“But someone was.”
“Yes, and you know him. Rory Calder.”
“Doesn’t surprise me. What did he do?”
Lena took a deep breath. “The agent who listed the property had specific instructions. Everyone who looked at it had to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Most of those who did, didn’t care enough to ask the reason they were signing it. Most assumed it was because we wanted the details of the sale kept private, but that wasn’t why.”
“Kade.”
“Only someone who had an ulterior motive for digging deeper would’ve discovered Kade had owned the adjacent property, and had deeded it to you and Naughton. After that, it wouldn’t be that hard to find the marriage records.”
Lena took another swig of wine. “Rory blackmailed me.”
“How?”
She looked at Gabe, but Maddox nodded.
“Making my marriage to Kade public.”
“Okay, but—”
“He wanted access to the caves, and wanted to know who the wine belonged to. I told him I didn’t know, but he knew I was lying.” She looked over at Gabe again. “He offered the vineyard guys Naught hired a lot of money to move the barrels last night.”
Then Lena looked at Maddox. “He showed up not long after you left, wanting to know what you knew. I told him you didn’t know anything, but he didn’t believe me. He had to get back to the guys, but he told me he’d come back this morning, and we’d ‘talk.’”
“So you left.”
“I had everything pretty much ready to go anyway. I sensed Rory planned to act.”
“Naughton said your place was empty.”
“I hired my own guys. It took a little over an hour to get everything out of the house, and for me to be on my way.”
“Where are you going?” Gabe asked her.
“Don’t know yet.”
Maddox had been watching the exchange between Gabe and Lena. Lena knew exactly where she was going, and she had no intention of telling them. He wouldn’t ask now, not in front of Gabe, but he’d bet there was something else she was hiding. Now that the secret was out about her marriage to Kade, there was no reason for her to run, unless that wasn’t what was really behind the blackmail.
“Tonight?”
She nodded.
Maddox pulled a card out of his wallet, and a pen out of his jacket pocket. He wrote something on the back, folded it in half, and handed it to her.
“That’s my cell, if you need anything, call me there.”
She already had his cell, but she was smart enough not to unfold the card before she slipped it into her pocket. It confirmed there was more going on than what she’d told them. Lena was definitely hiding something else.
“Thank you.” Lena stood. “You can contact our attorney if you decide you’re interested in the rest of the land. For now, I don’t plan to put it on the market.”
“Who’s your attorney?”
“Peter Wendt.”
Maddox nodded. Made sense.
“Bye, Maddox, and you too, Gabe.”
Lena walked over to the staircase that led down to the basement, and waved.
“Where’s she going?” Gabe asked.
“Through the caves,” Maddox answered.
“What’d you write on the back of the card?” Gabe asked once they were back in the truck.
Maddox smiled. “Didn’t miss that, huh?”
“She texted you earlier. Wouldn’t take a genius.”
“I wrote the time and place of our next meeting.”
Gabe didn’t ask when or where, and Maddox didn’t offer.
“Kade was Delta Force,” Gabe said.
“Yeah?”
“Think she’s got a connection?”
Maddox hadn’t thought of that, but it was a possibility. But then why would she have let Rory blackmail her? Why wouldn’t she call in help when she needed it?
When they got to the end of the one-lane road, Maddox’s headlights cut something shiny parked way off on the side of the road.
“Shit.”
“What?”
“I think that’s Naught’s truck.”
“You don’t need to worry about me—”
“I’m not. I’m worried about my brother.”
Maddox parked, and killed this engine. “Be right back.”
“You want me to come with you?”
“Nah, I’m just gonna see if he’s around.”
Why was Naughton here? And where was he?
“Where’s the truck?” Lena asked.
“Near the gate.”
“Maddox just left. Alex’s brother was with him.”
“I parked it far enough out of the way that he won’t see it.”
“I sure as hell hope you did. He’s already asking too many questions.” She pulled the card Maddox gave her out of her pocket.
“What’s this?”
“Our next meeting.”
“I’ll handle it.”
Maddox checked the truck, and found it locked. Troubling, since they rarely locked their vehicles when they were on the ranch, in fact, they usually left the keys in them. Here or Butler Ranch wouldn’t have made any difference. They were inside the gate.
He walked along the creek, but there was no sign of Naughton. Maybe he left the truck for the night, and caught a ride back to Butler Ranch with one of the workers. That was the only logical explanation.
“Any sign of him?”
“Nope.”
Where are you? Maddox texted.
Home, Naughton answered almost immediately.
Need to talk
Where are you?
Leaving Demetria
Coming straight home?
Damn, Maddox forgot he wasn’t going home, he was staying at the hospital with Alex.
No, hospital, meet me there in an hour.
Naughton didn’t answer, but Maddox didn’t expect him to. If there was a reason he couldn’t meet him, then he would’ve answered.
“You’re back.”
Maddox tried to make as little noise as possible, but woke Alex anyway.
“Sorry I woke you. How’re you feeling?”
