“They working any other scenario?”
“It wasn’t self-inflicted, if that’s what you’re getting at. And it definitely came from outside the vehicle.”
“Possible road-rage incident? Maybe they were playing road tag. Judging from his behavior here earlier, it wouldn’t be a stretch.”
“Couldn’t rule that out entirely, but I’d say it was damn unlikely.”
“I just don’t want us diverting our attention if this is a red herring.”
“My gut says this has to be part of the big picture. We certainly can’t afford to treat it otherwise, no matter what the official supposition is.”
“I agree.” But it helped getting Mac’s opinion. Rafe knew he was far more emotionally involved than he’d ever been before, and he wanted to make sure his judgment wasn’t getting too clouded. “Get any additional info on him?”
“Nothing more than what we had. Haven’t had time to do any more digging. That’s your arena, anyway.”
“I was on it until we did an aerial of Kenny’s place and saw it empty.”
“I’m going to head back down there now, maybe lay low for a little bit, see if anything crops up.” He paused, then added, “You think there might be a benefit in getting someone to check out whatever might be going on at Charlotte Oaks?”
“You think someone there is behind this?”
“I think it had to start there.”
He looked at Elena as he spoke. “Maybe it started with Kenny figuring out Springer’s gestation date and, most likely, her suitor. I’m going to check on his financials, see if there might be some motivation there.” He sent Elena a visual apology, but she nodded her understanding. He doubted she liked it very much, but she knew the stakes were too high not to check every last angle.
“Doesn’t explain why he took the herd with him.”
“Elena said it was like rescuing the family dog. No matter how desperate he is, he wouldn’t leave what amounts to his family behind.”
“No contact from him at all?”
“Zero.”
“That doesn’t bode well, no matter the reason behind it.”
“Yeah,” Rafe said, still looking at Elena, “we know.”
There was a long pause, then Mac said, “You know, there could be another angle here.”
Rafe sighed. He knew Mac would go there, knew he had to. And though it pissed him off, he knew his partner was just covering all their bases. Which was always the smart play. He’d have done the same in a reverse situation. Had, in fact, when Mac and Kate reunited last year under less-than-perfect circumstances.
“Have to ask. You sure she and Kenny aren’t in this together somehow? Maybe working some kind of deal, possibly playing both sides, with you—us—coming up the loser if all hell breaks loose?”
“If we’re trusting our guts here, the answer is yes. I’m certain.” He looked at Elena. “As certain as I have to be.”
He thought Mac would call him on it, and perhaps a year ago, he would have. But since the situation with Kate, and her reentry into all their lives, Mac wasn’t as quick to judge. Rafe could only hope that was a good thing in this case.
“I’ll check in when or if I get more. A shame Finn isn’t around. We’d cover a lot more ground if we had the damn bird.”
“You hate that damn thing.”
“I hate flying in it. I don’t hate you all using it for the good of many.”
“Well, he’s incommunicado, so it’s all-terrain for now. I’ll be in touch. And when you locate Aaron—”
“Don’t even think about asking me to hold him for you. You have enough to keep you occupied. He’s mine.”
“Kate might get jealous.”
“Very funny. But he’s my hire, so he’s my problem. Besides, the one you want messing up your pretty clothes isn’t Aaron.”
Given the fact that Rafe was halfway to a full hard-on pretty much all the time around her now, even with everything that was going on around them, he doubted he could fight that one with any real sincerity. “Good point. Just don’t mess him up too much. He might come in handy when all this plays out. If we have something on him, he’ll be more willing to play for our team.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Rafe clicked the phone off and steeled himself for the barrage of questions he expected from Elena the instant he pocketed his phone. But as she managed to do more often than not, she surprised him by turning and pacing away from him, either in an effort to gather her thoughts, or figure out where to begin the interrogation, or both.
She walked to the windows that lined the front and end of the pool house. All were covered with floor-to-ceiling, wide-panel, vertical blinds, for privacy. At the moment, they were closed, but she shifted one aside at the far end and gazed out. He knew exactly the scene before her.
Past the corner of the pool deck, the backyard sloped gently downward toward the stables and paddock. He knew exactly how much view was afforded by the foliage around the outside of the pool house, because he’d stood in that exact same spot many times, watching her put this horse or that through their paces. Cup of coffee in hand in the morning, glass of wine in the evening. He’d done that pretty much since she’d come to work there. Mac and Finn had been right all along.
She kept her back to him and remained silent. He had no idea if she was truly seeing the vista before her, or if her thoughts were entirely inward at the moment. She’d had to accept and process a great deal today, and despite her few brief lapses into panic, she’d maintained extremely well. He didn’t know her well enough to know her breaking point. Maybe she didn’t know, either. But from the steady set of her shoulders, he didn’t think she was teetering on the brink. Yet.
“Johansson’s dead, I gather. And it wasn’t an accident.” Her tone was flat, unemotional, stating facts rather than asking questions.
“Yes, he is. And no, it wasn’t.”
