by Diana Palmer
“She’s an heiress,” Paul said noncommittally.
“What does that matter?” The man chuckled. “Hey, you could marry her and be set for life, right? You’d never have to work another day as long as you lived. You could fly all over the world, rub elbows with famous people, have fancy cars and clothes. Man, what I wouldn’t give for that!”
“Money isn’t everything.”
“It is when you’re poor,” the man sighed. “I can’t even afford a decent suit. I buy mine in chain stores.” He shook his head. “You really ought to play up to that girl…”
“Her father would have me killed for even thinking of it, and he’d fire you for talking about her that way,” he said suddenly.
“Hey, no harm done,” the man said at once, holding up both hands. “I was just thinking out loud. Say, what do you think about that new city ordinance they’re trying to pass in Jacobsville…?”
The man’s voice droned on. Paul nodded his head in the appropriate places, but he wasn’t paying attention. He was hearing another man assume that he wanted Isabel for what she had. She was a sweet, kind, loving woman, and all the other man could see was her fortune.
But that was what most men would think of him if he went crazy and tried to get Isabel to marry him. They’d think he only wanted her for her money.
Her father would never let a “grubby little lawman” like Paul have her. He’d marry her off to some prince or millionaire and never care that she was miserable, as long as he had an heir with the right bloodlines.
Paul felt the despair in the pit of his stomach like acid. Isabel was putting on a good act so far, not letting on how physical things had gotten between them. But she could slip. Or Paul could. It would mean disaster for both of them.
So he kept up the cool and courteous front until Darwin Grayling came back from his trip to Finland. Then he asked to speak to the man. They went into the study and closed the door.
“My daughter…did what?” Darwin exploded.
Paul held up a hand. He was already regretting the words. “She was just flirting, and it was only the one time,” he said firmly. “But…” He drew in a breath. “Mr. Grayling, I haven’t been entirely honest with you. I know you did a background check on me, but I sort of controlled a little bit of the information you were given. A cousin owed me a favor.” He rammed his hands into his pockets. His teeth clenched. “I have a wife and daughter in New Jersey,” he said. “I go home often enough to see them, and I send them money,” he added. “But I thought a family man might not be acceptable for this job, so I concealed that part of my life.”
“You have a family,” Darwin said.
“Yes, sir.” He bit his lip. He was lying through his teeth. But he couldn’t let it show. “So I know Isabel was just sort of cutting her teeth on me. She doesn’t know about my family.” He shrugged. “But I don’t want to be the cause of any embarrassment to her. Or to you. So I think it would be better if I went back to New Jersey.”
Darwin Grayling didn’t say anything for a minute. He stared at Paul, hiding an explosive reaction to the man’s surprising statement. “Isabel was flirting with you.”
Paul laughed. “Picking at me, not really flirting,” he lied. “I don’t think she even knows how to flirt, honestly. And it was just the one time. You know how young girls are.”
Darwin drew in a breath. “Yes. I do.”
“So, I’m going to put in my two weeks’ notice…”
“No need for that,” Darwin said. He forced a laugh. “Young women do have these little quirks. No, you don’t need to work the next few weeks. I’ll have Rosalee cut a check for you and you can pick it up in our San Antonio office on your way to the airport. Just tell her where you want to go, she’ll make sure you have an e-ticket, as well. I’ll have your Christmas bonus enclosed, even though you won’t be working for us then.”
“Sir, that’s very kind of you, under the circumstances,” Paul said, trying to deal with the guilt he felt at betraying Isabel. It wasn’t even her fault.
“You’ve been a good security chief. The best I’ve ever had.” Darwin put a friendly arm around his shoulders. “You get packed and I’ll have Morris drive you up to San Antonio. Thank you for all you’ve done for us, Paul. I’ll miss you.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Darwin smiled. “Have a safe trip home.”
Paul nodded.
Darwin closed his office door.
* * *
Paul packed and had Morris take his bags to the car while he said his goodbyes. But only Mandy was in the kitchen.
She was shocked and started crying when Paul told her he was leaving.
“He found out about Sari sitting on your bed at night, didn’t he?” she asked glumly.
“No. I just told him she was flirting with me. And that…well, something else,” he added. He couldn’t bring himself to tell her the truth. He hugged her. “I’ll miss you, girl.”
“I’ll miss you, too, Mr. Paul.” She winced. “The girls went into town to have lunch with Mr. Kemp’s assistant district attorney,” she said. “Can’t you wait until they get back?”
“Not a good idea,” Paul said tersely, but with a smile. “Hug them for me and tell them I’ll miss them, will you?”
She nodded. “Why?” she asked sadly.
Paul couldn’t tell her. He just smiled again. “Nothing lasts forever. I need a change, that’s all. You take care, Mandy.”
“You, too.”
He looked around the room, taking it all in, smiled once more and went out to the car where Morris was waiting.
* * *
Isabel’s face when Mandy told her was a study in shock and grief.
“He’s gone? And he didn’t wait to say goodbye to us?” she asked, aghast.
