by T. J. Kline
“I overheard your conversation yesterday. I’m assuming it was with Joe.”
She scooted closer, wrapping her free arm around his waist and looked up at him through her thick lashes. “Derek, open book? I promise, I don’t know.”
She looked vulnerable and frightened. Derek slid his finger through the ring on the gold necklace. He wanted to trust her completely, but Scott’s words and his past mistakes gnawed at the edges of his mind, holding him back. She knew the pain of betrayal better than most people ever could. Maybe if he could twine her heart with his, even if it was nothing more than desire right now, she would think twice before turning her back on him. He had no doubts that her need for him was real.
Derek curled his hand around the back of her head and kissed her. He poured his heart into the kiss, praying she could hear his declaration without speaking it. When he broke the kiss they were both short of breath. He pressed his forehead against hers.
“I get the feeling you like me a bit, Angel.”
Her eyes were dark with desire but they sparkled with humor. “Maybe a little. Now, go make sure there’s no one in the hall so I can get dressed.” She shoved him toward the door.
Derek opened the door and checked the hall, finding it empty. Stepping across the hall, he opened her door and stood at the top of the stairs. “Angela, there’s a news van coming down the drive,” he said, loud enough for everyone downstairs to hear.
She glared at him as she hurried across the hall into her own room. “Go,” she mouthed, waving a hand at him.
He laughed and leaned forward as she scooted past him, stepping on the back of the sheet dragging on the floor. She realized too late as she dropped her clothing at her feet and stood just inside her doorway, completely nude.
“Good morning, Angel,” he drawled.
She spun, giving him an eyeful of gorgeous satin-skinned woman before slamming the door. “Jerk!”
He chuckled. Her voice carried through the door as he headed down the staircase, knowing she would be furious when she came down but that the view had been absolutely worth it.
“MORNING.” DEREK WINKED as she made her way into the kitchen in clean jeans and a t-shirt. He held a cup of coffee out to her, and she took a tentative sip.
“Good morning,” she muttered as the others took their seats around the table and began dishing up their food.
Sydney tore tiny pieces from a plain pancake for Kassie and dropped them on the tray of her high chair while Jen fed Blake a bottle. Both glanced her way but without their usual friendliness. Neither Scott or Clay said anything.
Silvie tried to alleviate the palpable tension in the room and rubbed Angela’s shoulder. “Sit and eat,” she ordered.
“I’m going to see who’s here,” she said, heading for the front porch.
They probably thought she was trying to escape, and she was, but she wanted to know who Joe sent out and why. He already had the footage they’d taken at the rodeo, and he would be editing the first part of his bogus series. She held the mug between her hands and eyed the van as it came down the long driveway and parked in front of the house. Joe climbed from the driver’s seat.
“Hey there, Gigi.” He bounded up the porch stairs and leaned toward her as if he was going to kiss her cheek, stopping short. “What? You’re not happy to see me?”
He was the last person she’d thought would dare set foot on the ranch. She sipped her coffee. “What are you doing here, Joe? I told you yesterday I won’t do that story.”
His lips thinned to a sharp line and he arched a brow, his eyes glittering with outrage. “I am still your boss.” His voice took on a threatening note. He might have appeared calm, but she could feel the animosity radiating from him. He crossed his arms over his chest, daring a retort from her.
She accepted his challenge, taking a step closer to him. “For now,” she replied quietly. “I wonder what the studio would say if they knew you were threatening your reporters and falsifying stories.”
“What the hell is your problem?” he asked through clenched teeth, grasping her elbow and dragging her down the porch stairs toward the van.
Coffee sloshed over the side of her cup and onto her hand. “Ow!” she said, shaking her hand and jerking her arm from his grasp. “Let go of me.”
She saw her father standing in the open doorway of the barn watching them. Worry creased his brow before he disappeared inside again. She was tired of feeling alone, of no one protecting her. She spun on Joe. “I am not a child. I will come when I’m ready.”
