by Sheila Kell
“While we’re waiting for Danny,” Devon said, “I can give you this. Brian having business in Baltimore seemed odd, so I did some digging. It took some work, but I found that he did several things, but this one stood out. He met with a firm that conducts mineral testing.”
Trent’s mind went into a whirlwind. “The test results were probably in the stolen papers.”
“Probably. I checked it out and it was testing for silver,” Devon added.
AJ stood and walked around the desk to look out the window. “Which could mean they thought she’d seen the results and that’s why they went after her. At least, before Mike announced the future change in ownership.”
Trent nodded. “Someone didn’t want Mike to find out that he had silver on his property, which would’ve made the price skyrocket if he changed his mind and decided to sell.”
“But,” Matt said, “he wouldn’t sell it. Maybe whoever it is thought that if Mike ran out of heirs, he’d sell.”
“Or,” Trent thought out loud, “Luke could’ve made sure his father only had him left as an option so he’d have to leave it to him.”
“Hold on to that thought, Trent,” Jesse said. “Let’s hear what the boys have first. Danny is on the line. Go ahead, Danny.”
“Steve and I were able to meet with Luke, and Christian Kent.”
“Not Brightmore?” A tingle started at the base of Trent’s spine, warning him something bad was on the horizon.
“Couldn’t nail down where Brightmore was. The kid travels a lot. But we do need to speak with him.”
“Why’s that?” Jesse asked.
“Because I didn’t really get anything from the other two. Luke doesn’t seem to be the type to steal the ranch, nor does his current lover. He doesn’t begrudge the ranch not being left to him.”
“Bullshit,” AJ interjected and returned to his seat. “Who doesn’t get mad when your birthright is taken from you?”
Danny chuckled. “Oh, I didn’t say he wasn’t mad about it—at first, but when I asked if he thought his brother’s accident might’ve been on purpose to get their dad to sell the land, he went ballistic at the thought. He tried to hire me to find out the truth.”
Frustration welled within Trent, and he stood and paced behind Mike’s desk. Growing up without any siblings and without a home the family owned, Trent didn’t know how he’d react in that scenario. His parents had only left him money and lies. And love. They loved me.
“Well,” Jesse said, “that still doesn’t clear him.”
“No, but the more he and I talked, the less my gut told me he was involved. I don’t think he’s our man.”
“Okay.” Trent stopped his pacing and turned to the phone. “What about Kent?”
Danny cleared his throat. “Christian Kent is buying land in abundance, and he sees the resources around the Platt ranch as a bonus. He isn’t focusing only on their land, and, as far as Steve and I could find, nothing is happening with other places he’s trying to buy. So he’s not strong-arming others to get what he wants.”
“But there’s silver here. Maybe he found out.” Trent knew the silver mine had to be the crux of it all.
“He didn’t seem too heartbroken about not getting the ranch. He said he’d keep trying just like he would for other ranches in the area.” Danny sighed. “I don’t think he knows about the mine. He was too easy to let it ride like he has in the past.”
“Shit! This is too damn frustrating.” Trent’s pulse rate spiked in disappointment. He guessed it’d been too much to ask for one of them to just flat-out admit to doing it all. That’d be too fucking easy and stupid on the criminal’s part.
“I did find one interesting nugget, though. Not from Kent, but from Luke.”
Danny’s statement perked Trent up. “What is it?”
“Someone approached Luke about buying his family’s ranch should it fall to him. He thought it odd how it had been worded, but at the time he’d been drinking, so he didn’t think too hard on it. He only saw dollar signs. After sobering up, he worried about it.”
“But did he do anything about it?” Matt asked.
“No,” Danny said. “And worse, he doesn’t remember who it was, and the description could be Brightmore or Kent, but it could also be millions of other men.”
“Hang on,” Devon interjected. “I’ve just found something that’s interesting. I started that research for Kelly’s friend in jail.”
Trent growled. “He’s not her friend. He’s just a story, and I don’t really care about it right now.” What the fuck did that have to do with the here and now? They had Kelly’s safety to worry about. Copeland could stay in jail until they had ample time to deal with his plea for help.
“You might be, brother. The Platt case made me wonder if someone had been trying to buy up Copeland Enterprises and had framed Adrian to make it easier to buy. It was as good a reason as any I could think of at the time.”
Trent grumbled, “Don’t make me wait in suspense, Dev, what’ve you got?”
“The same someone trying to buy the Platt ranch also tried to buy Copeland Enterprises.”
“What? Who?” Trent slammed his fists on the table in frustration. Why couldn’t Devon just spit it out all at once? His need to tease them and keep them in suspense wasn’t even in the least funny since it involved Kelly’s safety.
“Reggie Brightmore.”
“Fuck. Think he hired the arsonist?” Matt questioned.
“It’s possible since Adrian didn’t want to sell,” Devon answered. “When I spoke with Adrian, he did mention the offer and then the fires, but we didn’t automatically connect the two.”
Anger boiled inside Trent. This little shit of a rich man’s son had tried to kill his fiancée. The man didn’t deserve to live. “Wait, you already knew Brightmore was involved?”
