Runaway Heiress

by Jennifer Morey

  As she stared at him for long seconds, her expression blank but rigid, he sensed a storm brewing.

  Standing, she faced him. “That’s exciting.” With that she stepped out from the sectional and started toward the stairs.

  “Sadie.” He went after her.

  “I know where this is headed.”

  He caught her and turned her. “I can come back.”

  “When you’re all finished with Kaelyn’s twin sister?”

  Not striking her as the jealous type, Jasper didn’t say anything. He let go of her arm.

  “She probably has an interesting case for you,” Sadie said.

  “Sadie...”

  “You’ll have a bonus if she looks like Kaelyn, too. Lucky you.”

  Were her hormones getting the better of her? No matter, he had to set her straight. He stepped closer. Tipping her chin up with his fingers, he said, “I won’t quit my job. I won’t abandon you and our baby. And I sure as hell won’t stray with a woman who looks like Kaelyn.”

  Her eyes softened, upper lids slipping lower. Her lips parted.

  “But will you leave DAI to live here?” she asked, her voice low and shaky as though she struggled with passion.

  He let her voice float through him and fed his eyes with the sight of hers meeting his growing hunger. Rather than answer, he lowered his head and kissed her, light and tender. He couldn’t say he’d leave DAI.

  She pushed his chest and stepped back. Building anger doused her passion. “You’ll go back to work and visit when you can, won’t you? Which won’t be often. What’s the point, Jasper? Why don’t you just walk away and never look back? That’s what you’ve done ever since Kaelyn committed suicide, isn’t it?”

  She spoke crass and blunt. Hearing committed suicide and directly linking it to his behavior hit him hard. He had avoided relationships but it wasn’t fair for her to expect him to forget everything he’d built at DAI to come live here with her and the baby—just for the baby.

  Or did this outburst of hers indicate a suppressed wish?

  “I thought you didn’t trust me,” he said.

  “I trust you.”

  “Not with your heart. I can keep Darien from killing you, but I can’t make you open yourself to me.”

  “Is that really what you want?” she countered.

  Again, she posed a question he couldn’t answer. And also again, she wasn’t playing fair.

  “Is that what you really want, Sadie?” When she averted her head and said nothing, frustration billowed up. “Don’t ask me questions you yourself can’t even answer.”

  He strode out of the room, needing time away from her to gather his thoughts. One thing he knew for sure; he had to take a trip to DAI. He couldn’t risk his job, or the meeting with Kendra. Sadie would just have to deal with his temporary absence. At least...he hoped it would only be temporary.

  His gait slowed as he realized he wouldn’t be happy leaving her, even temporarily.

  * * *

  The next morning, Sadie felt terrible. She’d accused Jasper of putting his job before her and the baby and hadn’t considered his responsibility to DAI. He had a job he had to maintain. How could he do that if he was always with her? And they hadn’t known each other long. The baby threw them together well beyond the natural progression of things.

  After dressing in a blue-and-white college-style flannel over a white T-shirt and a pair of jeans, Sadie started downstairs and heard voices in the kitchen. Jasper and the new bodyguards from DAI. She descended the rest of the way quiet as a spider. Sneaking closer and staying out of sight, she went to the wall near the entrance. Peeking around the corner, she saw three men. Jasper laughed at something funny the tallest of them said. He was blond and the other was darker and much less animated. These must be Jasper’s replacements. Handsome and strong...like Jasper.

  “Seems we have an addition to our meeting,” the darker man said, moving his eyes toward the door where she stood.

  So much for hiding. Smoothing her hair and tucking unruly strands behind her ear, she moved out from the wall as though she hadn’t been standing there.

  Jasper watched her with still-smiling eyes that warmed the nearer she came. She wondered if he covered the residual effects of their last exchange or if this maddening attraction brought on the natural reaction.

  “Sadie,” he greeted, “this is Dwayne and Hershel. They’ll be watching you while I make my quick trip to DAI.”