“What the hell has gotten into you since you decided to take this story? You’ve changed.” He looked her up and down disdainfully. “Wait, I do know.” He glanced toward the house. “How many of these cowboys are you sleeping with?”
“You’re disgusting.” She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of letting him know his insult had actually stung.
Joe shrugged. “Look, there’s nothing wrong with slumming, I guess, but I came to save your ass. The station wants to fire you.”
She felt the blood drain from her face. Joe didn’t look like he was bluffing. Even knowing she didn’t have to be responsible for her father—for Robert, she corrected—she still needed a way to take care of herself. She bit her lower lip.
“You are going to come back with me today. If you don’t, we’ll run the story without you.”
She glared at him but didn’t miss the determination in his eyes. There was no pretense. “Don’t threaten me.”
He grasped her chin between his thumb and first finger. “Oh, it’s not a threat, sweetheart. I’m making you a promise. If you don’t come back with me, you’ll be fired and I’ll run my story. The one filled with sex and lies and how a reporter buried a story of animal abuse in rodeo because the stock contractor seduced her. I have plenty of reporters who will sit at that desk and report anything I tell them to.”
He cued up a video on his phone and she watched the clip showing a cowboy’s wrist as he gave steroid shots to the bull that had attacked Derek. Other footage showed barbs slipped into the fleece lining used on bucking horses and bulls. It never showed faces but it didn’t need to. With copy stating the name of the contractor, it would destroy Findley Brothers. “Where did you get this?” Horror flooded through her limbs, weighing her down. “Skip?”
He crossed his arms and leaned on his shoulder against the van, smirking with his perceived victory. “Please, Skip isn’t smart enough to manage this.”
“You drugged those animals? That was why they acted that way.” The pieces began to fall into place with an ominous thud. “You drugged them and nearly got Derek killed.”
She glanced toward the house and saw Derek and Scott step onto the porch, watching her.
“You better decide what you’re planning to do before they come over here. If you don’t come back with me, I’ll destroy them and you. You won’t have a career left when I get finished.”
“I thought you were my friend,” she whispered.
“I thought you’d eventually come to your senses and realize that we belonged together. I never pegged you for a tramp. I guess we were both wrong.” He narrowed his eyes, looking through the passenger window at the brothers standing on the porch. His anger snapped and he grasped her wrist, yanking her toward him. “You barely let me touch you after years of friendship, but you whore yourself for him in a matter of days?” She saw Derek start toward the stairs and Scott put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. She could see the pain even that movement caused him. He was in no shape to fight Joe right now, even if Joe wouldn’t be a match for him under normal circumstances.
“Angel?” Derek called.
“Isn’t that sweet?” Joe whispered, laughing viciously. “Angel?”
“Let me go.” She jerked her wrist from Joe’s grasp and took a step backward so she could see Derek. “I’m fine, we’re just talking.” She tried to make her voice sound light, but it sounded strained. If Derek came over here, she was afraid he’d end up
with more than a few ribs broken. She turned on Joe. “You can’t do anything. You have no proof.”
A sadistic smile spread over his too-thin lips. “Who needs proof? All I need to do is report it. People will believe anything they see, true or not. But you’re wrong, I have proof, right here on their own ranch. It’s your choice. You can destroy your own career and take them down with you. Or you can come back, renew your contract, and we’ll do your story about injuries in rodeo. He can come out a hero and you stay with me. Either way, you’ll say goodbye to your boyfriend.”
She wanted to slap the overconfident expression from his face. How could she have ever thought he was a friend? Or that he would help her? She wondered how many times she’d trusted him to talk with the executives at the station on her behalf. How many times had he sabotaged her stories to keep her stuck in the newsroom, under his thumb? Joe didn’t care that all of this was completely untrue. He only wanted her, to bend to his will again. And he’d found his bull’s eye in Derek and her feelings for him.
