by Sharon Sala
“Goes without saying,” Ryder muttered, and patted his jacket, making sure that the handgun holstered beneath it was firmly in place.
“Here goes nothing,” Royal said, and took off down the driveway.
As they came around a long, winding corner, they both straightened in their seats.
“Son of a—”
“Wow! Roman’s ‘client’ has herself quite a spread,” Ryder said. “That doesn’t look like a house, it looks like a castle. All it needs is a moat.”
They pulled up to the front door and parked. “You get the bag, I’ll get the door,” Ryder said. “Hope this doesn’t take long. I’m starving.”
The doorbell rang in the middle of the first course. Holly’s fork clattered against her plate as she glanced up at Roman. He winked at her and then continued to eat as if nothing had happened.
“Are we expecting anyone?” Davis asked.
Holly shrugged. “Don’t look at me. I wouldn’t know who to invite, even if the urge struck me.”
The sounds of footsteps could be heard coming down the hall. The long strides and steady rhythm of their steps signified men.
“That’s odd,” Gordon commented. “They’re coming without being announced.”
Roman leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on Gordon’s face, while everyone else was staring at the doorway.
They entered side by side, their steps in unison with equally imposing expressions on their faces. Even though Holly had been prepared for the fact that they were Roman’s brothers, she was unprepared for the similarities in their looks.
Well over six feet in height, with thick, black, straight hair and piercing blue eyes, the men commanded attention. Both were wearing Levi’s, shiny with starch and creases that looked sharp enough to break. Their shirts were Western cut, one white, one pale blue. The Stetsons they wore were pulled low, and she had the distinct impression that it was more to hide what they were thinking than to shade their faces.
Roman stood. “You’re late.” Then he added an introduction as an afterthought. “Everyone, these are my brothers, Ryder and Royal Justice.”
Ryder glanced around the table and then grinned at no one in particular.
“I think it’s okay, Royal. They look safe enough to eat behind.”
Davis Benton started to grin. He’d be surprised if he didn’t like these men as much as he liked their brother.
“We’ve just started,” he said. “Please, take a seat.”
“Not until I get rid of this blasted bag,” Royal said, and plopped it in the middle of the table.
Gordon’s ears began to buzz as an overwhelming weakness swept through him. If he hadn’t been sitting he would have surely fallen. Wild-eyed, he grabbed the arms of his chair, ready to bolt.
That’s my bag! That’s my money! What the hell is going on?
Everyone’s attention turned from the bag to Holly when she suddenly stood. For several long, heart-stopping moments, she continued to stare at the bag as if it were evil. And then she closed her eyes and groaned, clutching at her head as if in terrible pain.
“Holly, sweetheart! What’s wrong?” Davis asked.
Roman grabbed her as she swayed on her feet.
“Holly, are you sick?” he asked, pretending great concern.
Gordon started to get up when she suddenly screamed. And even though the men had been prepared for her act, they hadn’t been expecting anything as realistic as what they heard.
“You!” she cried, pointing a shaking finger in Gordon’s direction. “It was you!”
Completely out of his mind, he jumped to his feet. “She’s hallucinating,” he cried.
“No!” Holly moaned, and began circling the table, moving toward Gordon with single-minded intent.
Roman’s heart skipped a beat. This wasn’t part of the plan. He motioned for Royal to block the door, just in case Gordon decided to run.
Holly started to shake. There was a terrible knowledge inside of her that wanted to come out. And it came like a flood, spilling over the dam in her mind and pouring into her consciousness in one horrific memory after another.
“You killed him,” she mumbled. “And you were going to kill me.”
Roman was starting to panic. She wasn’t pretending. She was remembering!
“She’s crazy,” Gordon said, and started backing up. “When she hit her head, it messed up her mind. I didn’t kill anyone and I wouldn’t kill her. I loved her, remember?” He pointed at Roman. “We were going to be married until he came along.”
“Shut up!” Holly screamed. “You lie! You lie! You always lied, but I was too bored with my life to pay attention to the signs. There wasn’t going to be any marriage. It was just a long playday weekend. But I was coming to tell you I didn’t want to go to Nassau after all. Not with you. Never with you.”
The brothers stood, frozen by the unexpected tableau being enacted before their eyes. They glanced at Roman. He was holding his own. They looked back at the woman. She was coming undone.
“I heard you and Billy arguing.” Tears pooled in her eyes. “Carl Julian was skimming from the casino take. You said it was the perfect crime. You said he wouldn’t report a theft of money he wasn’t supposed to have.”
Davis couldn’t believe what he was hearing. In the middle of it all, a maid came into the room to serve the next course. He gave her quick orders to call the police. Looking wild-eyed, she hurried to do as she’d been told.
“You’re lying,” Gordon said. “Why would I kill a man I didn’t even know?”
“For that!” she cried, pointing toward the bag. “For Carl Julian’s money.”
Roman moved, putting himself between Holly and Mallory.
“That’s enough, baby,” he said quietly. “We’ve got him now.”
