by Unknown
“Oh, Mike, it’s beautiful!” Savannah gasped.
He took the ring from the box and held her right hand. “I know you have a ring from your parents that you wear, but I thought this ring would go with it.”
“I love it!” She slipped off the gold ring with diamonds from her parents and slipped on the diamond-and-sapphire ring. “I may have the other ring made into a pendant. This is beautiful and I want to wear it all by itself.”
“I gave you a wedding and an engagement ring when we married, but this ring is a ring of love, Savannah.”
She looked into his eyes and put her arms around his neck to kiss him, her heart pounding wildly with joy. “Thank you and I love you and I’m so glad you’re home!” she cried, tears of joy streaming down her cheeks.
“Hey, you’re crying!”
“I’m happy!”
“So am I,” he said around kisses, and then he shifted, pushing her gently down on the sofa and moving over her. His towel fell away, and in minutes he had peeled away Savannah’s robe, and they made love again with just as much urgency as before.
Afterward, when they lay in each other’s arms, Savannah looked again at her new ring. “I was scared you weren’t coming back.”
“I couldn’t stand being away, but I had to go away so I could think clearly about our future. I can’t think about anything when I’m near you.”
“Ha! That’s not so,” she said, and he nuzzled her neck.
“Are we going to argue?”
“No!” She tightened her arms around him and smiled at him, and he smiled back at her. Jessie’s cries came over the intercom and Mike got up.
“I’ve missed her. Let me get her,” he said, fastening the towel around his middle again.
Savannah’s gaze raked over him and she smiled with contentment and joy as she sat up to gather her clothes.
They were busy dressing and busy with Jessie, and it wasn’t until after Jessie was in bed that night that Mike rejoined Savannah in the upstairs family room. He sat down to face her, gazing at her solemnly. “There’s one issue we haven’t discussed.”
“Troy, and I don’t care. Do what you want. He’s not worth jeopardizing my marriage.”
“I did do something,” Mike said, going to get his briefcase and returning with pictures. “Here’s the new firm,” he said, handing snapshots to Savannah.
She looked at an elegant redbrick building with ornate white columns and professional landscaping.
“There’s obviously money in it,” she said. “You told me an ambulance chaser and the others didn’t have big practices.”
“That’s right,” Mike replied solemnly. “Savannah, Troy owns that building and the land.”
Her mouth dropped open and she stared at one of the pictures in shock. Frowning, she looked up at Mike. “But why? We have a good practice. Why would he do this?”
“My first thought was to get back at you for not dating him.”
“Surely not. We were never serious.”
“Maybe you weren’t.”
“You said ‘first thought.’ What was your second thought?”
“I did some checking. Troy’s lifestyle, which was never bad, has improved enormously in the last year. I think you should bring in an outside accountant and have an audit done on your books.”
She started to protest and then remembered their argument before and how wrong she had been about Troy. She nodded. “I’ll do it,” she said.
“Good,” Mike replied, a gleam entering his eyes. “So for now, we’re through with Troy and can get back to being Mr. and Mrs. Remington. Come here,” Mike said, pulling her onto his lap.
Two weeks later, the accountant presented his results to Savannah. Two days after that, she made another appointment to meet with him in her office. She had asked Mike to be present, so at ten o’clock that morning, the three were seated in Savannah’s office. She called Troy to join them.
Troy sauntered into the office and looked at the three of them. His eyes narrowed when he saw Mike.
“Troy, I want you to meet Dwight Eaton, accountant,” Savannah said.
The moment she said “accountant,” Troy looked at Savannah questioningly.
“Have a seat, Troy,” she said, and as soon as he had pulled a chair into their circle, she continued. “I think we should hear from Dwight first.”
As Dwight Eaton read the sums of money that Troy had in billable hours from clients, yet unaccounted for in the firm, Troy jumped to his feet. “Savannah, this is a damned witch hunt! I need an attorney. I’m not going to listen to this.”
“You can listen with your attorney,” Mike said, standing, too. “It’s already been turned over to the police, and charges of embezzlement are going to be filed.”
“Dammit, this is all because of you,” Troy snarled. He suddenly took a swing at Mike, who ducked and came back with a punch that connected with Troy’s jaw, sending him reeling. Savannah called the police while Dwight Eaton grabbed his books and scrambled out of the way.
Troy came right back at Mike, lunging at him, but Mike caught him and flipped him over on his back onto the floor.
“Give it up!” Mike snapped. “You’re going to jail.”
Troy came to his feet, reaching into his pocket, but again Mike was faster and had Troy’s arm twisted behind his back while he patted Troy’s pockets and removed a pistol. Savannah gasped.
“Savannah, you and Dwight go in the other room,” Mike ordered. “I’ll wait here with Troy for the police.”
Sirens wailed in the distance, and in minutes Troy was taken away in handcuffs as Mike stood beside Savannah with his arm around her shoulders.
