In that instant, Berry realized Cammy was really going to do it. She was going to shoot Tyler, then shoot her.
She couldn’t lose Tyler. She’d lost both her parents. She had lost Daniel. Everyone she loved had died. She had only one chance to put a stop to the killing here and now.
She twisted out of Tyler’s grip and swung herself in front of him as the gun fired and the sound filled the hall. She saw the gun buck violently in Cammy’s hand, then felt a giant fist slam into her shoulder. She staggered against Tyler.
At the same time, both Mason and Debra moved. Debra flung her purse into Cammy’s face, and Mason grabbed Cammy’s gun hand when the purse distracted her. Up and down both hallways, doors opened and people poured out.
Berry was dimly aware of slamming doors, shouts, and Tyler’s voice calling her name. Since she was not a fainter, she refused to give into the rising dark pillow of unconsciousness.
But she did feel faintly surprised to realize she was still alive and sitting on the floor. She was so numb, she couldn’t feel her body, or orient herself in space, or tell what was holding her up.
You idiot, a familiar voice said fondly.
“Same to you, Daniel Challoner,” she said.
Then she recollected she might well be a jinx. It was all her fault Daniel had died in the first place. Or something like that. She considered it with a mind that slowly sank into blackness.
“Berry? Berry, answer me,” Tyler said sharply. “Oh, God, she’s going to bleed to death. Someone call an ambulance.”
Mason hovered over them, breathing hard. “She got away. Just let go of the gun and ran. Don’t touch that gun! Leave it for the police to handle.”
Tyler knelt on the floor, cradling Berry in his arms. Her eyes were open, but she took no notice of anything going on around her.
“Berry, wake up. Talk to me.” He shook her slightly.
“This is all your fault, Daniel Challoner,” she whispered. She saw and heard nothing except the other world she gazed into.
“Don’t shake her, Tyler,” Celia said. “You’ll make the bleeding worse. Here. Let her lie on the floor. Give me that tie. We’ll use it to stop the bleeding.”
Berry’s lashes fluttered as she struggled against unconsciousness. A face, familiar and beloved, but the focus of much current annoyance, formed before her vision.
“Daniel?”
“I never thought you were this eager to join me.” Daniel’s smile reflected love and peace; unlike anything she had ever seen before, and certainly not from Daniel.
“After all I’ve been through on your behalf, it’s high time you showed some interest,” she said.
“As usual, you aren’t making any sense.” Daniel shook his head. “Since you’re here, follow me. I’ve got a few things to tell you.”
Chapter 11
“Well, Razz,” Daniel said in the superior tones Berry had hated as a child—and still did. “I see you’re trying to join me before your time.”
“Bug off, Daniel.” Daniel looked handsomer than ever, though he looked a little peculiar wearing a white robe that reached to his feet. She decided not to mention it. “I have no intention of joining you. I love you, even if all we ever do is fight. But I don’t mind visiting a while, provided I can leave when I’m ready.”
Daniel laughed. “Believe it or not, I love you too, Razz. Would a brother who didn’t love you go through everything I’ve gone through these past six months just to keep you alive?”
Berry wondered briefly how it was that she was talking to Daniel when Daniel was supposed to be dead. He wasn’t dead at all. Anyone could see that. She puzzled over it a moment, then dismissed the thought. She’d worry about it later.
Daniel grinned as if he’d heard her thoughts. “The only thing I’ve lost is my physical body—and my ability to communicate with you. One thing you still know how to do is give a fellow hell. How do you think I felt when the creep who shot me started putting the moves on you?”
“Tyler? Don’t be disgusting.”
“Not Tyler, idiot. Grady Craig. I sent you to Tyler for help. If you’d stayed another day in Austin, Craig would have found a way to stage a ‘suicide’ on your part. He was working mighty hard at catching you alone.”
Berry shrugged. She remembered a peculiar sense of urgency to leave Austin, but she hadn’t been aware of Grady Craig. So far as she had known, Grady’s urge for revenge had faded. Daniel was probably exaggerating. As usual.