For some time now, he’d been juggling the need to protect her and take charge of the situation so she wouldn’t suffer any more than necessary. She’d told him not to do her any favors, that she could handle it, but he didn’t see the logic in pushing a person too far. Not when he could avoid it. Now, watching her, the rigid line of her spine, the tense set of her jaw, he realized that keeping her out caused her to suffer more than if he was open with her. About all of it. He knew imagination was often far worse than even the harshest reality. She’d already seen a lot. The fire. Geronimo dying. It was far more than most people should have to witness. He should have respected that more. Respected her more.
“It wasn’t the accident that killed him, though.”
She turned around then.
“He was shot, Elena,” Rafe said quietly, though it didn’t lessen the impact. “That’s why his truck flipped.”
Her eyes went wide and she froze to the spot. “Shot?”
He nodded.
“I—from your end of the conversation, I thought maybe someone forced him off the road. But somebody shot him?”
Despite the absolute horror on her face, Rafe didn’t back down from his decision to be open and honest. “In the head. And whoever it was might have helped his truck into that ditch, but regardless, it wasn’t an accident.”
She turned back to the window, then back to him, then began to pace. “Shot. Dear God. This has gone too far. Way too far. I should never have kept this a secret.” She looked up, terror and not a little panic on her face. “It was so selfish of me to want to keep her, keep her safe, when I should have just told the truth from that night on.”
“You have no idea what would have happened if you had. We don’t know the forces at play. You did what you had to, to protect the one thing you loved. Second-guessing that now isn’t going to get us anywhere.”
That seemed to help her regain her grip a little. “Do you think they got Kenny? And—and your guy, Aaron? You don’t think he’s also—oh my God.” That last part ended on a gulp. Arm braced around her stomach, she spun around again a
nd stood in front of the window. Her shoulders began to tremble and he was crossing the room before he thought better of it.
He wanted to treat her fairly, and with respect, but dammit, he hated this, hated her being tortured. He turned her into his arms, pulling her tight whether she wanted to be held or not. Maybe he needed to hold on as much as she needed someone to hold on to. She wasn’t crying. The trembling was induced from sheer terror. Her eyes were enormous when she looked up into his.
“Springer—would someone…would they—”
“She’s carrying the golden goose. I think she’s probably the safest part of this whole ordeal.”
“I—I don’t understand any of this. I don’t know who would do something like that. My God, they shot someone. Killed someone.” She tried to break free. “I don’t care how much the baby is worth, and you know I’d lay my life down for her, but to kill someone? That’s crazy. This whole thing is crazy. They can just have the damn baby. I never wanted to profit from this, I just didn’t want to lose my horse. I wanted to make sure she’d be safe. Why didn’t whoever is doing this just come find me and tell me they knew, demand I give the baby to them? Not do this. Never do…Jesus, Rafe, who would do this?”
He turned her chin with his hand so she had to keep her gaze focused on him. “A desperate person. A greedy person. You’d be surprised the lengths people will go to, to get what they want.”
“How do we get out of this? How do we make it stop? Do we need to go to the police? Tell them what we know?”
She was digging her fingers into his shoulders, shaking him, as if rattling him would force a solution to their rapidly growing set of problems.
“There are no fast solutions here. And we would be handing the police more questions than answers at this point. I don’t see how they could be effective right now. We don’t know all the players yet, but we’re working on it and we know a hell of a lot more than anyone else.” Plus, what he didn’t say, was that the police could easily pull one or both of them in for extensive questioning, which would be highly likely given their involvement, and take them both out of the picture for God knew how long. “Mac is heading back to Kenny’s to see if he missed anything, and to be there in case anyone else comes calling.”
“You think he might come back? He didn’t just take Springer, he took all of his horses. And who is helping him? We never talked about that. He doesn’t have a rig big enough for all of them.”
“I don’t know. Whoever wanted Springer, I suppose.”
“We can’t just sit here. We have to do something.”
“Right now, this is the safest place for you. I need to do some digging myself, on all the players, but you running around the countryside isn’t going to help, and potentially only puts you at risk. The only places we could be looking would be Kenny’s place and Charlotte Oaks.” He stopped her before she could say anything. “Mac is sending someone down there, but we’re not sending them in until we know what we’re sending them into.”
“I should be the one to go down there. Or to Kenny’s. Anywhere but here. I can’t let everyone else run around at my expense while I do nothing. Besides, if one of your own men got involved, who’s to say I’m not at risk here? Or that you’re not?”
“The staff has been excused for the evening. Mac took care of that. No one is in the main house, and this one is secure. The main entrance is closed.”
“What about Kate’s instructors and—”
“The ones who don’t live on the property will go out the separate entrance for her school. Which is also being monitored. No one goes in or out without approval from Kate.” He gentled his grip. “You’re safer here than anywhere else at the moment. Springer is most likely being very well taken care of.”
“The stress alone—what if she goes into early labor? What if—”
“I know it’s hard, but you can’t let yourself go there. If Kenny is with her, regardless of why, then she’s in good hands.”
Elena’s eyes widened. “That’s it! That’s why they wanted him. They’re blackmailing him, or forcing him to attend the birth. Maybe they know her history, or maybe they just want to make sure nothing goes wrong with Geronimo’s only offspring. That would explain everything.”
