by Dani Wade
Nothing in that scenario came close to the amped-up emotions he was experiencing at the moment.
Eager for a distraction, he paused in front of the open laptop. Several pictures shared space on the screen, showcasing the smoldering mill from different angles. He’d never had much time for art, but to his inexperienced eyes, these looked pretty good.
Which for some reason made him even angrier.
“You weren’t authorized to take pictures there.”
“Did you tell that to every bystander in that parking lot with their cell phones in their hands? Or just me?”
He glanced in her direction, mildly surprised by her return salvo. He hadn’t known her to be very confrontational. Not that they’d spent much time arguing, but they had talked—a lot. He wouldn’t have called her a doormat, exactly, but she’d shown a lot more spirit in the last twenty-four hours than he’d seen in the week he’d known her five years ago. A week that had ended in a night he couldn’t forget.
She raised one fine brow. “There were no signs posted. No one said I couldn’t be there...at first.”
He studied the images a bit longer. Damn if she didn’t have him stumped. What exactly had he wanted to accomplish by coming here? To go over the same territory as at the mill? To find out why she had returned? To get information without having to ask any direct questions?
To put himself out there to be hurt again?
Gesturing toward the screen, he asked, “So you came back just for pictures?”
It was as close as he’d let himself get to addressing the elephant in the room. He really wanted to know why she hadn’t come back for him. She was the one woman he’d ever felt he could actually let into his life, have a real relationship with. And she’d walked away without looking back.
“I was in the area and heard about the explosion. I wanted to check it out.”
She looked too calm, acted too casual. And she just happened to be in the area? He shook his head. When had he gotten so suspicious?
“What about you?” she surprised him by asking. “What were you doing there?”
That’s when he realized she wasn’t the only one who had changed in five years. “I’m head of security for the Blackstones—”
She smiled. “Wow. That’s really great. Going from maintenance to head of security is a big jump.”
He knew he shouldn’t, but he said it anyway. “I’m not head of security for the mill. I handle security details for the entire family and all of their interests. I run my own security firm.” Bragging did not come easily to him. Not that he’d ever had much to brag about. But somehow it felt good to rub his success in Sadie’s face.
He wasn’t the same man she’d met then—recently returned from combat in the Middle East, fighting the nightmares while maintaining a strong facade for the women in his family he’d spent a lifetime supporting.
Then one night he’d let her in, and he wished she’d never seen that side of him.
“Until we can get a good look inside and evaluate the damage, the mill is a huge security risk. So the Blackstones have asked me to oversee this initial part of the investigation.”
“I heard it was a bomb.”
He nodded. Yep. A bomb set off by a crazy man.
“Any suspects?”
It was a natural question. Simple curiosity. So why did his muscles tense when she asked?
“Yes, but that information is not being released to the public.”
The words came out in a more formal tone than he would have normally used, but it was all for the best. Keeping their distance meant keeping himself sane. Instead of leaning in to see if her hair smelled the same as it did before.
He did not need to know that.
He eyed the bright waves dancing around her shoulders. He definitely didn’t need to know.
“So it would be better to stay away from there right now.” And away from me, so all these emotions will respond to my control. “Wait until we can guarantee it’s safe.”
“In the parking lot?”
“Right.” He didn’t care if she wasn’t buying it. A man had to do...
Suddenly realizing he’d accomplished nothing but torturing himself during this visit, he stalked back to the door. Unfortunately, she followed, until she was within arm’s reach. He was too far away from the door to escape.
It all flooded back—all the memories he’d struggled to hold at bay since that first moment he’d seen her again at the mill. The way his heart pounded when she laughed. The way her soft voice soothed his nerves as she told him a story. The way his body rose to meet the demands of hers.
So many things he couldn’t force himself to forget.
But he could force himself to walk away this time. “I’ll be seeing you, Sadie,” he said, as casually as he could.
She pulled the door open and smiled. “Definitely.”
Something about her tone, that confident edge, ruffled him, pushed him to throw her off balance. He couldn’t stop himself. He stopped in front of her, bending in low to place his mouth near her ear. He sucked in a deep breath. “So...” he said, letting the word stretch, “aren’t you gonna tell me why you really left?”
Her gasp left him satisfied...for now.
Two
Sadie’s entire body instantly snapped to attention. She might not have moved, but every nerve ending was now awake and focused on the man before her.
She hadn’t thought he’d directly address her leaving. Indeed, he’d seemed to do everything but ask the all-important question: Why? She’d thought she was prepared. Her flippant answer rattled around in her brain for a moment, but she couldn’t force it out.
Instead she stared up into his brooding dark eyes and lost her breath. She’d known she would hurt him, leaving like that. He’d never tell her so, but she couldn’t help but wonder if it were true from his somber gaze.
