“So, what do you think?” he asked, pulling away and sweeping his arm as if showing me the entry hall for the first time. His beautiful blue eyes sparkled and his excitement was infectious. Once again I was reminded of his rugged, breath-catching good looks when Mrs. Oliver gaped at him, her appreciation for his Adonis-like appeal was apparent.
“I think you’ve lost your mind, Liam Covington,” I exclaimed. “Can you afford this?”
He leaned down and placed his lips in my ear. “Yes, WE can. Kel, quit worrying about money. We can well afford this place. As a matter of fact, my mother has another place lined up for us to look at tomorrow between Austin and San Antonio, but we’d have to build. I’m estimating it might be about a million more than this place,” he replied. My eyes widened.
“But Liam, we don’t need this much space,” I argued.
“Stop worrying about it. We can shut the spare bedrooms off until we need them. Just keep an open mind. It has a nursery for Masen right off the master bedroom. Then when he’s older, we can move him upstairs to a big-boy’s room, and try for one of our own,” Liam whispered in my ear.
“Liam, you know that might be a problem,” I began.
“Don’t worry about it, baby. If we can’t, then we’ll just adopt. Besides, Ethan and Chelsea are expecting again, and they will be coming to visit. We’ll use all those extra bedrooms, I promise. Now, come on and look at the rest of the house,” he said, grinning as he pulled me down the hallway.
When we stepped into the kitchen, my mind was made up. This was our house.
It reminded me a lot of Liam’s mother’s kitchen, with all white limestone and white-washed brick, dark oak cabinets and built-ins. The entire back of the house was lined with arched windows looking out onto a white-limestone and Mexican-tile pool. A hot tub sat at one end, raised up on natural-looking boulders, spilling over into the pool. The pool house sat behind, looking more like a bunkhouse from an old Spanish hacienda.
“I’ll just go out front to make some phone calls. I’ll leave you two to talk about the property,” Mrs. Oliver stated, moving toward the front of the house.
“Kel? What do you think?” Liam asked, pulling me against his side.
“I think it’s beautiful, Liam. I love everything about it. It’s just so much.”
“I can see us being very happy here, Kel,” Liam murmured, lowering his lips to my collarbone.
“I would be happy with you in a small two bedroom ranch,” I argued with a shake of my head.
“I know, baby. That’s one of the things I love about you. Just let me explain something, hear me out,” he asked softly. He pulled me over to the massive stone fireplace and we sat down together on the raised hearth, my hands clasped firmly in his.
“My mom and dad want us to buy a house we can see ourselves living in for a lifetime, not a starter home. I told you I have a large trust fund. Ethan and Chelsea did the same thing when they built their house in San Antonio. Ethan paid for it out of his trust fund. Just the interest off the trust will more than pay for the taxes, insurance, and upkeep. It’s an investment, Kel. But the most important thing to me is your safety.”
“My safety?” I asked. I paused and drew a breath in as I looked around. Everything was so perfect in my life now, and I’d almost forgotten the car bomb, the intruder, the attempted rape, and the suspicious nature in which my sister had died.
Liam glanced at me sympathetically, knowing he’d brought everything back to the surface. “Kelly, we’re wealthy people. We can always be a target, especially if my dad and I are involved in politics. My grandfather is well known. There was a time when Ethan and I were little, my grandfather’s political foes targeted him and his family. It spurred my parents to start the gated community where they live. This neighborhood is gated, well-equipped with surveillance, and has a guard at the gates twenty-four seven. You know there will be times when I’ll have to travel, and I need to know you’re safe, Kel. You and Masen are my life. And my parents need to know we’re safe.”
“Okay, if this is what you want, then sure,” I breathed out, hardly able to absorb everything.
“No, I have to make sure it’s what you want. Your happiness is everything,” he said, pulling me closer in to his side.
“I love it. I just want you -- everything else is just a bonus.” I said, looking deeply into his eyes.
