Breath of Scandal

by Sandra Brown

  “When?”

  “Soon.”

  “Why?”

  “Why not?”

  Their eyes made sizzling contact.

  Jade raised a hand to her throat and fiddled with the broach she had pinned there. He planted his fists, knuckles down, on the edge of her desk and leaned across it. “Well?” he asked crossly. “Is there something wrong with us having dinner together? Or don’t you like it if the man is the one who’s buying?”

  She took affront at that. There was a distinct chill in her voice when she said, “I’ll check with Cathy and see which night would be best for her to stay with Graham. Then I’ll—” She broke off and stood up suddenly. “Dillon, is Graham here yet?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “You haven’t seen him?”

  “Not today. Not since he got sick, in fact. Were you expecting him?”

  She rounded her desk and rushed to the door of the trailer, throwing it open. Loner was dozing in the shade on the step. He raised his head and regarded her indifferently. If Graham were around, no matter how hot it was, Loner would be tagging after him, not napping in the shade. She scanned the immediate area but saw no sign of Graham or his bicycle.

  “What time is it?” She was surrounded by clocks and was wearing a wristwatch; her question was reflexive.

  “Going on five. Why?”

  Sidestepping Dillon, she returned to her desk and picked up the telephone. “It’s been over an hour since Graham called me,” she said as she punched out her home phone number. “He should be here by now.”

  “Maybe he didn’t leave right after he called.”

  She shook her head. “He was chomping at the bit to get here before the crew knocked off for the day…. Hi, Cathy. Is Graham there?” Hearing the dreaded answer, her fingers tightened around the telephone cord. “Yes, I know he called, but he’s not here yet.”

  “What did she say?” Dillon asked when Jade hung up.

  “Exactly what I was afraid she would say. He left as soon as he called. Cathy was standing right there. She waved him off. She’s leaving now on her way here to see if she spots him along the way.”

  “Maybe one of his friends waylaid him.”

  “He’s conscientious. He knew I was expecting him. He would be here… unless something has happened to him.”

  Dillon caught her by the shoulders as she dashed toward the door again. “Jade, he’s fourteen years old. Boys that age are easily distracted and lose track of time. Graham can take care of himself. Don’t panic.”

  “He’s too afraid that this privilege will be revoked to waste time getting here. Something’s happened to him.” She worked her shoulders out of his grasp and left the portable building. She had no specific plan in mind. She was propelled by adrenaline to act, to move, to locate Graham immediately.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To look for him.” She climbed into her Cherokee.

  “You can’t go chasing around aimlessly,” he argued. “If he shows up, how will we know where to find you?”

  “Let’s worry about finding him first.”

  As she was reaching to close the door, she spotted the El Dorado turning in off the highway. Recognizing it instantly, she sprang from her car.

  Before Neal had even come to a full stop, Jade had her hand on the passenger door, pulling it open. “Graham!” Her knees almost buckled with relief. She drew him out of the leather seat and wrapped her arms around him. Loner ran in crazy circles around them, barking gleefully until Dillon ordered him to settle down.

  “Mom, you’re smothering me,” Graham muttered with adolescent embarrassment.

  Holding his shoulders between her hands, she thrust him at arm’s length away from her. “Where have you been?”

  “My bike had a flat on the way. Mr. Patchett picked me up and took me to the garage to get it fixed, then we came straight here.”

  She cast a murderous glance toward Neal, who was smiling at her from across the roof of his car. “You should have called me from the garage, Graham.”

  “I didn’t think about it,” he mumbled.

  “Where’s your bike now?” Dillon asked him.

  “It’s in my trunk.” Neal moved to the rear of his car and used his key to open the trunk. Loner was sniffing at him suspiciously.

  Dillon pulled the bike out and said a terse, “Thanks.”

  “Don’t thank him,” Jade spat out viciously, almost too angry to speak.

  “Mom, he gave me a ride.”

  She wanted to shake Graham very hard for jumping to Neal’s defense. To keep herself from doing that, she held her arms rigidly at her sides and dug her nails into her palms until they hurt. “You know better than to accept a ride from a stranger, Graham.”

