A Rancher's Dangerous Affair

by Jennifer Morey

  He kissed her sweetly and then lifted his head to whisper, “Stop doing this to me.”

  “You do it to yourself,” she whispered back.

  * * *

  Eliza woke the next morning to the recollection of the previous night. Lifting her head, she saw that his side of the bed was empty. An unwelcome premonition turned her stomach over. Why had he left her? He wasn’t in the bathroom, either. He’d find a reason to bolt now. Just like with all the other women in his past. And her when they were kids. Except, he’d never admit it. That last joining hadn’t been enough. Or maybe it was too soon to tell.

  She was going to be so mad at him if he treated her like another woman who got too close. As if she didn’t matter.

  Getting up, she put on her nightshirt and went downstairs. He was in the kitchen drinking coffee. He saw her and his eyes held none of the tenderness that was there last night. Yep, he was cornered. Damn it, she should have thought of that last night. She should have waited until she was sure where his head was in regard to them.

  “You got up,” she said casually. She was leaving as soon as she could pack. Damn him! She began to stew over his stupidity.

  “I didn’t want to wake you.”

  Fool. She deliberately moved close to him, sliding her hands up his chest. “I wish you would have.”

  The aloofness she saw intensified. Putting his cup down, he stepped back, taking her wrists and pushing her hands off him. “I’ve got a lot of work to do in the stable today.”

  While her heart shattered, she remained outwardly collected. “I’ll help you.” Push him. He needed a good pushing. Or a good clobber across the side of his head.

  “No. You should stay in here today.”

  “Why?” She kept her tone playful. “Are you afraid you’re going to take after your dad right now?”

  “Eliza...”

  “Brandon, you’re running. From me.”

  “Have you forgotten that you were married to my brother? He’s dead. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

  His stinging words, spoken so harshly and with such blame, pierced her deeply. Guilt returned. She may not ever be able to get over it. David would always be there between them. “That was a mean thing to say. Of course I care.”

  “Doesn’t look that way to me.”

  She tried to stop her flush. She’d crawled on top of him. She’d initiated their lovemaking.

  “I didn’t hear you complaining,” she retorted.

  With a gruff sigh, he ran a hand down his face. “This can’t continue. I won’t marry you, Eliza. You were my brother’s wife.”

  “You self-righteous bastard!” She stepped closer to him and slapped him. “You can turn this all on me if it makes you feel better, but we both know the truth is you’re afraid! You’ll never marry anyone because you’re afraid. You accuse me of running when you’re the only one running now.”

  “Eliza—”

  “Shut up.” She wasn’t finished. “I climbed on top of you last night because I believed there was a reason we had such a good time together, why it always feels so right when we’re together. I know you felt the same. But you refuse to open your heart, to me or anyone who gets too close. I feel sorry for you, Brandon. You’ll never find happiness if you keep pushing people away.”

  He stared at her in silence for a while. “How can we ever be happy with David between us?”

  More stinging hurt inundated her. He was right, but there was no denying what they had, what they’d always had ever since they were young. She and David had made a mistake marrying. It should have never happened. Did that mean she and Brandon had to punish themselves the rest of their lives?

  Brandon would, and he’d use his brother as an excuse to keep running.

  She marched to the guest room, hearing him follow.

  “Eliza.”

  She jammed her clothes into her bag, all the while berating herself for allowing him to do this to her again. No other man could have done it.

  She froze as that realization led to another. She hadn’t meant to love anyone the way her mother had loved her father. Now that she did, it was strangely freeing.

  Slowly closing her bag, she turned to Brandon. “You were right about me. I did run from love after my dad died. I didn’t want to feel that intensely about anyone, only to lose them and endure the heartache I watched my mother suffer. But I was wrong, Brandon. I was wrong to think never feeling that way was better for me. I love you, and I’m losing you. I can’t fight that. I can’t fight my love for you anymore, and I’m not going to.”

  “You were married to my brother.”

  That was his excuse. A good one, but an excuse nonetheless. “I made a mistake marrying him. I’m sorry he’s dead, but I didn’t kill him. I didn’t coerce him into marrying me, either. It was as much his fault as it was mine. I married the wrong brother.”

  She grabbed her bag and headed for the front door.

  “Where are you going?”

  “My brother’s.” He could take care of her just as well as Brandon could. “I need to spend more time with him anyway.”

  When he didn’t stop her, her heart broke even more. Even the threat of his father didn’t compel him to try and make her stay. She was no different than Jillian to him. Not crazy, but a woman who made him feel cornered. Eliza embraced the pain. It wouldn’t last. Soon it would fade to something she could live with. She’d done it before, she could do it again, damn him.

  Chapter 16

  With her carry-on bag in tow, she stepped into Ryker’s house. All the furniture was still there. Aegina was still living with her parents.

  Ryker walked into his renovated kitchen. “You okay?”

  “I hate how similar our lives are right now.” She left her luggage by the door and followed.

  Sitting at the snack bar, she accepted a glass of water from him. He put his own in front of the stool next to her and sat.

  “Thanks for taking me in.”