“Don’t you want to see the rest of the house? The upstairs?”
His sparkling eyes sealed the deal for me. I couldn’t resist him, he was so excited. He’d turned into a fifteen year-old looking at his first car.
“Let’s look at the master bedroom, before we sign on the dotted line,” I teased.
Liam’s grin deepened as he swung me up into his arms and carried me down the hallway to the back corner of the house. The master suite also looked over the pool. Built up on a higher ledge of stone, it seemed we were on another story to the house. Double French doors that appeared to be hundreds of years old opened to reveal a stone balcony with steps leading down to the hot tub.
Liam playfully pulled me down in the floor on the plush room-sized rug. He caught my face in his hands. “This is where the bed will be. Can you see us waking up every morning to this view?”
I nodded enthusiastically. He pulled me down to his lips, his tongue invading my mouth as if he had me naked in his hotel room. Sliding his hands up under my blouse, his touch set me immediately on fire.
“Liam, Mrs. Oliver might come back any minute,” I protested against his lips.
“She won’t interrupt us if she wants her commission,” he argued. I giggled, pushing his hands away.
“Come on, Casanova. We have four-thousand square feet more to explore,” I urged, standing and pulling him up from the floor. We made quick work of inspecting the rest of the house, just as beautiful as what we’d already seen.
“I’ll bring the contracts in to the office tomorrow at ten for you to sign,” Mrs. Oliver said, sliding behind the wheel of her car.
Liam turned to me. “Come on, Kel. Let’s go celebrate. I’m taking you to dinner,” Liam said as he opened the car door for me.
“Good. I’m starving. Spending millions on real estate caused me to work up quite an appetite,” I teased. He grinned at me, his eyes sparkling with a breathtaking shade of blue that always startled me. “But what about Masen? I told the sitter we’d only be gone a couple of hours,” I remembered.
“I called her on the way here. She’s fine to keep him while we go and eat,” he replied, pulling my hand up to kiss the back of it.
We rode along the winding neighborhood streets, the houses in the gated community looking much the same size as ours. Once we reached the main road, Liam turned the radio down and looked at me.
“So, Kel, when are we going to do this?” Liam asked.
“What? Move in to the house?”
“We’ll start moving in to the house the minute the ink is dry, baby. I can’t wait to get out of the hotel room. When are we going to get married?”
I contemplated the side of his extremely handsome face. Not able to resist, I reached out and stroked his cheek with the back of my hand. “Hmm. The sooner the better, Covington. I’m afraid you’ll get cold feet and change your mind.”
He shook his head, suddenly looking serious.
“Never going to happen, Hellcat. I’m just afraid someone else will try to steal you away before I can get you down the aisle,” he stated solemnly.
“No worries, stud. I haven’t dated any other millionaire wide-receiver ex-football players this month,” I teased. “You’ll do just fine.”
“Good, because I think we need to get married soon, before the summer ends?”
“Liam, there’s only a few weeks of summer left.”
He put his turn signal on, preparing to take the exit to a popular steakhouse.
“I know, Kel. Too soon to plan a big wedding? We need to discuss that too. My mom really wants us to get married in San Antonio at our church.”
He wheeled into the parking lot and turned the ignition off. We sat silently in the dusk, the first stars popping out overhead, twinkling down through the sun-roof.
“Liam, would you be disappointed if we didn’t have a big wedding? I was thinking more like eloping or something.”
He grinned, turning his head toward me. “You are kidding? Those are the words every guy dreams of hearing! You really don’t want the big wedding with the white dress and bridesmaids?”
I shook my head. “No, I don’t. I never really imagined I’d get married at all. With it just being me and no one to give me away, I think I’d like it better if it was just the two of us…maybe on a beach?”
His blue eyes twinkled brightly in the darkness. “You really are the girl of my dreams, Hellcat. You just described my idea of the perfect wedding,” he whispered as he kissed me tenderly, brushing my lips softly with his.
