“And how’s that?”
She shrugged, feigning calmness. “I’m guessing you were the one behind the pictures?” She went on, without waiting for his reply, “And…I’m guessing for whatever reason, you didn’t want my report to go through. I’m also guessing the reason for that would be that you’ve made a side deal with someone who doesn’t want the ranch cleared?”
She saw his face blanch.
“I’d say you’re guessing way the hell too much,” he said, eyes narrowing.
“Now, now… The report still hasn’t been sent in. Think how much more effective…and immediate…it would be, if my report went in…doctored, of course.”
“I’m listening,” he said.
Playing it solely by ear, she went on, laughing lightly. “Appears to me you’re going about this the hard way. Sure, you tell them my evidence was inconclusive, get my investigation thrown out, but that still leaves the problem of another investigator coming in. I have a feeling that after this the USDA will send in one of their own.”
When he nodded his head, she went on. “But, like I said, if the report is sent in…altered, there would be no need for the USDA to continue with the investigation. And even if the Wildes protested the report, the damage would be done. They would be shut down and forced to sell.”
He grabbed her hand, closing his fist around it so tightly for a moment that she turned pale. When he saw the reaction she couldn’t hide, the ends of his lips curled up, the smile he gave her cruel.
“I never was one for playing games, Ellie.” The warning in his voice made it clear what would happen if she were toying with him.
“Neither am I,” she said, holding his gaze.
“So, what’s in this for you?”
“I bet we can come up with an agreement that will make us both…happy,” she said, allowing her lids to drop.
Ellie held her breath, her glance stealing to the gun he still held in his hand, waiting for him to lower his guard, for just one minute…that’s all she’d need.
She didn’t think for a minute she still had a chance in hell that he’d just let her go after what she knew. But if he lowered his guard, and the gun, for just one minute, that’s all the time she’d need.
He placed a finger beneath her chin, jerking her face up to meet his. Slowly he lowered his mouth to meet hers, and Ellie bit back the nausea that bubbled in her stomach. Right before his lips met hers, she reared back her knee, and with as much force as she could, rapped him in the groin.
With a curse he dropped the gun, grabbing his groin, and fell to his knee. Quickly scrambling away from him she spun around, searching for the gun. Knowing she had only a few precious moments, she lunged for the weapon. As she did so, she twisted her knee, the painful tear she heard nearly making her black out.
She pushed away the pain and, scrambling to her feet, crawled the short distance to reach the gun.
As her hands curled around it, she cried out in pain when Clarence landed on her hard, and together they rolled along the floor. With gritted teeth, Ellie held on to the gun, knowing her life was on the line.
For long moments nothing was heard in the room but their panting breath, as Ellie fought hard to maintain her hold on the weapon.
Her head snapped back and a cry fell from her lips when he reared his hand back and slapped her hard across the face, snatching the gun from her.
Tears fell from her eyes when he grabbed her and hauled her to her feet. The tears that ran down her face weren’t from the pain, but an overwhelming sense of failure.
“Let’s go,” he panted, forcing her close to his side, turning to leave the office.
Shilah killed the lights on his truck, allowing the engine to idle as he glanced down at the slip of paper on the passenger seat. He’d been given the address of the building, the headquarters of the company Ellie worked for, by her father less than three hours ago. Driving like the proverbial bat out of hell, adrenaline racing through his veins, he’d made the three-hour drive in less than two.
With relief he saw Ellie’s small Toyota in the isolated parking lot, he breathed a sigh of relief, drumming his hands impatiently against the steering wheel, deciding what his next move should be.
The day Ellie had shown him the damning photographs, he’d gone to his brothers. Although he hadn’t shown them the photos, he’d told them what had transpired between them and grimly the brothers had spent the morning going over their next course of action in response to the blackmail.
A blackmail he and his brothers all agreed wasn’t aimed at destroying Ellie, but the ranch. Mentally wrestling with the accusations she’d thrown at him, Shilah still hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind or heart, as over the course of the next two days he and his brothers had questioned each of the men who worked for them. But none had shown any hint of deceit.
That morning two things had happened that led to his sitting in a truck, outside Jasper and Brant, deciding his next move.
Lilly had come to him and spoken of her concern about Anna, the new kitchen help she’d hired. Not in the mood to deal with domestic issues, he’d impatiently waved the concern to the side when Lilly told him she believed Anna was somehow involved.
Shilah, along with his brothers and Lilly, had gone to the girl’s room and found her there, packing her bags, fear in her eyes.
They hadn’t even had to ask to know she was guilty. Before they could speak, she’d taken one look at each of the big men crowding inside the small room before she’d broken down crying, admitting what she’d done.
With tears streaming down her face, she’d outlined her involvement in the scheme to discredit the ranch. A man who’d claimed to work for the USDA had approached her in town with an offer she hadn’t been able to refuse.
