the price was right.”

“Hmmm.” He looked over his shoulder at his daughter, who was still hovering by the door as though she was plotting a quick getaway. “So does that mean my daughter is part of your team now?”

“I’d like her to be.” I smiled at Maura.
I’d like her to be my partner
. “That’s what I’m here to discuss with her. I had other business in town, and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to follow up with her about the proposition I made her the other night.” I saw relief wash over Maura’s face when she realized I was going to keep our little secret, at least for now. “I was just telling your daughter what a nice building you have here, Mr. Lancaster.”

Eric looked around the office, taking in the large windows, high ceilings, and original hardwood floors. “Thanks. We just renovated last year. My father bought this building back in ’72. He used to have his offices on the main floor.”

“I’d like to add something like this to my portfolio,” I said, ignoring the exasperated look Maura shot over her father’s shoulder. “Would you be offended if I made you an offer?”

He chuckled. “I guess that depends on the offer.”

Maura moved away from the door, her wide eyes frantic as she gripped her father’s arm. “Daddy, you can’t seriously be considering selling this building.”

“Why not?” he asked, shrugging. “You know I’m thinking of retiring soon. Even with a good property management team, owning too many units is a headache. Maybe it’s time I think about unloading some of them.”

“Tell me about some of your other holdings,” I said, walking around the desk and planting myself in Maura’s swivel chair while I pointed at the guest chair, indicating Eric should sit while we talked business. I was really only interested in this building because owning it meant I would be Maura’s landlord and she couldn’t avoid dealing with me even if she wanted to. Becoming entrenched in her life hadn’t been part of my original plan, but I hadn’t expected the rush of feelings I’d experienced when I finally got her back in my bed. It was time to revise the plan.

Maura glared at me, but said nothing about my audacity.

“Well, let’s see,” he said, sitting across from me. “There’s the loft building where Maura lives—”

“Don’t you mean Maura and her fiancé?”

“Well, yes, but Maura and Jeff maintain separate suites in the building. His apartment will be for rent again soon though.” He chuckled. “I can’t deny I was pleased when Maura decided to live separately during their engagement. I’m a bit old-fashioned, and I don’t like the idea of my daughter shacking up with someone without the benefit of matrimony.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” I said, folding my hands on the desktop and ignoring Maura’s huff of indignation. “She should definitely wait until after the wedding to move in with him.” I pulled a notepad across the desk and reached for a gold pen that had her name engraved on it. “Tell me the address of this building. I’d like to check it out.”

“I can do one better,” Eric said. “Why don’t I take you there myself?”

“Excellent idea,” I said, standing.

One quick glance at Maura told me she was uncomfortable with me being alone with her father. She had good reason to be uneasy. I subscribed to the theory that keeping my enemies close was the best approach, and whether Eric Lancaster realized it or not, he was about to become my ally in the campaign to end his daughter’s farce of an engagement.

“First I’ll take you on a tour of this building, then we can have lunch and pass by the loft building,” Eric suggested.

“Sounds like a plan.” I quickly scanned my phone. I was waiting for my private investigator to send me a report about the guys who’d worked with me on the construction crew at Maura’s family estate. I needed addresses. I intended to pay each and every one of them a personal visit.

“Daddy,” Maura said, reaching for her father’s hand, “this seems kind of sudden. Don’t you think you should talk to Mom before you start selling off your holdings?”

He squeezed her hand before releasing it. “We’ve talked about the possibility, princess. Your mother has been after me to retire for years, you know that. She wants to travel more. The fewer potential problems back here, the more we’ll be able to enjoy it.”