She supposed the fact that Stone’s focus revolved around his property and not her should ease her mind, but it didn’t. It hurt.
Emma stumbled after Seth, refusing to look back, fighting against the urge to cling to Stone and never let go. How simple it’d been to forget that River Run wasn’t hers.
It was his.
As the first floor shot flames and coughed forth piles of smoke, its destruction and potential danger to Stone tugged at her, striking deep wounds. But it shouldn’t have.
Climbing into Seth’s truck, Emma stared blankly out the window, ignoring the excited and concerned chatter of Alexa and her brother. As the soft glow of River Run faded into the horizon, a part of her heart, the one that’d only recently come alive, dimmed and sank beneath a crust of anger.
***
Stone watched the last of the rescue brigade drive slowly down the gravel road. His shoulders slumped beneath a mountain of concerns and thoughts, he trudged to the front porch. Sitting down next to Lazarus, he gratefully accepted the proffered brandy snifter.
“Rescued these from the rubble,” Rex said.
“Good thing.” He took a swift gulp of the heady liquor, luxuriating in the slight burn that trailed down his throat and warmed his chest.
“What did the fire chief say?”
“Most of the damage is to the lower level. It looks structurally sound but an engineer will need to verify it. The sauna was the source of the explosion…some kind of rigged bomb.” He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I can’t remember all the details but the guy the police rounded up has a lot to own up for.”
“Adam’s lacky?”
“Probably, but it’ll be hard to prove.” Stone swigged the rest of his brandy and looked at Rex. “We need to move up the operation. Obviously, Seamus Adams wants Emma gone. I’d really hoped to avoid this. I can’t believe he’s willing to risk exposure in order to silence her. There’s got to be more to this than what we’re seeing,” Stone said.
Lazarus refilled Stone’s glass, topping his own off as well. “Emma is the only witness left who saw the true Seamus Adams. The murderer and gangster before the polished politician surfaced. If she went to Ireland and testified, his entire career would be finished, he’d be destroyed.”
Stone shook his head slowly. “There’s more, I just know it. Something doesn’t feel right. Why now? Why find her now?”
“She slipped up.”
“How? Emma’s been hiding here, she rarely goes to town. Before our intervention, the woman had no form of identification whatsoever.”
“Clover?” Rex said, with a shrug of his shoulders.
“No way.” Stone shook his head and frowned. “I went through all the paper work, and they’d done a damn good job of covering their tracks.”
Stone didn’t like the way Rex stared at him. The man appeared to be waiting for something to click, something to make sense.
“How do you think Clover knew how to cover its tracks?” Rex asked.
“Easy, any two-bit lawyer could…” He stopped when Rex shook his head. Stone thought back to the corporate documents and Clover’s overseas operations. It’d taken him hours of investigation and a good dozen favors to link the company with Ireland. “What aren’t you saying here, Lazarus?”
“It ties back to Emma. All reports indicate Adams clearly thought she’d been killed when trying to escape the country after her father was pronounced dead.”
“And?”
“Nate Connor executed a clean set-up and retrieval.”
Stone quirked a brow and glanced sideways at Rex. “My father smuggled her out of the country?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Don’t you know the relationship?”
Stone sat back, uncertain whether he wanted to hear this or not. It wouldn’t change his opinion of his father, but it might assist in the rescue of Hugh Gallagher. “No, I’m blind here, so why not flick on the flashlight and enlighten me?”
Rex stared at him for a moment, scratched his chin and shrugged. “Hugh Gallagher contracted your father, via Central Intelligence, to assist in unearthing an illegal arms purchase between a rogue US group and the IRA.”
“What? Nate’s nothing more than a used up, ex-alcoholic gambler.”
Rex shook his head and the steely gaze in the man’s eyes caused an uncomfortable knot in the pit of Stone’s stomach. “What am I missing?”
“Your father’s CIA.”