His body seemed to sway a little closer, and her mouth watered at the thought of his lips on hers once more. Then the trill of her phone broke the moment of silence.
Suddenly he was back to arm’s length, leaving her to wonder if she’d imagined that moment. Wished it into being.
His eyes grew wider, reminding her that her phone was still ringing. She ignored both him and the phone. Her mother called late in the evening, when her duties for the day were done. Only one person would be calling her at this time of day, and she wasn’t about to speak to him in front of Zach.
Her heart pounded. She licked her lips, trying to think of something to say.
Instead of waiting for an answer, Zach gave a quick smirk and then walked out the door without another word. She waited until he was down the stairs and out of sight before pushing the door closed. Then she dissolved against it like melting sugar.
Tears welled, along with the wish that things didn’t have to be this way. She quickly brushed both away. Her life had been one long lesson in dealing with reality, not dreaming of fairy tales.
At least he hadn’t forgotten her.
Forcing herself to her feet, she crossed to the sitting area and picked her phone up off the low table. The very name she expected flashed across the screen. She sucked in a deep, bracing breath, then touched the screen to call him back.
“I’m listening.”
She hated when he answered the phone like that. The part of her that rebelled against what she had to do forced her to hold her words just a minute longer than necessary, garnering some petty satisfaction from making him wait.
“What do you need, Victor?” she asked.
“Ah, Adams. Where were you?”
The impersonal use of her last name grated on her nerves, but she was, after all, simply a servant. “Away from my phone.”
“Don’t get uppity with me, Adams. Just because you’re hundreds of
miles away from Texas doesn’t mean you’re off the leash.”
Right. Remind her of the dog she was—that would make her work harder. But it was an apt description—she was a hunting dog. Sent to search for and fetch exactly what her owner wanted.
“I apologize,” she said, hoping he couldn’t tell her teeth were gritted. “But I didn’t think you wanted me to answer the phone and give you an update in front of Zachary.”
“Very good, Adams. I knew I could trust your judgment.”
As if it had been all his idea. If Victor Beddingfield had an original idea ever in his life, she’d be shocked. Of course, this little expedition was his idea—and here she was. But the idea wasn’t original to him. His father had tried it first.
“So you’ve already made contact? Good girl.”
Yep, she was definitely a dog to him. “I have, but he’s not happy about it.”
“You simply have to make him like it. You know how to do that...don’t you?”
She wished to goodness Victor had never found out the truth about her last visit to Black Hills. Not that he cared about her choice to deceive his father, telling him that Zachary couldn’t possibly be the son he sought. The longer Zach had been out of his life, the more of their father’s money Victor could spend. Still, the knowledge had given him a weapon to use against her—but not the biggest one.
“This might take some time.” Although, even if she had all the time in the world, Zach would probably never forgive her—then or now.
“Well, we don’t have time, remember?” he said, his voice deepening in a way she perceived as a threat. “I need money. Now. And I’m sure you do, too—or rather, your sister does.”
Not really. Amber didn’t worry about that sort of thing. The hospital treated her cancer, that was all she knew. It was all Sadie wanted her sister to know. The practical aspect—bills, scheduling, medical decisions—all of that was handled by Sadie. Some days, it was enough to make her feel like she was drowning, but she did it anyway. It kept her sister alive, for now. It allowed her mother to be at her sister’s side for however much longer they had her. That was all that mattered. Still, the reminder struck home.
But Victor wasn’t done. “So get me the dirt I need to disinherit him, and we will all be in a much better position. Got it?”
How could she not? “I understand. I’ll do my best.”
“Good girl.”
One of these days, Sadie’s teeth were going to be worn to a nub, just from the irritation of listening to this guy. “He’s not giving me much to work with,” she said, consciously relaxing her jaw.
“Then get creative,” Victor said. Without another word, he disconnected the call.
Get creative.
Sadie sighed. Easy for him to say. Victor had always had someone to do the dirty work for him. Her role in his father’s household made her a convenient option. Her role in his father’s investigation of his older son five years ago told Victor she wasn’t just convenient, but experienced.
Now he wanted the investigation into Zach reopened so he could discredit the man who didn’t know he was Victor’s older brother.
Time for Sadie to earn her keep.
Plopping down onto the couch, she stared at her computer screen. Get creative. How? She couldn’t think of any way to get around Zach’s present uncooperative state. She needed to get close to him, learn everything she could about him. But he wanted her nowhere near him.
Glancing around to remind herself that she was alone, Sadie clicked on the computer folder she’d closed when Zachary had knocked. Instantly the screen filled with images of him. There were pictures from all different angles, taken while he wasn’t looking. Not for Victor’s benefit. Not because she had to. Because she wanted to.
Because the single photo she had of him from her last visit wasn’t nearly enough to last her a lifetime.