* * *
Two weeks later, I was in full bride-mode. Overwhelmed with details, I was amazed our little beach ceremony still had so many details to be worked out. I’d spent the morning playing phone tag with Liam’s mother, Tana and Chelsea, trying to coordinate a trip to accommodate all of us. There was no way Liam’s family would be left out of our nuptials, and quite frankly, I was glad. I wasn’t used to having family to consider, and it was a welcome change.
My phone rang for the tenth time in an hour. Exasperated, I contemplated letting it go to voicemail, thinking even though I was about to be the bosses’ wife, I still needed to pull my weight at work. The wedding was just going to have to go on hold for a bit.
Another ring, and I couldn’t stand it. I picked up the phone, expecting Liam’s mother or Chelsea.
“Advertising, this is Kelly.”
“Miss Sanger, this is Officer Riggins of the Houston PD. Do you have a moment to talk?” he asked politely.
“Yes, certainly, officer. What can I do for you?”
“We promised you and Mr. Covington we would call you before contacting Senator Reeves. We’re now at a point in the investigation we feel we need to pay him a visit.”
“Do you have any new evidence in the case?” I asked hopefully.
“Yes, we have the preliminary autopsy results, and we will be sending those to compare with the private results you’ve ordered. At this point, we would like to obtain the Senator’s statement as to why he visited your sister, get on record the dates and times of the visits, and see what he admits to. He’s just a loose end in light of the fact we’ve just taken your sister’s boyfriend into custody. There was just too much physical evidence, Miss Sanger. His DNA in your sister’s body, his finger width matching the bruising on her neck. Your sister was raped before she died. She drowned, Miss Sanger, although there were drugs in her system. Miller is going to be charged in your sister’s murder.
I sat motionless, unable to believe what I’d just heard. I was so convinced Reeves had something to do with the overdose. After a beat, he continued.
“We won’t bring your name into the questioning of Reeves unless the Senator is less than forthcoming. This will just be routine,” he assured me.
As he spoke, I looked up at the office doorway and met Liam’s gaze. Very slowly and methodically he moved to sit down in the chair in front of my desk.
“I just spoke to Mr. Covington and informed him of our intentions to question the Senator. He wanted us to talk to you first,” he continued.
“Yes, I understand. But…” I trailed off.
Even faced with the evidence, I still couldn’t believe Rick killed Dana. In my mind, everything pointed to Reeves. Because the way she died was so much like my mother, it was a sick coincidence on top of the tragedy.
“But even if she’d fought with Rick recently or they’d had sex, his DNA would be on and in her body. Does that automatically mean he killed her?” I realized the moment the words came out of my mouth, I sounded like I’d been watching too many episodes of CSI.
Officer Riggins sighed into the phone, telling me more than his words would. “I know you have reasons to suspect the Senator. But the evidence at the scene is overwhelming. If we turn up anything new in the interview, we will be in contact in the very near future, Miss Sanger. Good day.”
“That was the Houston police?” Liam asked softly when I hung the phone up.
“Yes. They’re going to question Reeves,” I whispered.
“Good. I told them I want to be informed if they even suspect he might try to contact you, or even if your name comes up. I think this is the natural next course of action, for them.”
I nodded.
“He told you about Rick Miller?” Liam asked softly.
I nodded. “I can’t believe it. I really never suspected,” I began.
“I know, Kel.”
I rose and rounded the desk. Liam rose to meet me, wrapping his arms around me and sheltering my head into his shoulder.
“I think it’s over, baby. You can finally put this behind you,” he whispered.
“It will never be over,” I said as the familiar heartache took over. My sister was gone.
* * *
Finally, my mind was temporarily off my sister’s murder and wedding plans, and on our house. The ink was now dry, and we were homeowners. As soon as I knew we had possession of the house, I Googled two of Liam’s favorite dishes, determined to surprise him with our first meal in our new home. He’d made me so happy and changed my life so drastically I wanted to pamper him, and hopefully impress him with my cooking skills. Chelsea and Ethan had taken Masen with them for a playdate with Sammy, so we were by ourselves for the evening. Full sacks of groceries bought at a local health food market should fit the bill, but a backup plan consisting of a bag with “Victoria’s Secret” emblazoned on the side would seal the deal.
