The Grandmaster's Legacy (HOT Historical Suspense, Box Set)

by Taylor Lee

  In his relief, Martin forgot for a moment that he still needed to raise one million dollars in two days -- a virtually impossible task.

  “Look, Randall, I think you are right about Frank. This is something he would do. The son of a bitch told me today that he contributed to my opponent. Said the last thing he would do was help me become governor. How the hell is that for family loyalty? You’d think he could put differences aside. Help a Kendrick get to the highest political office in the state. But, no. That would mean he would lose control of me. But, goddamn, Randall, without Frank’s help how the hell can I raise a million dollars in two days. The only person who has money like that is Wyatt McManus.”

  Randall agreed. “Look, I’ll try to keep it as quiet as I can but I am going to contact some of our associates in Boston. See if they can help. You will have to pay a premium, but there’s got to be an investor interested in land development in the Wild West. You know the romantic vision our polo playing friends have of Wyoming. One of them has to be interested in bragging to his friends he owns land where real live Indians live.”

  Martin left his brother returning to the hotel where he was now living. He was angry and scared. If Randall couldn’t line up the money in a couple of days, his partners would lose their deposits. So would he and his relatives. But worse than that, the scandal was sure to come out. Because he didn’t know what else to do, he gulped down two large glasses of bourbon and headed unsteadily over to the saloon.

  ~~~

  Wyatt asked Lei to join Chief, Joey, and Alono to discuss next steps with Martin and the land fraud. Though they were surprised that Lei was there, none of the three men expressed a concern.

  Wyatt lit a cigar leaning back in his chair. After a thoughtful silence he said, “I sure as hell hope I don’t have to deliver any more news like I had to deliver to Frank yesterday. It took me a while to convince him. I swear, if it was anyone but me, he would have thrown me out. At first, he refused to believe Martin was willing to ruin him. He kept muttering it was unthinkable. I knew he would be upset. I thought he’d be angry. By the time I was done, I swear to God I thought he was going to cry. I think for the first time, he realized those sons of bitches gorging themselves in his trough don’t just hate that he has all the money, they hate him.”

  They were silent for a moment. Chief nodded, his face tight with concern. “Frank is a tough old bird, but he has been keeping more than fifty people living in luxury. It has to cut to the bone that one or more of them would do this to him.”

  They all agreed. Then Wyatt said, “Give me an update, Chief. Did Tom make the approach?”

  “Yes, as we expected, he got a telegram from Randall Kendrick asking if he knew any investors interested in land development in Indian country. Tom told him he would look into it.”

  Wyatt smiled at the irony. “Let them stew until the last minute and then make the pitch.”

  Chief nodded.

  Lei had been quiet listening to their discussion.

  Wyatt looked at her with a grin. “I’ve come to know that look, Lei. What are you thinking?”

  She blushed. “Yes, I have been thinking. What if you could figure out a way to buy some of the land that Martin and his crooked friends were going to steal? For a legitimate price, of course. Then turn it into a conservatorship? I know some investors are doing that in Washington State. The federal government is selling it to them for a bargain price as long as they agree to keep the forests and grasslands replenished.”

  “And,” Joey added with a huge grin, “the investors get a hefty tax write off in perpetuity for their investment. Wow, Lei!”

  “Holy Christ, Lei,” Wyatt crowed. “I have been trying to think of a way that we can benefit from this in addition to crushing Martin and his thieving asshole friends. As much as I like to rip the bad guys to shreds, I also like to shove it in their faces by making more money honestly than they would have made by stealing it.”

  He continued with a broad grin. “Of course, it is a small matter, but let’s say I purchase a million plus acres. I will be the largest private land owner in the state of Wyoming three times over!”

  He winked at the other men and then turned to Lei. “I thought I was the only one who knew how to combine deviousness with brilliance. Honey, this is fucking brilliant and only a little devious!”

  Lei flushed with pleasure as all four men congratulated her, welcoming her to the brain trust.

  Wyatt added, “One other thing. If you don’t object, I’d like to give Frank a few days to deal with the surprise of all this. Then I’d like to see if he might wanna go in on the deal. You know, take a small piece as a legacy for all the investment he and his brothers made in this state.”

  Chief said, “That is a kind and generous idea, Wyatt. It would give Frank something to do. You know he would be proud to have his name associated with yours.”

  “Good, I’ll wait a few days until we get it put together, then I’ll invite him in. I think Frank might like a way to poke Martin in the eye with a stick. Show him once again you can do business legitimately and still make off like a bandit,” Wyatt said with a grin.

  On a final note, they agreed that they would take advantage of the candidate’s meeting a week from Friday. The governor, both candidates, and their primary supporters would be present. It was the perfect setting to drive the final nail in Martin’s coffin.

