She leaped to her feet. “No!” she shouted across the table. “How could anyone possibly believe that?” Her whole body glowed like hot coals, and she clung to the edge of the desk to support herself as she suddenly felt weak and helpless.
“It’s all right, darlin’. No one believes a word of it,” Aiden assured her, then he put his arm around her and helped her back into her seat.
Hot, uncontrollable tears streamed down her cheeks, and she grabbed hold of him as he rocked her gently, cooing soothingly in her ear.
Dyson poured her a glass of cool water that Aiden held to her lips, and she sipped it slowly, forcing herself to focus.
She was aware of muttering and a little movement around her, but she closed her eyes, sobbing inconsolably into Aiden’s muscular chest. She marveled at how he managed to stay calm as the steady pounding of his heart reverberated through her, eventually slowing the hammering of her own pulse as though they had morphed into one being.
Whether she had drifted off to sleep or fainted, she wasn’t sure, but Maggie awoke lying on the cushioned sofa which also doubled as Dyson’s bed when the need arose. Aiden was sitting on the floor next to her, gently stroking her hair. He smiled at her and, suddenly, warmth spread through her whole body.
“Dyson got the results back on the necklace. There were only two sets of prints, Lorraine’s and Rossington’s.” His voice was soft and calming.
Maggie smiled as she slowly sat up. “Then I’m in the clear?”
“Just a little more paperwork in the light of Rossington’s further allegations, but you’ll be home by supper time,” Dyson assured her.
She frowned, looking over at the wall clock. It was almost three.
“I just need to check on a couple of things,” Aiden said, “but I didn’t want to leave until you woke up. Frank’s lending me his truck for an hour.”
She felt a hitch in her heart when he stood up to go, and she got up with him. “You’re going?”
He threw her a dazzling smile. “Not for long. Just a couple of things I need to do then I’ll be right back to pick you up.”
He leaned down and gave her a lingering kiss on the lips that speared right through to her core. She smiled up at him.
“Don’t worry. I’ll look after her for you.” Dyson rolled his eyes, clearly quite unperturbed by their show of affection.
“I won’t be long,” Aiden promised before giving her a quick kiss on the top of her head.
* * * *
Aiden really didn’t want to leave his blonde beauty in the sheriff’s office, but he knew it wouldn’t be long before he was back to fetch her. He grinned as he patted his back pocket where he had hidden the key to Maggie’s apartment. She wouldn’t be needing it for a while and probably wouldn’t even notice it was gone from her purse.
He hummed along to an Alan Jackson song as he drove through the leafy country lanes that led to the Fielding Ranch. It was a good job old Frank had good taste in music!
He was relieved to see that everything seemed to be functioning quite well in his absence, and he skipped up the steps to his cabin. It was good to get into some clean clothes, and he had a quick shave before making his way over to the main house. Josie was waiting for him in her large kitchen.
“I made a chocolate cake,” she told him with a smile. “I thought it might welcome her home.”
“Great idea. Thanks, sis.” He bent down and kissed the top of her head. Josie’s hair smelled of citrus, a stark contrast to Maggie’s floral-scented tresses. He smiled at the thought. “I’m just on my way over there now. Thought I’d air the place and tidy up a little before she gets let out.”
“Those sheriffs aren’t exactly adept at housekeeping,” Josie replied. “It would be really awful for her to get back to find her stuff strewn all over the place.”
Aiden chuckled. “They weren’t that bad,” he assured her. “Though I thought it would be nicer for her to find it all nice and tidy when she got there—sort of flush out a few ghosts or whatever.” He shrugged.
“You really are a thoughtful, guy,” Josie teased. “Who’d have thought it? My own brother…”
He laughed. “Yeah, all right.” He could feel himself blush a little and quickly looked out of the window for a distraction. “Looks like it’s gonna rain,” he said. His eyes wandered over to a mass of white in the distance. “Is that the tent for the wedding?”
Josie sighed. “Yeah, that’s it. They’ve been working on it all day. It’ll be mighty muddy down there if this weather closes in.”
“Especially as it’ll probably continue all night,” Aiden said.
