Hot Holiday Rancher

by Catherine Mann

  Esme turned, her brave face on. “It’s okay. Go. I know she’s your friend and it’s okay.”

  “But you’re my sister.” She wanted to be with Esme. To find out why things had ended so quickly between her and a man she’d been so excited about.

  “Thank you,” Esme said with a watery smile. “How about we go over together?”

  Angela nodded, relieved not to be torn between her sister and her friend. Of course she would choose Esme, but with Willem in jail, Tatiana didn’t have any family left.

  Other than Maya.

  Her heart pinched at the thought. “Tatiana, Esme and I can come over right now. Just let us know where you are.”

  Angela reached for a notepad and jotted down the location and time. The new club. In a half hour. So simple, she wondered why she’d bothered to write it. She was such a jumble of emotions today.

  But it helped take her mind off her own relationship to be there for others.

  Angela ended the call and turned to her sister. “We can talk in my car on the way over.” Then she grabbed her purse and went to the door.

  Esme followed close on her heels. “Getting to be with you helps. Even if we don’t talk. I just don’t want to be alone right now.”

  Taking Esme at her word, when Angela got to her car, she turned on soft Christmas carols. Esme sat silently beside her, her head resting against the window, her sniffles further and further apart.

  Angela’s cell phone rang a couple of times with calls from Ryder, but she wasn’t ready to talk to him, not yet. The third time he called, she sent him straight to voice mail and turned off her cell. She couldn’t handle another emotional conversation sidetracking her tonight. It felt like the whole world was falling apart.

  A half hour later, Angela pulled up outside the back entrance of the club, the historic building rather foreboding at night. While Christmas lights lined the street and lit up the other buildings, the club was pitch-black inside, the only illumination a Christmas tree in the lobby. She was glad she’d brought someone along with her. Tatiana’s car was parked in back, too, so she had to be inside the building already. Why would she be sitting in the dark?

  Arriving at the back door, Angela tapped in the security code, something Tatiana would know, too, since she was with Perry Holdings.

  “Tatiana,” Angela called as she walked inside, her sister following a step behind.

  A faint light shone from the back parlor, the dim glow giving the place a creepy vibe that reminded her that the body of the murdered Perry Holdings assistant had been found in this building. Of course she had to think of that now, when she was already uneasy.

  “Tatiana?” she called again, reaching for a switch to flip on the lights.

  Tatiana stepped into view, her red hair in wild disarray. A step closer and she was bathed in light.

  And her arms were extended, a gun held with steady hands.

  Esme gasped behind her. Shocked and confused, Angela couldn’t figure out what her friend was doing.

  Tatiana waved the gun, gesturing toward the parlor. “Both of you. In there.”

  What the hell was going on? Was Tatiana unhinged? Angela cast a quick glance at her stunned sister. She wasn’t sure how they were going to get out of this, but she had to believe they would figure something out.

  Angela kept her voice low even though her heart pounded so very hard with fear. She needed to stay calm. Stay in control of her emotions and de-escalate the situation. Giving herself completely over to fear would only immobilize her. Which might interfere with any way to keep her and Esme safe.

  Her hands clenching so hard her nails cut into her palms, Angela struggled for the right words for a situation she never could have imagined happening. “Tatiana, my friend, whatever you’re feeling, I understand—”

  “Shut up,” Tatiana shouted.

  Angela snapped her jaw shut. She tried to get a read on the events quickly spiraling out of control. The woman who stood before them might as well have been a stranger. Her expression, her tone, her actions... Angela didn’t recognize any of them.

  “You’re not my friend, Angela, and you can’t have any clue what I’m feeling, or what I’ve been through. Showing up here with your sister when I said I needed you? You’ve just proven what I already knew. Perrys always look out for Perrys and to hell with the rest of us.”

  Fear for her sister constricted her throat.