  ~~~

  A week later, Wyatt stopped by to see Jesse on his way to Cheyenne. He hadn’t seen her since he assaulted Martin. He wanted to be sure Martin had left her alone. She was thrilled to see him. She told him whatever he had done to Martin had worked because he hadn’t been to the ranch since. He sent her a note indicating that he would be staying at the hotel until they could “work things out.”

  Alono had ridden with Wyatt and went to the barn to thank the Apache hands who had promised to keep an eye on Jesse for them.

  When Alono left, Jesse grabbed Wyatt’s hand, her eyes were wide, her cheeks a rosy pink. “Please Wyatt, don’t make me beg. I need you. Please come back to the Gazebo—if only for a few moments.”

  Wyatt hesitated and thought to himself, ‘Oh, hell, what’s one quick fuck when someone is in need.’

  When they got back to the Gazebo, Wyatt said, “Okay, honey, let’s see what you’ve got.”

  Jesse blushed. “How do you want to see it? A little at a time or all at once?”

  Wyatt grinned. “Hey, I thought you were the hard and fast woman. I want to see it all at once. Take off your clothes—all of them. Now!”

  Jesse flushed, but Wyatt saw it was with excitement not embarrassment. She quickly stripped and stood naked before him. Christ, he thought, she is beautiful. She was wearing her hair looser. It shimmered in gold waves around her shoulders. She looked like an Italian renaissance painting.

  He lit a cigarette. “Show me how you make yourself come.”

  When she startled, he said, “C’mon honey. Let’s face it. We know Martin isn’t interested in what you have to offer, but I can tell since you and I hooked up that you play with yourself plenty. Show me what you do.”

  She flushed now with embarrassment. When he motioned abruptly, she tentatively put her hands between her legs and separated her lips.

  Wyatt nodded. “Okay, then what do you do? Wait. Before you show me, how about you climb up on the table so I can get a better view. I presume you don’t fuck yourself standing up, do you?”

  She flushed brighter and shook her head. Quickly hoisting herself up on the table, she laid back and spread her legs so that he could see what she was doing.

  Wyatt’s lips twisted in a challenging curl. “Now honey, just so we’re clear. I want to see you come. The real thing, not just a demonstration.”

  She was shaking now, clearly excited by the gleam in his eyes as he watched her. She reached up and began tugging on her nipples, hard and fast. A moan escaped her lips and she began breathing faster.

  He nodded, taking another drag on his ciga
rette. “Then what?”

  Spreading her legs wider, she bent her knees. She reached down and quickly found her clit, rubbing it fiercely between her fingers and thumb. With a soft groan, she licked her finger then pressed the wet digit in her anus.

  Wyatt smiled and huffed. “Works every time doesn’t it, baby? Now show me how long it takes you to get really fucked.”

  Goaded on by the leer on his face and her own desire, she stroked herself expertly, panting and moaning. Within minutes she was thrashing on the table.

  Wyatt smiled and tossed his cigarette. “I’m glad you’ve got that going on for yourself, sweetheart. You’re turning into a real pro.”

  He turned to go.

  She sat up, shocked. “Aren’t you going to fuck me, Wyatt?”

  “Not today, sweetheart.”

