Taste of Passion (Madaris Novels)

by Brenda Jackson

  “I believe the Coroni foundation would have made absolutely sure and might even have a copy of it,” Mackenzie said. “Besides, why would Mr. Coroni lie about something like that?”

  “He’s not lying if he doesn’t know any differently. What if his attorney made changes without him knowing it? Have you ever met Lamar Perkins?” Clayton wanted to know.

  “Yes,” Mackenzie answered. “The local attorneys get together quarterly as part of a networking group here in town. It’s my understanding that Lamar moved to town a year or so before I did to be close to his dad. His parents divorced when he was young and he never established a relationship with his father. His dad died a few months after he moved here but he has a close relationship with his stepmother. Lamar is in his middle thirties and is quite popular with the single ladies around town.”

  Alex sighed deeply and then he said, “Through my investigation, I’ve verified all that you’ve said. However, there are some things that have thrown a monkey wrench into this case.”

  “More like a crowbar,” Syneda said, shaking her head.

  Alex chuckled. “Be that as it may, I have reason to believe that Lamar Perkins might be up to no good.”

  Mackenzie regarded him curiously. “And why would you say that?”

  “For two reasons actually,” Alex said. “First of all, I had someone check, and I learned that the will the foundation has in their possession isn’t the most recent one that was drawn up by Mr. Coroni. And the next is because Lamar Perkins is having a secret affair with someone who works at Whitedyer. Not only does she work there but she is someone close to the Coroni negotiations.”

  Mackenzie would pace the floor for a moment, then pause, glance down at the documents in her hand and then pace again. The three people sitting in her office knew what had been revealed in the papers she’d just read was reason enough to make a person pace . . . among other things.

  Standing to stretch his muscles, Clayton felt it was time to ask, “So, Mac, what do you plan to do?”

  She stopped pacing and glanced over at Clayton, Syneda, and Alex. She then glanced at the clock on the wall. Had two hours passed already? She met Clayton’s gaze and shrugged. “I honestly don’t know.”

  “Keep in mind that technically, no laws have been broken,” Syneda said.

  “Yes, but . . .” Mackenzie didn’t finish what she was about to say, she just shook her head. Taking a deep sigh she moved back across the room to sit at her desk. “But if we can prove an affair is going on then that means there’s a chance Lamar Perkins has been privy to information that he shouldn’t know about.”

  “True,” Clayton agreed. “Syneda, Alex, and I discussed everything in detail yesterday after Alex dropped the report by the office. I think Perkins has been counseling Coroni on how to handle Whitedyer based on information he’s being fed from this woman who works for Whitedyer. Coroni has turned down three offers, yet Whitedyer returns to the table with another one and each offer increases substantially. And now, according to you, their most recent offer more than triples the first.”

  “And Perkins may have convinced Coroni that since there’s a good chance if the case goes to court, he will lose anyway, he should hold out until the last and get as much money out of Whitedyer as he can. Chances are that’s what the old man is doing since he trusts Perkins,” Syneda added.

  Mackenzie nodded. “But how does that benefit Perkins?”

  Alex dragged in a deep breath. “It doesn’t unless Perkins has convinced Coroni that he deserves a share of the proceeds . . . or unless Perkins has made himself the sole beneficiary in the will and hopes Mr. Coroni’s days are numbered, either for health reasons or because Perkins is working behind the scenes to assure Coroni meets with an untimely death.”

  At Mackenzie’s shocked look, Alex added, “Trust me, four million dollars is a lot of money. People have killed for a lot less.”

  “Yes, but won’t that swing suspicions toward Lamar since he’ll be the one to gain substantially if something were to happen to Mr. Coroni?”

  “Not necessarily,” Clayton said. “Especially if it’s arranged to look like Coroni died of natural causes, and there are ways to achieve that, especially for someone his age who has medical problems. Like Syneda said, so far no laws have been broken even if Coroni takes the money by settling out of court, which we can all bank on him doing. But I think we should talk with the person who’s handling the police investigation of the incidents involving you and let them take over from there.”