  If only she hadn’t brought Esme along, she wouldn’t be in danger. “Esme has nothing to do with whatever grudge you have against me. It’s not fair to keep her—”

  Tatiana closed herself inside the empty parlor with them, the gleam in her eyes vicious. “Nothing in my life has been fair. My father lost everything because the land he was promised by your grandfather went to that idiot Ryder Currin instead. And your sister Melinda gets to have a baby when I had to give up mine.”

  Tatiana Havery was a madwoman, and Angela had never seen it. Never known. She felt stupid and foolish, all the more so because she couldn’t focus on getting out of this situation. Panic clogged her airways, making it hard to breathe.

  Esme took a step forward with the signature calm that stood her in good stead at work. “What can we do to make this right for you now?”

  She was buying them time. Angela looked around the room, taking in the high windows and lack of furnishings. Tried to formulate a plan that didn’t end in death and gunshots. And so far, she came up empty.

  She wanted Ryder. Why hadn’t she taken his call in the car? If something happened to her and she never got to speak to him again... The hurt of that made her legs wobble beneath her.

  Tatiana’s gaze swung wildly to her. “It’s too late. I thought I was going to get my revenge by bringing down the Perrys and Currins for taking what was rightfully my father’s. Yes, I was responsible for spreading all those rumors with the help of my brother. And it was working, too.” She pointed the gun back and forth between them. “But then that stupid Vincent Hamm overheard one of our conversations. So I had to kill him.”

  Angela swallowed down a knot of horror as she looked around and realized that Tatiana had brought them to this building, where Hamm’s body had been dumped, with a grisly purpose. And there was nothing in this empty room to defend herself with. She gripped her purse harder, trying to remember what was inside, what might be used as a weapon, all the while trying to keep track of what Tatiana was saying.

  “I tried to pin the murder on your father but of course Mr. ‘Teflon’ Perry got away with it. The Perrys and Currins get everything and my family got nothing. That land would have given my dad a fresh start.”

  But Tatiana’s father had lost everything because of his addiction. He’d gone broke just as Tatiana finished boarding school. She must have had her baby not too long after that.

  “Tatiana,” Esme said softly, “I remember your dad. We were all so sad when he died in that accident. It had to have been hard for you.”

  “Accident?” Tatiana shrieked. “It wasn’t an accident. He killed himself. Because of your family...and that vile Ryder Currin, who got the land my father should have had. And now Ryder has my daughter, too?”

  Esme backed up a step, no longer the conciliatory, smooth businesswoman.

  Angela agreed. Talking wasn’t going to work. Tatiana was crazed, her speech dripping with bitterness and hatred. She had already made up her mind to murder them.

  Angela’s purse slid from her shoulder, hitting the floor with a thud. Her cell phone skittered out, a reminder of all those missed calls from Ryder. She would give anything to hear his voice one more time. But she was never going to see Ryder again, never have the chance to hold him, tell him how much she loved him.

  She reached for Esme’s hand, needing to feel her sister’s presence. Wanting to offer whatever love and comfort she could.

  Tatiana’s face spread in an
evil smile. “It’s time Sterling Perry and Ryder Currin learn what it feels like to have their hearts torn out by losing what’s dearest to them.”

  Eleven

  Ryder tossed his uneaten supper in the sink.

  The dish clanked, the sound jarring in his too-still, too-quiet home on Currin Ranch.

  Damn it, he was tired of being ignored. He’d phoned Angela repeatedly since the meeting ended and she wasn’t answering. She hadn’t called back, much less sent a text in response to his voice mails.

  Angela was going to have to talk to him eventually, so it might as well be now. The longer silence stretched between them, the tougher it would be to bridge that gap.

  Sure, she’d sat at his side during the meeting, but other than that, she hadn’t spoken to him since he’d told her about Tatiana being Maya’s biological mother. Angela hadn’t even allowed him to apologize for keeping the secret from her. She’d just walked away, refusing to talk to him.

