The Gilded Cuff

by Smith, Lauren

  “You had me worried.” Emery finally spoke.

  “I always worry you.” Cody winced and flattened a hand over his chest. “Emery, could you get me a cup of coffee? Nurse Ratchet won’t let me have anything besides water, but I need caffeine.”

  “I’ll go.” Sophie started to rise, but Cody’s left hand, the unbroken one, caught her arm, the grip surprisingly tight for someone so wounded.

  “Stay, Sophie. Looking at you makes me feel better.” Cody shot a more energetic grin at his employer and friend.

  “Why?” she asked.

  “You’re hot, babe.” Cody shot a wicked smirk at his boss.

  “Cody, find your own hot woman to drool over.” A war of looks began between the two men, half sneers and mockingly threatening scowls.

  “Can’t. Stuck in this damn bed. So I’ll borrow yours.”

  Sophie found herself wanting to laugh as she watched them engage each other. It was like watching two brothers feinting back and forth in a play fight.

  Emery’s face softened. “I’ll get your coffee. Don’t think you can seduce my woman from me while I’m gone.”

  Emery left the room, much less stiff than when he’d entered.

  The second the door shut behind him, Cody was even more alert, more like his old self. He fished through his blankets, cursing when his right hand, so heavily bandaged that it looked more like a giant white bear paw, kept getting in the way. Finally, near his hip he found what he was looking for and pulled out a Swiss Army pocketknife.

  “Here, take this. Show it to no one. Especially not Emery.”

  Her heart dipped low, the beat erratic as she stared at the small pocket knife.

  “What is it?” She opened her palm as he set the knife in it, closing her fingers protectively around it.

  “There’s a USB flash drive on there. Antonio had a laptop in the room where he held me. After he left me to die, I got on the computer and copied the hard drive. Whatever was on there, we have it now. The computer was destroyed when the place blew to hell.”

  Sophie’s lips parted as she drew in a quick breath. Blood pumped wildly in her ears.

  This was huge. Beyond huge! They had a chance to anticipate Antonio’s next move. Maybe even figure out where he was getting his intel on Emery, assuming they could get anything from the flash drive.

  “Why can’t we tell Emery?” Surely he should be the first to know…

  Cody’s face drained of color. His gaze floated to the ceiling, then slowly drifted back down, reluctantly, to her.

  “Fenn may be alive. Antonio said he’d been looking for Fenn for years. Why would you look for a dead child, unless that child wasn’t dead?”

  Her throat stopped working and she forced an uncomfortable swallow as more shock rocketed through her. Fenn alive?

  “Oh god!” Her hands flew to her mouth, stifling her cry of shock. “If we tell him and it turns out Fenn is dead or if Antonio gets to Fenn before we do and kills him, then it will be the last straw for Emery. I know he wouldn’t be able to survive losing Fenn a second time.”

  Cody was right. They couldn’t tell Emery. There was only so much devastation and tragedy a heart could withstand. If Rachel were suddenly alive and taken yet again before Sophie’s very eyes, Sophie would never be able to get past that. Never. Hope could bring the most horrific trauma to a soul, more so than any other torture someone could endure. It reminded her of the story Granny Bells used to tell about Pandora’s box. The box had unleashed all of the world’s worst nightmares, but it always also released hope into the world.

  Emery needed hope, but Sophie wouldn’t dare give it to him, if there was even one chance he’d have it ripped from him.

  “If we can find Fenn and get him to safety, then we could tell Emery, right?” she asked. “I could go, since you need to rest and Hans needs to watch Emery’s back.”

  “Great plan in theory. But you’re forgetting Emery won’t let you out of his sight,” Cody pointed out with a knowing grin.

  The momentary rush of optimism at her plan faded. “True. He’s a little overprotective.” She tucked the pocketknife into her purse, mulling over the dilemma. Then it hit her.

  “Royce or Wes could go. I bet one of them would jump at the chance to help out.”

  Cody brightened. “That could work.”

  The strain in Sophie’s shoulders eased until Cody spoke again.

