The Secrets of Seduction - Elizabeth Lennox Page 0,57

make the kind of money you’ve made.”

Malcolm didn’t respond for a long moment. “Actually, I’ve never broken the law. I’m smart enough to know how to make money within it. So, I’m guessing that whatever Ella has discovered is going to prove that you’re a worthless crook.”

Edward tried to sit up, but his health and the tubes keeping him alive stopped his progress. “Don’t you speak to me like that! You’re nothing without me! You’re worthless!”

“On the contrary,” Malcolm countered, taking the files and tucking them under his arm. “I’m worth a hell of a lot more than you, apparently.” He tapped the file folders. “I’ll hire an accounting firm to look into these payments. We’ll figure out what you’ve been up to eventually.”

Edward choked. “Don’t you dare! Just…trust me. No one is going to demand repayment! They’re not loans, they were gifts!”

Malcolm was at the door by that point. “Were those gifts,” he said, his tone tinged with disbelief, “reported to the tax authorities?”

“Hell no! Why would I do that?”

Malcolm shook his head. “Did you ever do anything legal in your life?” Edward simply stared back, not responding. “I guess that answers my question.”

Edward glared at Malcolm. In the end, Malcolm didn’t want to know. Instead, he left the hospital room, the files tucked under his arm, feeling the need to go home and shower after the filth surrounding that man.

Chapter 13

I need you at your father’s estate. I’ve found something. Malcolm stared at the text message, trying to anticipate what Ella had discovered. Even as he wondered, he pictured her in his mind. She was so damn smart and beautiful. Once again, his hand slipped into the pocket of his slacks, feeling the diamond ring there. Would she consider marriage? Or would she see marriage as something that would hold her back?

That question, plus a million others, swirled through his head. This mess with his father was only hindering the issue even further. He wanted so much to just get the ring on her finger and have her promise him forever.

After all of this, would she ever believe that he hadn’t been party to this royal mess? Would she always suspect that he was a part of his father’s illegal activities? Or perhaps she’d assume that he’d simply turned a blind eye on what was happening?

With a muttered curse, he tossed the files into the passenger seat of his car and, with a fury unlike anything he’d ever felt before, sped towards his father’s estate. Even if Ella could ever overlook the monstrous things that his father had done, could she ever love him? Love him, Malcolm, the man? Not the title that he currently held or the title he would inherit, but the man he was?

He doubted it. But in that moment, Malcolm vowed that he’d do everything within his power to make that happen. Somehow, he’d convince Ella to love him. To stay with him forever!

Chapter 14

“Ella?” Malcolm called out as he stepped into the old, run-down house. Ignoring the burst of revulsion at the heavy, wood-paneled walls that seemed to close in as soon as he stepped through the door, he felt for Ella’s energy. He wasn’t disappointed!

“In here, Malcom!” she called from his father’s study.

Malcolm stepped into the room, barely glancing at the walls lined with shelves full of old books. He found Ella sitting at his father’s massive desk. Short bursts of typing followed intense perusal of the books beside the keyboard.

He took a moment to watch, to take in her beauty and her intensity. Did Ella ever relax? What would she be like on a beach? While most people sat in beach chairs and read a book or dozed in the warmth of the sunshine, he couldn’t picture Ella doing anything like that. She was too full of energy. Too determined to get to the next thing in life, whatever that might be. No, Ella was too intense to relax on a beach. He couldn’t picture her dozing or reading, but he could picture her diving into the surf, trying to outrun a wave. Body surfing or swimming out past the waves to see how far she could go, then coming back, as if racing some demon over her shoulder, then walking up the beach laughing because she’d either won or lost, whichever was in her head.

She was so damn beautiful! And so filled with energy. He wanted that energy! He wanted to hold her and feel her body press against his.