She glanced back at Derek. This morning, waking in his arms, she realized that she couldn’t leave him, in spite of her fears. Being without him would be like going without air. But Joe had her trapped with nowhere to turn. Derek’s family, this legacy to them, meant everything to him, and he meant everything to her. If all he loved was ruined because of their relationship, he would never forgive himself. She couldn’t let Joe destroy what this family had built—even if it meant ripping her heart out and leaving him behind in order to protect him.
“Fine,” she whispered. “I’ll go get my things.”
“Oh, and Angel,” Joe began, grabbing her jaw between his thumb and finger roughly, “this stays between us or deal’s off. I almost killed him once. I’ll make sure to do it the second time.” He kissed her, crushing her lips against her teeth.
Joe followed her as she walked around the van, into the sight of the men on the porch. Mike and her father had joined them, both looking concerned for her welfare.
“Hey, Robert.” Joe greeted her father cheerfully, ignoring the other men entirely.
Her father looked away. Angela didn’t have time to worry about him. She wanted to get Joe away from the ranch, away from Derek, as quickly as possible. She deliberately avoided walking past Derek and went to the back door, through the kitchen. She put her coffee cup in the sink.
“Did you want breakfast?” Silvie asked, looking at Joe. “I could warm it for you both.”
“No thanks, Silvie,” Angela assured her. She hurried up the stairs to her room with Joe following closely. She wasn’t sure if it was better to have him with her to keep an eye on him or to send him back to the van while she packed. “Do you really have to follow me?”
“I’m not letting you out of my sight for a second, Angel. Who knows what you might try to pull.”
“I’m not the liar here,” she said in hushed tones.
They entered her room and he closed the door behind him, cutting her off from any safety. She’d never been truly afraid of Joe before, but today he’d proven he was completely unpredictable.
The door opened with a crash. “What the hell is going on?” Derek’s eyes flashed with fury, turning them completely black. He looked at Joe. “Get out.”
“I’ll leave when she’s ready to go.”
Derek took a step closer, and Joe’s smug grin faltered. “You will go when I say. Now get out of my house,” he ordered.
“Go wait at the van,” she muttered to Joe. Joe shot a glare at Derek, clearly not happy about being forced to leave. “Fine, but remember, Gigi, our conversation was confidential. One misspoken word could derail your entire story.”
As if she didn’t understand his warning the first time. How could she convince Derek she wanted to leave with Joe when the mere thought was splintering her heart? “Get out,” Derek warned through clenched teeth, “before I throw you out the window.”
Joe shoved past him and Angela saw the flicker of pain in his eyes as Joe jarred his ribs. Derek shut the door behind him. He didn’t speak as he watched her lift her boxes onto the bed. “What are you doing?”
“I’m leaving.” She tried to appear nonchalant through the tears that were threatening to choke her. “They need me back at the station.”
“I thought you were following up with some of the cowboys this weekend.”
She busied herself with the boxes to avoid looking at him. If she did, she would break down. “I might make it to the rodeo, but I’ve got to get the copy ready and edit the first night’s footage. They need me to . . .”
Derek reached for her hand and pulled her into his arms. “I need you.”
She had expected his anger or his hurt, but she hadn’t expected this confession. “I . . . I have to go. It’s my job.”
Derek cupped his fingers at the back of her head, tipping her chin so she was forced to meet his gaze. His thumb traced the line of her jaw as she stared up at him. His eyes softened as he looked down at her. “Angel, I’m not sure how, but somehow you and this beautiful smart mouth have worked your way under my skin. I can’t let you go.”
“Derek,” she began.
She looked at the door, worried that Joe could be standing outside listening. Before she could say anything else, his lips found hers, making her forget everything. His tongue slipped between her teeth and dueled with her own. It wasn’t like the other kisses they’d shared. She could feel his desperation, and her response was filled with the grief and sorrow flooding her soul.