  Mackenzie nodded. “Detective Adams is handling the case and he’s pretty sharp.”

  “In that case he probably won’t mind us giving him a heads-up regarding what we’ve discovered.”

  Mackenzie reached for her phone. “I’ll give him a call right now to see if he can meet with us later this evening.”

  “Glad to see you back, Luke.”

  “Thanks, Jim. Glad to be back,” he responded, knowing it was a lie. It had been a week and he had yet to get back into the swing of things and that wasn’t good. Even Cisco had picked up on it. They had won the relay race but barely.

  An hour or so later he was back at the hotel. Cam and the others had decided to hit the town to celebrate but he hadn’t been interested. Nadine had tried getting his attention after the show but he had quickly gone the other way. She was definitely someone he hadn’t wanted to see and it ticked him off that the woman still thought he was interested in her when he’d done everything to show that he was not.

  After his shower he got a beer from the six-pack Cam had on ice before collapsing down on the bed and checking to see what was on the television. Grabbing the remote he, began switching channels when he couldn’t find anything that held his interest, trying hard not to let his mind dwell on one particular person. But he couldn’t help it.

  As much as he tried he couldn’t think of anything else and it had been that way for a while. And it was worse at night when he couldn’t get to sleep for images of her flashing through his mind. Vivid images. Heated images. He wondered what she was doing. Was she nervous about the hearing that would be coming up soon? Had Clayton and Syneda been able to help her out any?

  He reached for his cell phone and then drew his hand back. The last thing he needed was to hear her voice. The way his mind had been playing tricks on him, he thought he heard it sometimes anyway. The only connection he had with her was through Theo. He called the man practically every day to make sure all the men at the ranch were keeping an eye on things. It was important to him that Mac be safe.

  He rubbed his face in frustration. Hell, if he’d known it would be this hard to sever their relationship he would never have touched her. No, that was a lie, and he knew it. There was no way he could not have touched Mac.

  Closing his eyes, he dragged the details of that night from his memory. He’d thought then, just like he thought now, that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

  He inwardly sighed and opened his eyes. It was time for him to move on and try to put her out of his mind. It wouldn’t be easy but he was determined to do it.

  “So, Detective Adams, what do you think?”

  The man glanced around at the faces of the four people who had requested a meeting with him, before turning to Mackenzie to answer her question. “As Ms. Madaris said, aside from ethical issues, no actual laws have been broken. However, due to the amount of money involved, I agree with Mr. Maxwell that I need to be on my guard and make sure nothing happens to Mr. Coroni. He’s already proven part of your theory is correct by deciding to settle out of court.”

  No one was surprised when, prior to leaving her office, Mackenzie received a call from Mr. Coroni saying he couldn’t take any more pressure and would accept Whitedyer’s latest offer. “But how can you make sure nothing happens to him once he gets the money?” she couldn’t help but ask.

  “We can’t. I’m banking on the idea that if Perkins is thinking about something so devious, he’ll let things ride for a whi
le and do nothing. But before I assume anything, I would like to know who is the beneficiary of Coroni’s will in case we’re barking up the wrong tree. Unfortunately, I don’t even have a reason to pay Perkins a visit, at least not one that wouldn’t raise his suspicions. But I will visit Mr. Coroni under the pretext that I’m still investigating those incidents involving you, and wanted to make sure he hadn’t been the victim of similar threats himself. Then, as subtly as I can, I’m going to plant the seed in his mind that maybe he needs to watch his back. I’m hoping he gets my hint. In the meantime I’ll keep a close eye on Perkins’s girlfriend, Camille Yeager, who happens to be Lewis Farley’s assistant. She might be the greedier one in all this. I have reason to believe she’s been sharing Farley’s bed as well and that might be where she’s gotten her information to share with Perkins. Farley is such an egomaniac that if he ever discovers she’s betrayed him, all hell is going to break loose.”

  “And there’s no way that we can expose her?” Mackenzie asked.

