by Dena Blake
Joanne hesitated in the doorway, waiting until DJ released the chair and backed up.
“Go on. Everything’s fine.” Mark pushed out of his chair and moved it between them.
“My apologies, ma’am,” DJ said as she walked around the desk and planted herself on the edge of it.
Joanne reluctantly turned and closed the door behind her.
“You know, I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out just how Victoria Maxwell fits into this picture.” DJ fingered through the files on Mark’s desk. “The woman who claims to have a master’s degree in finance from the University of Southern California has an IQ of about eighty. She seems to be no more than an uneducated thug.” She dropped a file onto the desk. “I had to ask myself, what the hell was she doing in little old Kerrville, Texas? And why in the world would Charles Belmont deed all that property over to a woman like her?”
Mark sat down and crossed his arms. His eye twitched nervously as he waited for DJ to make her point.
“But then I started doing a little more checking into her background and found that Victoria isn’t really from California after all. She’s actually from a small town here in Texas by the name of Everly. Population about five thousand. Coincidentally, the same little town where you grew up. I can see you tried to cover Victoria’s lack of intelligence as best you could, but you knew someday, someone was bound to get wise.”
DJ wandered around the room biding her time, waiting for the moment when Mark had had enough. The man was a snake, and DJ was going to make him squirm until he admitted it.
She observed the framed diploma from Harvard hanging on the wall. “Graduating with honors at Harvard.” DJ’s voice rose. “Your parents must have been very proud.” She tapped the glass covering it with her finger.
“My mother was. My father died when I was nine.” Mark jumped out of his chair to straighten the frame.
“I bet not many classmates from your small farming community fared as well as you and Victoria.”
“Not many.” Mark’s voice was sharp and full of arrogance.
“It was probably quite a hardship on your mother to put you through college, then law school after that.” DJ already knew exactly how much Mark’s mother had spent on his education. She’d checked into Mrs. Hamilton’s financial records and found the farm mortgaged for every penny it was worth. Without financial help, she hadn’t had enough money to fund the kind of education Mark received.
“Actually, I paid for most of it myself.”
“By working for Charles Belmont, doing things most people can’t stomach.” DJ’s spine stiffened knowing that, without her own father’s presence in her life, it would have been easy for her to have fallen into the same circumstances.
Mark raked his fingers through his perfectly placed, jet-black hair. “You don’t know what it’s like to wonder where your next meal’s coming from, working the farm all day, wearing your brother’s worn-out clothes.” He paced the room. “Having your feet ache every night because his old boots are a size too small. Belmont offered me something I’d never had before.”
“What was that?”
“Freedom.” Mark rubbed his forehead nervously. “Freedom to have anything I want. Any time I want it.”
DJ could hear the determination in Mark’s voice, which only confirmed just how desperate the man was to succeed. She understood his want for material objects in life, but not his heated desire to leave his family and the farm.
“Was it worth taking someone else’s life?”
“I didn’t have anything to do with that.” Mark’s tone was firm and insistent. “I work the paper, Dani. I don’t kill people.”
“Victoria Maxwell does, and you brought her here.” DJ pointed a finger in Mark’s direction. “You’re involved, whether you like it or not.”
“You don’t know how evil that woman can be.”
“I know she killed Arizona Jackson, and she’s probably responsible for the Belmonts’ car accident too. Now that she’s tried to kill Virgil, my bet is you’re next,” DJ said coolly. “Now, if that’s not a problem, I’ll leave you to her.” DJ stood up and headed to the door. “What happens to you doesn’t matter to me.”
“Wait,” Mark said, prompting DJ to stop. “I didn’t know about Arizona until after it was done.” His hand shook as he rubbed his temple. “And I wasn’t about to give up everything I’ve worked for just because Victoria got greedy.” He sank into his chair. “This wasn’t the way it was supposed to happen. I was just expected to transfer a few titles. That was all. Nobody was meant to get hurt.” He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “But Victoria couldn’t settle for just the money. She wanted Kathryn.” He threw up his hands. “What is it about her? When it comes to class, her sister has her two times over.”