I could hardly contain my excitement when I pulled up in the driveway. Throwing my new sporty SUV in park, I ran around to the back lift gate and grabbed the bags of groceries and then hurried up the steps. I checked my reflection in the glass windows flanking the entryway. I’d chosen a flirty tank-style silk maxi-dress which hugged my curves and dipped quite low in the back. It was one of Liam’s favorites.
“Liam?” I called out. My voice echoed in the dark hallway. I pulled the sacks I’d sat down at my feet just inside the foyer. I closed the door, and not knowing how far he would be behind me, I clicked the lock and re-set the alarm. Walking over to the main light switch, I flipped it on. Nothing happened.
“Great,” I called out to the empty house. “I guess they messed up when they switched the utilities into our name.” I fished my cell from my pocket and dialed Liam’s number. There was no answer. It occurred to me I’d need a backup plan for dinner since I had no electricity. I walked through the dark house, testing light switches as I made my way down the hallway. There was soft light in the great room, the setting sun throwing a warm glow through the arched windows.
As I turned to place my purse on the granite island, I spotted Liam’s SUV parked in the back driveway by the gate leading to the pool.
“Liam?” I called out again. Thinking he might be outside, I moved toward the back door.
“Little Kelly Sanger.”
A chillingly familiar voice called out of the darkness. My stomach automatically contracted at the sound, and I turned in slow motion.
Senator Reeves stepped into view, holding a gun to Liam’s temple. I gasped, all the air leaving my lungs as panic gripped my chest. My head felt light, my stomach churning. I processed just how closely Reeves held the muzzle of the loaded gun to Liam’s head.
“No,” I whispered, shaking my head from side to side. My worst nightmare was something happening to Liam.
“I’m glad you’ve joined the party. Come in, I’ve been waiting for you,” Reeves said, pushing Liam forward. As Liam stumbled into the light, I could see a large bruise over his left eye, a massive knot visible where Reeves had obviously hit Liam over the head.
“Kelly, baby,” Liam mur
mured, leaning toward me. I caught him in my arms. He was dazed; he’d probably been knocked out for a time.
“What did you do to him?” I spat out, enraged at the thought he’d hurt Liam.
“Nothing yet.” He motioned for me to move closer to the fireplace. I supported Liam, wrapping my arms around him as I helped him over to the hearth. Scanning our surroundings, my wits suddenly returned, I looked for something, anything I could do to distract Reeves. I had no idea what he was planning to do, but my fears overwhelmed me.
“What is it you want, Reeves?” After a pause, I noticed the surgical gloves on his hands. A chill ran up my spine and caused my scalp to contract as I considered his intentions.
“Yes, you are sharp, little girl. But I’m sharper…and with your gun, too. I found it when I planted the car bomb. I knew it might come in handy. I’ll kill Liam with your gun, and then I’ll turn it on you. A tragic murder/suicide. Hardly something out of the ordinary for a little gold-digging, conniving slut like you,” Reeves snorted.
My heart clenched, the thought of Liam lying dead on the floor frightening me more than the thought of my own death. I looked down at Liam worriedly. He leaned against me, obviously not in control of his senses. I was terrified his head injury was serious. It was obvious the blow Reeves had given him had affected his motor skills and reactions.
“Reeves, let’s talk about this,” I said, rising and taking a step toward him. Liam pushed himself up into a sitting position on the hearth, fighting against the forces threatening to render him unconscious.
“You could have avoided this, if you’d only met me. I could have paid you off, and then convinced Covington and his dad you were the little gold-digging whore I told them you were. But you wouldn’t meet me. And then you put the police on my trail.”
Texas Hellcat Page 31
