Colby was devastated. Fourteen of the horses housed in the stable, including the one Rafael had put down, didn’t belong to her. She was boarding and training them. They were priceless to their owners, bred for specific purposes. Now they were traumatized and burned, covered with cuts and bruises and suffering from smoke inhalation, and Colby would be held responsible for their injuries.
Paul put his arm around her, a clumsy gesture of support even as his eyes went automatically to the one person who seemed in control of the chaotic situation. Rafael and the Chevez brothers had fought long and hard along with Sean Everett’s ranch hands and the forestry department to keep the entire ranch from going up in flames. Paul didn’t want his uncles to drag him off to a foreign country away from the home he loved and he was deeply afraid of Rafael De La Cruz, but he couldn’t deny that without them they would have lost everything.
Rafael read the desperate plea in Paul’s young face and immediately said something to the small group of men he was talking with, easily excusing himself. He took Colby’s arm, guiding her very gently across the yard and up the stairs to the porch of the ranch house. Pushing her gently but firmly into the swing, he poured her a glass of water from the pitcher Ginny had thoughtfully kept filled for the men fighting the fire. Colby looked dazed.
She stared up at him helplessly, confused and afraid. “How could the smoke alarms not work? There are several—how could
all
of them malfunction?” she murmured. “And the
sprinklers. I just had the sprinklers checked. How could the entire stable go up that fast? I don’t understand.”
“We will find out,
meu amor.
” Rafael was gentle as he took a cup of hot, sweet tea from Ginny and pressed it into Colby’s hands. “You are in shock,
pequena,
I want you to drink this. It will help.” He raked a hand through his hair. “It looks as if it was started with kerosene. Do you store kerosene here?”
“In the stable?” Colby said incredulously. Restlessly she jumped to her feet. Pushing past Rafael’s larger frame, she entered the kitchen. “I’d never keep kerosene in the stable. You must really think I’m an idiot.”
She was so fragile, so close to tears. Rafael was in her mind, reading the jumble of emotions, the horror of what had happened, the fears of facing the future and her frantic attempts at putting the pieces together to discover what could have happened. He followed her patiently, a silent jungle cat stalking after her. “That is not what I asked you,
querida.
I am telling you I think this fire was set. I think the fire captain also believes this to be the case. Do you have insurance?”
Colby went very still, half turning to face him. “Is that what you think? That I would burn down my own stables with horses still inside for insurance money? Is that what you’re suggesting?” She waved a hand to encompass the yard filled with her neighbors. “Is that what everyone thinks? That I would be capable of harming animals for my own monetary gain?”
Her green eyes began to smolder dangerously. “Or maybe that’s what you and the Chevez brothers want everyone to believe. That I would be capable of such an atrocity. That would certainly help your case, if I were to be thrown in jail, wouldn’t it? No one would stand in your way to get the kids.”
“Enough.” He said the word very quietly through clenched white teeth. His black eyes were ice cold again, his mouth a merciless slash. He looked quite cruel and ruthless so that she backed away from him, her heart pounding out her sudden fear. “You are very upset and you do not know what you are saying. It is better to stay quiet than throw out groundless accusations. You are scaring your sister, Colby.”
Ashamed at her loss of control, Colby shook her head and stared out the window to avoid his penetrating stare. She had
no way of knowing Rafael had already discovered the key to her mind and was well aware she was incapable of such a treacherous action as starting a fire in her own stable filled with live animals.
Rafael hunkered down beside Ginny, his tone very gentle. “It is going to be all right,
menininha
. No one would ever believe such a thing of Colby. Do not look so frightened.”
“Are we going to lose the ranch?” Ginny burst out anxiously. “Are you going to take us away from Colby and turn our ranch over to that horrible man?” Tears were making a path through the smoke on her small face.
Rafael looked at the child and his heart turned over. It was a singular experience to see a human through the eyes of love. Connected as he was with Colby’s mind, he felt tremendous emotion for the little girl and her fears.
“No, darling.” Colby’s voice was extraordinarily gentle. “Don’t worry, Ginny, we’ve seen worse times and come through. You and Paul are alive and unhurt, that’s all that really matters.” Even in her distress, she was reassuring.