  “You’re my sister.” He drank from his ice-filled glass.

  “I don’t feel like I’ve been much of one over the past several years.”

  He put his water down. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. With everything going on between me and Aegina, and Evan getting into a fight, it’s been a ride lately.”

  “Evan was in a fight?”

  “A bully has been roughing him up at school. I showed him a few moves and he used one of them. He was almost suspended. It took some fancy talking with the principal.”

  “You taught your son how to fight?”

  “Some parents might think that’s unconventional. Violent, even, but that bully wasn’t going to leave him alone. Evan only tried to defend a girl. I didn’t want him to lose that instinct. If he’s afraid of being bullied, he might not do the right thing next time. He might not defend a girl.”

  “So now he’s a tough guy at school.” She breathed out a laugh. “He wouldn’t be the first.”

  “Brandon was like that with you. If my son turns out like that, I won’t complain.”

  “You’re a good father, Ryker.”

  “And a terrible brother.”

  She shook her head. “I should have been there for you more.”

  “I should have been there for you more. We both lost our dad. I should have given you more slack.”

  “I should have helped you with Mom more.”

  “Let’s leave it at we both could have helped each other more.”

  “Okay.” She beamed.

  “I told you I didn’t need any help,” a voice hollered from the other room. Their mother was listening.

  “Yeah, I know, Mom,” Ryker yelled. “Mind your own business now. Eliza and I are becoming brother and sister again.”

  “’Bout time!”

  She and Ryker laughed.

  The sound of the news program made them both stop and turn to the small television on the snack bar surface. Not so much the sound of it, rather, the name she’d heard.
>
  What is believed to be the body of Harlan Marks...

  “Yesterday, construction workers uncovered the mummified remains of a human body during the demolition of an old house that was sold to a commercial developer late last year. What’s even more interesting is the house once belonged to Harlan Marks. Marks was reported missing by his daughter nearly twelve years ago. His wallet was found buried with him, along with a gun believed to have been used as the murder weapon. Then eighteen, his daughter, Jillian Marks, lived in the home until its sale last year. She is so far unavailable for questioning.”

  “Jesus,” Ryker breathed.

  “Do you think she killed him?” Her teary confession to Brandon ran through her head. She’d been abused. Sexually molested by her father. But that wasn’t in the news. It must never have been reported.

  Someone knocked on the door.

  Eliza froze as she wondered if it could be Brandon, then chided herself for even entertaining the notion. He’d stay as far away from her as possible now.

  Ryker went to answer and moments later returned with a woman in tow. It was Willa Merris, the senator’s daughter. Eliza hadn’t seen her since the night she and Brandon had found David at the Cork.

  “She said she wanted to talk to you,” Ryker said.

  Willa came closer. She was on the tall side for a woman, with reddish-blond hair and blue eyes that were as beautiful as her debutante past, but filled with soft sweetness that lent her an air of fragility. “I called the ranch and someone told me you were here.”

  “Brandon?”

  “No, I think it was his housekeeper.”

  He’d already told everyone on the ranch? More likely they’d asked where she was.

  More curious than ever, she indicated the woman to sit beside her.

  Willa did. “Have you heard the news about Jillian Marks’s dad? They’ve been talking about it all morning.”

  “Yes.”

  “I heard her say something to David that night you and Brandon came and tried to get him to go home with you.”

  Willa had heard what David and Jillian had talked about. Of course! Eliza should have thought to go talk to Willa and the woman who had been with her that night.

  “What did you hear?”

  “I’ve debated on whether or not to go to the police. It didn’t seem important at the time. But now I’m not so sure.”

  “If it will help solve the murders, it’s worth a try.”

  Willa nodded. “That’s why I’m here. I wanted to talk to you first, to see if you knew anything more.”

  “More about what? Willa, what did David say to Jillian that night?”

  “Not much. Jillian was afraid. I could tell. He must have said something to her before they arrived at the Cork.”

  Eliza’s enthusiasm sank a little. She hadn’t heard everything.

  “Jillian asked what he wanted after they sat down. And David said she better leave Brandon alone or he’d tell him about the affair she’d had with my father,” Willa said.

  “She had an affair with the senator?”

  “Yes, but I couldn’t help thinking there was more. His threat scared her.”

  “Why didn’t you go to the police? Jillian had clear motive to kill David, and possibly your father,” Eliza said.

  “She kept saying it was more than an affair, that she loved my father. I never suspected she could have killed all three men.”

  No one could seem to find a suspect who fit that bill.

  “Now I hear on the news that her own father was murdered, and Aegina said she’s been stalking Brandon.”

  “Yes.”

  “There could be more that David knew about her,” Willa said.

  Eliza looked up at Ryker. “We have to go talk to Zimmerman.”

  He nodded. “Willa, too.”

  “You don’t need to be involved,” Eliza said. “Willa and I will go to the station.”

  But he was already picking up his keys. “I’ll take you.”

  Eliza stood. “Are you sure?”

  “Very sure. I won’t let you go anywhere alone right now.”