She tasted her salty tears on their lips, mixing with desire. She pulled away from him, turning her back toward him so he couldn’t see her cry. “I’m leaving. I came for a story and I have it.”
“You’re saying that last night and this morning, you lied?” Derek’s voice sounded dubious. “And that’s all you’re leaving with, your story?” She swiped at the tears on her cheeks as he grabbed her waist, spinning her so she faced him. His thumb brushed away the moisture under her eye. “You know you’re leaving with more than that. I love you, Angel. I didn’t know it was possible to feel this way about anyone in this short of a time, but I do.”
“I have to go.” She wanted to tell him she loved him, to let him see how her heart soared at his declaration. But she couldn’t allow Joe to destroy his family with his lies. She couldn’t figure out any other way than to go back and report her story instead of Joe’s fake one. She hoped that someday she could tell him the truth and Derek would forgive her and understand that she had done it to protect his family. “I don’t want to, but—”
“Then don’t.” He made it sound so simple. It wasn’t simple. She’d run every scenario though her head on the way upstairs. “Is it your father?”
His question surprised her. “It’s not him. I know I have no right to ask you this, but can you and Mike watch over him? He wants to please Mike, and I’ve never seen him want to please anyone before.” She was still angry at her father, his betrayal stung, but she worried what would happen to him now, without her to watch over his habits and to bail him out of trouble.
“Angel, you can ask me anything.” Derek brushed his knuckles over her cheek. His eyes turned as hard as stone. “It’s Joe.”
She heard the anger rising in his voice and saw his shoulders tense. She couldn’t look him in the eye and lie. She dropped her forehead against the strong wall of his chest, content to draw from his strength for a moment. She could hear his heart beating against her ear, and she wanted to melt into his embrace and let the sound of his heartbeat block out the voices in her head, which berated her for her selfishness for wanting to stay. She wound her arms around his waist.
“Do you want to stay?”
“Yes, but I can’t, Derek. I have to clear up the mistake with the story.” She couldn’t take Joe’s threat lightly. He’d almost killed Derek the last time. “If I don’t go back, I’ll lose my job.”
His arms stiffened around her. “Then you’ll come back after?”
She looke
d up and cupped his face in her palms, loving the feel of his raspy jaw against her skin. She pressed her lips against his and lost herself in his kiss.
DEREK KISSED ANGELA back. His arms tightened around her, causing his ribs to twinge with pain, but he ignored it. If she walked out the door, she wasn’t coming back. She didn’t have to say the words, he knew in his gut something was wrong. Derek couldn’t shake the suspicion there was so much more to this situation. The tears brimming in her eyes, the fear he’d seen on her face, all indicated that she was worried about far more than simply returning to the newsroom to report a story. If that were the case, all he had to do was call her and they could see each other. This rang with a finality he couldn’t explain.
She wouldn’t look at him, hadn’t responded the way he’d expected when he told her he loved her. He knew she cared about him; she’d admitted it last night as she fell asleep. But he wondered if he were a fool for believing a slumberous declaration if she couldn’t say it in the light of day. Every nerve in his body was on edge, vibrating the way they did when a lightning storm approached. Trouble was brewing, he could feel it, but he couldn’t figure out how to stop it. She pulled away from him with a tortured groan.
“I have to go,” she insisted as she reached for a box and headed out the door, leaving him no option but to follow her down the stairs.
“Okay,” he agreed, deciding to take a different approach. “Then I’ll call you tonight.”
“No!” She spun to face him on the stairs. “You can’t.”
She sounded horrified, and he’d never heard this tone in her voice before. “Why not?”
She sighed and hurried out to the van. The blood drained out of her face when she saw Joe waiting for her. Derek could almost feel the despair radiating from her as she loaded the boxes into the back of her car and rushed past him to grab another. He couldn’t let her leave with Joe. He saw his brother and Robert standing on the porch. Scott waved him over as Angela headed back to her room.
“Provoke him. He’s blackmailing her.”