“Better now that you’re back. How’d it go?”
“Lena confirmed it was Calder who set up the ATB sting. I’m not sure there’s anything that we can do about it though, at least from a legal standpoint. He didn’t break any laws.”
“He stole wine from the caves.”
“And delivered it to its owners.”
“What about illegally?” Alex smirked.
“Not sure about that either. Karma has a funny way of comin’ around and bitin’ you in the ass when you least expect it.”
“By the way, what did you have on Lang to get him to drop the custody petition?”
“Once a cheater, always a cheater.”
“What’s that mean?”
“I don’t predict the marriage to the new wife is gonna last any longer than Lang’s marriage to Peyton did.”
“You saw him?”
“Yep, but he didn’t see me. Since it was after Brodie told us about the custody issue, I just happened to snap a couple photos.”
Alex smiled. “Devious.”
“Wily.”
“Yep, you’re like a coyote that way, aren’t ya?”
“Did the trick. All that matters.”
“What have you got in mind for Calder?”
“Don’t know yet, but it wasn’t that hard for us to piece together his involvement in the Los Cab bond issue. My guess is he’s after land, and given how sloppy he was in the last couple days, my prediction is it won’t be long before he acts again.”
“When’s the next collaborative meeting?”
“Next month, but I think there’s enough happening in the valley to call one sooner.”
Maddox’s phone pinged. Naughton was there, waiting for him downstairs.
“I’ll be back soon. Try to get some sleep, and I’ll try not to wake you up.” He kissed
her forehead again, relieved that it wasn’t as warm as it had been earlier.
“You missed.”
Maddox smiled and kissed her lips. Alex wound her arms around his neck, and held him close.
“I wish this bed was big enough to fit both of us,” she murmured.
“Follow the rules, and tomorrow night we’ll sleep in one plenty big enough.”
“Where are you going?”
“Naught’s here. Couple things we need to talk about.”
“Gonna give karma a little shove?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“Hey,” Maddox joined Naughton in the main lobby waiting area. “Thanks for meeting me here.”
“What’s up? You didn’t ask me to bring you more clothes or food, so what do you need?”
“We need to talk, Naughton. I have a lot of questions, and I’m hoping you have a lot of answers.”
Naughton nodded, and Maddox motioned for him to follow him outside.
“I don’t know where to start,” Maddox began once they found chairs outside.
“Heard about the ATB raid. Guess that explains why the wine was gone, and confirms who it belonged to.”
“Yeah, about that. How’d you know it was gone, Naught?”
“I looked.” Naughton shook his head at him, almost as though he thought Maddox was an idiot.
“I figured that much, but how’d you do it all so fast? You left Butler Ranch at dawn, got a crew started, discovered Lena and the wine were gone, all before seven.”
Naughton stood. “Is there somethin’ you’re accusing me of, Maddox?”
“No, I’m just askin’.” Maddox’s eyes bored into his brother’s letting him know he wasn’t giving up until he got an answer.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this, but here goes. I left Butler Ranch a little after five. I arrived at the Old Creek Road gates before five-thirty, where the labor contractor was waiting with a crew. I gave him a map, and outlined where we’d start.
“I was about to get back in the truck to lead them to the vineyard, when I noticed something off at Lena’s. It looked like the front door was open, not good at five in the morning, so I told the guys I’d be right behind them. I walked over and knocked, but she didn’t answer, so I stuck my head inside. That’s how I knew the place was empty.”
Maddox nodded his head. “Go on.”
“You canceled dinner, she skipped town, it was all a little weird, so instead of meeting the guys, I went up to the house. As long as I was there, I thought I’d see if I could find the other entrance to the caves. That’s when I discovered the wine was gone.”
Maddox studied his brother. Those were the most words he’d ever heard Naughton string together at one time. Was it because he’d rehearsed what he’d say if Maddox questioned him?
“By the time I got to the vineyards, it was close to seven, and that’s when I sent you the text. Where the hell’s this comin’ from?”
“Why’d you come back to the ranch?”
Naughton mumbled something Maddox didn’t catch.
“What was that?”
“I said I should just beat the shit outta you right now for questionin’ me like this.”
“Just answer me, Naughton. Why’d you come back to the ranch?”
“You didn’t answer my text.”
“So?”
“I was worried, asshole. With all the shit goin’ on, I was worried.” Naughton was grasping the back of his neck, just like he and the rest of his brothers did. Maddox hated that he thought it was because Naughton was lying. Just as he was about to call him out on it, Naughton turned around.
“We lost Kade, we thought we lost Brodie, and I couldn’t stand the thought of losing you. I called you, I called Alex, I even called Ma. Nobody answered. I couldn’t get shit done, so I drove back to the ranch. You think that makes me a pussy?”
Maddox shook his head. That explained why he’d been pounding on the door and yelled for him to open it. “I’m sorry, Naught.”
His brother nodded. “What else you wanna know?”
“How’d you know about the safe deposit box?”