  “But he’s not a stranger. You know him. And he knows you. I thought it would be all right.”

  “You thought wrong!”

  “Jade.”

  “Shut up, Dillon. This is my affair. I’ll handle it.”

  “Well, you’re doing a damn poor job of it.”

  Cathy prevented any further discussion when she sped up in her car. She hastily alighted. “You had your mother and me scared out of our wits, Graham Sperry. Where have you been?”

  Jade said, “He’ll tell you all about it on your way home.”

  “Home?” Graham wailed. “I have to go home?”

  Jade gave him a hard look that squashed any further argument. Even Cathy didn’t dare pose another question. She threw her arm across Graham’s shoulders and walked him to her car.

  As soon as they were on their way, Jade rounded on Neal. “I ought to have you arrested.”

  “You threatened that once before, but chickened out, remember? When are you going to learn, Jade, that if you take me on, you can’t possibly win?”

  “Stay away from my son. If you harm him, I’ll kill you.”

  “Harm him?” Neal asked silkily. “Why would I harm my own flesh and blood?”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Dillon demanded, taking a threatening step toward Neal. Sensing his master’s shift in mood, Loner began to growl.

  Neal wasn’t intimidated by either. “I’m that boy’s daddy. Didn’t Jade tell you?”

  “That’s not true!” she shouted.

  “Should I call the sheriff’s office or handle him myself?” Dillon asked her.

  Neal taunted, “Yeah, Jade. What do you want him to do? Do you want him to stick around and hear all the sordid details of our long-ago romance? If he’s the one keeping your snatch damp these days, I’m sure he’d be interested.”

  “You lousy son of a bitch.” Dillon was ready to throw a punch, but Jade stepped between the two of them.

  “No, Dillon. That’s what he wants you to do. I’ve seen it happen before. Leave me alone with him.”

  “Like hell,” Dillon snarled, still straining to get his hands on Neal.

  “Please, don’t argue with me.”

  His eyes roved over her face as though he couldn’t comprehend her at all. Then, cursing, he stomped into her portable office and slammed the door behind him.

  “Call off this stupid animal,” Neal said.

  Loner was still skulking around him, growling. She called him down. “Say what you have to say, Neal.”

  He reached out and stroked her cheek before she was able to swat away his hand, then grinned when she did. “You’re not scared that I’ll harm that boy of yours. You’re scared that I’ll claim him, or better yet, that he’ll claim me.”

  Neal was sterile. The Patchetts’ thinking was dynastic. In that startling, terrifying moment, Jade realized how significant Graham’s existence was to them. They would try to make him one of them. Hiding her fear, she said, “There isn’t even a remote possibility of that happening.”

  “No? He liked me, Jade. Ask him.”

  “I don’t doubt that you charmed him. Boys his age are easily attracted to wickedness.”

  He gave a short laugh. “Why don’t y
ou make it easy on us all? If you would only say the word, I’d do right by you and offer you marriage, like I should have fifteen years ago. We could be one, big, happy family, living in the family home—three generations of Patchett men and the house’s new mistress.”

  “Stay away from my son,” she said in a sinister monotone. “I’m warning you, Neal.”

  “Jade,” he cooed, “you know better than anyone that, in Palmetto, the only warning worth shit is one that comes from a Patchett.”

  He stepped closer to her and closed his hand around her jaw. “Let me give you one. Don’t fight me. I’m going to have my son with or without you.” He smiled at her meaningfully. “I’d just as soon it be a package deal.” Then he winked. “You had me once, and it wasn’t all that bad, was it?”

  She yanked her head out of his grasp and backed away from him.

  “That’s all for now,” he said, his smile still in place. “I’m late for an appointment.”

  After blowing her a kiss, he got into his El Dorado and drove away. Jade maintained her fearless posture until he was out of sight, then she slumped against the exterior wall of the temporary building. Dillon barged through the door.