  He must have added quick in deference to her.

  She nodded to the darker man, Dwayne, and then the blond, Hershel. “Hello.”

  “A very nice hello to you.” Hershel defied his wise name with a once-over that Jasper noticed with a slight scowl.

  “I need to talk to you.” Jasper gently took her arm and steered her away from the men.

  In the living room, he let her go and she faced him.

  “I’m going back to DAI in the morning,” he said.

  She figured he wouldn’t wait long to go back. Holding on to her strength, she didn’t allow herself to feel sad.

  “I understand you have to work.”

  “Do you?” His brow rose as though skeptical.

  “Yes. Come back when you can. I’ll be all right.” She always was. She had gotten good at making sure of that. But now she saw that her independence may have gone on too long, that maybe she should have at least tried to give other men a chance, give Jasper a chance.

  He still seemed skeptical.

  “My lack of trust in men...in you...made me say things yesterday that I shouldn’t have,” she said.

  “I’m coming back, Sadie.”

  She really didn’t want to hash this out again. “I believe you.” She just didn’t believe he’d stay. “I’d appreciate it if you slept in another room tonight.”

  By his lengthy silence she assumed he understood why. She might believe he’d come back but commitment was another issue. He’d be there for their baby, but how much? What would he consider being there?

  “Sure. Okay.” He nodded a few times awkwardly. “I’ll call you when I get there.”

  Don’t bother, she wanted to say. But her heart rejoiced with eager anticipation for that call.

  Chapter 16

  Jasper finished walking the perimeter and checking with the gatehouse and ops center guards. All was quiet, so he went inside the house and climbed the stairs to the library.

  The soldiers Kadin had sent would stay close to Sadie once he left. Both had rooms next to hers. Jasper would take another down the hall. Her distance bothered him but he couldn’t blame her. She didn’t trust him to stick around and neither was sure they were right for each other. Even as the other voice in his head said that, his deeper self challenged, as though the statement didn’t ring true.

  The radio went live. “Mr. Roesch?”

  It was the gatehouse guard.

  “Yes?”

  “Ms. Moreno is asking for you. She’s waiting at the gate. She asked you to hurry.”

  Jasper left the library and ran down the stairs, pushing through the front door and jogging toward the entrance to the property. He could see the car, exhaust fogging the chilly spring mountain air. The guard stood inside the gatehouse, and the gate remained closed.

  Slowing as he approached the driver, he bent and saw Sadie in the back. He opened the door.

  “Get in,” she said. “We don’t have much time.”

  “What happened?”

  “Steven called. He said Darien had him and if I didn’t come alone he’d kill him. When Steven added for me not to come no matter what Darien did to him, I heard Darien beat him.” She put her hand over her mouth, as though reliving the horror.

  Jasper got into the car. “It will be all right. Remember I said he’s de
sperate. He’s doing desperate things.”

  “Steven is my friend.” Tears moistened her eyes.

  Jasper slid closer and put his arm around her. When she burrowed even closer, his heart surged with warm affection.

  “Did you talk to Darien?” he asked.

  “Yes.” Her lower lip trembled. “He will kill Steven if I don’t go alone.”

  Darien would kill Steven if he had the chance, but Jasper could not put Sadie and the baby in a dangerous situation. “You will, but you’ll have plenty of backup.” He used his radio to call Dwayne and Hershel.

  “Get out of this car, Sadie. We’ll take one of the SUVs.”

  Sniffling, she nodded with sad, worried eyes meeting his. She’d had all she could take of this and he’d see to it she never had to be this stressed again.

  Getting out with her, he told Sadie’s driver to take the car back to the garage.

  The soldiers drove up in a big black armored SUV. “What’s the plan, boss?” the driver asked, the blond man.

  “Which one of you is a good shot?” he asked.

  “We’re both top ranked,” Hershel said from behind the driver’s wheel. “We can take position with a clean shot through a window if we need to.”