That’s where he was wrong. Rebecca had class, but Kat knew how to use it. With her face to the door, DJ grasped the knob without turning it. “What did Belmont have to say about that?”
“He wasn’t the kind of father I’d expected. I thought it was just about the money, but he didn’t care what happened to Kathryn. He told Victoria to do whatever she wanted with her.”
“And you just let it happen?” DJ gripped the doorknob.
“By that time, I didn’t have a choice.”
“Damn.” DJ slapped the door with an open palm and spun around. She’d hoped Belmont wasn’t as cold and heartless as Elizabeth had made him out to be, but the man had no conscience.
The door flew open, and two FBI agents came rushing through it. “Everything all right in here?”
“Yeah.” DJ shrugged. “He’s all yours.” She pulled the wire from her shirt and handed it to one of the agents before she turned to look at Mark. “I suggest you start talking, or I can guarantee you’ll either be dead or in prison for the rest of your life.”
The agents waited calmly as he stood up and put on his suit jacket.
Mark’s lips curved into a grin. “Like I told you before, you’re not the only cowgirl Kathryn’s charmed.” His cold, gray eyes squinted as he threw one last jab at her. “She probably would’ve been dead too, if Victoria hadn’t taken such a fancy to her.”
As DJ left Mark’s office, the thought of telling Kat the truth about Arizona’s death had her stomach threatening to spill. Telling her that it was a well-thought-out plan of her father’s to gain control of her ranch wasn’t going to be easy. The fact that Victoria had also done it because she’d thought Kat came along with the deal would only make her feel more responsible and compound her grief.
* * *
Kat heard the light knock on the door before she looked up to see DJ coming into the office. The sight of her brought an instinctive smile to Kat’s lips, and it took her a moment to force it away. She and Rebecca both sprang up from the couch and headed in different directions—Rebecca to the door and Kat to the other side of the office.
“I thought I might find you here,” DJ said.
“Jenny,” Rebecca shouted.
She met her in the doorway. “Yes, Miss Belmont?”
“Would you bring Dani a cup of coffee, please?” Rebecca watched DJ following Kat across the room.
“Sure thing,” Jenny said, already turning to the hallway.
“I missed you this morning,” DJ said softly, dropping her briefcase on the edge of the desk.
“I had a few things to take care of.”
“You went by the hospital?”
“Uh-huh.” Kat crossed her arms. This was it. She had to do it now. Even though her heart was breaking inside, she had to do it. She had to make DJ believe she didn’t love her.
“Is everything all right?” DJ’s gaze locked with hers.
“As well as can be expected.” Kat purposely kept her response cold and cynical.
“Your note…” DJ searched her face. “I don’t understand.”
“What’s not to understand?” Kat darted her glance away quickly, afraid they might give DJ a hint of the pain she w
as feeling. Writing that note hadn’t been easy, and this was going to be even harder.
“It’ll never be just a memory.” DJ lifted Kat’s chin to meet her gaze, and her pained expression tore through her. “Last night was the beginning of something, Kat.”
Kat shook her head and let out the breath she had trapped inside her chest. Her stomach churned, and tears threatened to gush out. “DJ, you’re making more of it than it was.” Staring into DJ’s dark, wounded eyes, Kat forced the words out. “I just needed to be with someone.” She looked away. “Anyone.”
DJ grabbed Kat’s shoulders. “Damn it, Kat. It was more than that.”
Yes, it was. Kat fought to keep her composure. It was much more, but no way could she let DJ know how she felt. She had to break it off now, before it went any further. She saw no point in wanting something she couldn’t have and loving someone she couldn’t trust.