“He was in a hurry,” Mandy said, trying to come up with a good reason for his haste.
“I’ll miss him so much,” Merrie said. “He was so kind to us.” Tears ran down her cheeks.
Isabel was crying, too. Mandy hugged them both close. She didn’t understand what was going on, either, but she knew something had been growing between Paul and Isabel for months. It wouldn’t show to outsiders, but she knew them both very well.
* * *
A storm was coming. Nobody knew, because Darwin Grayling had a poker face. But he sent Mandy to Dallas for several days to see a play she’d been raving about, and paid for a luxury hotel room and a shopping spree, as well.
“You need some new things, and you’ve been talking about that play,” Darwin said with a smile. “You’ll have a good time.”
“Thank you, Mr. Darwin. Thank you so much!” she said, almost in tears at his generosity.
“It’s little enough to do. You take wonderful care of all of us.” He stopped and put a hand to his head. He winced.
“It’s that headache again, isn’t it? You should see the doctor, Mr. Darwin,” she worried.
“I’m all right. It comes and goes. You go get packed. I’ll have Morris drive you,” he said.
“Okay, then. But who’ll cook for you?” she worried.
“I’ve hired a relief cook,” he lied. “She’s arriving this afternoon. Just go.”
She laughed. “Yes, sir!” She packed, hugged the girls and went out to the car.
The house was very quiet when Darwin called Sari into his study and closed the door.
He put a hand to his head and winced. He had a horrible headache, but that wasn’t going to save Isabel.
“Paul said you were flirting with him,” he said at once.
She gasped, but her face flushed. It told him all he needed to know.
“You little slut,” he raged. “Just like your mother! She wanted lots of men, too!”
“She never…!” Sari returned.
“M-married?” she said, shocked. “Paul?”
“Yes! Married!” he shot back. “He has a wife and daughter back in New Jersey!”
Sari thought she’d never felt such shame in her entire life. She closed her eyes and groaned inwardly. She’d kissed him, loved him, wanted him, almost gone too far with him. And he was married! He’d never said that, never even hinted about it. He’d wanted her, so desperately…
Darwin was pulling his belt out of the loops of his pants while she agonized mentally. He halved it and snapped it, making a sound like a whip. He’d always done that before he went for the girls, to heighten their fear of him. Just the sound was enough to send poor Merrie running.
Sari lifted her head. Misery gave her courage she’d never realized she had. “You’re not hitting me…!”
“The hell I’m not! You little slut!”
He brought the belt down on her shoulders, hard enough to knock her to her knees. He was behind her then, slamming the thick leather against her back, not relenting even when she started screaming and trying to get away. He put his foot on her and pushed her down again while he went at her with the belt. Blood flew up everywhere.
The door opened suddenly and Merrie ran at her father.
“No!” she screamed. “Stop! You’re going to kill her, Daddy, you have to stop!”
But the only thing Merrie accomplished was to have him turn on her, and he did. He threw her to the floor and brought the belt down on her, shredding her T-shirt as it hit her back again and again and again.
Only when he was too exhausted to lift it over his head again did he finally stop and drop back down onto a leather chair to suck in air. He could barely get his breath and his head was splitting.
He leaned forward, coming back to himself. The girls were both on the floor, barely conscious. Blood was all over their backs, all over the carpet.
He was tempted to let them die, but then who would inherit the money he’d worked so hard to make? No, he couldn’t do that, not even if they deserved it for defying him. Isabel, flirting with his security man! It shamed and disgusted him. A married security man, at that. Well, she’d be watched. She’d never get the chance to do it again. Neither would Merrie.
But for the moment, they’d need some medical attention. He couldn’t take them to Jacobsville General. That suspicious redheaded doctor, Coltrain, would surely involve the law, and Darwin wasn’t so sure he could buy off Cash Grier as he’d bought off other lawmen in the past. No, he’d have to handle this at home.
He had a physician on his payroll, one who’d lost his license for getting drunk before he operated on patients. There had been two deaths. But that didn’t concern Darwin. The man could keep his mouth shut. He picked up the phone and dialed.
* * *
Paul, on his way back to New Jersey, was relieved at the way Darwin Grayling had taken his comment about Isabel flirting with him. He’d laughed. The girls would be okay. Even if Darwin got angry, Mandy would be there to make sure Darwin didn’t hurt them.
He laid his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes. The hard part would come now, trying to live every day without a glimpse of eyes the blue of the open sea. He had to find a new job as well, but that would be easier. He’d already been in touch with a former FBI colleague who was now a senior agent in charge in New Jersey. He’d go back with the Bureau. He could face it now, years after the tragedy that had sent him south. He’d have a new job, new surroundings and no temptation from a woman he could never have.
If only he’d been a prince, he thought wistfully. He could have had Isabel. He’d have given up a kingdom and all its wealth, just to live with her in some humble little cottage in the woods. And chance would be a fine thing, too.
