Heartland (17 page)

“I’m Emily’s manager, Trish Russell.” The woman on the other end sobbed. “Is Emily okay?”

He wrapped his arm around Emily to keep her standing. “She’s in shock. What the hell did you tell her?”

The woman sniffled. “Oh, God, I shouldn’t have called, but I needed to warn Emily. I called about Kelly Piper--Emily’s assistant.” She cleared her throat. “Kelly’s boyfriend found her body about an hour ago at his townhouse. He’s a musician and just got home from touring. She was going to hide out there. But--but Emily’s stepfather found her.” Trish gasped and was obviously having a hard time fighting her grief. “He’s a madman.”

“How do you know the murderer is Mike Ritter?” He helped get Emily back to her chair. Her pale face took a sickly gray shade and her breaths were more like pants as she curled around her middle and hugged her abdomen. He caressed her ashen cheek. Could this kind of shock harm the child? An icicle of fear stabbed his gut at the possibility.

“He left a message pinned to Kelly’s body with the knife he used to--oh, God--to slit her throat.” Trish sobbed again and her voice cracked. “In it he said he was coming for Emily and she would be next.”

Bile boiled in his gut making the breakfast he’d eaten churn unpleasantly at the thought of Emily’s friend dying such a horrible death for nothing more than a psychopath’s delivery of a message. “Are you in a safe place?”

Trish sniffled. “Yes, my family and I are leaving for Louisiana. My parents own a cabin on the bayou. Is Emily safe?”

“Yes, she’s with me.” He stared into Emily’s terrified eyes, then made a vow to the stranger on the phone and to himself. “I’ll keep her safe.”

God help him. He would move heaven and earth to make sure nothing happened to her.

Chapter 14

Emily stared up at EJ and shivered as if the temperature in the room had dropped fifty degrees. Her limbs tingled with numbing fear.

Mike had killed Kelly simply to get to her.

EJ laid her phone on the table and wrapped Emily up into a hug. She forced her arms to encircle him and buried her face into his neck. He pulled Emily to her feet, then picked her up to carry her into the living room, where he sat on the couch with her across his lap.

“Emily? Sweetheart, are you okay?” His gentle words spoken near her ear sent another violent shiver through her.

Unable to hold back the sobs any more, she cried. “Why did he have to kill her?”

“I don’t know.” He held her closer and caressed her back. “He won’t hurt you. I won’t let him.”

With her face pressed into the front of his shirt, she breathed in his fresh scent and clung to him. “Is Trish safe? God, I didn’t even ask.”

“Yes, she’s heading to the Louisiana bayou.”

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she nodded against his chest. “This is all my fault.”

He tilted her chin up with his thumb to force her to meet his stern gaze. “No. This is not your fault. Mike Ritter is a sick, sick man, Emily. You have nothing to do with his rampage.”

She shook her head. How could he not see? “If I hadn’t forced Kelly to keep my whereabouts secret, Mike wouldn’t have gone to Nashville.” She moved off his lap and paced the length of living room. “If I hadn’t been selfish.” Like the last time, but this time someone died.

Standing, EJ stopped her as she passed the couch and pulled her into his arms. As he caressed her hair, he held her head to his shoulder. “You are not selfish. You were doing what was best for your family. I wish your being here was still a secret.”

She tried to pull out of his embrace, but he held on, and she sobbed at his words. He had no idea. “Yes. I am selfish.” As the memories flooded her, she shuddered. God, she’d do anything for either a drink or a line of coke right now. She fought the craving by focusing on him and taking comfort from him. “Like the last time. All I thought about was myself.”

“I don’t believe that.” He stroked her hair and held her tight.

His husky words seeped through her, making her want to confess. He had to know she wasn’t what he thought she was. She sniffed and wiped the back of her hand over her nose. “You’re wrong. When Mike shot my dad eight years ago, all I could think about, as Mom and I sat in the hospital waiting to hear if he would live or die, was that he couldn’t die because he’d promised to make my dreams come true.” She had to make him see she didn’t deserve his kindness. As she stepped out of his embrace, she shook her head and sobbed. “I didn’t care that he was my dad. The only thing I worried about was, if he died, I would never get famous.”