  “We have to work fast. Antonio was supposed to catch a plane to Colorado this morning. That’s where he thinks Fenn is.”

  “How do you know that?”

  Cody shrugged. “I got him to talk. Villains love to ramble. He figured I’d be dead and wouldn’t be able to repeat what he said. Plus, that dude was making mincemeat of my body parts and I needed to have something else to think about besides the pain.”

  Neither of them spoke for a long moment, the weight of what had almost happened seemed a tangible force, pressing down on them. If Emery and Hans had been there a moment later…if she’d begged him to stay or to take her with them it might have cost them those few precious seconds and they would have all been dead. It was a sobering thought.

  Their gazes met and held just as Cody opened his mouth to speak, but the hospital room door was opened and Emery strode in, his hands full with three coffee cups.

  “Coffee for you.” He set one cup down on the tan tray table that stretched across the hospital bed.

  Cody lifted up his bandaged right hand, cursed and switched so his left hand caught the coffee. He downed a large gulp, and then set the cup aside with a blissful sigh of relief.

  “Nectar of the gods,” he said dreamily. Emery and Sophie exchanged relieved looks. Cody was a mess, but he’d be all right.

  “Sophie, I got you some hot tea.” He handed her the second of two cups, which she took gratefully. The hot Styrofoam warmed her hands, dispelling some of the October chill which seemed determined to keep her fingers frozen.

  Emery took a sip of his coffee. “I spoke to the police.” His brows lowered as he seemed to be mulling over whatever he’d said to the officers. “There wasn’t much to say so it was a short conversation. I told them you were kidnapped. They’ll want a description of the man who took you, Cody. Tell them the truth, but leave out any connection to my kidnapping.”

  “Okay,” Cody agreed quietly.

  Sophie pursed her lips. No matter how short his conversation had been, talking to the police had obviously unsettled him. She didn’t like the faraway look in his eyes just then, or how the knuckles of his free hand were white where he gripped the frame of the hospital bed.

  She turned her attention back to Cody.

  “When do the doctors think you’ll be ready to come home?”

  Home. Funny, she hadn’t expected to fall so in love with Emery’s home to the point that she thought of it as hers, too. But it was true. She’d never felt more connected to a place in her life. The apartment back in Kansas had never been home. Instead it was a rest stop on the way to where she was meant to be. Arriving at Lockwood Manor that first night…that had been like coming home. Emery had been right beside her, his body pressed flush to hers as they’d passed through the gates and entered the realm of her dreams, a world where she could be happy, she could belong. She suppressed a shiver of longing. If only it were true. But Lockwood wasn’t her home. She was there only for a story and only for a short time. Emery hadn’t been interested in keeping her around for long, and certainly not forever. He’d given her no indication that he wanted her to stay with him. Sophie was a fool for wishing he’d change his mind.

  Cody’s groan brought her back to reality.

  “The doctor said three weeks at least, plus therapy. Boss, work your magic and jail break me. I can’t stand much more of the food in this place. And Nurse Ratchet keeps taking my cell phone away and says I shouldn’t be texting with my one good hand or I’ll get carpel tunnel.” Cody’s eyes widened slightly and he lifted his lips in a hopeful smile.

  Emery set h
is coffee down and crossed his arms over his chest, giving the younger man a commanding look. “I want you here at least another full day. After that we’ll see about getting you out.”

  Cody moaned dramatically and dropped his head back onto the mountain of pillows. “You’re a cold-hearted man, boss.”

  Despite his attitude, Sophie could have sworn a smile flickered across his face for an instant.

  While she felt bad for Cody having to remain here, she was relieved Emery was being protective. With the extent of the young man’s injuries, it was still unwise to let him leave. Another day under the doctor’s watchful eyes couldn’t hurt.

  Emery’s mouth kicked up in a crooked smile. “Just think of all the Jell-O you get to eat.” As he spoke he picked up a plastic spoon and nudged a green Jell-O cup in Cody’s direction on the tray table near the bed.

