The Rivals (26 page)

What dawned on Drew, as he lay beside her waiting for the storm to abate, was how anxious he felt himself about Nate and Brooke and Ryan being home alone right now. They were probably just fine. But his stomach was knotted with worry.

Over kids he hadn't even known forty-eight hours ago. Over kids that had mostly been a pain in the ass. Over kids that he realized he cared about in a way he'd sworn to himself that he'd never allow himself to care.

The same way he cared for Sarah.

Her anguish made his heart hurt. Her terror made him want to protect her. His arm tightened convulsively around her, and Sarah protested with a grunt before her eyes blinked open.

“Sorry,” he said, easing his hold on her.

When she lifted her head to look out the window he said, “Still blizzarding out there.”

She laid her head back on his shoulder trustingly, eased one leg over his hip to put them body to body and murmured, “Hmmm. You feel good.”

“So do you,” he said.

Drew couldn't remember ever making love to a woman when the act hadn't been preceded by recognizable physical desire. But making love to Sarah this time was motivated by something entirely different. He was afraid to name it even to himself. Offering comfort was a safer word than the truth.

Yet, in the beginning, comfort was all there was.

He held Sarah snug in his arms, feeling the warmth of her, wishing he could lift some of the heavy burdens she carried from her slender shoulders. He hadn't expected her to press her hips against his and whisper, “Make love to me, Drew.” He hadn't expected his own response.

He'd taken her face in both hands, looked into her eyes and seen the desperate need to be connected intimately, completely, to another human being. He'd answered her plea by giving everything he had to her. His heart. His body. And his soul. Oh, yes, his soul.

Drew hadn't known it was possible to love someone so deeply, so completely, in such a short time. He had no idea how it had happened. He only knew it had.

Loving Sarah was terrifying because of the promises he'd made to himself that he would need to break in order to keep her in his life.

I will never have children.

I will never love a woman who can break my heart.

Loving Sarah meant taking the risk of being a parent to her children. Present tense. It wasn't even a question of having children of his own someday in the future. There was nothing future about it, because Nate and Brooke and Ryan already existed.

At which point, a startling thought lodged like a painful fishhook in his gut. If he was going to break his vow by parenting Sarah's children, why not go all the way? Why not have a child—or two or three—with Sarah?

Which brought him to the second vow he'd made.

For a woman to break his heart, he would have to love her. And she would have to betray him.

He'd never doubted his ability to love. Just as he'd never doubted that eventual betrayal. It had happened with every woman he'd ever known and loved, especially those closest to him, most notably, his stepgrandmother, and most recently, the woman he'd left behind in Houston, Grayson Choate.

Drew had guarded his heart as much as he could. But whenever he'd given it, as he inevitably had, he'd been disappointed. How could he expect things to be any different with Sarah Barndollar?

Drew was jolted by another thought. He knew he loved Sarah, but he had no idea how she felt about him. She'd only recently found out she was a widow. It was wishful thinking to believe she could have been as smitten with him over the past forty-eight hours as he had been by her.

He found himself fantasizing about what it would be like to live here with her. To wake up with her soft, warm body next to his, to get dressed together and make breakfast together.

He stopped himself right there.

He needed to add three loud, quarrelsome and intrusive kids to the picture.

As much as Drew tried to make the image unpleasant, it wasn't. Maybe he was being naive. Probably he was being naive. But he'd liked having siblings. He'd liked the noise and the laughter—for as long as it had lasted. But it never lasted long.

Drew had learned not to believe in happily-ever-after. He'd learned not to trust. It was hard to hope, when his hopes had been dashed so ruthlessly in the past. It would be far safer to walk away and never look back. Now. While he still could.

 

Sarah drifted in and out of sleep, aware of something niggling at her, something that wouldn't let her completely relax. When Drew's phone rang, she sat bolt upright.

“What time is it?” Drew said, rolling over onto his back and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Sarah's glance jumped to the window, and she was forced to squint against the bright sunshine. “The storm is over.” She looked at the digital clock beside Drew's bed and said, “It's a little after one o'clock.” And then, staring at the ringing phone, “Are you going to get that?”