  His face was as fierce, dark, and angry as a fallen angel’s. “Okay, I’ve been nice. I’ve been patient. But I’m up to here with this crap. I want to know what the hell is going on and why. You aren’t leaving here until I do.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Taking her hand, he pulled her up the steps behind him. He locked the door, took the telephone off the hook, and pointed her toward the short sofa. “Sit down.”

  “I’ve still got work to do, Dillon.”

  “You’re shot for the day. Anyway, I don’t care what was on your agenda, we’re going to have a chat. Now, sit down.”

  She dropped down onto the sofa, covering her face with her hands, capitulating more from emotional distress than blind obedience.

  “Can I get you something to drink?”

  She shook her head. Dillon drew up a metal folding chair, placed it only inches beyond her knees and straddled it backward, propping his arms on the back of it. “Okay, let’s have it.”

  “Have what?”

  “Jesus,” he swore irritably. “Are we going to play more guessing games?”

  “This is your game, not mine. I want to go home.”

  “A minute ago you wanted to work.”

  “Stop bullying me!”

  “Then start talking.”

  “What do you want to know?”

  “For starters you can explain why two men are claiming Graham as their son.”

  “Either would have a lot to gain if Graham was his child. Hutch would get a kidney. And Neal would have an heir.” When Dillon raised his eyebrows inquisitively, she added, “He’s sterile as a result of the accident that took off Ivan’s legs.”

  Dillon digested that, but he was dissatisfied with her explanation. “It still doesn’t make sense, Jade. Men don’t ordinarily leap forward claiming paternity. Usually it’s the other way around.”

  “Their circumstances are unusual.”

  “Did you sleep with both of them?”

  “No.”

  “So their claims to Graham are totally unfounded?”

  She said nothing.

  “Who is his father, Jade?”

  “I don’t know!”

  “Then you did sleep with both of them.”

  “No!”

  “Goddammit,” he shouted, “come clean with me.”

  “They raped me!”

  The words echoed loudly off the walls of the small room.

  They reverberated inside Dillon’s skull as he stared at Jade, shocked speechless. Once again she covered her face with her hands.

  “They raped me,” she repeated softly. “They raped me.”

  Dillon shoved all ten fingers through his hair and held it off his face for several moments. When he lowered his hands, he rubbed his palms up and down his thighs. He had wanted to know. He had hounded her to tell him. But he hadn’t counted on this.

  He had expected to hear the confessions of a reformed wayward teenage girl, or of a shy introvert who had sought attention by being easy, or of a rebel out to torment strict parents. He hadn’t expected rape.

  “When, Jade?”

  “In February of my senior year in high school. It was the day I learned that Gary and I had received full academic scholarships to the university.”

  “Gary?” Hell, just when he thought he knew all the players in this drama, she introduced another one.

  “Gary Parker,” she said. “We were high-school sweethearts, but much more than that. We were going to get married and, together, change the world.”

  In a quiet, faraway voice, she told him about their relationship. “We had such great expectations for the future. I loved him very much.”

  “Could he be Graham’s father?”

  She looked toward the window, which was, by now, a square patch of lavender twilight. “No. I was a virgin when they raped me.”

  “Christ. And the two of them got away with it?”

  Her eyes came back to him. “Actually there were three. The third was Lamar Griffith. He was a shy, sensitive boy, but he went along to save face with Neal.”

  “Does he still live in Palmetto?”

  She told him about Lamar’s fate. After a lengthy pause, Dillon said, “I take it, it was Neal’s idea.”

  “Oh yes,” she replied fiercely. “He was their ring leader. If it hadn’t been for him, it would never have happened. But Hutch and Lamar could have stopped it. Instead they raped me too, then left me there.”

  “Left you?”

  “Donna Dee was driving me out to Gary’s house so I could tell him about our scholarships. On the way there, we ran out of gas.”

  Dillon listened as she recalled that dreary afternoon. She didn’t spare a single detail. Through the years, her recollections had remained crystal clear.

  “When they first drove away with me, I was mad. I began to get afraid when Neal didn’t take the turnoff to Gary’s house. Instead, he drove to a channel where they had been fishing earlier. He ordered everybody out of the car. I argued, but he dragged me out.”