As Troy was led out, he turned to glare at Savannah. “You bitch—”
Mike stepped in front of Savannah, but a policeman pushed against Mike’s chest. “Just get back, Colonel,” the policeman said quietly. Mike did so, pulling Savannah close to his side.
Everyone in the firm was gathered in the lobby watching the proceedings, and Savannah turned to introduce the accountant and explain what had happened. Liz Fenton paled and blinked.
“I’ve been dating Troy for a year now,” she said. She shook her head and turned to go to her office.
“I think we’ll close up here for the day,” Savannah announced. “All of you take the rest of the day off.”
Everyone scattered, and within minutes Mike was driving Savannah toward Stallion Pass.
“I hate all this,” Savannah said.
“You didn’t cause it, so don’t feel sorry for him. He’s been embezzling funds for more than a year now.”
“I don’t feel sorry for him, I just don’t like it. And I still can’t understand why he did it.”
“Just greed. And maybe a little wanting to get back at you for not dating him. Pretty basic reasons.”
“He was well-off. He didn’t need to steal.”
“Some people always want more. At least the uncertainty is over. Now you can get on with your life.”
Epilogue
S aturday night after hours of lovemaking, Savannah lay on a blanket on a sandy beach, pressed up against Mike. He lay on his side with his head propped on his elbow as he looked down at her and ran his fingers through her hair.
They could hear the soft lap of waves on the shore, and Savannah could see the white streak of moonlight reflected across the dark waters of the ocean.
“This is perfect,” she said, stroking Mike’s bare chest.
“A delayed honeymoon is better than no honeymoon.”
“A delayed honeymoon is wonderful. Our own island—I love it.”
“I can keep you out here nude all the next week, and there’s no one to see anything because we’ve got this tropical island rented for another week and the place is stocked with enough food for a month.”
“Besides my new husband being such an expert fisherman. This is great, Mike,” she said, running her hands over him, touching scars lightly and glad he was no longer in the military. “Now,
I’m not going to run around nude twenty-four hours a day.”
“We’ll see.”
“Should we call home again and check on Jessie?” she asked, trailing her hand over his bare hip, down over his thigh.
“She’s fine and you talked to your folks this afternoon.”
“So you like the security business?”
“Yes. It’s interesting. I prefer working with companies on industrial security and not jobs like the one for you and finding Wyatt’s horses. I hope I don’t have to search for stolen livestock ever again.”
“Well, you got the white stallion and now you’re in love.”
“You’ll never, ever convince me that it’s because I own that horse.”
“Well, you’re the fourth guy and all of you are married.”
“We would have been, anyway,” he said, brushing a kiss across her temple. “You and I were married before I had the horse.”
“But we weren’t in love,” she argued.
“Am I going to spend half of the rest of my life trying to win arguments?” he teased.
“Maybe, but the other half of your life will make up for it,” she answered, and he laughed.
“Savannah, you know we have well over a million dollars in that inheritance. You could retire from the firm, get someone else to run it and stay home with little Jessie.”
Savannah ran her finger along his jaw. “Maybe if you would give me a real incentive—like having another baby. Now with two—”
“Damn,” he said, falling back on the blanket. “I’m just getting accustomed to the idea of parenthood and one baby. Now you’re talking about two!”
She turned on her side to look down at him. “You’re not up for another baby,” she said, trailing kisses over his chest and then raising her head to look at him while she caressed his thigh.
He pushed her down again, moving over her. “I’m up for it,” he said in a husky voice. “Just remember, it was your idea.”
They both laughed and he pulled her close to kiss her. Savannah wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly, her heart pounding with a joy she had never expected to find, but now it was here because of one man who had walked into her office and into her life and her heart. She loved him and knew she would love him always.
Bring on the Night
By Sara Orwig
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Epilogue
Prologue
“R evenge is better than money,” the man said quietly. Raking his blond hair away from his face, he stood in the hallway of San Antonio’s busy airport and glanced again at the listing that showed Flight 10 from Amarillo, Texas, was on time.
Through the windows the man could see bright sunshine outside, no bad weather to interfere with incoming flights. Inside the lobby people hurried to and fro, pilots strode past on their way to departure gates, lines grew longer at the security checks.
The man waited patiently, his gaze searching the crowd. He wanted to make certain that the flight had arrived and the special passenger was on it. His blue eyes scanned each dark-haired man, pausing briefly on first one and then another. Then his gaze was arrested.
A tall, black-haired man in a charcoal knit sport shirt and jeans crossed the airport lobby and headed toward a rental car desk, where he set his flight bag on the floor and spoke to a smiling attendant.
The man watched him smile even as his fingers curled and his fists knotted. “You’re hurrying to get your inheritance, aren’t you, Colonel Whitewolf? You think you’re so tough, with your Special Forces training. None of it will do you any good. You’ll see. You’ll go down. You’ll be first, then the others. It’s already started. While you get your car, I’ll go out to the ranch and have it ready for you. A real warm welcome.” He laughed softly.