  He could see how it would seem that he didn’t trust her not to tell Tatiana—her best friend—where her baby had gone. He couldn’t help but wonder if he’d kept the information from her because on some level, he had still been holding back from committing.

  Whatever the reason, he owed her an apology. They had been engaged. He should have honored that commitment he’d made to Angela. It hadn’t been fair to expect her to build a relationship with Maya without all the facts.

  He stalked to the foyer to snag his jacket and pluck his keys out of the carved wood bowl in the entryway. He pulled open the door and stopped short. Maya stood on the other side, her keys in hand.

  Given how upset she’d been, he hadn’t expected to see her so soon. Except she didn’t look at all distressed. In fact, she had a hopeful gleam in her tired eyes. All that emotion in a short time must have been draining.

  She pushed past him into the house, turning back to him, tentative but with a growing excitement building. “Guess what?”

  Shrugging, he tried to imagine. A boy, maybe? Final grades were posted and she made the president’s list? Anything was possible. “I haven’t a clue.”

  “I went to see my birth mother,” she blurted. “I told her I’m her daughter.”

  He went cold inside. He’d figured she would want to meet Tatiana, but he hadn’t thought it would happen this soon, before she really had the chance to think through all the implications of the meeting. To prepare herself for her birth mother’s potential reactions. He wanted Maya to be happy, but he also wanted to protect her from hurt. What if Tatiana didn’t want Maya in her life?

  Although based on the happiness on his daughter’s face, it seemed the meeting had gone well. “What did Tatiana say?”

  “She was so shocked.” Maya’s hands moved a million miles a minute as she spoke. “She definitely had no idea that you were raising her biological daughter.”

  It had been her own family’s stipulation. Ryder had kept it a secret for good reason.

  “And?” Questions piled up inside him, blanketed with a deep sense of foreboding. He could never place his concern, but something about Tatiana had always sent his senses skidding.

  “She was glad to meet me. She said she’d never stopped loving me. She cried.” Maya swiped away a fresh stream of tears rolling down her cheeks. “She seemed happy, but something in her face made me really believe she regretted the decision, too, you know? Like maybe she’d begged her dad not to send me away? She seemed so overwhelmed, I decided to give her some space to digest.”

  Thinking of Tatiana’s pain sent his thoughts spiraling. His daughter continued to share information about the meeting, but Ryder lost track of her words as bits and pieces of what had happened over the past several months swirled through his head. Vincent Hamm’s death. His employee Willem Inwood going to prison for his role in a Ponzi scheme, a scheme he’d attempted to blame on Sterling Perry.

  Decades of controversy over that one damn piece of land Harrington York had willed to Ryder, but both Sterling Perry and Sam Havery thought was rightfully theirs. The land had proved to be rich in oil, stoking the bitterness Perry and Havery harbored.

  And the oddest piece in this whole puzzle. Inwood was Tatiana’s half brother. Ryder had thought it strange Inwood would do something that could jeopardize Tatiana’s position at Perry Holdings. But what if they had been colluding to get back at both Ryder and Sterling because of that land?

  He could feel the blood drain from his face as he wrapped his brain around the possibility—probability—that Tatiana could have orchestrated those rumors to avenge what happened to her father. For having to give up her baby since she couldn’t offer her a future.

  An even more horrifying prospect occurred to him. Could she have even killed Vincent?

  No. That was a stretch. This was Angela’s best friend he was talking about...

  Oh God. Angela.

  He focused on his daughter again. “Maya, kiddo, I am so glad you’re happy.” He didn’t even want to think of what it would do to his daughter if it turned out her newly found biological mother was a criminal. “I want to hear all about it. But I need to take care of some quick business. Will you wait for me here?”

  “Sure, Dad.” She backed away, smiling. “It’s okay, really. I have tons of things I want to write in my diary so I don’t forget anything about this day.”

  She faded from sight in a flurry of teenage energy and red hair. A surge of protectiveness shot through him. For her. For Angela.

  Heaven help anyone who tried to harm his family.