“No. Brightmore used an attorney to make the offer. It took some—” He cleared his throat. “—digging to find out who the client was.”
But, of course, Devon found out. Pissed at his brother for spending time on their other case and not his, Trent fought for control because the fact that he had may have been the break they needed. Or, at least gave them someone to focus their efforts upon. Deep breath out, he reminded himself, trying to bring calm back into his sphere. Okay, he could deal with Devon’s split focus, but he’d be damned if he’d thank Devon for taking his eye off solving Kelly’s situation.
The sound of keystrokes told him someone—most likely Devon—was typing away on a keyboard. Hopefully to find Brightmore’s location. Danny and Steve not finding the man bothered Trent. Those two men could usually find anyone, especially with Devon’s help.
“Unless there’s an unknown variable we haven’t found, it has to be Brightmore.” Trent’s gut went with Reggie.
“You could be right, but the two cases aren’t connected. However,” Jesse said before anyone could interrupt, “Copeland not selling out and having issues does make your situations similar enough to put the man front and center.”
Trent sighed. “I doubt we’ll get a confession from him. Hell, if we don’t even know where he’s at—”
“Trent,” Devon interrupted, “you’d best gear up, ASAP.” His directive was backed by the sound of keyboard clicks.
Adrenaline on overload, he clenched his fists at his side. “What’s going on?”
“Reggie is on a flight to Montana.”
“Fuck!” Trent roared.
“We’re there as soon as we can,” Jesse assured.
Christ, he needed them here now. If Brightmore was their man, his coming here couldn’t be good. Maybe he was just making an offer again, but maybe he was coming to take care of Kelly personally. Fuck!
They spoke for a few minutes about tactics and set plans because they expected Brightmore to arrive and speak with Mike again. Not tipping their hand in case he was innocent would probably kill Trent. Anger at the man raged through him.
Before they disconnected, he asked, “Jesse, c
an I talk to you a minute? In private?”
“Sure.”
Trent picked up his phone, turned off the speaker and put it to his ear, waiting for Jesse to do the same.
After AJ and Matt had left the room, he spoke, “Kelly and I plan to stay in Montana. We’ll come home and wrap up our lives in Baltimore, but we’ll live here.”
“What will you do?”
“I’m going to become a rancher. Have some cattle. Breed some horses. Muck out some stalls. That kind of thing.” He chuckled, which surprised him considering he’d been pissed off a second ago. He’d chosen right for his new life.
“We’ve still agreed to make you a partner in the business. You just need to sign the paperwork.”
He shook his head then remembered Jesse couldn’t see him. “I’ll pass.”
“We’ll work out your not being involved if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“I appreciate that, but it’s not that. I just can’t.” He didn’t want anything that showed he’d accepted being Senator Hamilton’s son. He’d already acknowledged the man’s other children as his siblings. That was enough.
“Okay.” Jesse paused. “If you change your mind, we’re here.”
“Thanks, man.”
“I wish you luck at what you’re doing. If you ever need anything, and I mean anything, you just call. We’ll be there for you without fail.”
His eyes misted at the deep sentiment from Jesse. Trent knew that he meant it and that built a love in his heart for his brother that he’d never expected to feel.
Jamie had been right about so many things. He wished she’d been here so he could share his breakthroughs with her. Of course, she’d still be after him to settle with the senator. As far as he was concerned, that door could remain closed.
KELLY FOLDED A sweater from the laundry basket while Trent folded a pair of jeans. Her mind tried to focus on the good things, like her wedding, but it wouldn’t settle on anything but problems. Although glad HIS had some information, her story about Adrian—and how it may have been inaccurate—also bothered her. “Do you really think he set Adrian up for the arson charges?” she asked Trent.
Having heard all the team had found, she wished Adrian had HIS when all the trouble went down. Then again, everyone assumed him guilty, so no one went to too much effort to help him. Losing his money hadn’t helped either.
Trent shrugged and reached for a pair of black socks, matched them and rolled them together. “We don’t know him, so anything’s possible. It could just be a coincidence the two cases met, but I’m not a big believer in coincidence between cases.”
With a snort of agreement, she placed the sweater on a pile when Ashley decided to give her a swift kick. “Oh.” She rubbed her hand over her belly.
He dropped the socks and rushed to her side. “Are you okay?” His frantic concern made her laugh.
Taking his hand, she placed it over where the baby had been moving. “She’s just making herself known today.”
A smile spread on his face when she kicked again. “That’s our girl.”
To know that this man would be raising Ashley without holding her time with Brian against her bled a stronger love into her heart. With Roger McKenzie as a great father role model, Trent had explained that while the girl would know all about Brian, he wouldn’t deny her anything, including the Hamilton brood. Minus Blake, of course.
She’d tackle that in a few minutes. At the moment, the thought of Reggie Brightmore bothered her.
The link to Adrian Copeland astonished her. Coincidence or not, if Reggie had truly set him up, a deep sadness for what the man had endured hit her gut. Even she’d almost crucified him in the public eye. She was glad he’d taken her advice and hired HIS to find out the truth.
With a heavy heart, she hoped it helped him get released. It wasn’t too late to recover all that he’d lost.