“You have a way of shutting out things you don’t want to see, especially when you’re concentrating on one of your projects.” Daniel smiled again. “You might thank me, you know. Look how things worked out. I’ve finally gotten you fixed up with the right man.”
“My memory of events is a tad different from yours.” Berry regarded him irritably.
Daniel’s smile spoke for him. Berry thought longingly about punching him.
“I’m sorry I was never there for you after Dad died,” Daniel said. “At the time, it never occurred to me how lonely and insecure you were, or how much you needed a family.”
“Don’t be silly. I’m an adult, after all.” Berry hastened to change the subject. “Do you think Tyler will find any clues in those printouts I got today?”
“Boy, are you still hardheaded,” Daniel said. “Didn’t you hear me?” He studied her a moment. “No, I suppose you didn’t. I spent so little time listening to you, you now see no reason to listen to me. Believe me, I’ve had my punishment. To care so much, and to be so powerless to reach you … ” Daniel shook his handsome head, still smiling. His blue eyes crinkled at the corners. “I’ve spent the last six months trying to make up for my failings as a big brother. As a nice token of gratitude, you might think about naming your first kid after me.”
“I’m not planning on having children any time soon.” One thing she didn’t need was advice from Daniel about her love life. It was none of his business.
“You will have a baby very soon,” Daniel said. “Think about the name, will you?”
“Oh, all right,” Berry said. Daniel was like that. He’d harp away on something forever, until she finally gave in. “If it’s a girl, I’ll name her Danielle.”
“Get over yourself, Razz. Tyler wants to marry you,” Daniel said. “He’s crazy about you. Ever since he saw you in that pink getup at graduation, I think.”
Berry ignored this. What did Daniel know?
It struck her suddenly that discussing Daniel’s murder with Daniel was a peculiar thing to do. “Look, why don’t we go have a bite to eat and talk things over,” she suggested. “I’ve been wanting to ask you about going back to school and majoring in accounting. What do you think? I didn’t know accountants knew so much about fraud and skullduggery. I could really get into that.”
Daniel chuckled ruefully. “You’re the most hard-headed person I’ve ever met. Your trouble is you’re still looking for a family. Now that you’ve found one, you’ve got cold feet.” He backed away slowly. “It’s time for me to go. It’s time I got on with my real work.”
“On second thought, maybe I’ll just go with my original plan and teach earth science.” Berry frowned and struggled to think. “What work? I thought you just got this job. Where are you working now?”
“I have a very good job,” Daniel said, grinning. “I’m responsible for greeting and helping to orient new arrivals. Goodbye, Razz. And remember, I loved you a lot more than you—or I—ever realized.”
Berry grew even more annoyed. “Hold on a minute, Daniel. Where do you think you’re going? I’m a new arrival. How about giving me a little orientation?” She stared around and saw only gray fog. “Otherwise, I’m totally lost in this place.”
“Actually, you’re only making a brief visit.” Daniel took another few steps back. His lower body began to fade from view. “See you, Razz. But it won’t be anytime soon.”
Berry found herself alone in surroundings that had grown so dark, she could no longer see where she was.
<
br /> She stared frantically in all directions. “Daniel!” she yelled into the thick blackness. “Daniel Challoner, you come back here this minute!”
“Calm down, Tyler,” Celia Reid said. “She’s waking up at last.”
“Where’s that nurse?” Mason Reid demanded. “Debra, go get the nurse.”
“Quiet, all of you,” Celia said. “She mustn’t have a lot of noise and confusion. She won’t know where she is, or what’s happened to her.”
That was for sure, Berry thought. What was more, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. Perhaps she’d keep her eyes closed a while longer.
“She’s probably going to take one look at Tyler and go unconscious again,” Kelley said dryly. “You should have made him go home and do something about himself, Mom. He’s still covered with blood.”
“Open your eyes, Berry,” Tyler commanded softly. “Come on, darling. Wake up.”
Berry liked the voice calling her. It was deep and compelling. She wanted to see who owned that voice.
“She’s too pale,” Tyler said. “Call that doctor back and ask him why she isn’t waking up yet.”