A derisive snort escaped Stone’s nose, and he shook his head in denial. “You’re way off base. CIA? Nate Connor can’t even hold a job at the local lumber yard let alone work for the government.”
“You think you’re the only Connor with excellent instincts, impeccable firearm ability and the need to protect our country? No way.” Rex shook his head. “You are your father’s son.”
Stone stilled. Questions flew through his mind. If this were true, that his father worked for the CIA, then it certainly explained Clover’s ability to remain cloaked. Another thought struck him, which sent a cold chill of fear crackling through his system. If Seamus Adams’ discovered Clover, followed its trail here, came to River Run to investigate, continued to hold Hugh Gallagher hostage, then there’d be no stopping his conviction to eliminate Emma.
“Okay, say I believe you. What happened with this arms deal?”
“Nate and Hugh went deep undercover. They formed a tight friendship that extended beyond their current assignment. When the mission was finished, Nate visited Hugh in Ireland, helped eliminate several deadly factions of a growing IRA. He’s known Emma since the day she was born.”
“How could I miss all this? It’s too much to understand. You’re telling me that my father was some kind of saint to this Irish family then returned home and beat the crap out of me and broke my mother’s heart. Not to mention….” Stone stood up and held his hand out to block Rex’s response. “No. I’m not even going to think of that.” He glared at Rex and pointed an angry finger in his direction. “Why wait until now to tell me all this?”
“You weren’t ready.”
“Not ready?” Stone ran his fingers through the tangled mess of hair that topped his head. “I’m still not ready. I’ll never be ready. My father was no hero. He’s a drunk, a gambler, and a murderer.”
“True on all accounts except the last one.”
Stone dismissed Rex’s comment with a shake of his head and a smirk. “This is crazy.”
“Yeah, it really is. Hard to believe that one little debt could culminate in such a huge coincidental mess.”
“What debt?”
“Hugh Gallagher saved your life. Nate owed him.”
Stone stood, frozen in place. He barely felt the icy sting of the snow that whipped around his head, nor the bitter breeze that drove it in perpendicular fashion straight into his eyes.
“You’ve got your facts wrong. Again. I don’t know any Hugh Gallagher, and I know for certain my father wouldn’t care whether or not I lived or died.”
“No? Well how do you explain the long arm of Seamus Adams? How do you explain Emma’s presence here?”
He thought about his father. Nate Connor wasn’t a man to take on trouble, in any form. Something must’ve forced his hand, pushed him to raise a parentless teenage girl, but it certainly wasn’t any debt regarding Stone. The memory of facing down a steel barrel convinced him of this.
“I can’t explain anything.”
“Stone, listen to me. It’s really all black and white. Adams isn’t thinking clearly. He’s shipped off Gallagher because you came too close in your investigation of Clover’s activities. He thinks he’s one up. Feeling cocky, he gives the command to eliminate Emma. And here we stand, in front of a smoky ruined resort. What do you propose to do?”
Stone looked straight into the challenging gaze of Rex Lazarus. “Move up the operation.”
A tight smile played across Rex’s face and Stone answered it with one of his own. “I’ll see what I can do,” th
e smaller man said.
“Let’s go inside.”
“What? In there? Is it safe?”
Stone chuckled. “Yeah. We can sleep in Emma’s quarters. They don’t seem to have been affected by the fire.”
Rex eyed the resort nervously but followed Stone anyway. “If you say so.”
The two men walked through the smoke ravaged rooms. Water stained the walls, floor, and most of the furniture. One glance into his room confirmed that although it was relatively free of damage, the acrid scent permeated the suite, choking the lungs. He closed the door and continued back through the house.
Sliding the partition away that separated Emma’s quarters from the main house, he inhaled the fresh air and quickly hustled Rex through before the stagnating smoke filtered into these small rooms.
“This is where Emma lives?” Rex asked, obviously amazed at the postage sized rooms.
“Yeah, when she’s not in my rooms. But that only happens when I’m a jerk.”
“Which would be always then?”
