Runaway Heiress

by Jennifer Morey

  She didn’t expect him to understand. He was too much like her father and she’d still been under her father’s spell to see the signs. Only Darien had gone off the deep end, whereas her father showed promise to change his ways.

  “I will shoot you if I have to,” she said. “I’m not going anywhere with you. This ends now. After tonight, I will never have to fear you coming after me again.”

  “Coming after you,” Darien continued to mock. “I’m merely bringing you home.”

  “My home is here now.”

  His sarcasm began to slip into anger, she could see. She’d quickly learned how to recognize when he’d change over into that horrible man.

  “Your home is with me.” He began to move toward her. “This is how things will go, Catalina. First, I’m going to take that gun from you, then I’m going to use it to kill Steven for double-crossing me—and to teach you a lesson never to leave me again—and then we are going to calmly walk out the front door, get into the car I have waiting and fly back to Toronto.”

  He actually thought he’d get through Customs?

  “You’re crazier than I thought,” she said.

  “Home is a little different now. We have to go somewhere safe for a while. Maybe for the rest of our lives. But I have it all set up. I had money stashed a long time ago in preparation for this sad turn of events. But don’t think I’ll go into hiding alone. No. I’ll have my wife with me.”

  “We were never married.”

  “We will be.” He moved closer still and Sadie began to wonder if he knew her better than she thought. Images of Henry in his last moments tormented her. She couldn’t watch another life fade from eyes, even if those eyes belonged to a man as despicable as Darien.

  She stepped away from Steven, attempting to draw Darien away from him. But that backfired when Darien removed his own gun and rushed to Steven’s side, putting the gun against his temple.

  “Darien, don’t.”

  “Put your gun down and I won’t.”

  Sadie looked at Steven, who watched her fearlessly through his one eye.

  “Don’t listen to him, Sadie,” Steven said. “Shoot him.”

  “I’ll kill him,” Darien said.

  Where was Jasper? Sadie adjusted her hold on the pistol and aimed for Darien’s head. If she shot him he wouldn’t be able to pull the trigger, right? She glanced at Steven, who nodded once, almost imperceptibly.

  Just as Sadie fired, Jasper and Dwayne appeared in the basement and glass from a small basement window shattered.

  Darien slumped to the floor, his gun going off but the bullet strayed far off course, hitting the wall to the right of the window. She’d shot him in the chest and another bullet had gone through his head, the one fired through the window.

  Sadie rushed to Steven and untied his hands. Jasper appeared before him and untied his feet.

  “He needs an ambulance,” Sadie said.

  “I’m all right,” Steven protested.

  “Already on the way,” Dwayne said.

  From the stairs, Hershel appeared.

  “Nice shot,” Dwayne said.

  “Thanks.” Hershel grinned as though he’d done nothing more than throw a football really far.

  From outside, Sadie heard sirens grow louder.

  Steven stood, rubbing his chafed wrists. Jasper pulled Sadie to him and held her in a tight embrace. “I’m so glad that’s over.”

  Smiling, she leaned back and took in his worry. “It is over. Finally. Thank you.” She never expected to solve Bernie’s murder and be rid of Darien all at the same time. What a bonus. Except it was really finished. Jasper no longer had a reason to stay. He had to go back to Wyoming to investigate a new case. She had to say goodbye.

  Chapter 17

  “Welcome back.”

  Jasper looked up from his desktop computer at DAI. Kadin stood at the door of his office, dressed in black jeans and a vest with a tie over a white dress shirt, looking more like a father and a businessman than a cutthroat detective.

  Up until now, Jasper had tried to weed through an overwhelming number of emails. He had so much catching up to do. But thoughts of Sadie kept interfering. He couldn’t concentrate.

  “Thanks.”

  “When are you meeting Kendra Scott?”

  Jasper had to check the time, he’d drifted off about Sadie so often and so long he’d lost track. “Anytime now. She’s late.”

  Kadin entered the office, closing the door behind him. “You seem different.”

  “Different?” Jasper leaned back in his chair, hoping he appeared nonchalant and his dilemma didn’t show so much.

  “Distracted. You’re normally much more social. Everyone misses your wit around here.”

  Jasper wouldn’t call himself witty, not all the time and certainly not as a trademark of his personality, but he had liked the social aspect of working for DAI. It made the grisly work of solving cold murder cases much easier and more like a job than something disturbing.

  Kadin sat down on a chair before his desk and propped his ankle over his knee. “I’m starting to get pretty good at reading my detectives when they take cases that involve a beautiful woman.”

  Jasper could pick out which detectives Kadin referred to.

  A knock on the office door interrupted. The receptionist opened the door a bit. “Ms. Scott is here.”

  Kadin stood. “Let’s talk after you meet with her.”

  Why did Jasper get the feeling Kadin hoped Kendra’s case would keep him here at DAI?

  Kadin left and the receptionist opened the door wider to allow Kendra Scott to pass. A five-foot-seven redhead with bright green eyes stepped inside. She wore a sage-green dress with a brown leather jacket and boots. She removed her jacket as the receptionist closed the door.

