Lone Star Secrets

by Cat Schield

  Megan sank into the leather couch in her office and lifted her feet onto the glass coffee table. The sight of her company’s stiletto pump with its wallpaper-inspired, broad black-and-white stripe and crystal-embellished buckle made her smile. Recognizing that to do well Royals Shoes had to stand out in a crowded luxury shoe market, Megan had decided that every single pair of her shoes would have a wow factor.

  Her cell phone buzzed. A glance at the screen revealed a text from Dani Moore. The two women had struck up a friendship in their teens when Dani had been a freshman and Megan had acted as her senior buddy to smooth the transition into the academic and social challenges presented by high school. Despite the difference in their ages, they’d stayed friends through the intervening years separated by distance and time.

  Can’t make it tomorrow at 2.

  Megan read the text and heaved a disappointed sigh. Between Dani’s work schedule at the Glass House, her new relationship with Cole and her active role as a parent to twins, her free time was slim. In anticipation of enticing her friend to take a little time for herself, Megan had recently gifted Dani a pair of shoes, hoping it would inspire her to come dress shopping for something to wear to the engagement party for Megan’s older brother Aaron and Kasey Monroe, Will’s former assistant turned nanny to seven-year-old Savannah.

  Megan had been a little surprised at how fast the brilliant, driven Aaron had adapted to being solely responsible for his brother’s child. Of course, it was quite possible that Kasey had been the driving force behind his abrupt domestication.

  She gave a little sigh as she pondered the recent spate of romances spawned surrounding the shake-up in their community thanks to Rich Lowell’s impersonation of Will. In fact, Megan and Will were the only two who’d proved immune to love in the months since his return. Not that she was interested in having a love life after what Rich had put her through. Plus, it was a little challenging for either of them to succumb to a new romance when she and Will had been asked by the authorities to maintain the appearance of being married.

  As soon as she responded to Dani, explaining that she understood and soliciting other times later in the week, Megan opened the text she’d received earlier from Will. Her pulse gave a familiar start as she read the simple message.

  Cora Lee planning BBQ at the ranch next Saturday. We’d love to see you there.

  Megan stared at the words for several minutes, wishing she knew how to respond to what appeared to be a casual invitation. Obviously he was being polite and it infuriated her that it annoyed her. She didn’t want to recognize that what she wanted was for him to indicate his interest in resurrecting their passionate encounter from a week earlier. As electric as that night had been, Megan had become self-conscious around him, making their interaction seem overly polite and awkward.

  Or maybe she was just imagining things. Will wasn’t behaving differently. He was the same solicitous man he’d been since discovering he had a wife. He recognized that she’d been duped by Richard Lowell and, although neither of them understood the legal ramifications of their sticky situation, he’d understood that she was as much a victim as he was.

  With a heavy sigh, Megan stood and gathered her purse and briefcase. It was late and she needed to go home. She hated returning to her big empty house on the edge of town. What had once felt like a symbol of her success now reminded her of the biggest mistake she’d ever made. Some days she wanted to set a torch to the place and burn it to the ground, but the memories of her marriage to a man who’d lied and manipulated her were deeply embedded in her psyche and there was no escape.

  After setting the alarm, Megan let herself out the front door. Since the building was accessed by electronic locks, she could sail through the door without pausing to secure it. Before her, the small parking lot lay in deepening shadows. Near the far edge sat her Porsche, its carmine red darkened to a maroon blob. She loved the sporty car and drove with the top down as often as possible. Tonight, however, she wasn’t in the mood to let the hot Texas wind blow her long brown hair into knots.

  A sudden wave of weariness assailed her, brought on by a dip in her blood sugar. She’d neglected to eat dinner again and had not had anything since breakfast fourteen hours ago. No wonder she was feeling tired.

  Her steps slowed as she dug into her purse for her keys. The damned things were always getting lost in the bottom of her bag. Finally her fingers closed around them and she eased a relieved sigh from her lungs. A second later her breath hitched.

  “Megan.”

  Her head swung toward the familiar voice. Rich. Heart hammering, she stopped in her tracks and rotated her gaze in his direction. He was dressed in dark tones, gray or perhaps black, the color making him barely distinguishable from the shadows filling the parking lot. From the way his clothes fit his powerful physique, she guessed he wore one of the expensive suits he favored. Leave it to Richard Lowell to be impeccably tailored while on the run.

  She was struck once again how much his features matched Will’s. Yet after getting to know the real Will Sanders these past few months, Megan couldn’t believe she’d ever been taken in by this monster. And yet the proof that she had occupied her finger. How could she have been so stupid?

  Shame flared, attacking her confidence even as her “husband” advanced from her right, moving to get between her and the Porsche. Too late she realized her danger. Terror blazed. What a fool she’d been to stay so late and then leave on her own.

  “What are you doing here?” Despite her bone-chilling fear, she was proud of her strong tone. “What do you want?”

  “I want you. The only reason I came back is to convince you to come away with me.”

  His words sent a spasm of revulsion through her. She rocked back, knowing there was nowhere to run. In her five-inch heels she’d never make it back to the building before he overtook her.