She tried to break free, but DJ kept a firm grip. The anguish in her eyes stabbed at Kat’s heart. Her knees began to buckle beneath her, along with her resolve. This was absolute agony. Kat hadn’t thought she could possibly hurt any more than she already did.
“What’s up, Dani?” Rebecca came across the room and flopped down into the chair behind her desk.
DJ choked out a cough. “We’ll continue this later.” After letting her hands drag down Kat’s arms slowly, DJ went to the desk, opened her briefcase, and turned her attention to Rebecca. “I did some digging the other day, and I came across some information on Kat’s neighbor, Victoria Maxwell.”
“What kind of information?” Kat asked, her voice gravelly.
“It looks as though you were right about the land originally belonging to your grandfather.”
“I knew it.” Kat stared into the briefcase, wondering what was new in the folder bearing her name across the top. “How did you find out?”
“I have a few friends at the courthouse. I convinced one of them to give me access to the vault.”
“The vault?” Kat glanced up at her and then quickly back to the folders. She couldn’t bring herself to look into the eyes of the woman whose heart she’d just shattered.
“That’s where they keep the archives.” DJ took a handful of manila file folders from her briefcase. “A friend of mine let me borrow a few documents,” she said, laying them on the desk. “I also checked some of the financial records at the ranch.” She pulled an additional file out. “It looks as though the Jumpin’ J had done rather well the year before Arizona died.”
“I’m aware of that,” she said impatiently, aggravated that DJ had been able to gather so much information on her.
“From what I could find, it looks as though Arizona was checking into buying the land abutting yours just to the north.”
“Victoria’s land?”
“Yep.”
“I wonder why Arizona didn’t tell me?”
“I think she may have wanted to surprise you. For your anniversary, perhaps.”
Kat closed her eyes. “That September, we would’ve been married five years.”
“And that’s not the end of it. Apparently, before Maxwell ended up with it, your grandfather had left the land to Rebecca in his will.”
“Wait a minute.” Rebecca hopped out of her chair. “Grandfather didn’t leave me any land.”
DJ took the map out of the file and unfolded it. “Yes, he did. You were supposed to receive it when you turned twenty-one. Just as Kat received the land where she built the Jumpin’ J.”
Rebecca leaned across the desk to look at the map. “What’s this?”
“A geological surveyor’s map,” Kat said, looking at it carefully. “But it looks different than the one I have.”
“It is different. You see these green blotches running throughout the land?” DJ pressed her finger to the map, circling the area.
“Uh-huh.” Kat nodded and Rebecca stared at it, looking confused. “Those are geological markings,” she said as she gave DJ a strange look. “Oil?”
“Yep. Your land is filled with it.”
“That’s why Victoria wants it so badly.” Kat’s mind filled with a flurry of still-unanswered questions. “But she already had Rebecca’s land. It must be worth millions. Why does she want mine too?”
“That’s the kicker. You see, it wasn’t really her land. It may have been in Victoria’s name, but she was just a front for your father. Somehow, Charles had Mark convince Rebecca to sign the land over to Victoria.”
“I never signed any land over to Victoria Maxwell.” Rebecca spun the map around to look at it, then flipped it around to DJ. “Mark would never do anything like that without telling me.”
“Are you sure about that?” DJ tossed a small stack of papers onto the desk in front of her. “That’s your signature on those documents, isn’t it?”
Rebecca’s eyes widened as she thumbed through them. “I never signed these.”
“That’s what I was trying to tell you when I came to see you the other night.”
Rebecca sank into her chair. “I can’t believe he did this.”
“Their plan was coming along smoothly until Victoria got greedy. My guess is, when she saw you, Kat, she wanted to be rich and married.” DJ looked at Kat with soft, warm eyes and it occurred to her that the thought had crossed her mind as well.
“But I…I was already married,” Kat stuttered as she pressed her fingertips to her forehead. The confusion filling her mind was overwhelming. She sucked in a deep breath and tried to ignore the staggering urge to bolt from the room.