“Calm down, Tyler,” Celia ordered. “She’s pale because she’s been asleep and she lost a lot of blood. But the doctor says she’ll bounce back quickly.”
“A few good steak dinners will bring her color back in no time,” Mason said. “Celia, we’d better get Tyler’s old bedroom ready for her. He won’t be able to look after her during the day.”
“She’s staying where she is.” Tyler sounded as if he spoke through his teeth. “Berry, please wake up, darling.”
On that, she struggled really hard and managed at last to lift her lashes. At first, she couldn’t see anything but bright lights then the hovering blobs of color resolved into people.
“She looks so different without those violet contacts,” Debra murmured. “I can’t get over it.”
Someone leaned over her and Berry stared into Tyler’s face. The broad, slashing brows and brilliant, turquoise eyes looked familiar. He looked both coldly angry and desperately anxious. Since he couldn’t be anxious about her, he must be mad at her.
Detached, she wondered what she had done.
“Berry,” he said tenderly. “How do you feel, darling?”
Berry frowned slightly, unsure how to answer this. She didn’t feel anything at all at the moment. She liked it that way.
She sensed movement overhead and looked up. Several unfamiliar faces hovered over her.
“She does look a little like Daniel,” Kelley said.
Berry thought this over. She didn’t want to look like Daniel. She was thoroughly miffed with Daniel, although she couldn’t remember exactly why.
“Berry?” Tyler touched her chin and turned her face toward him. “Talk to me. Tell me how you’re feeling.”
Her voice felt rusty. “I feel fine. I think.”
When she spoke, tension seemed to flow out of him. He relaxed visibly then his brows drew together once more. “Thank God. How could you have done such a thing? I ought to—”
“Leave her alone, Tyler Reid,” Debra said. “You’re so buried in bottom lines, you can’t see the nose on your face.”
Tyler ignored Debra. “You almost got yourself killed.”
Berry blinked. “Daniel said something about how he felt when the guy who shot him started putting the moves on me … ” Memory returned in a rush that made her squeeze her eyes closed. “I don’t think I understand anything anymore. That Cammy person. They said they didn’t know her at Wilburn and White. She kept implying that she knew something she needed to tell me.”
She suspected this whole mess had something to do with Great-aunt Mary MacGregor. She couldn’t think about it now, or she’d burst into tears in front of all these people.
Tyler shifted. He sat on the edge of her bed, and now he moved to take her face between his two palms. “You spoke to Daniel?”
“He said he has a new job—” She broke off, realizing suddenly that she must sound nuts, since Daniel was officially dead. She focused dizzily on Tyler. His white shirt was wrinkled and covered with large, brown stains, and he could have used a shave. “Tyler, where am I? What happened to Cammy Osborne?”
Tyler traced his finger tenderly around her mouth. “She got away in the confusion. But she dropped the gun, and the police have identified her from the prints on it. Her real name, by the way, is Mary MacGregor Campbell.”
Berry closed her eyes again. “That’s Daddy’s cousin’s daughter. You were right, Tyler. It goes back to Great-aunt Mary. She must have rewritten her will.”
“She did. I had a private detective check into it.” Tyler frowned heavily. “Apparently, Cammy was a drug addict and kept trying to borrow money from your great-aunt. When Cammy broke into her house and tried to steal and sell some old coins and antiques, your great-aunt called her lawyer and rewrote her will.”
Berry opened her eyes. “She left everything to Daniel?”
“That’s right, and if Daniel were to die before your great-aunt, everything would come to you. That’s why Daniel was killed, you see, so everything would come to you.”
Berry stared up at him, noting his frown. “I don’t understand.”
“Can’t we talk about this later?” Tyler asked. “Nothing is going to make much sense to you until you’ve had a chance to recover.”
He didn’t want to tell her the truth. That much Berry divined at once.
“I have to know,” she said. “No matter how bad it is I need to know, Tyler.”
“Grady Craig,” Tyler said gently. “That’s why he worked so hard at getting you to marry him. Then when you broke the engagement and set the cops on him, he decided to get revenge and achieve his goal in another way.”