He groaned inwardly when he remembered her arms around him, her hungry mouth under his as she felt the reality of a man’s desire for the first time in her life. He’d had the first sweet taste of her innocence. But he hadn’t taken it. That privilege would belong to another man, a richer man. He hoped it would be a man she could love.
He wanted her. She wanted him, too. But it was surely just desire on her part, he reasoned. She wasn’t mature enough to know what love was. He closed his eyes. He’d known love once. Now his memory of it was forever wrapped in guilt. Blood. So much blood…
He opened his eyes and saw the seat-belt light come on. They were landing in Newark very soon. He sat up and thought ahead, to the logistics of getting a place to stay. Of getting his life back on track, without Isabel in it.
* * *
Sari could barely move. Her back felt like shredded meat. It hurt even to breathe. Some doctor she didn’t know had given her injections, after which he’d cleaned the deep wounds and sutured some of them. Apparently he’d done the same to Merrie, poor Merrie, who’d tried to save her.
Darwin had stayed at home while his daughters were healing from the effects of his brutality. He didn’t want to take the chance that they might be tempted to call the sheriff or an attorney.
He paused beside Sari’s bed. She was too sick to say much, but he reminded her that Paul could still meet with an unexpected accident if she dared to say anything about what had happened to her.
Until that minute, she’d seriously thought about calling someone. It would have been difficult, since he’d taken away the phone in her room and her cell phone, her computer and her iPad.
He’d done the same to Merrie.
She wanted not to care what happened to Paul. He’d lied to her, left her without even a word. But there were years of companionship behind her pain. Paul had been part of her life since she was a senior in high school. She still cared about him. And her father knew it.
Days after the brutal beating, Mandy came home. They’d been warned about telling her. She could easily disappear, Darwin had told them with a cold smile. He’d done it before. He knew how to make a suspicious death look like an accident and he’d gotten away with it. He was fairly sure that even if Isabel didn’t care about Paul, she did care about Mandy. It would be enough to stop her from telling anyone what he’d done.
Sari knew that Cash Grier wouldn’t mind how much money her father had; he’d go after him in a heartbeat if he knew what the man had done to his daughters. But the threat of losing poor Mandy was enough, without the reminder that Paul could also be “disappeared.”
She hated herself for caring what happened to Paul after what he’d done to her. She might have risked it, if that was the only threat. But sweet Mandy was irreplaceable. She didn’t dare call her father’s bluff.
So she told her professors that she’d been in an accident and would miss a few days of classes. She got permission to use her cell phone, in her father’s presence, and asked a classmate to take notes for her in each of her classes. The cell phone was taken away from her afterward.
Mandy was told that the girls had been in a car wreck, but that a private physician had taken care of them. They were careful not to let her see their backs.
The physician came a few days after Mandy returned, to remove the sutures. Darwin reminded the girls about what would happen to Mandy if they talked, and he left on another mysterious trip. Isabel went back to law school with a dead heart. Merrie painted strange, violent subjects. Mandy cooked and cleaned and worried, because it seemed that everything had changed in her absence.
SEVEN
Three years passed. Sari graduated from law school, with Merrie and Mandy in attendance. The girls’ father had been gone for several weeks on some private business. When he came home, he’d searched through his desk for papers he couldn’t find and accused the girls of taking them.
They’d denied it. He had Morris check
the security cameras, which showed a telephone repairman in Darwin’s study. Except there was nothing wrong with the phone. Morris checked and the phone company hadn’t sent anybody out.
Darwin had gone out, cursing and raving mad. He’d come home quiet and worried and hadn’t spoken to the girls at all. Sari hadn’t mentioned her graduation ceremony to him. She didn’t frankly care if he attended or not.
The dean handed her diploma to her, shook her hand, and she went to Mandy and Merrie to have photos taken with her iPhone and candid shots with her college friends who had also graduated. There were no close friends. Darwin made sure of it.
Nobody mentioned that Darwin didn’t attend. They didn’t discuss it in the limo, either, because they didn’t trust Morris. He wasn’t like Paul, who shared things with them and protected them. He was Darwin’s man all the way. If he overheard anything, he’d go straight to his boss with it.
But back home, Sari went into Merrie’s room with a small device a classmate had helped her obtain. He’d taught her how to use it, too. She turned it on before she spoke.
“What’s that?” Merrie asked.
“A jammer,” Sari said coldly. “It keeps bugs from listening or recording us. I overheard something.”
“What? Where?” Merrie asked worriedly.
Sari sat down on the bed with her. “One of my classmates is going with the FBI when he graduates. His older brother is a special agent in Houston. He said that some millionaire from Comanche Wells has his fingers in a statewide money-laundering operation with ties to organized crime.”
Merrie drew in a breath. “There are only two millionaires in Comanche Wells, and I don’t think Jason Pendleton would ever…!”
“He wouldn’t,” Sari cut her off. “It’s our father. From what I heard, I’m sure of it.” She leaned forward. “They say that he’s working with some woman with ties to the federal government, that she has access to confidential information.”
“Oh, no,” Merrie said heavily. “It’s got to be that woman he keeps,” she added bitterly.