He walked outside and hurried to a black, two-door sports car he had stolen only an hour earlier. The tags had been changed and he knew no one would bother him.
He started the engine and pulled out of the parking space, glancing in the rearview mirror at the terminal, thinking about Colonel Jonah Whitewolf, who was probably still inside at the rental desk.
“When I get through with you, you’ll regret you ever accepted your inheritance. You’re trained to deal with an enemy you can see. Now you’ll have to deal with an enemy you won’t see. Welcome to Texas, Colonel. Welcome to hell.”
Chapter 1
A bullet could change a man’s life in the blink of an eye, Jonah Whitewolf knew, but he’d never expected to have his life transformed while sitting quietly in an office.
As he stood at the car rental desk in San Antonio the memory of that moment in April still haunted him.
He recalled how he had listened in stunned disbelief as the lawyer quietly read from John Frates’s will, listing the inheritance: “To Jonah Whitewolf, to whom I am profoundly indebted, I bequeath the Long Bar Ranch, which is the Frateses’ working cattle ranch. This ranch, the livestock, the house, the land, the mineral and water rights and everything included in the ranch, shall go to Jonah Whitewolf to do with as he deems proper. In addition to the Long Bar Ranch, one and a third million dollars is hereby bequeathed to Jonah Whitewolf to do with as he sees fit.”
In shock, Jonah had stared at the lawyer. Her announcement was a moment cast in his memory forever. He could still remember how his surroundings had become unforgettable—the beautiful blond lawyer’s oak desk, her gold pen and pencil set, her slender hands holding papers as she read, the tall clock quietly ticking, the faint scent of roses in a crystal vase on a polished wooden table. Every sight, sound and smell had been etched in memory in that instant when his world changed entirely….
While the attorney had continued reading, Jonah had glanced at Michael Remington and Boone Devlin, two of his closest buddies from past days in Special Forces. Five years ago, the three of them, along with another Special Forces friend, Colin Garrick, deceased, had rescued John Frates when he had been held hostage in Colombia. Because of that rescue the three survivors of the mission were now inheriting fortunes. Mike Remington looked as shocked as Jonah felt, but then Mike’s inheritance had been an incredible surprise: John Frates’s town house in Stallion Pass, Texas, a million and a third dollars—and John’s baby daughter.
Boone had seemed equally shocked by his bequest of a nationally famous quarter horse ranch. Jonah had been faintly relieved that he hadn’t received a baby, although he had been plenty shocked to be willed a cattle ranch plus the money. He recalled thinking how ironic at this point in his life to inherit such a thing. Had the inheritance come six or seven years ago, he would have been able to save his marriage.
Unbidden, memories of his ex-wife, Kate, had crept into his thoughts. He had loved her then, and her loss still hurt today. Kate’s image floated into his consciousness: silky chestnut hair, enormous hazel eyes, thick dark lashes. An ache in his chest brought him back to reality, and he forced the memories away.
His job in Special Forces had caused the divorce. If he had had a ranch and a fortune, how different life might have been! He closed his mind to that course of thinking. What-ifs could ruin your life.
A cattle ranch and over a million dollars…His family would be ecstatic for him. Jonah thought about his present job—working around the world, putting out oil well fires. A ranch would give him an opportunity to settle in one place. On the other hand, he would be more isolated than ever.
The amount of money was staggering. He was well paid in his job, but this was wealth beyond anything he had ever dreamed of.
The minute the lawyer, Savannah Clay, finished reading the will, she looked at t
hem with her big blue eyes. “You each will receive a copy of the document. Do any of you have questions?”
Silence was heavy in the room and the attorney had arched her brows. “No questions?”
“I’m not sure I believe this is happening,” Jonah stated quietly.
“It’s already happened,” Savannah replied in a well-modulated, no-nonsense voice. “John Frates felt strongly about what he wanted to do with his fortune.”
Again the silence was broken only by the ticking of the tall clock in her office. Once more she asked, “None of you has a question?”
“Yes,” Jonah said. “If I choose not to keep the ranch, can I sell it?”
“There are papers to sign, but yes, once this inheritance is legally yours, you are free to do with it as you choose.”
Jonah nodded. “If we sell, we get the money, plus the million and a third that each of us inherited?”
“That’s correct,” she replied firmly. “That’s only a portion of the Frates fortune. For the rest of their lives, his in-laws, Dina Frates’s parents who are in rehab, will be provided for. There is a foundation, trusts, other bequests to charities. But the three of you got his personal things and part of the Frateses’ estate. He intended Colin Garrick to have a share as well, but upon Colin’s demise, he changed the will and that money was divided, which is why each of you got a million and a third. He rounded up the total to make it equal.”
“How soon do we have to see about all this?” Jonah asked. “I’m supposed to leave for Russia next Sunday.”
“There’s no hurry. The ranch has an excellent foreman and manager. John Frates was just there part of the time and had nothing to do with running the place.”
“So we’re free to sell these inheritances?” Boone repeated.