“No!” she said, and pushed at Roman, trying to get past. When he continued to stand in her way, she started to weep. “He knew that I’d overheard him arguing with Billy. He dragged me onto the plane. He said he was going to kill me. He was going to dump me out of the plane after it was airborne.”
Roman blanked out on everything except what she’d endured at this man’s hands. Before anyone knew what was happening, he had Mallory pinned against the wall with his hands around his throat.
“You cowardly son of a bitch. For two cents, I’d—”
Royal grabbed one arm, Ryder the other. “Turn him loose, Roman! Turn him loose! Let the authorities take care of him.”
Holly grabbed her head and then groaned. “Please, no more,” she begged. “No more killing.”
It was her soft-spoken plea that reached through Roman’s rage. As it began to subside and reality began to return, he dropped his hold on Mallory as if he’d suddenly become a thing of great filth. He turned toward Holly, catching her as she began to slump toward the floor.
“It’s okay, baby, it’s okay. I’ve got you and no one’s ever going to hurt you again.”
Her legs were shaking, but her mind was still clear.
“Billy saved my life,” she said. “He put me in the parachute. He’s the one who shoved the money in my hands. If it wasn’t for him, I would have died.”
Roman held her closer. “Thank God one of them had a conscience,” he said.
At the mention of his brother’s name, Gordon broke. “Hell yes, he had a conscience,” he cried. “Everything was perfect until he went weak on me.” He glared at Holly, and when he would have taken a step forward, found himself staring down the barrel of Ryder’s gun.
“I wouldn’t be moving if I were you,” Ryder drawled.
Gordon stared at the gun and the man who held it. Then he looked past Holly, to the bag that was sitting in the middle of the table. So close...and yet so very far away.
Spittle was running from the corner of his mouth as he turned.
“Damn you, bitch! You ruined everything. If it hadn’t been for you, Billy wouldn’t have betrayed me.” His face was flushed with anger, and in the distance, the first sounds
of sirens could be heard. The police were on the way. “He fancied himself in love with you, you know,” Gordon said, and then laughed a dark, ugly laugh. “You didn’t even know he existed, and yet he betrayed me, his own brother.”
Holly shrank against the wall, only to find her father at her side.
“It’s all right, sweetheart. He can’t hurt you anymore,” Davis said.
Roman pivoted, pinning Davis with a hard look. “Get her out of here. She’s seen and heard enough for one day.” Then he cupped her cheek as they started past him. There was a shellshocked look on her face that made him nervous, but his pride in her overrode whatever fears he might have for their future. “You’re a hell of a woman, Holly Benton.”
She behaved as if she hadn’t heard him speak. When she walked out of the room without looking back, he told himself not to panic. Then, before either of his brothers could stop him, he doubled his fist and turned. The punch he threw landed squarely on Gordon Mallory’s jaw.
Gordon never saw what hit him, only an oncoming darkness, as if someone had just turned out the lights.
Royal took off his hat and scratched the back of his head. Ryder holstered his gun and then grinned.
“I’d say you got your point across, little brother. Now, let’s get our story straight about what we’re going to tell the cops.”
The sirens they’d been hearing had suddenly stopped. It was obvious that they were here. There was a cold, hard look in Roman’s eyes as he headed for the door.
“You don’t have to tell them anything. If they want to know what happened to the son of a bitch, I’ll tell them plain and simple. He messed with my woman.”
All the way up the stairs, Holly kept reminding herself that her wish had come true. Now she remembered everything, including who she was, as well as who she’d been for the past few days. It was the latter that worried her more than the rest. Daisy had done things that Holly Benton would never have considered. But, Holly reminded herself, Daisy had done something in three days that Holly hadn’t been able to accomplish in twenty-seven years. She’d found herself a man and fallen in love. In the face of that fact, Holly was a complete and utter failure.
With that on her mind, she fell into bed, barely aware of her father’s presence.
Chapter 17
Gordon’s worst nightmare was coming true, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. His jaw was aching and his head was still fuzzy. They’d handcuffed him within moments of his regaining consciousness, and now he was standing within feet of his precious money and it might as well have been on the moon for all the good it would do him.
Rage surged as an officer began to read him his rights. If he’d been free, he would have happily put a gun to Roman Justice’s head and pulled the trigger, if for no other reason than to wipe the look he was wearing clean off of his face. Yet each time he looked at the man, Gordon found himself unable to withstand Roman’s cold stare.
Gordon closed his eyes and turned away, momentarily focusing on the policeman’s monotone voice.
“You have the right to...”
Gordon wanted to scream. Right? He didn’t have any rights! What he had were handcuffs.
“If you so choose, one will be appointed...”
Choices? If it hadn’t been so ironic, that would have made him laugh. He’d been making choices for most of his life, and so far, very few of them had been right. Why break tradition and start now?
“Do you understand...?”
Gordon sighed. Hell, yes, he understood. He understood everything. Other than the fact that he was pretty much screwed, there wasn’t much left to determine.
And then there was silence. He blinked, suddenly aware that everyone was watching him and waiting for some sort of answer.
“Sir!” the policeman said. “Do you understand these rights as I’ve read them?”
Gordon glared, first at the policeman, then at Roman.
“Yes, I understand. I understand everything.”