Worrying her lip with her teeth, her mind shifted again. “Do you think Reggie will come here?”
Trent reached his arms around her and pulled her close to him. With a confident grin, he said, “Even if he does, we’ll be fine. Just promise me that you’ll stick with one of us, preferably me.”
Panic tried to seize her, but she tamped it back—somewhat.
It must’ve shown in her eyes because Trent kissed her lightly on the lips. “Promise me, angel.”
“Oh, that’s an easy promise.” And it was. If Reggie had been the one to have someone try to kill her, she didn’t want to run into him, especially alone. “What if it’s not him?”
“Then we’ll cross that bridge when it happens.”
His assurance didn’t stop her flutters of worry. To think this could be over soon and they could start their new life. Her heart soared. They’d be married. Finally, she’d be with her Mr. Right forever. And to be near her family… life didn’t get much better than it was, with the exception of someone possibly trying to kill her.
Putting her arms around Trent’s neck, she leaned up and kissed him for what had been meant to be a peck but turned into a passionate embrace once he took control. As her tongue played with his, he leaned his pelvis into her so she could feel the beginning of his arousal.
Butterflies fluttered in her stomach at the thought she could do that to him with only their lips connected. Yet he also got her wet with only a kiss, sometimes even just a hint of one.
Breaking apart, he looked at her and smiled. “I love you.”
She’d never tire of hearing those words from him. “I love you, too.”
Separating himself, he reached back for the discarded socks. “Let’s get this done and maybe get to bed early.” He winked playfully.
That sounded like an amazing idea, so she picked up something to fold. Tamping down her desire enough to get through the task, she thought of the other topic she’d meant to introduce. Now or never. “When are you going to see Blake?” She started. Was that a growl from him?
“I don’t want to talk about him.”
“You accepted the men as your brothers and Emily as your sister.”
One of his shoulders lifted in a shrug. “That’s different.”
“How?”
Running his fingers through his hair, he sighed. “They’re blameless. Besides, growing up, it always felt like they were at least cousins. I couldn’t hold anything against them.”
“Your parents?”
“I’ve finally let that go. They were good to me, but they lied. I had a hard time with that. Then I figured they were up against the powerful Senator Hamilton. They probably didn’t think they had any choice.”
Somehow Kelly didn’t think that to be the case—completely, but she refused to say so.
Closing the distance between them, she placed her hand on his arm. “Look, I’m not saying what he did was right or wrong, or that you must accept him as your father. But this is bothering you, and before we marry, you must resolve your relationship with him”—she held out her hand to stop his interruption—“no matter what it turns out to be.”
The scowl on his face had her taking a step backward.
Lord, she hoped she didn’t just postpone her wedding indefinitely.
NED TYLER—A fairly new ranch hand—had missed Friday night in town with the other hands because he was sick. Kelly wanted to check on him in the bunkhouse. She understood the warnings and potential threat to herself, so she asked Trent to accompany her. With the way he carried on, you’d have thought she’d asked for the world.
“I’d rather you didn’t leave the house,” he told her.
“I’m just going to the bunkhouse, and if you come with me, I’ll be perfectly safe, not that I wouldn’t already with both AJ and Matt patrolling.” She couldn’t be any safer. She gulped. Famous last words in a movie. But she really was safe. “I just want to bring some chicken noodle soup and check his fever.”
“Why? You can’t do anything for it.”
She sighed in frustration. “No, but if it’s too high, we’d need to g
et him to the hospital.”
Trent grumbled something under his breath she couldn’t make out, but she smiled. It meant he was coming around to her way. “Okay, but you listen to everything I say.”
With her sweetest smile, she said, “Don’t I always?”
He tossed his head back and laughed. “Like that would ever be the day.”
Kelly opened a can of soup while Trent talked to AJ and Matt through that earpiece setup he had. She liked he didn’t have to go track the men down to tell them their plans. If Ned still felt poorly tomorrow, she’d make him a pot of homemade soup. That should’ve been what she’d done in the first place, but she hadn’t counted on whether Trent would agree or not. She wouldn’t go behind his back when her and her daughter’s lives were at risk.
While stirring the pot as it heated on the stove, strong arms wrapped around her from behind and Trent’s head leaned down beside her ear. “You look good enough to eat.” Then he ground himself against her backside where she could feel the distinct beginnings of an erection.
She giggled. The man was insatiable. Then again, she pretty much felt the same way every time she saw him. It’d be a sad day when her hormones went in the other direction as some women’s tended to do because she couldn’t fathom not having sex while pregnant.
She set the spoon down, turned and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Then go ahead,” she teased.
After that statement, and from the lust in his eyes, she braced herself for a bruising kiss and to be swept off her feet in ecstasy. Instead, he nibbled on her lips as if really tasting her. A string of warmth made its way through her body resting at her core. Damn, the man could turn her on like no other.
Using his tongue, he outlined her lips before he licked the seam and slid it into her mouth. Her tongue greeted his in welcome. Just knowing the things that man can do with that tongue sent delightful shivers coursing through her. They’d have to hurry their visit and get into bed—but not to sleep.
