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“Exactly what it sounds like. And now I’ve escaped. If he finds me, I’m a dead woman. Especially since I know what he’s done.”
Still not entirely convinced, nonetheless he stepped aside and motioned her into his living room. “Please. Come in.”
As she moved past him, he caught a whiff of her scent, which surprisingly reminded him of vanilla rather than the flowery perfume he remembered.
“Have a seat.” Though he sounded churlish, he didn’t care. Indicating the sofa, he tried not to stare as she sank gracefully onto the leather cushions. She wore a T-shirt and jeans—ordinary clothes that were elevated to an entirely new level by her feminine curves. Her kind of lush, wild beauty would make any red-blooded man break out in a sweat.
And Reed was no exception. The sharp surge of desire he felt when he looked at her was nothing new, though certainly as unwelcome now as it had been before. He’d always had trouble not wanting her, even back then when she’d belonged to his brother. He didn’t understand how this could still be so, especially now when he should despise her.
Noise from the television drew his attention. The football game had gone into overtime. Since he no longer cared, Reed grabbed the remote and turned off the TV.
Deciding to continue standing, he crossed his arms and glared at her, deliberately hostile, feeling it was safer this way. “Explain,” he ordered, when she showed no sign of elaborating.
She sighed and smoothed back her wealth of golden hair with perfectly manicured fingers, although a few wisps defied her hand and continue to frame her perfect, oval face. Her skin glowed, the flawless alabaster of fine porcelain, beauty personified. Eyeing her he wondered exactly as he’d done in the past, how his brother had been able to get a girl as lovely as her.
Of course neither Reed nor Tim had known her beauty concealed the heart of a snake. Best to remember this now, he knew. Steeling himself, he cocked his head while he waited for her to speak.
“May I please have a glass of water?” she asked. “It’s a long drive from Austin. I was afraid to stop more than once.” She looked down. “I wasn’t sure if I was being followed, so I had to take several evasive precautions.”
“Followed?” Shaking his head, he got up, fetched a plastic bottle of spring water from the fridge and handed it to her. “Here you go.”
He waited, trying not to stare while she drank, though the movement of her long slender throat drew his eye. He both hated and acknowledged it, aware he could use this edginess to keep him sharp and on his toes.
When she’d finished drinking, she set the bottle down. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He inclined his head.
“Yes.” She sighed. “Before I begin, you should know I can’t stay long. This is the first place he’ll look. If he finds me, he’ll kill me and whoever I’m with. So you’re putting yourself in danger by even talking to me.”
“A risk I’m willing to take, if what you say is true. Let’s hear it.”
She winced. “It’s a long story.”
“No. Make it short and to the point.” He went so far as to glance at his watch before meeting her gaze again. “If you plan to lie to me, don’t. I’ve had enough BS from you to last more than a lifetime.”
Her amazing eyes widened. “I’ve never lied to you.”
“Really.” He couldn’t resist. “Since you were my only alibi, I’d say the way you managed to disappear rather than show up in court is falsehood enough. I went to prison—innocent—for the death of my own brother. Because you couldn’t take the time to tell the truth.” Again, he felt the sharp, burning ache he always felt when he thought of the way his brother had been gunned down in cold blood.
“It’s not what you think,” she began.
“Be that as it may, Tim’s dead.” He managed to sound normal. “And you aren’t. Now you’re going to tell me what proof you have that Alex Ramirez killed him, and how.”
* * *
Back ramrod straight, Kaitlyn tried to draw on the sense of purpose that had propelled her the entire way to Anniversary. She’d expected hostility, after all.
Still, some tiny, foolish part of her heart had hoped he’d understand. Maybe even be sympathetic, but she could hardly blame him. He’d spent the past three years believing her responsible for what he’d endured. She couldn’t expect him to comprehend how badly she’d suffered herself.
She wasn’t here for sympathy, or to try and repair the broken pieces of a relationship that had been doomed from the start. She’d come to find justice. For not only Tim’s murder and Reed’s incarceration, but for what Alex Ramirez had done to her. He’d ruined three lives, as casually as another man would kill a fly. He deserved to pay.
But would Reed believe her? He’d already made it clear what he thought. Worse, she didn’t even have proof. Just her word against a powerful lieutenant governor.
Raising her head, she saw Reed watched her, his gaze dark and intent. A shiver ghosted over her skin, making goose bumps rise. Prison had changed him some, sharpened the edges of his profile, and deepened the reserve in his eyes. Still, he was easy on the eyes, despite the hardship he’d endured. She’d always thought him beautiful, even back when she and his twin brother, Tim, had been an item. Though Reed and Tim had the same features, the same shock of thick, dark hair, something in the depths of Reed’s hazel eyes had always called to her.