  His declaration warmed her and eased her worry that he may never forgive her. He was here for her. All the way.

  Like the brother she had missed, he raced them across town, no longer bitter, on her side now.

  At the police station, they walked past reporters. None of them bothered her. She was no longer a person of interest. They didn’t know Jillian was stalking Brandon.

  Inside, Ryker asked to speak to Detective Zimmerman.

  “Send them back,” he called from the middle of a roomful of desks.

  They were allowed inside.

  Another man stood beside Zimmerman, towering in height, dark hair combed and green eyes perceptive and smart and right now intense with something on his mind, something that had obviously brought him here. Gabe Dawson, looking every bit the billionaire oil baron he was. His ex-wife had disappeared and ever since, he’d allegedly been sniffing around Vengeance, hunting for information.

  “Gabe.” Willa sounded surprised.

  Zimmerman passed questioning eyes over Willa, and then to Ryker and Eliza and he said, “Let’s go somewhere to talk.” He led them to a conference room, where they all sat. He shut the door.

  What did Gabe have to do with this? He’d been nosing around town about Melinda, of course, and he and Willa looked at each other as though they had some kind of connection.

  Zimmerman made sure everyone was introduced before beginning. “Gabe here has come across some information that may prove instrumental in solving this case. In his search for Professor Grayson, he’s uncovered some things that could be useful.”

  When Zimmerman turned to him, Gabe spoke. “I discovered Sheriff Peter Burris threatened Jillian Marks before she started seeing Brandon.”

  Because of her affair with the senator. “Was she stalking him?” Eliza asked.

  “It would appear so,” Zimmerman said.

  “A friend of the sheriff told me he bragged about it one night over a few beers. He said Jillian wouldn’t dare go against him. He said she had no choice other than to do as he said, and that was to stop stalking the senator.”

  “He ended their affair?” Willa asked.

  Eliza wasn’t sure if this was difficult for her to hear.

  “Yes,” Gabe answered. “And the sheriff set her up to look like she had possession of drugs. If she didn’t stop what she was doing, he was going to arrest her.”

  Eliza sat back with a whoosh. Jillian had motive to kill all three men. The senator for dumping her. The sheriff and David for threatening her.

  “Thank you, Willa, Mr. Dawson,” Eliza said. “I’d like nothing more than to catch David’s killer.” And right now that was looking to be Jillian Marks.

  “I won’t stop until I know what happened to my ex-wife,” Gabe said.

  That earned him an uncertain look from Willa that Eliza didn’t understand. Was there something going on between these two?

  “Willa, Gabe, I need to stay to take formal statements from you.” Zimmerman interrupted her musings in time to catch him direct another order to Eliza and Ryker. “You two are free to go.”

  They left the police station and walked to Ryker’s Charger.

  “What are you going to do once this all settles down?” her brother asked.

  She thought for a few seconds. Going back to Hollywood didn’t have the appeal it once had. She’d feel like she was running again.

  “I think I’m going to move back to Vengeance.”

  Ryker stopped short. “No. You aren’t.”

  “Yeah. I am.” The more she voiced it aloud the more certain she became. “I belong here.”

  “What about Brandon?”

  “I’m not moving home for him. I’ve spent enough time away from you and Mom.”

  “You don’t have to move back for us, Eliza, I was a fool before now.”

  “I’m moving back for me. To spend more time with my fa
mily. It’s for me, no one else.”

  Ryker chuckled. “That’s more like the Eliza I grew up with.”

  They climbed into the Charger.

  “I’m also moving back for you,” she confessed.

  He only chuckled again, knowing exactly what she meant already. Eliza smiled back at him, happier than she’d been in a long, long time.

  A tan car passed them as they turned onto Ryker’s street. There weren’t many houses here, and no one was out.

  She pointed. “That car! There’s Jillian!” Where was she going? Why was she here? Had she followed them?

  “Are you sure?” He drove faster, going after the car.

  “Yes!” She couldn’t tell who was driving.

  “Call the police.”

  Eliza took out her cell phone and started to call 911 when a truck slammed into the back of Ryker’s. The tan car slowed. Ryker was sandwiched between them. He tried to swerve out, but the two cars worked in tandem.

  They’d passed Ryker’s house. It was more deserted here.

  The emergency operator answered as the truck from behind slammed into them again. The phone flew out of her hand, bouncing off the open window frame and falling outside.

  “Damn it!” She twisted to see the driver of the truck.

  Jack Reed.

  Sick with fear, she saw that Ryker wasn’t doing much better.

  He stopped his vehicle. They were trapped.

  “Get out and run, Eliza!” Ryker yelled.

  Eliza got out, intending to find her cell phone, and gunfire exploded. She screamed and huddled near the Charger.

  Ryker swore and went down. Was he shot?

  Jack Reed walked slowly toward him. Eliza jumped up onto the hood of the Charger and scrambled to the other side.

  Jack aimed his pistol at Ryker, who must already be shot or he wouldn’t be lying on the ground.

  “No!” she yelled.

  Jillian opened the door of the tan car and stood. She and Jack Reed had been working together, but why?