  “And the other two went along like dumb sheep?”

  “It’s hard to imagine how much control Neal had over them. They would do anything he said. He passed out cans of beer. I refused to drink any. When they were finished, I asked if we could go. Neal said, ‘Not yet.’ I asked him why. And he said…” She faltered. Her eyes dropped to her lap. “He said, ‘Because before we go, the three of us are going to fuck you.’ ”

  Dillon folded his hands together and, propping his elbows on the back of the chair, covered his mouth with his double fist. He closed his eyes, wishing that he had never used that crudity with her, wishing with all his might that he had smashed Neal Patchett’s complacent mug when he had the chance.

  “I didn’t doubt for an instant that he meant it.” Jade’s voice sounded hollow. Dillon knew she wasn’t there with him; she was back on that cold, rainy, February night.

  “I turned and ran, but Neal reached out and grabbed a handful of my hair. It hurt. I cried out, and tears came to my eyes. I raised my hands to try to work his hand out of my hair, but I couldn’t. While my arms were raised, he put his other arm around my waist and pushed me to the ground. It was cold and wet.” She grimaced. “It smelled bad—like dead fish.

  “Hutch shouted, ‘Neal, what the hell do you think you’re doing?’ And Neal replied, ‘Exactly what I told her we were going to do. Shut up and help me. Hold her arms.’

  “I was screaming and crying and saying no, no. I couldn’t see anyone except Neal. I struck at him until Hutch dropped down behind my head and got hold of my wrists. He pinned them to the ground above my head. Neal was bending over me, telling me to shut up. He slapped me several times.

  “Lamar said, ‘Jesus, Neal, have you gone nuts?’ Neal glanced over his shoulder and said, ‘Make yo
urself useful and stop acting like a pussy. We’re not going to hurt her.’ Lamar hung back. I couldn’t see him, but I heard him say, ‘She’s crying.’ Neal got really angry then. He said, ‘Do you want a piece of this or not? If not, get the fuck out of my sight.’

  “Neal had been lying on top of me. He pushed my thighs apart and dug one knee into the muscle on the inside of my thigh. I screamed. He slapped me again. I tried to kick. That’s when Lamar took hold of my ankles. I couldn’t move. I began pleading with them not to do it.

  “ ‘Shut her up,’ Neal said. ‘I can’t stand that whining, female bullshit.’ Hutch took both my wrists in one hand and covered my mouth with the other. I tilted my head back and tried to plead with Hutch for help with my eyes, but he wasn’t looking into my face. He was watching what Neal was doing.”

  Dillon didn’t move a muscle. He said nothing. For a moment, Jade fiddled with the buckle on her wristwatch. It was so quiet in the room, he could hear it ticking.

  “Neal ripped open my blouse. My bra fastened in the front. He unhooked it and laid it open. I remember… I remember being so embarrassed for being exposed that way. I squeezed my eyes shut. I bit my tongue until I tasted blood. He said, ‘Isn’t that a pretty sight? Jade Sperry’s tits.’ ”

  She hiccupped a dry sob. “I thought I would die. I wanted to die. The mortification of it… Neal, whom I hated…” She cupped her mouth with her hand as though she were about to be sick, but she continued, her speech muffled by her hand. “He put his hands on me. He squeezed and pinched and pulled at me. It was awful and painful and debasing. Then he leaned over and sucked hard on my left nipple. So hard it hurt.”

  Dillon shot from his chair. Palms out, he shoved his hands into the rear pockets of his worn jeans and prowled the room as though looking for an easy exit. The violence inside him was frightening in its intensity. He wanted to hit something, smash it, destroy it. Obviously, Jade didn’t notice his reaction. Her horrifying account continued.

  “Neal was laughing when he came up on his knees and unzipped his pants. He shoved them down and took his penis in his hand. He said, ‘Nice, isn’t it, Jade? Bet your cunt can’t wait.’ Apparently Hutch began to get worried. He said, ‘Neal, come on, you’ve had your fun. Let her go now.’ ‘Go?’ Neal said. ‘Hell, no, I’m just getting to the fun part.’