“And I thought rain on your wedding day was supposed to be lucky.” Josie shook her head sadly. “Poor Lorraine.”
“She’s not really planning on going through with it, is she?” Aiden felt slightly sick at the thought.
“Ben’s been over there most of the morning trying to persuade her not to,” Josie told him. “Sure seems worried she might be holding out on him over something. He’s gone on over to the bank at Almondine now, but he wasn’t very hopeful about her when he left. Maybe once she knows Maggie’s getting out of jail, she might change her mind. Seemed to think they just didn’t have enough evidence against Rossington yet, and she knows if she refused to marry him, he’s likely to go to ground. Her lawyers are working flat out to gather all the papers they need to prove he tried to swindle her dad, but she wants to make sure Maggie gets her money back, as well.”
“What is it about you determined women?” Aiden shook his head incredulously.
“You know what they say about a woman scorned, bro.” Josie punched him playfully on the arm, then giggled.
“And talking of which, I promised a certain young lady I’d be there to collect her once the sheriff had finished that dang paperwork. I’d best get a move on.” He kissed his sister on the head one more time. “Thanks for this. You go get your feet up now. Don’t want Greg blaming me for your swollen ankles.” He picked up the cake and hooted as his sister playfully threw a tea towel at him on his way out of the door.
* * * *
Aiden enjoyed singing along to Good Time as he pulled up in the parking lot alongside his own pickup that he’d left at Maggie’s place last night. He was still singing when he unlocked the door and let himself in. A shudder ran down his back as he remembered the last time he’d been here, and, after placing the cake and his cell on the kitchen counter, he quickly dived into the bedroom to rectify the mess that had been left. He frowned when he saw there was even more to tidy up than he remembered, and he guessed Cam Taylor must have continued to search for more evidence after they’d left.
A loud knock at the door made him jump while he was folding up some of Maggie’s clothes, ready to replace in the drawers, and he went through to answer it.
“Aiden, Josie said you’d be here. I can’t get hold of Ben.” Lorraine looked ashen as she stared up at him.
“Come on in, darlin’. I was just doing a little tidying. That’s all. Is something up?”
She nodded, following him into the bedroom. “Robert’s onto us,” she blurted out breathlessly. “He found all the papers I’d hidden in my safe. There’s messages between him and Cam Taylor planning to take Maggie’s money and some stuff about my dad’s business that I meant to pass on to the lawyers.”
Aiden gawped at her. “Your safe? How in hell did he—?”
“I don’t know. He must have had another key cut or something. I always keep mine hidden along with these. They’re the only things he didn’t get his hands on.” She held up a computer memory stick and a small SD card. “I never keep all my eggs in one basket,” she told him.
“Well, hallelujah for that!” Aiden felt a surge of relief, followed swiftly by something sharp being jabbed into his back.
“Didn’t take you for a religious man, Fielding.” Rossington’s drawl could be heard from just behind the door where he must have been hiding until they were both in place. Lorraine was already in the
room, standing by the bed, her eyes burning into her fiancé’s. “I’ll take those.” His voice was a menacing snarl as he reached out his other hand to her.
“Or what?” She clearly tried to sound derisive but couldn’t keep the tremble from her voice.
“Or he’s a dead man.” There was a click when Rossington released the safety catch on the gun that was now pointed directly at Aiden’s head. “And I don’t think his brother will be too happy about that now, do you?”
Aiden’s whole body glowed hot, and he watched Lorraine bite her lip. Her fingers quivered as she reached over and placed the software into his hand.
“I knew there had to be more,” Rossington told her with a sneer. “I just figured you’d go running to the other brother—the one you’re so fucking fond of.”
Lorraine pursed her lips while she panted hard, clearly trying to keep her emotions in check. “You’ve got what you wanted, now let him go!” she demanded.
Aiden felt Rossington’s body tense behind him before the bastard let out a loud guffaw.
“You must think I’m a total dumbass!” he leered.
Aiden bit his tongue to stop himself from affirming the answer, and saw Lorraine open her mouth as though to speak, then stop herself at the last minute. She gave Rossington an incredulous look. He seemed a little taken aback at her expression, then snorted before continuing.