  Then he was gone.

  He and Alono rode into town, neither of them speaking. Wyatt thought to himself, acknowledging Alono’s distressed silence--this isn’t what one would call a companionable silence.

  ~~~

  Chapter 21

  Two days later, Randall Kendrick sent word to Martin that he had news and would be at the hotel the next morning. Martin was due to meet that afternoon with his partners to give them the final word on his ability to raise his funds. He prayed to God his brother raised at least a portion of the monies he needed. He decided depending on Randall’s level of success, he would offer his partners a bigger share of the land. Perhaps he’d make them equal partners if he couldn’t raise the total amount. That was what his partners had wanted from the beginning, but Martin had insisted on being a fifty-one percent owner.

  Martin answered the knock on his door, his face rigid with apprehension, until he saw Randall’s face. His brother was beaming.

  “Please tell me you have good news,” said Martin, who felt as if he had aged ten years.

  “Damn right, I do,” said Randall without any preliminaries. “I heard from Tom last night. He found a firm willing to put up the whole amount. We’re in business, brother!”

  Martin almost wept with relief. “How much do they want? What are the terms? Who are they?”

  “I really don’t know. I never heard of them. I think they are based in China. At least the name sounds like it might be a front for a Chink based firm. You know the Chinks can’t operate here legally. They have to use fronts to cover their identity. It’s called Golden Gate Enterprises. They want a twenty percent return on their investment, but are willing to wait a year to be paid. Then it will be twenty-five percent.”

  “Jesus, at this point I would give them a fifty percent return. Do you realize people we’ve never met are about to save our lives? How ironic, they’re likely a bunch of Chinks! Randall, how can I thank you?”

  Randall smiled. “Well, you can agree to give me a larger portion of the land for starters. It would sure be nice to be able to go to that old coot uncle of ours and tell him to shove his money up his ass.”

  Martin’s grin covered his face. “Funny you say that, Randall. That’s exactly what I have been thinking about since I started this deal. How great it will be to tell that fucking asshole to get lost. He’s not the only fucker that can make money. We can, too!”

  “Well I don’t know if you‘d exactly call it “making” money,” said Randall with a smug smile. “Let’s just say we doing it in the tradition of many a moneyman before us.”

  “Yeah,” said Martin. “We’re stealing it!”

  They both laughed uproariously. They toasted each other with a glass of bourbon, then called down to the manager to bring them his best bottle of champagne.

  ~~~

  The day before the meeting with the governor, Wyatt called Lei, Chief, Joey, and Alono to his office. With a smile that said it all, he showed them a telegram from Tom, their Washington associate. He laughed and said to Lei and Alono, “Someday soon you two will meet some of our Eastern Caballeros. Take Tom. He dresses every day in a three piece suit and hangs out with the assholes.”

  The telegram confirmed that the fraud would be unveiled tomorrow in Washington. To make it even sweeter, Tom and Wyatt convinced the Secretary of the Interior to sell Wyatt two million acres of public land for the astonishing price of a dollar-fifty an acre, the price of homestead land. In addition to thanking Wyatt for his role in uncovering the land fraud, the Secretary invited him and his family to a signing ceremony in Washington. They wanted to celebrate the sale of the public lands and the formation of the conservatorship.

  Wyatt’s voice flashed with excitement. “I‘ve checked on trains and we can leave tomorrow afternoon after the meeting. I want to bring Alex and Elena. They have never been to the East coast. It’s important for them to see the good things we do.”

  Joey said, “Wyatt, this is extraordinary. Of course you must go. I can’t leave for ten days; I can’t leave for one day. The rest of you must go.”

  Wyatt saw Lei’s questioning look. “Lei, you must come. It was your idea, after all. I understand why you can’t come, Joey, but Chief, you, Alono, and Lei all must come. It will be a great celebration – a memorable trip!”

  That evening, Wyatt helped the children decide what they would take on the train ride the next day. They were wild with excitement about going to a big city and spending at least two days on the train.