  She stood her ground and made sure he couldn’t see her fear. “What do you mean?”

  “You’re my wife. We belong together.”

  The deepening twilight made his expression hard to read, so Megan wasn’t sure if he actually believed this or if he was enacting some twisted game to terrorize her.

  “I’m not your wife.”

  Yet as bravely as she declared the words, she wasn’t sure that was true. She’d married him. Richard Lowell. She might have sworn to love, honor and cherish Will Sanders, but she’d stood before this man, looked him in the eye and pledged to be with him forever. The reality had crippled Megan’s confidence these last few months.

  “You are,” Rich countered, his tone harsh. “You love me.”

  “I fell in love with Will Sanders.”

  Was she imagining the rage transforming Rich or had she picked up on subtle body language, clues that made her brace for an act of violence. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d put his hands on her.

  Looking back over their time together, Megan wondered how she’d ever believed he could be Will. The two men were nothing alike. Yet she’d made one excuse for another for his mood swings and quick temper. She’d been a fool to avoid looking past the surface resemblance and not recognizing that this man’s soul was tainted with poison.

  “You fell in love with me. I was the man in your bed. The one you couldn’t get enough of.” He took several menacing steps in her direction. “Do you remember how you gasped my name as you came?”

  Summoning her waning bravado, Megan declared, “I called Will’s name. Not yours.”

  “I was Will. Your Will.” His right hand balled into a fist but his arm remained rigid at his side. “The only Will Sanders who would have you.”

  Even as she absorbed Rich’s verbal blow, Megan’s instincts warned her to keep her attention on Rich’s hands in case he made any sudden moves in her direction. She carefully shifted her stance and put her feet shoulder width apart for better balance. If he tried to grab her, she wanted to make su
re she was ready to dodge.

  “But you aren’t Will Sanders,” she declared, standing her ground. “And you’re nothing like him.”

  Her instincts screamed at her to shut up. He was a murderer and she was alone in a dark parking lot with no one to come to her rescue.

  “No. I’m better.” Bragging about his superiority caused the tension to ease from Rich’s posture but his tone remained razor-sharp. “I was always smarter than him. The difference between us was that I didn’t get a fortune handed to me on a silver platter. I had to work for everything I got.”

  And Megan suspected that was where Rich’s obsession began. Maybe this was something they had in common. She had endured her own bout of fascination with Will during high school. Only, in Rich’s case, admiration had twisted into the darkest sort of jealousy.

  “Why did you kill my brother?” While bringing up his crime was the height of foolishness, Megan needed answers.

  “Jason asked too many questions and discovered too much.”

  “So you killed him.” The declaration rasped from her raw throat as grief nearly overwhelmed her. “Are you planning on killing me, too?”

  “I could never harm you. You belong to me.”

  “I don’t belong to you,” she shot back, the very idea filling her with dread. But then curiosity got the better of her once more. For months she’d brooded over why he’d picked her. Had he glimpsed some weakness and exploited it? “Was it all just a big game for you?”

  He didn’t answer but she sensed she’d surprised him. Whether by her question or the bitterness with which she’d delivered it, Megan didn’t know.

  “Come with me and I’ll show you how important you are to me.”

  His cajoling tone transported her to those first days of their courtship when he’d swept aside her reservations with a barrage of romantic words and sweet gestures. Her treacherous heart began to pound. She knew her feelings for Rich were based on a farce, but opening herself to love had transformed her.

  Where once she’d avoided romance and sentimentality, falling for “Will Sanders” had been magical and had filled her with wonder. To have it all eventually turn to dust had returned her heart to a Popsicle.

  Megan shook her head. “You’ve lost your mind if you think I’d leave town with you.”

  Little by little during their exchange, Megan’s right hand had been making slow progress toward the side pocket in her purse where she kept the pistol she’d bought in case of an encounter just like this one. Neither its compact size nor its pink-pearl grip detracted from the gun’s reliability and stopping power. She’d bought the pistol in the days following Will’s reappearance in Royal. Living alone and working late, she’d imagined this scenario hundreds of times, but now that she was here, Megan wondered if she was equipped to shoot Rich in cold blood.

  “My life is here,” she continued, thumbing off the safety and curving her fingers around the grip as Rich took a step in her direction.

  “Your life is here...or is it all about Will?” Rich sneered. “You’re a fool if you think he could ever love you. I’ve seen you with him and know why you haven’t filed for divorce. You’re hoping he’ll eventually come to love you. But that won’t happen.”

  “You don’t know anything.” Driven by emotions she couldn’t define, Megan pulled out the gun and pointed at him. “Don’t come any closer.”

  Rich’s eyes widened satisfactorily before he began to laugh. “You’re not seriously going to shoot me with that tiny thing?”

  “I won’t if you back off and let me go.” She tried to ignore how badly her hands were shaking and hoped Rich wouldn’t notice. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  “We’ll see about that.”

  He took another step forward and, without thinking, she pulled the trigger. The explosion shattered the quiet night and shocked Megan. There was only ten feet between her and Rich—she’d consistently hit the target at the range from twice that distance—but she hadn’t been aiming for the center of his body. When he spun to the left and before she could wonder if she’d struck him, Megan bolted for her car.