This made no sense. Berry pondered this in silence a moment.
“What was his goal?” Berry asked, at last. “What’s he got to do with this?”
Actually, the relief almost overwhelmed her. Grady Craig had nothing to do with Great-aunt Mary, so whatever his goal might have been, it had nothing to do with Daniel’s death.
“Grady Craig was a junior lawyer in the law firm that handled your great-aunt’s affairs,” Tyler said. “That is, he was before he was fired for dipping into clients’ trust funds to support his gambling habit. His real name, by the way, is Craig Robinson. That’s why the police couldn’t find a Grady Craig when you filed those assault charges on him.”
“Tyler, she isn’t in any shape to understand all that,” Celia said softly. “Maybe you’d better save it for later, after she’s more cognizant.”
Berry supposed something was wrong with her. Although she wanted badly to know why Daniel was killed, she found it difficult to think. And if his death had anything to do with her, or with Great-aunt Mary, she wasn’t so sure she wanted to know.
But something had happened at Farley Brothers. Something about fraud in the inventory counts at the stores under Felix’s management. So maybe Daniel really was killed because of something he’d learned in regard to his job.
“I need to know,” she said doggedly. “I came all this way and went through all this to find out why Daniel died.” She fixed her gaze on Tyler’s nose. “I just need to know one thing, Tyler. Did Daniel die because of Great-aunt Mary’s will, or because of whatever was going on at Farley Brothers?”
Tyler scowled ferociously. “As usual, you get right to the heart of the matter, Challoner. The bottom line is Craig killed Daniel so that under the terms of your great-aunt’s will, all her money would go to you. Craig intended to marry you and stay married to you until you inherited your great-aunt’s fortune. Once the money was yours, he probably intended to kill you, too.”
Berry’s head whirled in an effort to follow this. “Then he must have believed in the myth of Great-aunt Mary’s money.”
“As it happens, your great-aunt really is rich, sweetheart. She’s got something like five or six million, most of it tied up in real estate and government bon
ds. The law firm he worked for would have been in a position to know that.”
“I see.” Berry wondered if she’d been stabbed in the heart. She moved her hand to cover her chest protectively. “Then Daniel died because of me.”
“No, darling, Daniel did not die because of you,” Tyler said, enunciating clearly. “Daniel died because of Craig Robinson’s greed. Don’t think for one minute that you had anything to do with Daniel’s death. Berry, listen to me. None of this was your fault.”
Berry said nothing. Her hand clutched the covers in the vicinity of her heart, and she closed her eyes. Why hadn’t she joined Daniel when she had the chance? Then she wouldn’t have to worry that someone was going to kill Tyler to get to her, with or without Great-aunt Mary’s alleged money.
But Tyler had said Great-aunt Mary really did have money. The very idea blew her mind.
She felt his large, warm hands frame her face.
“Berry, listen to me,” he insisted. “It wasn’t your fault. Craig Robinson planned this. Do you understand me? He planned to kill Daniel, and he planned to kill you. But you were too smart to fall for his line.”
Berry kept her eyes closed. It was her fault. Anyone could see that. Why hadn’t she died? She’d much rather that than lose everyone she loved.
“It wasn’t your fault,” he repeated. “You threw a monkey wrench into his big plans. When he couldn’t marry you, he married Cammy Osborne instead, and they both tried to kill you. If you and Daniel are both dead at the time of your great-aunt’s death, then Cammy inherits by default as the only remaining relative. He planned this, Berry. You were supposed to die, too. He’s been tracking you. That black car that shot at us the other night was the same car I kept seeing around my apartment. You are not responsible for anything.”
“It was my fault,” she whispered. “I shouldn’t have come here.”
“How could it possibly be your fault?” Kelley Reid burst out. “It’s this Grady Craig or Craig Robinson who’s the villain here.”
“The man’s a killer without conscience,” Mason Reid growled. “A cold-blooded murderer. He’s a menace to society.”
Texas Temptation Page 17