  Gathering his keys and wallet, he tried to call Angela again. It went straight to voice mail. He tried Melinda’s number, willing her to pick up.

  “Hello?” she said, her voice so like Angela’s, a shared twin timbre. “What’s going on, Ryder?”

  His boots ate up the space to the garage. “Is Angela with you? She’s not answering her cell and I need to talk to her.”

  “No, she’s not, but I’m at my condo with Slade packing up a few last things before I sell the place.” Melinda’s condo was in the same building as Angela’s. “Do you want me to go check on her?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “I’ll call you back from her place if she’s not there.”

  “Thank you.” He didn’t want to worry Melinda, given her pregnancy, but he also didn’t want to waste a minute more.

  Waiting for her to phone back felt like an eternity. He threw open the door of his truck and settled behind the wheel, ready to tear out of there if he needed to start a search.

  His cell rang from where he’d placed it on the dash. Melinda. He jabbed the screen before the second tone could chime.

  “Did you find her?” he asked without preamble.

  “She’s not here, Ryder.” Melinda’s answer ramped up his concern. “But I found a note she left behind about some kind of meeting? It says, ‘T at the TCC building at 8 p.m.’ Does that make any sense to you?”

  His grip tightened on the steering wheel. He didn’t want to believe the worst. But he knew in his gut, Angela was in grave danger. “Thank you, Melinda. You’ve been a big help.”

  Without a second to waste, he peeled out of the garage. Plowing down the drive, he called for backup to meet him at the club.

  Houston police detective Zoe Warren.

  Royal sheriff Nathan Battle, who, thank God, was still in town.

  Ryder knew they wouldn’t question him or write off his suspicions the way someone on the other end of a 911 call might. And sure enough, they agreed without hesitation. Zoe had been with Cord and Jesse, who were coming, as well.

  The drive felt like an eternity even though he knew he’d made it in half the usual time. Pulling up behind the TCC building, Ryder didn’t know whether to be relieved or horrified to find Angela’s car parked beside another vehicle. Tatiana Havery’s?

  Two more cars swept i
n, doors opening, as his backup arrived. Sheriff Battle raised a finger to his mouth for silence, then motioned for them to follow him.

  Ryder’s heart raced as they entered the building, fast and silent, everything inside him telling him he needed to get to Angela. Now.

  Muffled voices echoed down the corridor, female voices. Coming from the parlor.

  Ryder bit back bile while the group crept closer. He kept his footfalls quiet as he picked his way forward, praying there wouldn’t be a squeaky floorboard. The voices grew louder, more distinctive.

  Tatiana.

  Angela.

  And Esme?

  Nothing about this scene made sense to him. How had it gotten to this point? How had Angela found herself in the crosshairs?

  Another rolling wave of protective urges washed over his body. He needed to make sure Angela—and Esme—made it out alive. And in one piece.

  Ryder shot a quick look at Jesse Stevens, the Royal rancher who was Cord’s close friend. His face was pale, his jaw flexing.

  But he looked every bit as hell-bent on getting to the women as Ryder.

  The door had a vintage stained glass inset. Shadows moved on the other side, muffled sounds seeping through...

  “The Perrys and Currins have to pay for what they did to my father. To me. To my child.”

  Tatiana.

  Every muscle in Ryder tensed for action. He burned to push through that door now and to hell with caution.

  Zoe paused, holding up a hand for them to wait. Nathan Battle nodded. This was Zoe’s jurisdiction. Her case. Her bust. But Ryder intended to be right on her heels.

  Nathan’s lips thinned as he checked his weapon. Tension was so thick that it was tangible in the air.

  Withdrawing her weapon, Zoe mouthed silently, “One, two...three.”

  They moved as one, bursting into the room. Ryder’s hungry gaze devoured the sight of Angela. Alive.

  And held at gunpoint.

  “Tatiana,” Ryder called, distracting her for a split second, willing to risk taking a shot without hesitation. Angela’s life was at stake.