DJ rubbed the back of her neck. “There’s no easy way for me to say this, Kat. I don’t believe Arizona’s death was an accident.”
“What?” Kat snapped her gaze to DJ, who gave her a stare completely void of emotion.
“From what you’ve told me, Arizona was an expert horseman. It’s unlikely any horse could have thrown her.” DJ hesitated. “Arizona must have found out that your father had deeded the land to Victoria without Rebecca’s consent. I’m afraid she may have paid for that knowledge with her life.”
Kat’s stomach lodged in her throat as the vivid memory of Arizona’s death rushed back as though it had happened only yesterday. “Victoria was there.” She stared at DJ. “When I found Arizona…” Her hand shook as she brushed her fingers across her lips. “She even called the ambulance.” She reached for the edge of the desk to steady herself. “Why would Victoria do that if she wanted Arizona dead?”
DJ slid off the desk to hold her. “She wanted you, Kat.”
Kat stared blankly as the revelation hit her. “She almost had me.” She curled into DJ, her face pressed hard against the strength of her shoulder. A sudden chill ran down her spine, and she pushed away. “Until she tried to take over the ranch.” Kat paced across the room, ignoring any further attempts DJ made to comfort her. She had to be strong. She couldn’t let herself depend on anyone else.
DJ sat on the edge of the desk. “Yesterday, Victoria told Virgil that she and her boys ambushed Arizona on the trail that day.”
Kat sank onto the couch. “It would’ve never happened if I’d been with her.”
Rebecca sat on the couch next to Kat and put her arm around her. “You don’t know that, Kat.”
“She’s right, Kat. When it comes right down to it, the whole thing is about money,” DJ said, watching her closely. “The thought of having you may have been a perk for Victoria. But if you’d been with Arizona that day, they might have very well killed you too.”
Rebecca opened her eyes widely. “You’re telling me Mark knew all about this?”
“I don’t think he was actually involved in Arizona’s death, but I do think he went along with it after the fact. I’m sure both Victoria and Charles promised to compensate him very well.”
“And then my father died.” Rebecca still seemed uncertain, mulling everything over.
“Mark was suddenly left out in the cold. All the land was in Victoria’s name, and Mark didn’t have any leverage.”
“Uh-huh. Everything Mark did was illegal. Victoria knew if Mark exposed her, he’d be implicating himself too. So for the past month he’s been working his tail off, trying to cover his tracks.”
Rebecca launched off the couch. “All the while continuing to seduce me, so he could still be in the money. I should’ve known he had a reason for being so secretive. He had his own agenda from the start.”
Kat sprang up after her. “And my father, or the man I thought was my father, engineered the whole thing.”
Rebecca spun around to Kat. “What do you mean, the man you thought was your father?”
Kat let out a heavy breath and looked over at DJ, silently imploring her to explain. Kat was still having trouble with her newfound heritage.
DJ seemed to know what Kat was thinking and took the lead. “Elizabeth had an affair. We found out yesterday that Virgil is Kat’s biological father.”
“What the fuck? Who told you that?”
“Mother told me while Virgil was in the hospital.”
“Oh my God, Kat.” The words whooshed out softly as Rebecca hauled her into a tight embrace.
“I know. I’m still trying to absorb it.” Kat knew she should tell Rebecca the whole truth, but she just couldn’t bring herself to put her through the same pain she was feeling.
DJ gathered up the documents. “Your Grandfather Montgomery must have known Charles wasn’t your father. He made sure the two of you would never have to do without.” She slid the files into her briefcase and snapped it shut. “Charles probably didn’t know about the oil until after your grandfather died. I’m sure he must have found a copy of the map among Montgomery’s papers.” A sly smile crept across her face.
“What?” Kat snapped, noticing her grin.
“It must have irritated Charles no end that Montgomery didn’t leave it to Elizabeth.” DJ latched her briefcase and stood quietly, giving them a few moments to absorb all the information she’d just delivered.