“Which horrible man, Ginny?” Rafael asked, his black gaze seeking and finding the child with a firm compulsion to answer him.
“Everything is just fine,” Colby interrupted, sounding weary even to her own ears. She reached for Ginny in an attempt to break the lock Rafael’s gaze had on her.
Rafael glided without appearing to move, keeping his body inserted between Colby and Ginny. The little girl looked up at him trustingly. “He wants to take our ranch away. He is always coming here and telling Colby to give him money.” She leaned closer confidentially. “He wants to marry her. I heard him say we wouldn’t lose the ranch if she cooperated with him.”
“Ginny!” Colby spoke much more sharply than she intended, humiliated all over again. Rafael De La Cruz was the last person who needed to know their business. For a moment she covered her face with her hands. She’d slept with him.
Slept with him.
That wasn’t even the right words for what they’d done together. A virtual stranger, she let him touch her,
devour
her. She had taken him inside her body. She felt naked and vulnerable and slowly lowered her hands to meet his
black eyes. He had possessed her, marked her, and she had been so eager for his body, his touch. She would have done anything for him. God, she had
begged
him. Screamed his name over and over in her mind. What was wrong with her?
Rafael released the child from his thrall, his gaze thoughtful as it rested on Colby’s face. Her eyes were alive with pride, but he was a shadow in her mind and he could read her humiliation and fear. He circled her fragile wrist with his strong grip, careful to keep his enormous strength leashed. “Who is this man and what does he have to hold over your head to threaten you in such a manner?” He said it softly, his teeth very white and almost wolfish. He was very much aware of time slipping away from him. He had pushed his endurance far beyond normal in order to be with Colby.
“It isn’t your business.” Colby attempted to twist free, feeling foolish when he didn’t appear to notice. “I’m too upset to cope with an interrogation right now,” she murmured rebelliously, fighting back tears. It didn’t help her state of mind to notice that her various injuries hadn’t been hurting since Rafael had attended to her earlier.
Rafael’s breath came out in a slow hiss. “You will answer me, Colby.” It was a command, his voice so low, so laced with velvet, she felt it rather than heard it. For all of that, it was sheer menace. His glittering black eyes did not blink once.
“All right then.” Goaded beyond endurance, her usual control shattered into fragments, Colby glared at him. “I made a huge mistake when my father was ill. We needed money. Everyone knew he was sick, the bank wouldn’t loan us anything. I couldn’t keep up with the ranch work because he needed me with him. There were so many bills. The kids needed clothes for school.” Her chin was up, belligerently. “I was only nineteen, no one would take the chance of loaning me the money and the bank wouldn’t go for another mortgage on the ranch because of the hospital bills and my father’s paralysis. It was fairly common knowledge.” She jerked at her wrist again. “I hate this, telling you this.”
She didn’t have to tell him, he could “see” the memories in her mind. She had loved Armando Chevez with the same fierce loyalty and passion she gave the children. To Colby,
Armando Chevez had been her father, blood or no. Grief-stricken when her mother had died, she had still taken on the daunting task of caring for her paralyzed father, two children, and the enormous ranch. She had been very frightened, with nowhere to turn and everyone depending on her.
Rafael ached for her, his eyes burning with unfamiliar emotion. He tugged on her wrist until her resisting body was close to the protective shelter of his. He needed to comfort her even more than she needed the comfort. Colby wrenched herself free and jerked open the door to the kitchen. He moved with her like a dance partner, graceful, fluid, sheer energy. He made no sound on the tiled floor.
Colby looked at him, feeling trapped and very vulnerable. “I borrowed the money from a neighbor. I knew what he was like, but we needed it. I sent the letter to the Chevez family first, they were our last hope, but there was no reply. I went to Clinton Daniels and I borrowed the money we needed to keep going.” When he continued to look at her she shrugged. “I wasn’t stupid—I knew he wanted the ranch, and I knew he was responsible for the bank turning me down. I also knew he would give us time if he thought he might have a chance with me.” Her green eyes wavered, shame creeping into them. “I took the money and I’ve managed to come up with the payments every month since then, but we have a balloon payment due. Unless I can sell off part of our land quickly, we’ll lose the ranch. Unfortunately it isn’t so easy when the ranch is part of a trust.”