“You really think I’d trust you after this? You’ve been planning to expose all my plans to alleviate you from your dear old dad’s estate and a whole lot more besides.” He looked treacherous, and Aiden noticed that Lorraine seemed terrified. It made him wonder what other tactics the bastard had used to scare her.
“So you never really wanted to marry me for love?”
Aiden admired her stalling tactics. He just hoped they might be sufficient to buy him enough time to figure a way out of this dang mess. Rossington appeared to be a little thrown by her question, too. Good.
Just then Rossington’s phone rang. Aiden held his breath, hoping for a chance to catch the fucker off-guard, but, instead, Rossington ignored it and continued his tirade.
“Love? Your sort don’t know the meaning of the word. You’re all the same—stuck-up little bitches with more money than sense. If I have to marry you to get my hands on your cash, then so be it, but I’d rather not have all the aggravation, to be honest.” He spat the words out as though they tasted sour in his mouth.
“So, because you weren’t able to get my daddy’s money while he was alive, you thought you’d steal it from me instead? Just like you stole Maggie’s money?” Lorraine seemed more furious than sad, Aiden noticed.
“That’s about the size of it!” Rossington shrugged complacently.
“Well, at least you won’t have to worry about marrying me now,” Lorraine derided.
Rossington chortled. “Oh, that’s exactly where you’re wrong,” he announced, digging the gun hard into Aiden’s temple. “The only way to get that dang money is to marry you, so that’s exactly what I intend to do. Tomorrow at nine-thirty a.m., right in front of your precious boyfriend, on the land he wants to pay me a small fortune for. Just think, every time he sees that field, he can remember our wedding. Won’t that be nice?” His snively voice was really grating on Aiden’s nerves.
Lorraine looked horrified. “You still think you can marry me after all this?”
“Of course, sweetheart. Like I said, it’s the only way to get my hands on your daddy’s estate. Don’t worry. Once you’ve signed it all over to me, I might think about granting you a divorce. After all, I might not want to be associated with your family once everyone knows that your daddy reneged on our bargain—or that your mother attacked me and will probably end up in a mental home.”
Lorraine stared at him with fire in her eyes. “That’s a pack of damn lies and you know it!”
“Like I told you before, dear, it won’t stop everyone believing it, especially when Deputy Taylor backs me up.” Rossington sneered.
Aiden couldn’t believe his ears. So Lorraine was being blackmailed into marrying the bastard! Rossington would actually discredit her family like that—both parents who couldn’t defend themselves. That sure explained a lot.
Just then there was a sound from the hallway, and Maggie stepped into the room.
“He’s got a gun!” she yelled frantically over her shoulder.
Aiden breathed a sigh of relief. She must have given up waiting for him to fetch her and now Dyson had brought her over instead.
But it wasn’t Dyson Shearer who appeared in the doorway behind the blonde beauty. It was Cam Taylor.
“What the fuck’s going on?” Cam had his gun poised but seemed disappointed at the scene before him.
“Slight change of plan,” Rossington told him, a little sheepishly. “They came in while I was looking for evidence.”
“You fucking imbecile!” Cam shook his head in disbelief.
“It wasn’t my fault. I thought she had the only key.” Rossington nodded to Maggie, who stood open-mouthed in the middle of the room.
“He took it.” Cam pointed to Aiden with his gun before lowering it and replacing it in its holster. “I rang you to say I was bringing her over, in case you were still here.”
Aiden frowned. What the hell was Cam playing at?
“Well, I’ve got all the evidence I need…except that!” Rossington barked at Maggie as she was hurriedly trying to tuck her cell into her pocket.
Cam huffed. “We’ll be out of here before anyone comes to her rescue,” he claimed, shaking his head. “What’re you planning to do? Make a run for it?”
Aiden felt his blood boil at the realization that they were both in on this. He had hoped that Cam Taylor was just a slightly crooked cop who bent the rules a bit to make himself a little cash on the side, but he was clearly much more sinister than that.
“I can’t. I’ve got a wedding to attend to in the morning,” Rossington sneered. “Now all we have to do is ensure that none of this lot wreck everything. Get that dang cell off of the bitch. For all we know, she could have recorded us.”