  “We can get inside, too,” Dwayne said from the passenger seat, the darker of the two. “Darien won’t know we’re there.”

  “He may not be alone.”

  “He’s alone,” Jasper said. “Nobody would follow him now. He’s got too much heat on him. At most he’ll have one or two.”

  “We can take two or three out,” Hershel said.

  Jasper hated the idea of Sadie going anywhere near Darien.

  “It’s the best way, Jasper,” Sadie said.

  “We won’t send her in until we’re sure we have the situation under control,” Hershel said.

  They might have control at first but things could go sour in a blink. But it was their best chance of saving Steven.

  “All right.” He looked at Sadie. “Get in.”

  Sadie climbed into the back and Jasper retrieved some weapons from the rear cargo area. Sitting next to her in the SUV, Hershel drove through the now-open gate while Jasper showed Sadie a handgun.

  “This is a 9mm Glock. It’s easy to use.” He pressed the side button to release the magazine. “The bullets go in here. It’s full now so you have fifteen.” He put the magazine back in. “Pull the slide back and you now have a round chambered. Here’s the safety. Turn that off when you see Darien. Don’t worry about firing. I won’t be far behind you.”

  “But if something goes wrong I’ll be prepared.”

  “Have you ever shot a gun before?”

  “Steven showed me a little.”

  Jasper didn’t show his apprehension. He wouldn’t let her out of his sight.

  * * *

  Sadie gave directions to the coffee shop where Darien had instructed her to meet. The public place had likely convinced her to go along with his demand to meet or he’d kill Steven. He must have some kind of plan to fool her.

  “Park here,” Jasper said to Hershel, who pulled to the side of the road, parallel parking under cover of trees a bit down from the coffee shop.

  Jasper took Sadie’s face between his hands. “I’ll be watching you. Keep as much distance as you can from him. Don’t get close enough for him to grab you. If he tries, run.”

  She nodded. “What if he has a gun?”

  “He will. If he pulls it out, I’ll kill him.”

  Not looking forward to witnessing that, Sadie bit her lip. Flashes of Henry came back to haunt her then, the way he looked at her with hope, and then that final fraction of a second when he knew his life would end. The gunshot. She’d shut her eyes but she’d seen the gory aftermath.

  “I’ll be with you, Sadie,” Jasper said. “We all will.”

  Jasper’s reassurance took away the ugliness of the memory. Realizing she’d shut her eyes just as she had in her mind, she turned to him. She pecked a quick kiss and would have gotten out of the car.

  He stopped her. “He’ll be expecting you and a driver. He’ll be relieved when he doesn’t see me.”

  “He’ll suspect you’re nearby,” she said.

  “He told you to come alone or he’d kill Steven. If he doesn’t see me, he’ll relax enough.”

  She nodded. “Okay.”

  To Dwayne he said, “You come with me.” Then to Hershel he said, “After you drop Sadie off in front of the coffee shop, park as fast as you can and go around to the back. We’ll radio you when we locate Darien.”

  “Roger that,” the driver said.

  Jasper kissed her this time, quick like she’d bestowed on him, but the brief heat fanned from the last and he remained close to her mouth, eyes absorbed with hers for just a moment before he left the car.

  She watched him go to the sidewalk, Dwayne joining him, and then vanish into the trees as the driver pulled forward. Lights from several shops illuminated the street. The first in the line of brick and varying colored siding, the coffee shop teemed with activity. People filled most of the tables through the front windows. A man left and two women entered. A sidewalk chalkboard advertised a specialty scone, sold only on Wednesdays—today. A man stepped out from the narrow alley between the building and the trees. The alley led to the back of a house.