The only thing she had to do was follow Ellie and report back to him anything she learned as she went about her investigation. When she’d seen Ellie and Shilah together, she’d told the man and he’d ordered her to follow them take pictures of them together. When she’d shared with him the pictures she’d then been told to place them under Shilah’s door. And that was all she’d had to do.
Anna had cried as she’d finished admitting her guilt, saying she’d only done it because she needed the money for the baby she was carrying, that the father of her child had left her and she desperately needed the money.
Shilah had felt no sympathy for the woman, only a boiling rage at what she’d done.
He’d rushed to Ellie’s parents’ home to find Ellie and tell her what had happened. Once there, her father had met him at the door and refused to allow Shilah inside. He’d swallowed his pride and pleaded with her father. The elder Dr. Crandall’s face had softened lightly, and with a sigh he’d told Shilah he had 2.2 minutes to tell what he could possibly say to allow him into his home.
Shilah had accomplished the task in half the time, humbly telling Ellie’s father that he loved her.
Reluctantly her father had allowed him in. There he’d told Shilah that Ellie had driven to Cheyenne earlier that morning to talk to her supervisor. Shilah had stopped him, asking the name of her supervisor.
When he told him, Shilah’s heart had all but stopped, recalling the name Anna had mentioned when Nate had asked her the name of the man who’d approached her. Clarence MacArthur.
Shilah had spun around and run toward his truck, his tires leaving long skid marks in the street as he hastily flipped around and pushed his foot full down on the accelerator, rushing toward the highway and Ellie.
With shaky fingers he’d called the ranch and told Lilly what he’d learned, telling his brothers to meet him in Cheyenne. After getting off the phone with Lilly, he’d called Dr. Crandall, asking for the address.
Now, he cut the engine on the truck, pulling the keys from the ignition. As he opened his door, he jumped out, racing toward the entry. He had just reached the revolving door when a sound caught his attention and he turned, frowning.
Coming from the side entrance h
e saw two figures, one tall, thin, the other smaller, walking closely together. He would have kept walking had he not looked closer. The woman stumbled, and the man grabbed her by the arm, dragging her to her feet. Before Shilah could make a move, he saw the woman’s foot sweep out in a arch, catching the man off guard, bringing him to his knees. At the last moment, before the man went down, he grabbed her by the waist, bringing her down with him.
A sick feeling nearly doubled Shilah over as realization hit who the couple were.
At the same time the couple rolled on the ground together, and the overhead beaming halogen light shone against the shiny chrome-plated handle of a .35.
His heart felt like it exploded from his chest as he took off at a run toward the couple, yelling Ellie’s name.
His world came to a stumbling halt when, as if in slow motion he saw her lift her head toward the sound of his voice, and immediately the rat-a-tat sound of bullets rent the air.
Chapter 27
Ellie groaned and lifted her hand to her head, feeling as though a thousand little men were in her head beating a thousand little drums. She inhaled a whooshing breath, when her small movement escalated their evil beat until it felt as though her personal band had doubled their size.
When she tried to rise, the throbbing ache in her head rushed through her body, down to her knee, and she hissed in pain.
She opened her eyes, squinting against the bright light, and glanced around her. God, where was she?
She glanced down at herself and saw that a thin white cotton sheet covered her body as she lay on a narrow bed. Frowning, her eyes traveled around the room, her frown deepening as she took in the sterile white walls. Her glance landed on the stand next to her, where she saw an IV slowly dripping, the long thin tubes attached to her right arm.
She closed her eyes and again tried to rise, before dizziness swamped her, fleeting memories floating in and out of her mind.
“Ellie, baby, don’t move, please, baby!”
She pried her eyes open at the sound of Shilah’s voice and watched him stride toward her.
“Shilah?” she croaked out, as soon as he knelt down beside her. “Where am I?”
“I’m here, baby. I just stepped out for a minute to call your folks and tell them you’re okay,” he whispered, running a trembling hand over her hair.
“But where am I?” she asked, panic setting in when she couldn’t remember where she was or why.
“Just lay back, baby, please. I’ll explain.”
She licked dry lips and nodded her head. She watched as he dragged a chair from a nearby wall, and stationing it close to her, sat down.
“You’re at the medical center. You were shot,” he said, taking her hand in his. “But, you’re okay, baby…. Everything is going to be okay.”
Ellie smiled weakly. “Seems we’ve done this before, huh?” she asked.
She felt his hand that was in her hair pause before he continued to stroke her head.
“Yeah, and just like before, it’s my fault.”
“Your fault?” she asked, as memories of what had happened filled her mind. “You didn’t do any—”
He brought her hand to his lips. As she turned her head slightly, she saw a tortured look cross his handsome face.
“If I hadn’t called your name when I did, you wouldn’t have gotten shot,” he stated, his face ravaged.
“Shilah,” she whispered, the look on his face breaking her heart. “No, it wasn’t your fault,” she said, frowning as memories flashed in and out of her mind.