Roman’s stare never wavered. Again, it was Gordon who looked away.
“Book him,” the sergeant ordered, then he turned to Roman. “Sir, as I told you before, we’ll be needing complete statements from everyone.”
Roman nodded. “We’ll be down in a couple of hours. I want to make sure Holly is up to it.”
The man nodded and left, taking the remaining officers with him.
The dining room was suddenly quiet, like the lull after a storm. Roman ran a hand through his hair, and then turned to his brothers. There was a halfhearted grin on his face, and his eyes were almost twinkling.
“Thanks for coming,” he said.
Royal returned the grin. “Thanks for the invitation. I wouldn’t have missed this for the world.”
Ryder glanced toward the table. “Hey, Roman, where were you sitting?”
Roman pointed, then grinned when Ryder picked a shrimp from his salad and popped it in his mouth.
“Missed breakfast,” he said, and then reached for another.
“Help yourself,” Roman said. “I’ve got to check on Holly.”
Roman stalked out of the room, leaving his brothers on their own. They looked at each other and shrugged.
“Looks like we’re going to another wedding,” Ryder said.
Royal nodded. “As long as it’s not mine, it’s fine by me.”
Ryder picked up another shrimp. “Don’t be too cocky, big brother. You know what they say. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Besides, you’re the only one left and you can’t hold out forever.”
Royal shook his head. “You’re dead wrong, Ryder. I’ve already got a woman in my life, and she’s just about all I can handle.”
They looked at each other, then back at the table and the uneaten food.
“What do you think?” Ryder said.
“What was it Mom used to say about people starving in China?” Royal asked.
“Right,” they said in unison as each reached for a fork.
Roman had been through every room downstairs that Holly would have been in. The only place left was her bedroom. He took the stairs up, two at a time, needing to see her, to hold her, to make sure she was all right. He would never have imagined that their plan to trick Gordon into revealing his guilt would also result in triggering her memory. His heart was pounding all the way to her room. For her sake, he was glad the amnesia was behind her, but now he was faced with his greatest fear. In the grand scheme of the rest of their lives, where did that leave him?
He knocked once on her door and then entered. Holly was lying on her bed with an arm thrown over her eyes and a damp washcloth in her other hand. Roman thought she was asleep.
Davis was sitting in a chair near her bed. He stood as Roman entered.
“She’s fine. Just resting,” Davis said, and started to shake Roman’s hand and then impulsively gave him a quick hug instead. “I don’t know how I can ever thank you. Thanks to you, I have my daughter back.”
Roman shook his head. “I wasn’t anything but backup. Holly is the one who deserves the credit. She had the guts to save herself, not once, but twice. It was my good fortune that she stumbled into my cabin.”
But Davis would have none of it. “If you hadn’t been there, she wouldn’t be here, and we both know it.”
Roman glanced toward Holly. He wanted to touch her, to talk to her, but he was afraid. Afraid to see the look on her face when she opened her eyes.
Davis looked at his daughter and then at Roman. “Well, now,” he said briskly. “I’m sure there are a dozen things that need to be done.”
“Are you going to call a doctor for her?” Roman asked.
“Yes,” Davis said. “I was waiting for you to come before I left her. I’m sure she’s all right, but I’ll feel better if he checks her out.”
Roman added. “You might want to check on my brothers. Last time I looked, they were giving the food on the table real serious consideration. There’s a pretty good chance it’s not there anymore.”
Davis chuckled. “After the part they played in helping Holly, they can have anything their hearts desire.”
“Don’t tell them that or you’ll be sorry.”
Davis was still laughing as he closed the door behind him.
Now there was nothing in the room but Holly and a silence Roman couldn’t ignore. His smile died as he turned toward the bed. Still lying with an arm across her eyes, she remained motionless. He took a deep breath and sat down beside her.
God help me. Please let this be all right.
He touched her arm. Her skin felt cold, almost clammy. He looked at her face. There were tears on her cheeks.
“Baby, are you all right?”
She turned without removing her arm, her voice sounded weak and just above a whisper. “My head. It hurts. It hurts so bad.”
He stretched out on the bed beside her and then pulled her close, cradling her against the warmth of his body.
“Hang in there, Holly. Your dad is calling a doctor. He’ll be here soon.”
Holly hadn’t been able to stop crying. The release of so much emotion had overwhelmed her. Yet the moment she felt his touch, the tension in her body began to ease. She shifted closer to him, taking strength from his presence.
“Roman?”
He pressed a gentle kiss at the back of her neck and then smoothed the hair from her face.
“What, baby?”
“Don’t leave me.”
As if he could. Pain tugged at his heart.
“I won’t, I promise.”
She sighed.
Minutes passed. Minutes in which Roman’s thoughts went through hell and back. He’d held Daisy like this plenty of times, but this was the first time he’d held Holly in his arms. He loved them both enough to die for them twice over, and Daisy would have returned the favor. But what about Holly? He still didn’t know her heart.
Just when he thought she’d fallen asleep, he heard her take a deep breath. She reached for his hand, threading her fingers through his and then pulling his arm a little closer around her.