  “I’d rather be at home with my laptop and a cheeseburger,” Cody grumbled, but he picked up the Jell-O. His eyes flicked to Sophie, a flare of meaning blooming for a split second as he reminded her of the USB flash drive in her pocket. She shot a glance at Emery, her heartbeat cantering madly as she prayed he wouldn’t notice her reaction to Cody’s silent message.

  “Well, we should go.” Emery rose, stretched long arms over his head, a yawn escaping him as he turned in her direction. “Hans is ready for discharge and Wes is going to follow us home to just to keep an eye on things. Cody, Royce will be outside if you need anything.”

  Cody opened his mouth, a wicked glint in his eyes, but Emery cut him off. “And no, he’s not bringing any women, alcohol, or electronics. You need to sleep.”

  “Well damn,” Cody moaned and collapsed back on his pillows. “You sure know how not to show a guy a good time. I’ll die of boredom before they ever let me out of this hell hole.”

  Sophie rose from her chair, kissed Cody’s cheek. “Rest up.”

  He caught her elbow, as though embracing her gently so he could whisper. “Keep me in the loop.”

  Emery gave a warning growl, but it had little bite to it. “Get some sleep.”

  He gave Cody a commanding glare. It was stern, but layered just beneath were softer emotions—love, concern, the determination to protect. He was forever shocking her with his tenderness. Emery wanted the world to see a stoic, reclusive man with no weak spots, no vulnerabilities. But he gave himself away in every breath, in every touch and look for those he loved.

  “Come on, Sophie. Wes is waiting on us.” Emery slid an arm around her waist, his grip possessive but gentle as he tucked her into his side. She craned her neck over her shoulder, glimpsing Cody as he shut his eyes and seemed already to be sleeping.

  She looked forward again, leaning more into Emery’s sheltering hold. She had to figure out how to get Wes alone to tell him what she’d learned. How on earth was she going to do that without Emery noticing? Bile rose in her throat at the thought of deceiving Emery. She swallowed the unpleasantness back down. It was wrong to lie to him, knowing what she knew, but telling him could potentially be so much more hurtful. The last thing she ever wanted to do was hurt him.

  * * *

  “You told me you were going to take care of him,” the cold voice whispered over the phone.

  Antonio clutched the steering wheel and glowered at a family walking past his car. The little children wheeled small luggage bags, laughing and shoving each other as they followed their parents toward the airport entrance for departing flights.

  “He should be dead. I timed it perfectly.” He had. The entire night had gone off without a hitch, until he’d arrived at the airport early this morning, ready to catch a flight to Colorado when his client called him. It seemed Emery had survived the blast in the brewery.

  The man on the other end of the line snarled. “Perfect or not, you failed. It seems the bodyguard got the hacker outside before the explosion. Emery jumped through a window into a vat of water. So you failed, completely.” There was a deadly pause. “You know how I feel about failure.”

  Antonio resisted the urge to shout back at his client. He’d never had a problem carrying out a hit before, but these damn twins were his undoing. It was still a mystery as to how the boys had escaped twenty-five years ago. He had come back to the abandoned mansion that night to find one of his two accomplices dead of a gunshot to his stomach, the two boys gone, and the second accomplice missing as well. The puzzle had only grown when the next day he’d learned only one twin had found his way home. The other was gone…and he hadn’t been the one to kill him, which meant that boy might still be alive. His boss had told him to leave Emery for now, and to concentrate on finding Fenn. It had only taken him twenty-five years and the invention of the Internet to track down one little boy. A boy that had grown into a rather dangerous man.

  “I’m tired of you fucking this up. You’ve got one more shot before I call in someone else. Twenty-five years is a long time to mess up something like this.” His client’s voice was smooth again, dangerous. Antonio smiled grimly. He was dangerous, too, especially when his reputation was on the line.

  “I have a flight to Colorado in an hour. Fenn is going to be in a bull riding competition tomorrow night. I’ll take care of him.”

  Silence on the other end.

  “Mr. Lockwood?” he queried. Surely his client hadn’t hung up.