  “Mr. Roesch. I’m so glad to finally meet you.”

  Jasper stood and moved out from behind his desk to shake her hand, more than idly curious why this woman had insisted on seeing him.

  “Kadin said you’ve been trying to reach me.”

  “Yes.” She glanced around the office. “Maybe we should sit for this.”

  He obliged her and followed her to the small conference table he had in his office, sitting across from her.

  She placed her hands on the table and looked down at them awhile. Then she finally lifted her eyes. “There is no easy way to say this so I’m just going to come out and say it.”

  Jasper rarely waited on pins and needles but he did now.

  “Kaelyn Johnston is...was...my twin sister.”

  Well, her news could have been worse. And then he wondered how he’d never known.

  “We were both adopted by different parents when we were very young,” Kendra said.

  “I’m sorry for your loss.” What else could he say? And why had she singled him out to tell him?

  “That’s only part of the reason I came here,” she said. “The main reason I’m here is my sister didn’t commit suicide. She was murdered.”

  Jasper didn’t give in to shock. Too many family members jumped to that conclusion when someone close took their own life. “I saw the police report. None of the details of her death point to foul play.”

  “Then her killer covered his tracks really well. He must have known the cops would look hard at her death, especially you.”

  Jasper went over all the facts in his mind and still wasn’t convinced. “I would have caught something like that.”

  “Maybe you’re being overconfident.”

  “I doubt it. Kaelyn was extremely important to me. I would have caught any sign of foul play.”

  “Not if there wasn’t any sign of it. Not if the killer left no trace.”

  “Kaelyn found me and we started writing and talking
before she died. We even met once. We had plans to see each other regularly.”

  “She made plans to go see you?”

  “Yes, and she was excited and happy.”

  That differed from the Kaelyn he remembered toward the end. Could it be she hadn’t committed suicide? If she’d made plans to be with her twin sister, why would she? Kaelyn must have been glad to reunite with her lost twin sister, and she had to know Jasper could have gotten her there safely—and undetected.

  Jasper felt released from years of guilt. He also felt compelled to look into this new information. It would have changed the way he’d investigated her death to begin with.

  But Sadie tugged him another direction. In fact, his feelings for her and the future he could have with her far outweighed his ambition to further embroil himself in Kaelyn. Kaelyn had caused him trouble from the moment he’d met her. She’d been beautiful and smart and charming and he’d definitely been attracted, but his relationship with her had been too complicated. Too difficult. With Sadie, everything seemed to fall into place on its own.

  “I’d like to hire you to look into her death,” Kendra said.

  “Of course. I’ll see to it that one of DAI’s best is assigned.”

  Kendra seemed crestfallen. “But... I was hoping you’d take the case. After all, you knew her. You loved her.”

  “Kaelyn was a wonderful person. I loved spending time with her, and for a long time I grieved her death. But I didn’t love her the way you might think. I don’t regret what happened between us. In fact, I’ll always have good memories of our time together. But I have someone else in my life now, and my priorities have to lie with her.”

  Further disappointment pulled her face down. “I understand. I’m disappointed, but I do understand.”

  “I’ll make sure you get a good detective. He’ll be unbiased and experienced.”

  Kendra stood, picking up her purse. “She’s a lucky lady.”

  He smiled slightly. He’d be a lucky man if she took him back.

  * * *

  After Kendra left, Jasper walked to Kadin’s office, his steps faster than usual. An eagerness to be back with Sadie drowned out any other purpose. A weight had been lifted off him. He was going back to her. Sadie. His Sadie.

  And their baby...

  Even that didn’t take the spring out of his step.

  He reached Kadin’s open door. Kadin stood at his whiteboard and put the marker down when he saw him.

  “Sadie is pregnant,” he blurted.

  Kadin seemed at first disappointed and then accepting. “That’s a doozy.”

  Jasper entered the office. “We didn’t plan on it, but it just...seemed to happen. I want to do the right thing but I also don’t want to lose what I have going for me here.”

  Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Kadin faced him. “That’s nature’s way of making you grow. Do the right thing. You’ll find out it’s what you want anyway.”

  How could he be so sure?

  “Hey, it happens. Happened to me. Love hits you when you aren’t prepared for the blow.”

  He felt like this is what he wanted. To be with Sadie and raise a child. Maybe more than one. Settle down. Nothing he’d done professionally had ever felt so exhilarating.

  “I keep losing good detectives this way,” Kadin said, and then after a lengthy pause where he must be thinking, he added, “This won’t be the first time I’ve allowed one of you to work remotely. I guess I’m lucky that at least you’re not leaving Wyoming.”

  “It’s not a bad drive here,” Jasper said.

  “For now anyway. I get a lot of complaints about this location. Living in a small town like this doesn’t appeal to everyone. I’ll probably have to relocate, or at least set up headquarters in a bigger city.”

  “You’ve given it some thought?”

  “I’ve had to.”

  “What city?”

  “I’m not sure yet. California. Texas. Not New York, that’s all I know at this point.”