  “No, because legally she hasn’t broken any laws. And although we can only guess at what information she might have passed on to Perkins, we don’t have any proof that she actually told him anything.”

  Mackenzie paused and considered everything that had been said. “It’s really kind of frustrating to have all this information and not be able to do anything with it.”

  Alex regarded her with understanding. “Yes, and now since Coroni has decided to settle out of court that technically ends your involvement in the matter, Mac, as well as that of the foundation, and I’m sure they aren’t going to be happy with Coroni’s decision. They were depending on him to stick it out and they expected a long court battle. Technically, he used them.”

  Mackenzie noted that everyone was nodding. Yes, Mr. Coroni had used the foundation but he had also used her firm. “In all fairness to Mr. Coroni, I think in the beginning he wanted to hold on to his land but somehow Perkins convinced him that he didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning so he gave in.”

  “That might be true,” Clayton was saying. “But come next week the man is going to be four times richer than he would have been had he not listened to Perkins. For all we know, all three of them, Perkins, Coroni, and Yeager, might be in this thing together.”

  Syneda shook her head. “And if that’s the case then there’s still nothing we can do because everyone is happy. They’re getting the amount of money they were aiming for and Whitedyer gets the land it needs to expand their operation. The only one left holding the bag is the group that supported Coroni in the cause, the foundation,” she said.

  Syneda chuckled as she added, “However, I think Farley might be a tad unhappy since he was looking forward to facing off with you in the courtroom, Mac.”

  Mackenzie rolled her eyes and heaved a disgusted sigh. “Lewis Farley is the last person on my mind right now. As the foundation’s attorney I’m going to try and convince Mr. Coroni that the least he can do is pay their legal fees out of the proceeds. And I also intend to work on his conscience a little bit.”

  Clayton chuckled. “For some reason I still think there’s a lot more to this than what we know.”

  Alex nodded, glanced around the room at everyone, and said, “I agree and I plan to dig a little further.”

  Chapter 22

  Luke held the phone from his ear a minute and released a deep sigh before putting it back in place. His great grandmother had heard he wouldn’t be coming home to QT’s graduation celebration and was giving him one blistering scolding.

  “Yes, Mama Laverne, I hear what you’re saying but I just got back,” he injected the moment he was able to get in a word. “And if I want to be in shape for the rodeo in Reno next month I’m going to have to get a lot of practice time. QT knows how proud I am of him and that I’d be there if I could.”

  A moment passed and he stood there in his kitchen holding the phone while she gave her spiel of how her days were numbered and it was the duty of her grands and great-grands to make sure they availed themselves of every golden opportunity to be with her while they could.

  “I’m coming home in a few weeks, I promise,” he said, hating that what she was saying was getting to him when he knew she’d probably be around well into the hundreds. But still, she knew how to play him like a fine-tuned guitar, because no matter what, he loved the old gal. She had a phenomenal strength and a firm dedication to her family. And like him, she could be stubborn when it suited her and this was one of those times. She just wouldn’t let up. She was digging into him big-time.

  Knowing he had to get off the phone before she had him agreeing to catch the next flight out to Houston, he took his finger and began tapping the receiver of the phone. “Oh, what’s that noise? Sounds like we’re getting a bad connection. I better go. And don’t forget, you’ll see me in a couple of weeks. Love you. Goodbye.”

  He then hung up the phone and heaved a deep breath. Boy, she had been on a roll and he couldn’t help but wonder what that was about. Knowing no one, not even her six living sons, had ever possessed the ability to figure her out, he decided to let it go.

  He glanced around the room, glad to be back at his place for a spell. The next rodeo would be the one in Reno, and as he’d told his great-grandmother he needed plenty of practice time. This little condo here in Abilene was ideal. He also owned a condo in Houston, the one he considered his primary residence although he was seldom there. A few years ago Uncle Jake and his three older cousins, Justin, Dex, and Clayton, had gotten together in a business venture to put up the fifteen-story Madaris Building, which included not only the building but also an entire business park comprising numerous shops, restaurants, banks, boutiques, professional offices, and a movie theater. Keeping it all in the family, they had hired Slade and Blade’s company to handle the project, all the way from the design to the construction. The result had been breathtaking and he had been one of the first to invest by purchasing one of the condos that overlooked the office park.