She hadn’t dared take home any more, certain that her employer, Victor and Zach’s father, would discover them and realize she was lying about how much she’d found out about Zach.
She studied the haunting image she’d gotten of Zach silhouetted against the smoking building from yesterday. The contrast of his strength with the ruins of the mill reminded her of his conscientious care for his family, his quiet way of watching those around him until he saw a need that he could fill. If only he could fulfill her needs, free her from this mess of a life so she could be with him once more.
No, she couldn’t think like that. This was her problem to solve, as always. If Zachary knew what she was involved in, he’d lead the mob running her out of town. The town didn’t know her, either. They’d protect their own.
At least, that was the perception she had from watching him at the mill. But did she really know? What could the town tell her about Zach that he wouldn’t tell her himself?
She studied the picture once more. She needed to find out, and she had an idea how she might make that happen.
I need more information.
And she wasn’t going to get it moping in her room. Grabbing a light jacket against the autumn chill, Sadie threw a quick glance at the computer to make sure it was off, then headed out the door.
She shouldn’t worry about her laptop. But Victor had taught her that people did all kinds of things that served their own ends—and invaded other’s privacy. She never wanted to be caught off guard again.
Not that she had many secrets, but Victor had managed to find a doozy.
She paused on the stairs. Zach had said he owned a security firm now. Would he have checked her out?
Even now, had he figured out who she was? How long after that would he find out who her employer was, and what he meant to Zach?
Once that happened, her mission would be over before it even began. The ticking time bomb had been set.
Luckily, the overly friendly proprietress of the bed-and-breakfast was at the front desk when Sadie reached the office. The woman’s husband was as reticent as she was open, so he wouldn’t have been nearly as helpful. For now, luck was with Sadie.
The woman even started the conversation in the direction Sadie wanted it to go.
“Wow! New to town and already getting visits from the local hero.”
Technically it was a statement, but Sadie could hear the question beneath the words. And Gladys wasn’t finished. “Of course, not everyone feels that way...”
Interesting.
“Why is that?” Sadie didn’t feel the need to beat around the bush. Subtlety wasn’t Gladys’s forte.
“Oh, there was a big to-do when he came home. He graduated to officer in the military, survived combat. Then came home to take care of his family after his mama’s heart attack.”
Sadie murmured a few encouraging words, even though Gladys didn’t need them.
“But then all those plants got poisoned earlier this year—”
That made Sadie’s ears perk up. “What plants?”
“Cotton fields.” The older woman leaned toward Sadie over the high desk in what Sadie had learned was Gladys’s favorite position. “One of the things Zach did to earn money was crop dust. Early this spring he dusted nigh on half the county in a day. By morning, the plants were dead. Boy, did that cause an uproar.”
“I bet.” Probably more like a riot. Killing the cash crop of choice for the area... “Did the police get involved?”
“You bet. Quite a spectacle it was, though I wasn’t there. Handcuffs and all. But they released him the same day.”
Gladys lowered her voice, though they were the only two around. “Them Blackstone brothers got involved. And they obviously believe in him, because he’s the biggest news story around here...besides the bomb, of course.”
“You mean his new job?”
The woman nodded, her tight gray curls bouncing. “He don’t have to wo
rk three jobs now, that’s for sure. I hear his business is taking off like hot cakes.”
See, he doesn’t need the money.
Sadie pushed away the seductive thought. She wouldn’t sugarcoat what she was doing. Regardless of his current circumstances, Zach deserved the inheritance her late boss had wanted to give him. The one she had denied him because she had lied and told Victor’s father that Zach wasn’t, in fact, the son he sought. She’d been afraid he would corrupt Zach the same way he had everything else around him.
Still believing his firstborn was out there somewhere, Beddingfield Senior had willed him his inheritance. The only way for Victor to get it was to ruin Zach. Because he knew the truth...the truth behind the lies she’d told.
Desperate times called for desperate measures.
Gladys had just given her a place to start looking for Zach’s dirty laundry. And if Sadie succeeded in her mission, she’d steal away every last dime.
From Zach.
Three
“I heard there was an incident at the mill yesterday.”
Of course she had. Zach glanced over at his sister. Despite her engagement to the richest man in town, KC had kept her bartending job, and she heard everything. “You mean besides the fire?”
“Well, this was a bit more interesting than a bomb, in my opinion. It was about you...and a woman.”
Only KC would find that more interesting. But since there was never any gossip connecting him to any women in town, he could see her point of view.
Zachary hated that he paused before answering, practically admitting his guilt. “You heard about that?” His sister was too smart for him to bother pretending he didn’t know what she was talking about.
Her sassy attitude was displayed in a raised brow and hand on her hip. “Seriously? This is a bar. In a small town. People in here have nothing to do but talk all day...” She studied him in a way that made him want to squirm. “Did you really throw her off the property?”