Paul had followed them into the kitchen on the pretense of pouring himself a cup of coffee. Colby had to have been shattered by the events of the morning to reveal such personal details to a man she didn’t even know. She had to be in shock. He spun around, ready to set the record straight. “She makes it sound like she was selling herself. All she did was keep us going when our
family
didn’t bother to even contact us after my dad died. She’s worked hard to pull us out of debt, done more than any two men could have done! She’s got nothing to be ashamed of!”
“I realize your sister is as stubborn as a mule,” Rafael said grimly, “but I thought better of you, boy. You should have told me or your uncles this immediately instead of allowing your
sister to run herself into the ground.” The voice was very low, but there was a whiplash in it.
“Don’t you dare talk to him like that!” Colby came to life, her green eyes blazing. She radiated fury, her fists actually clenched at her sides. She even took a step toward Rafael.
He felt the surge of power vibrating in the air. It was so strong several pots hanging on hooks swayed, clinking together so that she glanced at them in alarm. Her skin paled beneath the layer of soot and she immediately took a deep breath to calm herself.
Amusement warmed Rafael’s eyes. “Think twice,
pequena,
before you launch yourself at me. If you hurt me, how am I going to sign the check?”
“You’ll loan us the money?” Paul gasped eagerly.
“No way, Paul, absolutely not.” Colby was outraged at the idea. “I’m not selling my soul to the devil, not even to keep the ranch. Not for any price!” She would feel like a prostitute, and how could she explain that to Paul or Ginny?
“You do not have a scrap of manners.” Rafael’s low voice was suddenly steel encased in velvet. A muscle jerked along his jaw. “The truth is you already made a deal with the devil and whether you like it or not, you need help.”
Her chin lifted at him, green eyes alive with pride. “Not from you or the Chevez family. You had your chance to help us and you let our father die alone.”
Warning bells went off in Paul’s brain. Colby was quite capable of attempting to throw De La Cruz out on his ear. They couldn’t afford to make an enemy of Rafael. “Hang on, Colby, I’d like to hear the man out. What kind of terms are you offering?”
Colby glared at her brother. “Whatever the terms are, we can’t afford them. Paul, haven’t you learned by my mistakes?”
“I want to hear them,” Paul insisted stubbornly, proving he could be just like his older sister when the situation called for it. “You think I don’t know you get about four hours of sleep a night? Look at you, Colby, you’re getting skinny.”
“Thank you very much,” she snapped, humiliated all over again. “If you two will excuse me I’ve got to shower.” Colby brushed past Rafael, her slender body stiff with disapproval. She couldn’t look at him when she said “shower,” when
Rafael’s attention was suddenly on her body. She could feel the weight of his gaze on her, could remember how his mouth felt.
Rafael’s hands had been all over her, inside her. His mouth, his tongue, his body. She had called out his name, begged him, pleaded for more of his possession. Over and over. She had burned for him all night. She burned for him still.
The hot water stung her hands and the small burns she hadn’t noticed before on her arms and legs. She turned her face up to let the water wash unwanted tears from her face. She was exhausted, the morning was already half gone, and her chores were waiting. Everything was waiting. She washed the smoke from her hair, all the while trembling uncontrollably. Why had she told De La Cruz about the mortgage? It was just one more weapon in a growing arsenal he could use against her. And what had he said? Someone set the fire? With the horses inside the stable, someone had deliberately set the fire?
She dried herself slowly, turning it over in her mind. It was a difficult thing to believe, yet she doubted Rafael would lie about it. Obviously if arson was suspected, there would be a full-scale investigation. She would be the number one prime suspect. Everyone knew she needed money. Colby groaned softly and pulled on a clean pair of faded Levi’s. Why would someone want to burn down her stable? The insurance money wouldn’t cover her full losses, let alone be much good to anyone else.
Had she done it?
Colby sank slowly onto her bed.
Could she have done it?
Could she have inadvertently started the fire without knowing it? Was it possible? She had been in the stable earlier in the evening with Rafael. She remembered the surge of power rushing through her body like a fireball. The strength of it had filled the room.
She had burned for him all night long. So much power and energy.
Colby pressed a trembling hand to her mouth.