  “You will stay here. Take care of Emery. He’s more of a threat. He’s the one who remembers. Fenn would have come home if he knew his identity. You can always take care of him later. I want Emery gone, and take out that damn reporter. When he dies, she’ll suspect foul play. Remove them both and make it look like an accident. I don’t want any police interest.”

  Another group of people paraded past Antonio’s car, heading to the terminal. He wanted to finish this damn job and leave. It had been one hell of a disaster. His client had been displeased. Very displeased, and that wasn’t good for his business.

  So Antonio focused on watching Emery for any signs that Fenn had contacted him, or revealed where he was. Apparently that had been a vain hope. If he hadn’t come across a ten-year-old picture of Rookie Rider of the Year for bull riding last month, he might never have found Fenn. At eighteen years old, Fenn had become a real expert at the rodeo. And since Antonio discovered Fenn was going by another name he was able to track his movements by the competitions he entered. It was almost laughable. The eldest child of one of the wealthiest East Coast families in America was living in an old run-down trailer in rural Colorado.

  “Finish the job, D’Angelo, and I’ll double your final payment.”

  “Consider it done. By tomorrow night Emery and the reporter will be gone.”

  The line went dead.

  Antonio flipped the phone shut and tucked it into his jacket pocket. Even though the money was a nice bonus, it had long since ceased to be about the money. Emery and Fenn had made a mockery of his life’s work.

  It was time to end this.

  * * *

  Sophie’s hands trembled as she logged on to her laptop. The small pocketknife rested on her thigh, looking oddly harmless. No one would have guessed it held secrets that could crush or bring back the soul of a tortured man. Emery’s redemption could be at this very second on the flash drive.

  She had to work fast. She’d only been able to tell Wes in a few brief minutes that he needed to occupy Emery for an hour while she checked out the information.

  Jamming the USB drive into the computer, she immediately opened the files and scanned over the folders. Her heart stuttered to a stop when she saw one titled “FL.” She clicked it open and started sorting through the PDFs until she saw a birth certificate with the name Fenn Smith. It was classified as a replacement document for a lost birth certificate.

  “Fenn Smith,” she murmured, reading over the details before moving on to the next documents. There were pictures. Hundreds of them. All of them had the same person, a boy who looked exactly like the one from the photo of the night Emery was found by the police. She clicked photo after
photo, watching this other boy grow into a man. Her breath hitched as the reality of what she was seeing sank in.

  It was Fenn. He was exactly like his brother, a living, breathing copy of the man she cared so much about. Fenn’s long unruly hair nearly reached his ears, calling for a woman to run her hands through it. It was tousled, a wild reflection of Emery’s more tame style. She stopped to gaze at one particular picture, of Fenn leaning back against a paddock fence, wearing faded worn blue jeans that hugged his legs enough to show his lean, muscled figure. Brown cowboy boots crossed at the ankles, a Stetson tipped back on his head, and a rakish grin stretching his lips wide. He was so alive, so vibrant. The build and shape of his body were a perfect mirror to his twin’s. Their faces had the same chiseled beauty that had her body melting and her brain fogging with desire.

  Fierce tears stung her eyes.

  And then there were two. She couldn’t stop smiling.

  Fenn was alive.

  The news hit her again, as the shock began to finally wear off. Then the panic set in.

  The assassin sent to kill Emery was on his way to Colorado this very second to finish off Fenn. She couldn’t delay a second longer. She grabbed her phone and texted Wes. Fenn was in Walnut Springs, a small town in Colorado mainly famous as a resort town for skiers in the winter. She sent Wes the directions and emphasized how important it was that he get on the first flight out of Long Island. He’d have to make his excuses to Emery and leave right away.

  They couldn’t tell Emery, not until they were sure Fenn was safe. He couldn’t lose his brother twice. No one was strong enough to survive that. Her heart twisted at the guilt of not telling Emery, but it was better this way, and hopefully he’d never know she’d kept the truth from him, even for a short time. He’d never understand why she had to deceive him. Someday soon she’d be able to tell him Fenn was alive and help reunite him with his brother.

  Her cell phone vibrated with a text message from Wes.

  On it. Will text when I find him. Booked flight for tonight.