Maggie took a step away from Taylor. “You’re in this with him?” She stared at him, clearly struggling to compute what was going on.
“That’s right, bitch. Now you hand over that cell or you can say goodbye to your lover-boy!” Rossington jabbed the gun into Aiden’s head harder, making him wince with the pain.
Maggie was still gaping in disbelief as she immediately passed her cell to her ex.
“You take it,” he snapped at Taylor, obviously noticing her ploy to distract him.
Taylor went over and took the cell from her, switching it off as he did so.
“Fucking bitch! I told you she was recording everything. She thinks she’s so smart.” Rossington’s whole body felt rigid against Aiden’s, making him glad that the fucker couldn’t get any closer to his girl. A glow of pride washed over the cowboy at the knowledge that Maggie had at least tried to gain more evidence.
“You’ll have to take him.” Aiden could practically see the cogs whirring in Rossington’s brain as he snapped out his orders to Taylor. “We’ve got a wedding first thing.” He leered over at Lorraine, who looked like she had been about to object but then clearly thought better of it.
“What about her?” Taylor nodded toward Maggie. “You want me to take her, as well?”
Rossington narrowed his eyes. “Nah. She can watch us get married. Show her what she’s missed.” Venom dripped from Rossington’s lips as he jeered at Maggie.
“And what makes you think she won’t rat on us? I know Shearer’s out of town, but he and the marshal should be back tomorrow.”
Rossington dug the gun into Aiden’s head even deeper. “If either of them blab, this one gets it. Simple.”
“I still think I should—”
“No! If she’s not there, questions will be asked. No one’s going to miss him.” Rossington was adamant.
Aiden felt bile rise in his throat. He wasn’t
sure whether Maggie would be safer with him or not, but he sure didn’t like the idea of her facing all this alone. He watched her wringing her quivering hands, her face pale and drawn. Such a change from the gorgeous, relaxed girl who had slept so peacefully in his arms this morning when it had looked as though it was all going to work out. His heart went out to her. Hadn’t that bastard put her through enough?
Chapter Nineteen
Maggie stared helplessly as Cam Taylor reached over and grabbed Aiden roughly by the arm.
“You’re with me,” Cam snarled. “We’re gonna take a little ride.”
Her heart pounded painfully against her ribs but Aiden threw her a wink, trying to reassure her that it was going to be all right. But it wasn’t. How could it be?
“We’ve got a wedding to plan.” Rossington sneered at his fiancée when the front door slammed.
Maggie stared at him in disbelief as she heard Lorraine sigh. He sure seemed determined.
Rossington slung an arm around Lorraine’s shoulder. “Now, I sure hope you ladies understood what I was saying back there. One word about this to the cops or anyone else and you can say goodbye to that dipshit. Taylor’s got an itchy finger. One word from me and that sorry son of a bitch won’t hesitate to pull that trigger. You got it?” His voice was like gravel when he growled at them, and both women nodded silently. “Good. Tomorrow we all act like it’s a wonderful occasion, nothing’s untoward and we just get on with it. Right?”
They nodded again. Maggie threw a sympathetic smile to Lorraine, thankful that she seemed as committed to keeping Aiden safe as she was. It was one hell of a sacrifice, though, for the poor woman to marry that fuckwad, especially knowing just how cruel he could be. Maggie had known for some time that he had a vicious streak, but she’d never imagined he would have someone murdered or blackmail his way into money. She felt sick when she heard him chortle as he led Lorraine out of her bedroom.
Once they were gone, Maggie ran to the front door and locked it, thankful that Aiden had left the key in the lock. Dyson had explained that he had taken it so he could come in and freshen up the place while she had waited for Aiden to fetch her. In the kitchen, she noticed her boyfriend’s cell on the side, a small flashing light indicating that he had a missed call from when she had rung to tell him she was ready. Her eyes fell on the chocolate cake, and she sighed, guessing that it was supposed to be for a celebration. There wasn’t much to celebrate now, though, she thought wistfully, while huge tears flooded her face.
Maggie’s Man (The Cowboys of Cavern County Book 2) Page 16