“Except why they took him, Springer, and every other horse on his property.”
She swore. “I know, I know. I can’t figure that out, either, but I just can’t see him doing this. I’ve thought and thought about it, all the way back here, and I swear I’m being as objective as I can be. He wouldn’t, Rafe. Not this. Not to me, not to anyone. He just…it’s not who he is any more than it’s who I am. For any price.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you were pushed to do something you’d never otherwise do when this situation happened. Who knows what he’s facing?”
She blanched and looked away. “Point taken.”
He lifted her chin with his fingertips. “I’m not saying he’s dirty, but we have to keep all options open.”
She looked into his eyes for the longest time, then gathered herself and said, “I know. I do. But you’ve talked a lot about gut instincts. That’s why I told you what I did. It’s why I’ve told you anything, ever. My gut says I can trust you. Just like my gut says I’m right about Kenny. I won’t shut down possibilities, but I won’t believe it’s true until I see some proof.”
“Is that what you’ve told yourself about me? Trustworthy until proven otherwise?”
“No, I looked at the man you are, with the deep bonds you have, and what they will do for you, and you for them. And what you were all willing to do for me, because it’s what you thought was right. That’s the only measure I needed.”
He took her mouth. Right then. No preamble, no slow lowering of his lips to hers, no choice given. Just a choice made.
The surprise of it kept her still, but only for a second. He mentally braced himself for her to shove at him. He’d have respected that, backed away, though it would have cost him. He knew then how well and truly entangled he’d become. It had never been like this for him. Almost irrational. He relied on instinct, on rational thought. Not on emotion and his hard-on. Or his heart. Life wasn’t set up to be fair about those things, and he’d had enough of the unfair part of life.
Then she moaned, just a little guttural sound in the back of her throat. And her hands came up to fist in his hair as she pulled his mouth down even harder on hers. And kissed him back with every ounce of intensity she had in her.
And he knew there was no protecting himself from this. Or from her. Nor did he want there to be.
Chapter 25
Elena was so tempted to sink into that blissful oblivion only he could provide. Escape the overwhelming worry and fear, even if only for a few moments. But, in the end, even Rafe couldn’t transport her, and their kiss eased from the powerful thunder she was already coming to crave, to something quieter, and yet perhaps even more compelling in the way it nurtured something else inside her. And that something was hope.
When he lifted his head and looked into her eyes, she said, “We’re going to find her.”
He nodded.
“And we’re going to figure this out.”
He nodded again, then took her hand and drew her with him as he walked across the main room and through a sliding partition that sectioned off what turned out to be a small office. Through another sliding screen, she could see his bedroom, and the oversized bed, sitting low to the floor in a teakwood box frame. A detailed latticework headboard, gorgeous wall murals, and sumptuous-looking pillows in decadent jeweled silks combined to make his bedroom look like a combination of crisp Asian beauty and extravagant Arabic splendor. She didn’t dare let her gaze linger there, because it made her want things she couldn’t have. Not now.
She thought about what he’d said, about wanting to know what came next with them. It was a seductive thought, and one she couldn’t afford at the moment.
Her attention was pulled away when he tugged her over to hi
s desk. What his bedroom was in sensuality, his office was in functionality. Nothing like the warm tones and softly tooled leathers of his main house office, this one was more track-lit, high tech, smooth grays and stealth black, like a compact space station.
“Wow,” she said, turning around and looking at all the equipment packed perfectly into the specially designed series of shelves and cubicles.
Rafe slid into a sleek, black leather-and-chrome desk chair and began tapping keys on a curved, consolelike keyboard. A flat screen mounted on the wall in front of him sprang to life. He motioned to a pod-shaped scoop of black padded leather that was tucked into a side corner. “You should make yourself comfortable—this could take a while.”
“What is the game plan?” she asked, still nosing about.
“It’s getting late in the day. Mac is on his way to Kenny’s—we’ve got someone heading down to Charlotte Oaks. They’ll stand by until given directions. With Aaron’s disappearance, we’re not going to show our hand again until we know more of what is going on.”
“And how are we going to figure that out?”
“I’m going to start an in-depth search on Johansson.” He glanced at her. “And Kenny.”
She nodded. “I understand and I agree. If for no other reason than to eliminate him as a suspect.”
Rafe merely nodded in return and went back to his console.
Elena paced.
“There is a galley kitchen on the other side of the main room if you’re hungry. I’d have something sent over from the main house, but—”
“I know. I can’t eat.”
“You should. We probably both should. It’s been a long day and it’s likely we’re in for another one.” He glanced over at her. “Other than gathering information, there isn’t much more we can do tonight.”
“I won’t be able to sleep.”
“She’ll be okay, Elena.”
“Nothing is okay. Nothing is remotely okay.”
He paused and swiveled his chair so he could face her. “I know. But sleepless and weakened isn’t a good place to be, either. Think of it as doing what you can for her by taking care of yourself. It won’t happen tonight, but it will happen soon.”
The Black Sheep and the Hidden Beauty Page 31