The attraction that had simmered between the two of them had made her feel like a moth circling around a flame.
Finally, unable to resist, she’d given in. And then the one evening of explosive passion they’d shared had been the night Tim had been murdered. She’d spent three years wondering if Reed would always associate her embrace with the brutal death of his brother.
“Well?” he prodded. “If you have something to say, say it.”
“When I left you, still asleep in my bed, I knew what I needed to do. So I scribbled a quick note to you and I went to find Tim.” She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. She took a long drink of water, willing her voice to remain steady. “I intended to break it off with him.”
Surprise flashed across his rugged features, but he didn’t comment.
Briefly, she closed her eyes. Even after all this time, the horrible scene still had the power to paralyze her. “I walked in on him and Alex arguing. Of course, I didn’t know who Alex was then.” Her throat felt raw. This might be past history, but the memory of it still hurt.
“Go on,” he urged.
She tried to speak and couldn’t.
“Alex Ramirez and Tim were arguing? And then what?”
“Yes. The instant Tim saw me, he looked afraid. He ordered me to leave, but Alex grabbed me. I knew from the expression on Tim’s face that it wasn’t good, but I didn’t know how bad. Not yet.”
She took a deep, shaky breath, aware what she had to tell him next would be painful. Miserable, she tried to find the right words, then decided just to say it.
“Alex killed him.” The words came out in a hoarse whisper. “He turned around, pulled out a pistol and shot Tim dead. Right there, right in front of me. And when I freaked out, he told me to calm down or he’d kill me, too.”
Reed swore. The dark shadow in his gaze spoke of his contempt for her, of the fact that he disbelieved her story. She told herself that didn’t matter, that it was justified. Just like she’d actually come to believe she deserved to be treated the way Alex had abused her.
“And then Alex tied me up, put me in the trunk of his car, and took me back to his mansion.” Such a simple sentence could not possibly convey the horror of what had happened. That night and for many days and nights after. Years, actually.
“And no one noticed you were gone?” He couldn’t quite hide his disbelief.
“With everything that happened, I think they assumed I fled out of cowardice.”
Silence, while he considered this.
“How’d you escape?” Reed asked. “And when?”
Heaven help her, her lower lip started quivering. She coughed, using her hand to try and cover it up. “Just now. Today. Despite knowing Anniversary is the first place Alex will look, I needed to come to you and try to make things right before I go on the run.”
The skepticism in his eyes made her feel sick. “I shouldn’t have come here. I see that now.”
“Then why did you?” he asked quietly. “Really, why did you?”
She shrugged to mask her pain. “You were the only other person I could think of who would care. The only person beside myself who would give a damn about what Alex had done. Not only to Tim, but to you. And me. With all my heart, I believe he should pay.”
Clearly not believing her, he didn’t speak again, so she collected her purse and turned to go. Head up, shoulders back, hoping like hell she projected an attitude that was different from how broken and defeated she felt inside.
She got half the distance to the door before he stopped her. “Wait.”
Though she knew she should have kept moving, she froze. “Yes?”
“All right. I’m still listening. Tell me more, make me believe you. Why would a man as rich and powerful as Alex Ramirez do such a thing? What was he even doing with my brother?”
Exhaustion made her sag, though the instant she realized this she straightened her shoulders. “Politics isn’t the only thing Alex is involved with. He runs a huge drug operation in central Texas. Apparently Tim was working for him.”
He knew, she saw. The emotion passing over his face might have been fleeting, but she realized he understood that this at least was the truth.
“You’re telling me that you witnessed a politician kill my brother and he let you live.”
“Yes. As his prisoner.”
“Why? Tell me why he’d do that?”
She looked him in the eye and gave him the truth. “Because he’s a sociopath.”
Silence while he digested this. Then he asked, “Do you have proof? Something besides your word that this man killed my brother and kept you prisoner?”
“No.” She swallowed. “Only my word against his. And I had no idea that he’d framed you and had you sent to prison. You’ve got to believe me. I just found out the other night when he got drunk and started bragging.”
“I’m having trouble with the entire story. If you were his prisoner, how’d you escape now?”
Cheeks burning, she told him her shame. “After three years, he’d loosened his hold on me. I wasn’t always kept locked up. I really think he believed I wouldn’t go.”
“Did he treat you well, then?” He asked the question with deceptive calmness.
“Well? I wouldn’t call it that.”
Hazel eyes burning, he tilted his head. “Then what would you call it?”