Stone glared at Rex, causing the other man to bellow with laughter.
“We’re doing okay, considering,” Stone responded.
“I never thought I’d see the day the great Stone Connor crumbled beneath the power of a woman.”
“For that comment,” Stone opened the office door. “You get to sleep in here.”
Rex eyed the room and shook his head. “Where’s the bed?”
Grinning from ear to ear, Stone shut the door and entered Emma’s bedroom. He called back over his shoulder, loud enough for Rex to hear. “There isn’t one.” Laughter bubbled up at the muted curses answering him.
Sitting on the edge of her bed, he ran a tired hand over his face. It felt as if he’d been tossing all the losing dice, not making any advancement in this cruel game he and Seamus Adams were playing. Inhaling sharply, a sweet jasmine scent tickled his nose, making him ache for Emma.
He couldn’t sort out how he felt about his father being CIA. He knew it didn’t change his hatred or his burning desire for revenge. Stone managed to avoid that rather successfully. Revenge didn’t solve any problems. A sudden vision of his men’s faces crossed his mind. This time, they weren’t writhing on the ground in pain, but were laughing as he solidly beat each and every one of them in their ritual one-on-one pre-mission basketball game.
He smiled at the memory and suddenly flashes of better times struck his mind in rapid fire. Stone reached back, caressing Emma’s pillow, feeling her presence in every corner of the room. Even without her touch, she healed.
Lying down, he rested his head upon her bed and closed his eyes against the tears that burned. He pushed a fist against his heart, pressing hard on the pain.
He missed his men.
***
Stone stretched then rubbed his face trying to come to a level of consciousness that allowed thought process. Sun streamed through the window, wiping away the remnants of last night’s storm. He sat up and squinted against the bright glare of light on pristine snow. Muted banging could be heard in the background.
Realizing he still wore his smoke streaked pants and shirt, Stone stripped, grabbed Emma’s robe from the closet and wrapped it around his waist. He stepped into the hall and stopped short as a startled Rex exited the office.
Glaring at the shorter man, Stone silently challenged him to comment on the pink silk fabric. Rex successfully suppressed his grin, at least enough so that Stone didn’t feel the need to send a fist into his gut.
“Um, when you’re done doing whatever it is you were about to do, can I have a few moments of your time?” Lazarus asked, his shoulders shaking slightly.
“If you laugh, it will be the last thing that comes out of your mouth today. While I take a shower, why not make yourself useful and scrounge up some coffee?”
Rex nodded and hurried out the door into the resort’s kitchen. Stone ignored the snort and muffled laughter that filtered back through the partition. Before entering the bathroom, he veered off into the adjacent laundry area and rescued a pair of jeans and flannel shirt from the dryer.
Ten minutes later, refreshed and ready to sit down with Rex, Stone emerged into the kitchen. He stopped in surprise as a dozen men traipsed through the upstairs carrying tool boxes, buckets of chemicals and cleaning supplies, and bags of other paraphernalia he didn’t recognize.
“What’s going on?”
“Apparently, Emma called in the troops. A structural engineer is currently poking and prodding the foundation and these people are from a specialized fire damage control unit.” Rex handed him a cup of coffee and signaled that he should take a seat at one of the kitchen tables.
“Where’s Emma?”
Rex shrugged. He handed Stone a stack of papers and pointed to their contents. “You need to sign these.”
“What are they?”
“They’re acknowledgment of your mission and approval to ship a new unit here for training.”
“Here?” Stone gulped down several swigs of the black liquid steaming in his mug. “No way. That’ll never do.”
“What do you suggest?”
“I’ll meet up with everyone at the normal training center.”
“You can’t.”
“Why not?”
“You’ll lose River Run.”
Stone sat back in his chair. He didn’t really care about the estate, but he’d already imparted his feelings to Rex regarding the title transfer to Nate. Unacceptable.
“What’d the lawyer say?”
“If you remain here through the first week of March, he’ll allow you a two week absence to take care of business, but you must return before the first day of Spring.”