  Darien stepped into the light and raised his hand, a friendly gesture, as though to ease her trepidation. Seeing him gave her a sick feeling, a wave of nausea rolling through her stomach and abdomen. All the old memories came forward, the shock of discovering his monstrous side, and the terror of being held captive in her own home, a beautiful home that had become so ugly. She’d loved the mansion he’d built for her. That’s what had inspired her to build her castle in Wyoming, to bring back the beauty, the fairy tale.

  Sadie’s pulse kicked into high alert. But, oh, what a player. Tucking the pistol into her jacket pocket, she climbed out of the car. Although she wanted to, she didn’t look toward the trees, fearing she’d give away Jasper’s intent. Instead she looked toward the busy coffee shop. A couple exited, the man noticing her briefly before putting his arm around his girl and guiding her toward the small parking lot on the other side of the building.

  Sadie walked toward Darien. He wore a long trench coat over his usual business attire, complete with a tie. Still the tall, dark and handsome man she’d met so long ago, his attractiveness did nothing for her now. He instilled only fear.

  He smiled much in the way of a villain she’d seen in a movie, sly with a hint of craziness. “Catalina, so good to see you again.” He outstretched his arms as though she’d go into them and greet a missed friend.

  She stopped a good ten feet from him.

  His smile flattened. “I suppose my method of getting you here is to blame for that.”

  “Where is Steven?”

  “Ah, Steven. How long has he been communicating with you?”

  Sadie didn’t answer.

  “Since you left? Did he help you?” When she again said nothing, he went on, “I always wondered how you got away. Steven wouldn’t tell me anything.”

  “Where is he?” she demanded.

  Darien leaned to one side, searching the street. “Did you come alone like I asked?”

  “You didn’t ask.”

  “Your driver left.”

  She waited for him to finish delaying. Was Steven already dead? A surge of rage gave her new strength. She’d kill him herself if he did.

  “Right this way.” Darien turned, outstretching his arm as though welcoming her into his lair. “I rented the house right here. I thought you’d feel more comfortable meeting me here, where you and Steven met.”

  Steven had told him that much. Harmless enough.

  Sadie walked a g
ood distance from him, stopping when Darien did to wait for her.

  He smiled in that creepy way again and resumed his trek toward the dark house. He hadn’t even left an outside light on. At the door, he opened it and moved aside to allow her to pass.

  “You go ahead,” she said.

  “Afraid to get too close?”

  When she didn’t reply, he breathed a laugh and went inside. She slowly held the door open and entered.

  “You know,” Darien said, removing his coat, “there was a time when we were very close. You used to love me. We had a good, solid relationship.”

  She decided not to provoke him. “Where is Steven?”

  His smile faded and several seconds passed.

  Sadie slipped her hands into her jacket pockets, curling her right around the handle of the pistol. It was ready to fire.

  Darien’s gaze went down to the pockets and then rose. “He’s in the basement.” He gestured to the open stairway across from the back door.

  She had a feeling he planned to lure her down there. “You first,” she said.

  With a sinister laugh, he did as she asked. Sadie followed him down the stairs. Stepping into an old, dimly lit basement with low ceilings, she searched for and found Steven. Tied to a chair at the far end, he lifted his battered head.

  “Steven!” Sadie rushed to Steven, kneeling and checking the severity of his injuries. His left eye was red and swollen, his lip split.

  She turned back to Darien. “What have you done to him?”

  “Sadie,” Steven said in a raspy, dry voice. “What are you doing here?”

  “Are you all right?”

  “Get out of here. He’s lost his mind. He said he’d use me to bring you here and then he’d take you back to Toronto where he thinks you belong.”

  Hearing footfalls on the cracked, dirty cement floor, Sadie stood and withdrew her pistol, aiming it at Darien.

  “That’s far enough,” she said.

  Darien cocked his head as he looked at the weapon and then straightened, all very horror movie, insanity making him bolder than he should be. “You wouldn’t shoot me.” He chuckled. “You don’t have the heart for it. You left your position with Loredo to help homeless people, people who can’t make it on their own,” he jeered.