  Jasper nodded.

  “Can you travel when you need to?” Kadin asked.

  “Yes, as long as I don’t miss the birth of my child.”

  “Then take some time off until after that. Let me know when you’re ready to get back to work.”

  * * *

  Sadie galloped back to the stable on a big white horse, feeling freer than she had since she’d left Toronto. She’d just taken a ride all by herself and didn’t have to worry about anyone attacking. Yesterday, she’d taken her Ferrari for a spin and gone to Jackson Hole for a day of shopping.

  She’d reduced security and had made plans to travel regularly to the Revive Center, all locations. The activity at her house had reduced significantly. She had much more time alone. That both satisfied her and gave her too much time to think about Jasper. His goodbye had been sweet and full of promises to return when he could. Sadie didn’t like how she perked up every time the phone rang or the gatehouse guard called to announce an arrival. Usually the arrivals were deliveries.

  Dismounting, she made herself take in the crisp blue sky and smell the forest as she led the beautiful mare to the stable and a waiting groom. Before Jasper she didn’t have to try to appreciate the splendor of her home and the wilderness surrounding her.

  Before Jasper...

  What about before Darien?

  Before Darien she hadn’t been afraid of men. Was she afraid of men? She handed the reins to the groom and thanked him, petting the mare’s soft white nose before heading for the house. She’d gotten so conditioned to be on guard with Darien that she transferred that to any other man. Add to that her lack of dating since escaping. How long would she have gone on that way? Sure, she’d joined a dating site, but she hadn’t joined with any serious intent. She’d joined for the social interaction. The anonymity had appealed to her. Then Jasper had popped into her life. From the moment she’d seen him in front of DAI he’d captivated her.

  Sadie remembered smiling at him when she’d walked back into her house after finishing with police at the coffee shop. Steven and the DAI soldiers had gone their own ways. Jasper had smiled back. Peace, at last. They’d stayed up awhile, munching on junk food, drinking soda and watching The Magic of Belle Isle until the sun began to rise. Happiness completed her.

  The time had come to sleep, and she couldn’t share her bed. Not with him leaving the next day. Happiness dimmed with encroaching reality. They’d embraced, kissed softly but briefly and went to separate bedrooms.

  He had already left by the time she woke early in the afternoon, starving and craving fried chicken.

  Inside her house, she closed the door. Expecting silence, the sound of the television in the family room surprised her. Finley had gone to town for the day and no other house staff was scheduled until dinnertime. Who was here?

  She walked slowly to the threshold of the family room.

  Jasper stood beside a console table behind the couch. A big vase of red roses, a box of chocolates and a wrapped gift weren’t there the last time she’d been in here.

  “Finley let me in,” Jasper said.

  He must have arrived just after she’d gone to the stable. Finley had left after her.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “What do you think I’m doing here?”

  Sadie walked farther into the room, inspecting the chocolates in a heart-shaped box. So traditional for such an untraditional man. Apprehension tamed her enthusiasm over seeing him.

  She stopped at the console to admire the beautiful roses. “Is this an apology?”

  “No, but it could be a peace offering.”

  Opening the box of chocolates, she lifted one and put it into her mouth. Caramel and chocolate tickled her taste buds.

  “I came to my senses after Kaelyn’s t
win sister came to see me.”

  Sadie turned to him, pausing with another piece of chocolate in her hand. Kaelyn had a twin? How had he come to his senses?

  “When Kendra told me she was Kaelyn’s twin sister and presented evidence that Kaelyn might have been killed by another man she was seeing, everything became so clear.”

  “What became clear?”

  He moved toward her. “You. Me.” He stopped right before her. “The baby.”

  “Kaelyn was murdered?”

  “She was sleeping with another man the same time she carried on with me,” he said. “She loved me but now I see she didn’t love me the way two people should. I also see I didn’t love her. I loved the excitement, and so did she. Except her playing around may have gotten her into some trouble. I don’t know if she was murdered or not. I put Kendra in touch with another detective. I’m through with that part of my life. I don’t blame myself for Kaelyn’s death anymore. Kendra gave me that when she came to see me. I can finally put that behind me. I can stop chasing excitement to take the place of a real relationship.”

  He put his hands on her upper arms.

  Sadie’s head reeled with what he declared. And then she realized she’d done her own soul-searching while he was away.

  “I’ve come to some conclusions myself,” she said.

  “Yeah?” He grinned.

  “I can stop running now. I don’t have to be afraid anymore. Darien is gone. He will never be able to hurt me again. And just because he did doesn’t mean I have to let that get in the way of something good...of someone good.”

  Him.

  “That’s fantastic news because I have something I need to ask you.” Moving back, he reached into his pant pocket and retrieved something he had in his hand. “Now, I took your personality into consideration when I went looking for this.”

  Sadie let her held breath go. He didn’t...

  “I found a special store that makes one-of-a-kind jewelry.” As he said the last he opened his palm to reveal the most stunning ring she’d ever seen. Perched on a white gold band, a sunburst halo made of blue sapphires surrounded a big center diamond.