  Thinking about his condo in Houston made him miss being home. There was nothing to beat a family gathering of Madarises. It would be good to see everyone and show them that he was doing fine and was all in one piece. But now was not the time, especially since Mac would be attending the event.

  He had talked to Clayton a few days ago and he’d told him the outcome of the Whitedyer case and how the old man had cunningly settled out of court. A part of Luke got pissed that anyone could be so devious, and he thought of all the hard work Mac had put into the case, doing what she could to make sure the old coot didn’t lose his home when he had every intention of settling out of court anyway, as soon as the right price came along. “Damn.”

  He glanced at clock on his stove. It was still early and he was hungry. He decided to drive into town for a pizza. Getting back on a bull would be hard work and he needed to make sure he had strength to endure.

  Blade reached over to the nightstand and picked up his cell phone, careful not to wake up the woman whose bed he was in, Tina or Nina, hell, he wasn’t sure at the moment. He only recalled that she could work her body like nobody else.

  He clicked on his phone. “Yes,” he answered in a low voice.

  “Blade, this is your great-grandmother. I need you to get Luke home.”

  Blade raised a concerned brow and quickly sat up in bed. His heart began racing. “Why? What’s wrong? What’s happened?”

  “Nothing has happened. I just need him here on Saturday for QT’s party. I talked to him yesterday and he said he won’t be making it.”

  Blade inhaled deeply to calm down once he realized there was no emergency. “And he has a good reason for not coming. He has a rodeo he’s training for and—”

  “I don’t care about his rodeo. I need to see him, to make sure he’s okay. Either he comes here or I’m going there and I want you to be my escort when I do.”

  “What!”

  He glanced over at the woman, Tina or Nina, who had opened her eyes and was glarin
g at him. Evidently, she wasn’t a morning person. That was understandable since it was barely the crack of dawn. What was his great-grandmother doing up so early anyway?

  He held his hand over his cell phone and said in a low tone, “Sorry,” to the woman in bed. “This is a business call that I need to take in private,” he added, before easing his naked body out of bed and making it to Tina’s or Nina’s bathroom, closing the door behind him and frowning deeply as he leaned back against it.

  “Didn’t Luke tell you that he’s okay?” Blade asked. Jeeze, he could just imagine taking his great-grandmother to visit Luke. Luke would kill me. According to Luke the last time she visited she had done a little bit of house-cleaning and had thrown out all his Playboy magazines . . . among other things. And she wanted him to take her? Heaven help him.

  He cleared his throat. “Mama Laverne, there’s no need for you to go all the way to Abilene to check on Luke. He might not be coming home this weekend but I’m sure he’ll be here in a few weeks.”

  “No, I want to see him this weekend. You, Luke, and Slade are as tight as some of those jeans you like seeing your girlfriends wear, so I’m sure one of you can convince Luke of the wisdom of letting me see for myself that he’s all right. Otherwise, you and I will pay him a visit. Just clear your calendar because we’ll be gone for a week. Goodbye.”

  She then hung up the phone. He was left scowling and wondering, among other things, how she knew that he liked seeing women in tight jeans.

  Mackenzie smiled when she glanced across the kitchen table at the man who had surprised her and shown up for breakfast. There was no doubt about it, her cousin Ashton Sinclair was an extremely handsome man. All the women in Oklahoma thought so, and had for years, but not a single one of them had managed to grab his interest because the military had been his first love. Now he was Colonel Ashton Sinclair of the United States Marines and had been for years. Like her he was half African American and half Native American, with nut-brown skin, dark eyes, high chiseled cheekbones, and coal-black hair that flowed freely around his shoulders. He was also tall, probably about six-four or more.