“Two weeks?”
Rex nodded. “Apparently, he’s able to bend the rules enough for that trip as long as you spend the majority of this season here at the resort.”
Stone sighed. How was he ever going to explain this to Emma?
“When will my unit arrive?”
“After the first of the year.”
“Mission date?”
“March 7.”
“No sooner?”
“Do you want this resort?” Rex narrowed a look at him, causing Stone to think every aspect through.
“No,” he said. “But I’m not giving it to Nate.”
“Hugh will survive another two months but will you?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Rex leaned close. “It means you’re too emotionally involved. Can you train here with the distraction of pretty Miss O’Malley?”
“Yes.” Stone pushed away from the table, paused then bent and scribbled his name on the documents scattered across the polished wood. “Bring it on.”
The front door flung open and Seth Connor stepped through. Stomping snow from his boots, he pulled off his sheepskin gloves and shrugged out of a heavy denim jacket.
“Mornin’ folks. I see everyone’s here just as Emma indicated.”
“Where is she?” Stone asked, looking behind his cousin’s back and expecting to find a face his heart ached to see.
“Didn’t she call?”
“Call? No. I thought she was with you.”
Seth looked at his feet and shuffled uncomfortably from foot to foot.
“Where is she Seth? Didn’t you take her home last night?”
Worry and concern stabbed at Stone’s gut.
“Not exactly.”
“Tell me where Emma is?”
Seth looked up then cast his eyes quickly down. “She wouldn’t come back to the ranch.”
“Where’d you take her?” Stone became increasingly angry when Seth wouldn’t look at him. He grabbed the man’s shoulder and shook it.
“Tell me.”
Seth tossed a desperate glance in his direction, broke free and headed into the living room. He paused, ran a hand through his hair and sighed like the entire world hung on his shoulders.
“She’s at your father’s.”
Chapter Th
irteen
Emma watched the approach of the black Jeep. Her heart hammered in tempo to the vehicle’s headlong push along the bumpy, dirt road.
“What’re you doin’?”
She turned and looked at Nate, a soft smile creeping upon her face. He’d made breakfast and now busily scrubbed the burnt remnants of scrambled eggs and hash browns from his cast-iron skillet. He looked up at her with brows raised.
“Stone’s driving up.”
“How close?”
“He’s almost here.” She turned back to the window. The Jeep maneuvered around a particularly slick turn and plowed forward, refusing to give an ounce of speed to the deep snowy trenches.
“You’d better get your stuff together.”
Emma moved away from the paned glass and shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Yes you are.” He slammed the skillet on the countertop and walked around the kitchen island. “I don’t want trouble with my son. Get your stuff together.”
“I…” She couldn’t finish her sentence. Nate’s words stung. She felt lost. Narrowing her eyes, Emma nodded. “Fine. I’m sorry to have caused you any discomfort.” She spun around and gathered the smoky ruins of her evening gown. “I’ll change and leave these sweats in the bathroom.”
“Emma…” Nate’s voice trailed after her, but she slammed the door shut, silencing his protests. She couldn’t believe Nate was kicking her out. If anything, she thought he’d be happy to shelter her from Stone.
Hearing the Jeep door close with a bang, Emma folded Nate’s sweats in a neat pile and straightened the tattered velvet that hung haphazardly off her shoulders. She stalked out of the bathroom, slipped on her high heels, cast one last glance at Nate and walked out the door into the bitterly cold morning.
Stone stood in front of the vehicle, his arms crossed over his chest and thunderbolts of anger crashing from his eyes.
“Are you ready to go home?” His voice was calm, but Emma didn’t miss the tightly controlled fury that laced his words.
“Yes.” She walked past him and jumped into the passenger seat of the Jeep. Shutting the door securely behind her, he walked behind the vehicle, climbing in next to her. His eyes never once strayed to the figure on the front porch of the cabin.
The Fifth Season Page 15