Hugging her middle, she bent over as the sobs came uncontrollably. She’d never told anyone her darkest secret. Not even the shrinks she’d had over the years. EJ was different. She loved him and had to protect him from the poison inside her.

“God, Emily.” He reached for her, but she shook her head and backed away from him.

“No, don’t you see?” She met the compassionate pewter eyes, she’d come to rely on. “My fame--my life--is built on greed. Is it any wonder I’ve ruined it? It’s Karma.”

EJ stepped toward her and shook his head. “No! Emily. No. You were a kid.”

“I was fourteen! I was old enough to know I was wrong.”

He grabbed her arms and held her. “I don’t care if you were thirty. Your parents dropped a bomb on you. Then Seth announced you were his daughter on stage in front of ten thousand people, many of them your friends and family. Dear God, what was the man thinking?” EJ pulled her to him and wrapped her up in his arms. She didn’t fight him as he kissed her temple. “On top of it all, Mike tried to kidnap you and shot Seth. Emily, you were in shock.” He pulled away far enough to look into her eyes. “Do you know what I thought about before things went south in Jerusalem?”

She shook her head since words were impossible. How could this man still believe in her?

“I was pissed at Raquel because she’d sent me the wrong damned book. I wanted the latest novel from whoever I was reading at the time, but she’d sent me one I’d already read.” He took a deep breath and shifted his eyes from hers. “When we were ambushed and the shooting started, I wasn’t thinking of my unborn child or my family. I could have been killed and my last thoughts would have been absorbed with a petty anger.” He swallowed hard and met her gaze again. As he used his thumb to wipe her tears away, he said, “My point is we are all human, Emily. You are no different. We all think or say things we later regret, but the truth is that in those singular traumatic moments when our brains stop thinking rationally, we get stuck on things we would never even consider at other times. All of us have said things in the heat of anger we would never say at saner times. The same is true when life pulls the rug out from under us. You did not mean what you were thinking when your dad was shot anymore than I did the curses I through at Raquel over the book.

“I don’t consider your thoughts deranged or even selfish.” He kissed her temple, his lips as soft and gentle as butterfly wings. “You were hanging onto something you desperately wanted, because at that moment, when your life was turned inside out, it was the only thing that made sense.” He kissed her again and held her tight as his breath warmed her temple. “I wish you could see what I do when I look at you. I tried to stay away from you. I tried to convince myself you were like Raquel.” He feathered his fingers over her tear-soaked cheeks as he met her gaze. The intensity in his eyes caused her heart to skip a few beats. No man had ever looked at her like this. “You are nothing like her. Despite your struggles, you love your baby enough to want to get and stay drug free. You are willingly putting yourself in danger to ensure your family stays safe. Dear God, Emily, you are the strongest, most honest person I know.”

His husky words pounded on the thick wall of self-doubt and shame she’d built around her heart. She didn’t deserve this man, but she didn’t know how she could get through this without him.

“I’m strong because you’re here. I draw from you. You make me want to do better.” She clung to him, wanting him, loving him. What would she do when she left him?

* * * *

EJ tossed his cell phone on his desk in his house office and stared out the window at the pasture beyond the back yard. Emily had finally gone to sleep, and he spent the past three hours making phone calls. First, he contacted the Nashville police and the FBI to get a report on Kelly Piper’s murder. Afterward, he spoke to a tense Seth and Abby Kendall, ensuring them Emily was safe, and although she took the news of her assistant’s death hard, she was resting. They would call Emily later.

The last call was to his lieutenant deputies Clint Grier and Bucky McCoy. They needed to meet and come up with a plan. As he watched the sun and summer breeze play in the buffalo grass of the pasture, one of Emily’s security guards crossed the yard. EJ hadn’t spoken to the two men much before showing them to the bunkhouse. They’d rented a car at the airport and driven to his ranch, and when they showed up, EJ was too surprised with the memory of them denying him access to Emily at her concert to say much.