  When he got to Lei’s room, Wyatt found her as excited as Elena and Alex. She was pulling things out of drawers, muttering and shaking her head. “I need to telegraph my father immediately. I have to get some of my good clothes. Do you know what hotel we’ll be in? He will have to ship them immediately.”

  Wyatt shook his head, smiling at her excitement. “You do know don’t you Lei, that no matter what you wear, you are the most beautiful woman in the room?”

  “Thank you, Wyatt. But I want to look smashing. I want you to be proud of me.”

  A shadow crossed her face. “Will there be a problem having me on the train or in a hotel in Washington? I don’t want to embarrass you in front of the children.”

  “Oh my God, Lei. Please don’t talk like that. Don’t ever think like that. How can you think I would be embarrassed by you?”

  “Wyatt, I know what you are going to say, but does it bother you that I am Chinese?”

  “Lei, what the hell are you saying? Are you asking a half breed Indian who was raised by an Indian and a Chinaman, who is surrounded by a gang of Mexicans, Chinese, and Indians with a few whites sprinkled in if I mind that you are mixed? What are you asking me?”

  “Those people are all men. When you married, you chose a white woman with blond hair. Like my father did.”

  “Lei, Lei, Lei. Are we back to the blond hair question? I told you once, but I will tell you again, you would look like shit with blond hair. Get over here, honey. If you didn’t look like you were about to cry, I would turn you over my knee and spank you for even thinking like that. Instead,I think I’ll put my arms around you like this and tell you how beautiful you are. How proud I am to be seen with you. And now that I’ve said that, enough talk and enough packing. I want to keep holding you like this while I fuck the hell out of you.”

  ~~~

  The next day, Wyatt, Lei, Alono, and four of the Caballeros rode off early to Cheyenne. Wyatt and Lei checked into the hotel. They had decided they would need a room so that that they could change for the meeting. Chief planned to come in the afternoon with Alex and Elena. Wyatt arranged for two of the hands to bring the trunk of clothes for himself, Chief, and Alono. The children packed a small trunk of their own. Lei brought what she needed for the meeting and for the train trip. Her father confirmed he would have the rest of her things waiting for her in Washington.

  When they rode up to the hotel, Wyatt saw the three hard eyed white men he had seen the last time they stayed at the hotel. Wyatt shook his head in wonder. “Christ do they just hang around in hopes that you might show or does your father have eyes in the back of his head?”

  “I don’t know about the back of his head.
But he has them everywhere else. Like someone else I know!” Lei said with a smile.

  Wyatt roared. “That’s right, I remember now. He is a rooster right? And we roosters never let our little chickens or hens get far out of our sight.”

  “I don’t know if I like the analogy. I don’t mind you being a rooster given how damn cocky you are but “hen” doesn’t describe me.”

  “You’re right, Lei. You are far from a barnyard animal. No, you are like that horse you ride. Beautiful, elegant, and full of spirit.”

  “Thank you, Wyatt. I do like that better than being called a hen.”

  They both laughed and went up to their room hand in hand, laughing and talking.

  ~~~

  When they got to their room, Lei went into the bathroom to change her clothes. She came out dressed only in her lace camisole, silk drawers, and green high heeled slippers. She had started wearing French underwear that drove Wyatt wild. They were shorter than the traditional thigh length drawers and cupped her ass. They flared at the bottom which allowed him to slip his fingers inside -- which he did frequently. The camisole was constructed in a way that showcased her breasts in a tantalizing display of lush golden skin.

  Wyatt’s eyes widened when he saw her. He shook his head and his face flushed.

  “Hot damn, Lei. Now look what you’ve done.”

  He had put on his dress pants, but his shirt and coat were on the chair. Lei could see the swell of his cock jutting out against the crotch of his pants. She looked at his bare chest that never failed to send flames of desire through her. Instinctively, she licked her lips. She had an urge to taste him, to unbutton his pants and pull his beautiful cock into her mouth. Her desire was reflected on his face as he ogled her and started toward her.