“Kade told me about it.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“About what?”
“That. The land. All of it.”
“I answered that question already.”
“Answer it again.”
“I told you, it’s the way Kade wanted it. It wasn’t up to me.”
“What if the situations were reversed? Wouldn’t you have wanted me to tell you?”
“No, dammit! Not if you told me that Kade told you not to.”
“Why?”
Naughton walked away, but Maddox caught up to him.
“How’d you get here?”
“I drove.”
“What?”
“My truck! What the fuck, Maddox?”
“Why were you at Demetria earlier?”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“No. I saw your truck parked in the woods, and you were nowhere to be found. Why?”
Naughton shook his head, and studied Maddox. “I wish I knew where all this shit was coming from.”
“I said it before, just answer the question.”
“You know I was at Demetria earlier because you and I asked Brodie to meet us there. After we told him about Kade and Lena, you saw me walk away. My truck wasn’t parked in the woods, it was parked right next to yours.”
“Not then. Tonight.”
“I wasn’t at Demetria tonight.”
“I saw your truck.”
“Bullshit.” Naughton walked away again. “Maybe it’s a good thing you’re here at the hospital because I think you’re losing your damn mind.”
“You say your truck’s here? Let’s go look at it.”
Naughton shrugged and kept walking. Maddox followed. The parking garage was lit well enough that when they walked up to Naught’s truck, the mud and dirt on the tires and sides of it was apparent.
When they got closer, Maddox ran his hand over it. “This is fresh, Naught, so I’ll ask you again. What were you doing there?”
“I wasn’t there, Mad.”
Maddox bent over and put his hands on his knees. His biggest problem was that he believed Naughton, which meant there was hell of a lot happening and no explanation for any of it.
“Tell me why Kade asked you not to tell me about the land.”
Naught’s hand rubbed the back of his neck, and he walked away only to turn around and walk back.
“He said we’d know when to tell you.”
“How?”
“When he knew you’d be ready for it.”
“How would he know, Naught? Kade is dead.”
“He said I’d know.”
“How would you know?” Maddox was ready to strangle his brother.
“Alex.”
“What about Alex?”
“When you finally realized you were in love with her.”
Naughton opened the tailgate and sat on it. Maddox joined him. They sat in silence for twenty minutes or longer before Maddox spoke again.
“What if I never realized I loved her?”
“He knew you would.”
“But what if I didn’t? Love her, I mean.”
Naughton shook his head. “You and Alex were the only people in the valley who didn’t know how you felt about each other.”
Maddox still had unanswered questions, like why Naught’s truck was at Demetria tonight, and what else Lena was hiding. The first question bothered him more than the one about Lena did. Whatever she was running from was none of his damn business.
He looked at his phone, and realized he’d been talking to Naughton for more than an hour. He hoped Alex was asleep, and not waiting for him to come back.
“Is that why I got the two-hundred acres with the house?”
Naughton nodded.
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Kade pulli
ng your puppet strings too? He got somethin’ up his sleeve to make sure you end up with the love of your life? What about Ainsley?”
Naughton smiled. “Kade was so full of shit sometimes.”
Epilogue
“Just a couple more steps, and I’ll take the blindfold off.”
“Okay, but hurry up.”
Maddox let Alex see the winery building, but told her he was blindfolding her before he took her to the next buildings. It hadn’t been easy to maneuver her over the cobblestone in the courtyard, especially since he skipped the second building, and the walk was longer. She was being a good sport about it, though, uncharacteristically.
“We’re here?” she asked when he opened the massive wooden entry doors.
“Yep, just take a step over the threshold.”
“Wait.” Alex took a step back.
“What?”
“Aren’t you supposed to carry me over the threshold?”
“Aren’t we supposed to be married first?”
Alex crossed her arms. “I think we qualify for the common law thing, don’t you?”
Maddox laughed, picked her up, and carried her inside. He still hadn’t been upstairs, but at least it would be clean the first time they both saw it. Maddox had hired a cleaning crew to come in and get it ready for Alex to see. It had taken two days, before it passed Naughton’s inspection. He’d even had a new mattress and bedding delivered, and put in the master bedroom, so Maddox and Alex could spend the night here tonight.
“If you don’t like the bed,” Naught told him, “I’ll take it. It’s a lot more comfortable than my bed.”
Maddox asked if he’d slept on it.
“Hell no, but I had to try them out before I picked one, didn’t I?”
“Ready?” Maddox asked.
“If you don’t take this blindfold off me in the next ten seconds—”
“Go ahead.”
Maddox wanted to see the moment she opened her eyes, and saw their new home.
“Oh…wow…” she gasped, putting her palms on her cheeks. “Maddox, it’s so beautiful. It’s beyond—”
“Your most vivid dreams?”
“Yeah, exactly.”
“That’s what Kade said in his letter to me. It’ll be beyond your most vivid dreams.”
About the Author
The Truce (Butler Ranch Book 2) Page 20