EJ went into the kitchen and opened the back door. “Hey.”

Emily had told him Oliver Devore and Jason Harmon were her most trustworthy guards. Hired by her father when he still oversaw her career five years ago, both men were in their forties, and as she’d put it, treated her more like a kid sister or a daughter than their boss.

Oliver Devore headed his way with the bearing of an ex-military man. When he reached the porch, he stood at what was definitely a military stance and nodded a greeting. “Sheriff?”

EJ studied the big bald man. With the coffee-mocha complexion of someone of mixed races, he matched EJ’s six-two, but out-muscled him. He stared back at EJ with deep-set dark brown eyes, and a stoic expression caused the lines on either side of his wide mouth to furrow. EJ suspected the man’s age to be closer to fifty than forty. “What branch did you serve in?”

Oliver lifted a dark brow. “Navy SEALs, I retired as a commander. You were in the Army Rangers, right?”

With a grin, EJ held out his hand and Oliver shook it. “Yeah. I got out two years ago at the rank of captain.”

Oliver chuckled, a deep rumbling sound. “You and Jason should talk,” he said referring to Jason Harmon, Emily’s other bodyguard. Jason had taken the first round of watching the house last night and probably was sleeping. “He’s an Army guy.” Before EJ had a chance to comment, Oliver sobered and returned to his military stance with is hands at his sides. “I heard about Kelly. Do you know anything about Ritter?”

EJ cleared his throat. “That’s why I called for you. I’m meeting with my deputies in a few minutes and wanted to include you.”

“I’ll be there.” He shifted his feet and glanced toward the house. “How is she?”

With a deep breath, EJ opened the screen door. “Grieving. She’s taking this hard.”

Oliver nodded and glanced out over the yard. “Emily doesn’t have many friends she can trust. Kelly was one of those few friends.”

EJ had suspected as much. “Come in.” Once they were inside, EJ took two mugs from the cabinet. “Coffee?”

Oliver stood in the center of the kitchen and nodded. “That would be great.” As EJ brewed the first cup of coffee, the other man looked around. “Nice place. I couldn’t help notice the name on the gate. The Arrowhead. I thought ranches were always called things like Double K or Circle something or other.” EJ sensed Oliver watching him. “Has this place been in your family for long? I know Emily’s ranch has been her family forever.”

EJ removed the full mug from the machine and held it out to Oliver. “I bought the Arrowhead from my aunt and uncle. It’s been in my mother’s family for six generations. The Campbells settled this land about the same time the Kendalls did the Double K.” EJ got the milk from the fridge and held it out to Oliver, who shook his head. After pouring some into his coffee, EJ put it back. “My great-great-great grandfather called it the Arrowhead because he found an old Indian campsite on the land. I still find arrowheads and broken pieces of pottery in the spot.”

“Cool.” Oliver sipped his coffee. EJ indicated a chair and they sat. With a broad smile, Oliver shook his head. “I was an Army brat and lived all over. When my dad retired, my parents settled in Georgia, but I was already in the Navy.” The SEAL set his cup on the table and narrowed his eyes on EJ. “What’s going on between you and Emily?”

He didn’t want to answer the man’s question, but as they stared at each other, EJ got the impression Oliver could be an ally if he wanted him to be one. He didn’t know Oliver’s background, but he did know a few things about him. One, he was hired by Emily’s father, who’s judgment EJ trusted. Two, he was a SEAL, and three, he was loyal to Emily even when her ex fired him.

EJ met the man’s unwavering gaze. “I want to have a future together.”

Oliver smiled and sat back in his chair. “I’m glad. She needs someone like you.”

EJ snorted and picked up his mug to take a sip. “Like me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

With a shrug, Oliver drained his cup. “I’ve done some research on you, Cowley.” His teeth flashed white in his tanned face when he grinned. “You have an impressive military record. Of course, like a lot of us in Special Ops, most of it is sealed. I do know you led the mission back in twenty-seventeen to rescue the American ambassador to Israel and her assistant when Islamic extremists kidnapped them from the embassy in Jerusalem.”