“Reed, he beat and raped me. I was a possession to him, a toy to do with as he wanted.” She tried to sound matter-of-fact, even though saying the truth out loud felt both mortifying and painful. “He enjoyed hurting and humiliating me. In the early months, I tried to escape and he blackened my eyes and broke my ribs. If I hadn’t figured out a way to get away now, I have no doubt once he got tired of me, he would have eventually killed me.”
“Forgive me, but I can’t bring myself to feel sorry for you. Your story is far-fetched and bizarre.”
“I know.” She resisted the urge to hang her head. “Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.”
His features hardened. “I see. Let me ask you something, and I need you to tell me the truth, for once. Even though you claim Alex Ramirez did it, I have to ask. Was it you, all along? Did you kill my brother?”
Stunned, at first she couldn’t speak, couldn’t respond. She should have expected this. In fact, she probably would have wondered the same thing had their places been reversed.
Finally, she found her voice. “No. I did not.”
“Excuse me if I don’t take your word for it.”
Finally defeated, she straightened her spine and nodded. “I understand. Believe me. I’ll leave and let you go back to your life.”
“Wait.” This time, he stopped her before she turned. “Give me something to help me believe, to make me understand. You’ve come here with this story, which you have to admit is way out there. You claim you not only witnessed my brother’s murder, but you’ve been kept a prisoner by the killer, who just happens to be the lieutenant governor of Texas, a guy who’s considered a front-runner for governor next election. Does that about cover it?”
“Yes.”
“Kaitlyn, I want to believe you....”
“But you just can’t. I understand.”
“Then give me something.” The fierceness in his voice made her blink. “You’ve got to have something, some sort of proof, no matter how small, that would help me accept what you say as truth.”
Swallowing, she realized she did. Turning slowly, she lifted her shirt and showed him her back, with its jagged and horrible crisscross web of scars.
Chapter 2 (#ulink_1feb190c-430f-553e-9b9b-288fb2e1fc27)
Stunned, Reed couldn’t speak. He could only stare. Once upon a time, he’d explored every inch of Kaitlyn’s perfect body. He moved forward, reaching out his hand, withdrawing it at the last moment. Some of the red, raised welts were recent, while others bore the whitish appearance of old scars.
“He did this?” he asked, his voice sounding as if he’d swallowed gravel.
“Yes.” Dropping her shirt, she turned. Her perfect face appeared expressionless. Except for her eyes. The shadows in them reminded him of prison. “He likes whips. And chains. And other instruments of torture.” She shuddered. “And I was his own personal plaything. That’s all the proof I have.”
“It’s enough.” Stomach twisting, he tried to find the right words, finally settling on two. “I’m sorry.”
“So am I.” She dipped her chin, acknowledging the sentiment, though he knew—like her apology—it had come too late. She turned, giving him one last lingering glance. Not imploring. More like resolute. “And now, I’ve got to go. Once Alex realizes I’ve escaped, he’ll stop at nothing to find me.”
He didn’t care, he shouldn’t have cared, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. “Where are you going?”
One delicate shoulder lifted in a shrug. “I don’t know. I’ve got to keep moving. Otherwise, I’m dead.”
He thought of his ranch, of the secluded frame house a few hours away, where he’d taken to spending more and more of his time. “I have land my uncle left me about southwest of Mineral Wells,” he said. “It’s a small, working cattle ranch. I’ve got livestock there, with hired hands looking after the place. It’s really remote and accessible only by a dirt road. It isn’t much, but there’s running water and electricity. If you don’t mind the isolation, you can stay there.”
Watching him warily, she nodded. “Thanks. If you want to give me directions, I’ll head that way now.”
He wasn’t sure he wanted her to go alone. “Give me a minute. I need to think.”
She seemed to practically vibrate with impatience. “Please don’t take too long. I don’t have a lot of time. Alex is a powerful man and very successful at getting rid of people. I can’t tell you how many times he’s bragged about the people he’s made disappear. I know too much, therefore I’m a liability he’ll need to eliminate. He has people working everywhere. If someone sees my car and reports back to him...”
Refusing to let her rush him, he continued to consider. If he was jumping into this mess, he needed to study all angles.
Finally, he glanced out the window, at the low-slung, glossy car. “That Jaguar won’t do well there. Plus, it’ll stick out like a sore thumb. Is it his?”
For maybe a second, she looked abashed. “Yes. It’s one of many. He’ll want it back.”
Right then, he decided. “We need to move it. Leave it in a parking lot downtown.”
“Then how will I get to your place?”
He hoped he wouldn’t regret what he was about to say. “I’ll drive you. It’s about time for me to run out there and check on things. I can stay out there a little while. And I’ve got a four-wheel drive pickup that makes the trip perfectly.”
After snatching his keys off the counter, he grabbed his laptop and motioned for her to go ahead. Instead, she stood frozen, staring at him.