Taking her hand in his, his words halting, he filled her in on what had happened. After hearing the gunshots, he’d run and tackled Clarence, dragging him away from Ellie.
Shilah told her his brothers had been right behind him. Seeing what was going down, they had called the police the minute their feet hit the cement, running toward Shilah and Ellie.
Although only vaguely, she remembered Shilah holding her, tears streaming down his face as he cradled her in his arms, waiting for the ambulance and police to arrive. Nate and Holt had held an unconscious Clarence between the two of them.
As he spoke memories flooded her mind; Clarence’s duplicity, their confrontation, Shilah running toward her, crying out her name.
“I’m so sorry, baby. Sorry you got shot, sorry I distracted you and you got shot…God, I’m so sorry,” he said, his voice choked with emotion.
“I should be the one begging your forgiveness,” she said, shaking her head, thinking of the cruel accusations she had hurled at him, accusations that had led to her going to Cheyenne.
“No, baby. I understand. You had every right to think what you did. And you were right, it was someone at the ranch,” he said, and told her of Anna’s involvement.
“So…what happens now?” Ellie asked, her voice hoarse.
“With what we know from Anna, the police will be brought in, along with the USDA.”
Hearing that, Ellie bit the bottom of her lip, wondering what that meant for her, once the pictures were released.
He leaned down and kissed the frown away.
“No fears about your reputation, baby. With the information we have, they’ll do a full investigation of Clarence, along with Rolling Hills. He’ll be charged with blackmail and attempted fraud,” he paused, a disgusted look crossing his handsome face. “Unfortunately, more than likely Rolling Hills will lay it all on the exec who was MacArthur’s contact, make him the scapegoat and MacArthur will and get off. But at least the message will be sent to the bastards not to mess with the Wildes,” he finished, a hard edge firming his jaw.
Shilah glanced down at her, his look softening. “Don’t worry about any of that, right now, baby. None of that matters as much as you,” he said, his voice breaking.
It dawned on Ellie just then how much he loved her.
“Remember when I told you I left home, because I got tired of people feeling sorry for me?”
“Yes, baby, I do…but please, don’t talk. You’ve been through a lot, we can talk later,” he said.
She shook her head and took a shallow breath. “No, let me get this out while I can,” she said. “That wasn’t it. I was running. Not from the looks of pity, or my parents’ overbearing—loving, but overbearing—ways. It was because—” She stopped and closed her eyes.
“Are you in pain?” She felt him touch her hand. “Let me get the nurse, baby—”
“No,” she opened her eyes, seeking his. “I—I’m fine.” She took another breath and said in a rush, “I was running from you. From what I knew was there between us. I was scared, scared that how I felt about you…that you didn’t feel the same way. I—I knew I couldn’t hold it in anymore, the way I felt about you. And, I—I was afraid you would reject me,” she said in one long rush.
“Baby—” His voice broke and Ellie saw his dark eyes shimmer with tears, and one lone tear escape down his lean cheek.
“I didn’t want to see the same look in your eyes that I saw from other people. It would have killed me to see that. You meant too much to me for me to have been able to handle that.”
“Ellie, don’t you know how I feel? How long I’ve felt like this? How damn long I’ve loved you? God, woman, I could choke you right now if I didn’t love you so damn much!”
“Wh…what?” Ellie said, torn between laughter and tears as he gently enfolded her in his arms.
He pulled away from her, thumbing a hand over her cheek, wiping away the tear that had escaped without her knowing.
“Thank you for loving me,” he said simply, drawing her back into his arms. “Remember at the restaurant you told me you thought I was a good man?” he asked, and she nodded her head against his chest. She felt him draw in a deep, shuddering breath before he pulled away from her, settling her back on the bed.
“I know this probably isn’t the best timing…the best time to ask you, but…” He allowed his sentence to trail away and she saw the deep breath he took, frowning as he rose, walking over to the corner o
f the room where his jacket lay over a small table. He lifted something from the pocket and walked back toward her.
He pushed the chair aside, and as he knelt down, Ellie felt her heart slam against her chest, her mouth opening, forming a perfect O. He brought her hand to his mouth, turned the palm over and kissed the center before holding it lightly in his, palm down.
“If you give me the chance, I’ll do my best to prove I’m that man you think I am, Ellie, for the rest of our lives,” he said, sliding a ring over her left finger. “Ellie, will you marry me?”
Unable to speak past the clog in her throat, Ellie bobbed her head up and down. She reached her arms out as he slowly, carefully enfolded her in his embrace. “Of course I’ll marry you,” she said, and held on tight as his arms closed around her.
Unashamedly, Ellie allowed the tears to run freely down her face, marveling at the way life and coincidence had brought them back together again, and love had forged an unbreakable bond between them that had broken down all other barriers.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-0208-5
TO DESIRE A WILDE
Copyright © 2011 by Kimberly Kaye Terry
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