  She didn’t look back as she slid behind the wheel and fired up the engine, but as she put the car into gear, her door jerked open. Rich’s wild eyes blazed down at her. Megan’s heart hammered in her throat, blocking a cry. Instead of pulling the door closed, she shoved it away, banging it into Rich’s lower half as she gunned the car. The scream of tires on pavement drowned out her panicked keening.

  For a heartbeat Rich held on to the door as Megan pushed down on the accelerator and then he was gone. Panting from fright and exertion, she made a right-hand turn out of the parking lot, the momentum causing her door to slam shut.

  Fortunately there was no traffic on the side road that led to Royals Shoes because Megan’s only concern was to put as much distance between her and Rich as possible. She glanced at the pistol resting on the passenger seat. Thank goodness she’d bought the gun and practiced shooting it. Still, she couldn’t believe she’d actually used it against Rich. And she’d hit him. Not badly, since he’d been able to chase her down and try to pull her out of her car. But she’d demonstrated her ability to take care of herself.

  Megan couldn’t settle on an emotion. Part of her rejoiced that she’d gotten away from a madman unscathed. Yet another was shocked at her lack of remorse for having fired a gun at another human being. And deep down inside was the fear over what sort of monster Rich had turned her into.

  As if on autopilot, her car negotiated the roads that led to the sheriff’s office. She’d spent far too much time around police lately, but couldn’t imagine heading home where she ran the risk of encountering Rich again before reporting that he’d tried to accost her.

  “Call Will,” she commanded to her car. As ringing poured through the expensive speakers, she fought to swallow the lump in her throat.

  “Hey, Megan, I was just thinking about you.” His deep voice penetrated the final thread holding her emotions under control and she started to shake.

  “R-Rich...”

  “Are you okay?” His concern came through loud and clear.

  “He came after me.”

  A sharp curse and then, “Are you hurt?”

  “No.” She dragged in a ragged breath and shook her head. “I think I shot him.”

  Silence followed her declaration before Will spoke again. “Where are you?” The question came briskly, filled with impatience.

  Ahead of her were the familiar downtown stores and the Royal Diner. Except for the diner, the buildings were dark, enhancing Megan’s isolation.

  “In my car.” Her jaw was so stiff she was having trouble speaking. “Heading to the police station.”

  “I’ll meet you there.” A pause. When he next spoke, his tone was soft and heavy with worry. “You’re sure he didn’t hurt you?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

  “Okay.” Megan disconnected the call, shocked by how much better she felt. Will’s support during this difficult time had never wavered. He was the rock she clung to in the whitewater that had become her life and she found herself relying on him more and more.

  To her relief, a visitor spot was available right in front of the door leading into the sheriff’s office. Megan came to an abrupt stop, the Porsche’s front tires bumping against the curb. For a second she stayed where she was, car running while she scanned the sidewalk to make sure Rich wasn’t moving to intercept her. Deciding he’d be a fool to track her to the station, Megan exited the car and hurried toward the building.

  When she burst through the front door, tears burned her eyes. Damn. She hated giving in to the weakness. Her emotions were running away with her again and she must have looked a sight as she set her hands on the reception desk.

  “Is Sheriff Battle here?” she asked the woman manning
the front desk. “Richard Lowell just attacked me outside my office.”

  The woman’s eyes widened but her voice remained calm and professional. “He’s not, but Special Agent Bird is in the conference room. I’ll get him for you.”

  Megan took a seat on one of the cold, plastic chairs in the reception area and clasped her purse on her lap to keep her hands from shaking. At this hour the sheriff’s office was nearly deserted and a dull despair swept over her as adrenaline ebbed from her system. Chills racked her body. With each minute that ticked by, her muscles grew stiff until she doubted she could stand without falling over.

  What was taking the FBI guy so long?

  The front door opened and Will stepped into view. A strikingly handsome man whose height and powerful physique commanded attention, his features were set in granite as his vivid green eyes scanned the immediate vicinity with feverish intent. A small, incoherent noise vibrated in her throat an instant before his gaze swung in her direction.

  “Megan.”

  A single word. Just her name. But relief erupted like a fireworks display and suddenly everything was all right now that he was here with her.

  Two

  Will’s entire world had narrowed to razor-sharp focus the instant he’d heard Megan’s shaky voice on the phone. When she’d called, he’d been working in his office at Spark Energy Solutions, combing through the financials for more missing money.

  Now, as he stormed through the door of the police station and spied Megan sitting whole and unharmed in the reception area, the knot in his gut slowly began to unravel. But when she glanced his way and her expression shifted into delight, it was as if a series of explosions began in his chest.

  “Are you really okay?” he demanded, moving to kneel before her. He reached out and trailed his fingers gently over her pale cheek.

  She caught his hand and drew it away from her face. “I’m fine.” Her steady tone warned him not to coddle her. “Really. He never touched me.” A smile ghosted her lips. “If anyone was damaged, it was him.”