“I have my life.”
“You mean London’s life.” He cocked a dark brow and scowled at a few white clouds as a wavering flock of geese, trying and failing to maintain a “V,” honked into the wind and flew steadily southward, as if making up for lost time.
With one hand she shaded her eyes against the lowering sun. “It’s time I settled this.”
“How?”
“I think I need to hire an attorney and a private investigator. Get things moving along.”
She was staring at him so intently, her gaze shifting from his eyes to his mouth, that desire swept through him like a hot prairie wind that no man could tame, no mortal could control. He remembered kissing her, nearly making love to her by the river, and it was all he could do to slide his hands into his pockets to hide the swelling that was beginning to warm his groin. He wanted to reach out and grab her, press his lips over hers and kiss her until neither one of them could breathe. He imagined bending her backward till her hair swept the ground.
Hell, this was getting him nowhere!
She was still talking about hiring a detective. “…best for all of us.”
“Jason’s already retained a guy—a creep named Oswald Sweeny. He’ll get the job done.”
“For Jason. And for you.”
The corners of his mouth tightened involuntarily. “You said you wanted to know the truth.”
“I still do,” she said, squinting against the sunlight. “Correct me if I’m wrong, okay? Sweeny’s working for the family, right? He’s digging around, trying to prove that I’m a fraud. So he might not tell me—or the family might not feel the need to inform me—if he found proof positive that I’m London. Only if I’m not.” She dusted her hands on her jeans. “So I think I’d better start looking for a few guys on my team. Good guys in white hats.”
He dug in the dirt with the toe of his boot. “From what I hear, you can’t afford much.”
She’d been expecting that, but not from Zach. From the others, of course, but not Zach, and she couldn’t stop the little stab of pain that reminded her that he’d found out things about her and hadn’t confided in her—that he’d shared them only with the inner circle of the Danvers family. The chosen few. Her throat caught. She’d always considered him an outsider, but, as painful as it was, the truth of the matter was that she, and she alone, was the outsider. Obviously there were secrets Zach kept from her and she wondered how much he and the rest of his family discussed her behind her back. Had he told them the secrets she’d confided to him about her home in Montana, had he laughed when he’d discovered she was flat broke, had his eyes lighted with an evil little fire when he’d hinted that she’d nearly made love with him?
Being around Zachary Danvers was like walking a fraying tightrope strung taut across a steep canyon. One false step in either direction and she would pitch down the sharp emotional cliffs. Too much tension and the rope would give way. She wasn’t fool enough to believe that he’d be there to catch her. “What is it you want from me?”
He hesitated, his eyes searching hers, and she felt as if he could stare straight into her soul. “I just want to keep you safe.”
“So that your family can prove me to be a liar.” She felt the air shift between them. “You can’t keep me here, not against my will.”
“Is that what I’m doing?”
She licked her lips. “I think so. Yes.”
His eyes were the color of flint, his brows pulled together in frustration, though she didn’t know if his vexation was with her, himself, his family, or the world in general. They were close enough to touch yet he moved closer, advancing upon her, his expression turned hard and suddenly cruel. As his shadow fell across her face, his fingers curled in the lapels of her old leather jacket. “Do you remember that someone tried to kill you?” he demanded in a harsh whisper. “Less than forty-eight hours ago?”
“I can’t run scared.” But her breathing was shallow and fast. The scents of coffee and leather and musky male cologne swirled around her.
He gave her a little shake and his eyes sparked with anger. “Can you recall what it felt like to nearly have your brains bashed in?”
She blanched. “Of course.”
“Who do you think did it?”
“I—I don’t know.”
“Neither do I, but he’s still out there, darlin’, and my guess is that he doesn’t give up easily.”
“I don’t, either.”
“Okay,” he said, pressing his face close enough that she saw the striations of green in his gray eyes. “Let’s talk about the sheets—the ones on your bed in the motel. Did you get a good look at them?”
She swallowed with difficulty but refused to give in to the urge to step backward.
His fingers clenched more tightly. “They’d been ripped to ribbons, as if some enraged animal with six-inch teeth as sharp as razors had worked himself up to a maniacal frenzy and started shredding and just couldn’t stop.”
He yanked her closer, lifting her off her feet, drawing her nose-to-broken-nose. “While we’re at it, did you happen to see the message on the mirror, the one meant for you? What did it say?”
“It doesn’t mat—”
“What did it say?” he repeated more loudly.
“Something about—”
“Not something about—it said Death to the bitch. Fairly specific, I’d say. In fact, crystal fucking clear. Do you know what kind of psychotic it takes to do something like that and let’s not forget your shredded panties. What if your attacker had used that razor on you instead?”
“I—I really don’t want to think about it.”
“Well neither do I, but I force myself because it’s not over yet.”
She managed to notch up her chin and stare into eyes that glittered with determination. “I just can’t run away from this, Zachary. I started it and I’ve got to finish it.”
“Or wait until it finishes you,” he snarled and looked at her mouth in a way that made her insides turn to jelly. As quickly as he’d grabbed her, he let go and she nearly fell as her heels hit the ground again.
Disappointment settled in her heart when he stepped away from her.
“The way I see it, you’ve got no choice but to lay low for a while, wait until the police nail this guy or until the story dies down. Right now you’re a target, not only for the psychopath who attacked you, but for any other copy-cat prankster looking for a way to get his jollies and his name in the press. These aren’t nice people you’re dealing with, Adria. So just stay put.” He glared at her for a few silent, tense seconds, then swore loudly and stalked to the stables.
Heart thudding, she ran, catching up to him and following on his heels. She tamped down the fear that he’d managed to bring right to the surface of her mind and told herself to ignore the erotic message that had seemed to radiate from his eyes. “I’m not going to let anyone—not you and certainly not someone who runs around ripping bedsheets—intimidate me,” she insisted.
“Then you’re not as smart as I gave you credit for.” He opened the door and strode inside. The door would’ve banged shut behind him, but she caught it and, clenching her fists in determination, followed him into the musty interior.
Several horses nickered. His boots rang on the old floorboards and the scents of horseflesh and dung, oil and leather, hay and dust mingled and assailed her nostrils, reminding her of the farm she’d left behind to follow this quest here, this damned quest! She touched a rough fir post supporting the hayloft where an old kerosene lantern, tarnished, rusted, and covered with cobwebs, still hung neglected.