Forbidden Men Book 10: The Price of Mason
I might’ve ruined any chance I ever had at a meaningful relationship when I decided to become a male prostitute at eighteen, but that was okay.
I paid off my mom’s debt, the rent, my sister’s hospital bills. I put food on the table and kept eviction notices at bay.
It was worth it.
But was it worth the price of my soul?
Two years later, this job has begun to kill me in every way but physically, until SHE comes along.
Reese is the breath of fresh air I need. She makes me smile, she makes me laugh, she makes me want more. But how can we ever be together after all the choices I’ve made?
Listing one mistake after another, these are my confessions and how we came through to the other side.
The Forbidden Men series concludes with THE PRICE OF MASON by looping back to the beginning and retelling PRICE OF A KISS through his eyes.
Just when you thought you knew everything, here’s the rest of the story.
Prologue
Teresa
Ellamore, Illinois
Teresa Nolan clutched a plain manila folder to her chest as if it were some kind of life preserver. In a way, she guessed it was. The contents consisted of a petition for a name change, an order to show cause for the change, her social security card, birth certificate, and driver’s license. All things to help her become someone new.
Someone safe.
Next to her, her mom shifted uncomfortably in the hard plastic chair just outside the county clerk’s office. “How long have we been waiting?”
Teresa consulted her phone as a new text popped up. “Seven minutes,” she answered, checking the time before opening the message.
E: Is it done yet?
Sighing over the persistent nagging from her cousin, she wrote back.
Teresa: Soon. We’re at the courthouse now. Waiting.
To which she received an immediate response.
E: So there’s still time to change your mind?
Staying alive seemed more important than keeping her name. Even her parents agreed. So, no, her mind was not going to change. She was doing the right thing.
She hoped.
Her mother leaned toward her. “You saw the packet in the mail this morning from that college, right?”
Her knee began to bounce as she remembered the look in Jeremy’s eyes when he’d told her no one would ever love her the way he did. She’d never forget the light that had glinted off his knife or how terrified she’d been when he’d slashed his blade toward her.
Her mom set a reassuring hand on Teresa’s thigh, making her jump and then stop bouncing her knee. “It’s okay, sweetie. We’re doing the right thing.”
Teresa nodded again, the action more certain than her resolve.
“We’re going to send you somewhere he won’t find you. And then, as soon as the trial’s over and he’s locked away for good, we’ll change all this back and you can come home again. Okay?”
Teresa gave a third nod, this one less enthusiastic. She didn’t have quite as much faith in the “temporary” part of the plan as her parents did. Jeremy’s father was a powerful attorney. The odds of putting him away forever didn’t feel as if they were in her favor.
That was what scared her most: losing her identity forever. That bastard had already taken her security, now he was stealing her name too? It wasn’t fair.
Before she could stress further and back out of this crazy idea completely, the door to the clerk’s office opened and a middle-aged man peered into the hall. “Miss Nolan?”
Teresa’s heart leaped. That could’ve very well been the last time anyone ever addressed her as Miss Nolan again.
Her mom took her hand and stood, urging Teresa along. Teresa gulped. This was really happening. Her life was changing irrevocably. She wasn’t even going to be Teresa anymore. A month from now, she’d be…she’d be…
Well, who knew what she’d be?