Drew reached across the bed and picked up the receiver. “Who's calling?” he asked irritably.

Sarah snatched her trousers from the floor and searched the pockets for her cell phone, looking to see if the kids had called. They hadn't. She hit the button to call home and waited while the phone rang and rang until the answering machine picked up.

“If you're there, pick up,” she said. She waited, but the phone remained unanswered. Then she called the cell phone Brooke carried when the kids left the house. All she got was voice mail. “Where are you guys?” she said. “I'm on my way home. If you get this message, meet me there. I'm going to want a damned good explanation why you disobeyed me and left the house.”

Drew appeared before her wearing unsnapped jeans and scratching his belly. “You'll never guess who that was,” he said.

“I hope it was my kids. They haven't called me and they aren't at home,” Sarah said. “If they went out in this storm—”

“Hey, calm down,” Drew said, trying to pull her into his arms.

Sarah batted his hands away. “My kids are gone. I'm not in the mood for sex.”

A flicker of hurt darted in Drew's blue eyes and Sarah realized she'd mistaken his offer of comfort for something else. “I'm sorry.” She rose and slid her arms around Drew's waist to hug him, then leaned back and looked up into his eyes. “I know I'm acting like an idiot, but after the stunt they pulled last night, I'm a little skittish.”

“Maybe they went to a friend's house,” Drew said.

“I'll feel better when I know they're all right,” Sarah said. “I'm sorry I snapped at you.”

“Forget it,” Drew said, returning her hug.

“Who was that on the phone?” she asked.

“Clay.”

“Do you need to go down to the jail?”

Drew grinned. “It seems the judge had a change of heart. Clay's out on bail.”

“That's amazing!” Sarah said.

“Yeah, amazing what two powerful old men can accomplish when they join forces,” Drew said cynically. “What's even more interesting is that Clay got the same anonymous call you did—about where to find Kate. He said he had to threaten to tie Libby to a chair to keep her from going after Kate in the storm.”

“I suppose we can all go together now,” Sarah said.

“I've got a meeting to go to first.”

Sarah raised a questioning brow. “What's up?”

“King and Blackjack are planning to confront Niles Taylor,” Drew explained. “Clay invited me to be there when they ask him some pointed questions.”

“What about rescuing Kate? Shouldn't that take precedence?”

“Clay seems to think he'll get more precise information about where Kate is from Niles.”

“In that case, I'd like to be there, too,” Sarah said.

“Don't you have to check on your kids?”

“We can do that on the way.”

“You weren't invited to this party, Sarah.”

“So I'll show up uninvited.” When Drew's face remained implacable, Sarah said, “Niles Taylor may have arranged my husband's murder, Drew. I want to be there. I just need to check on my kids first and make sure they're all right.”

“Fine. I'll come with you.”

Sarah opened her mouth to tell Drew she could meet him later and closed it again. She might very well need his help if it turned out the kids had run her pickup into a snowy ditch somewhere. “Thanks,” she said.

Sarah felt a strange lethargy, an unwillingness to let go of Drew and finish dressing. It felt wonderful to be held in a man's arms, to acknowledge his strength and know he was there to support and comfort her. She'd learned enough about Drew DeWitt in the short time they'd been acquainted to understand why he might want to keep their relationship strictly casual, which is to say, sexual.

She couldn't help wanting more. She knew the chemistry between them was something special. She liked him and admired him. And she trusted him. Which was a lot to say based on such short acquaintance. Could you fall in love with a man over a weekend? Sarah was afraid she had.

She lifted her face to his for one last kiss and said, “We'd better get moving.”

They walked hand in hand to the bedroom and dressed in companionable silence. As though they were already a married couple, Sarah thought. She flushed, then glanced at Drew and realized he had no way of discerning her thoughts.

He smiled when he saw her eyes on him and said, “I'll bring my pickup, in case we need to drive around looking for them.”

“Good. I'll meet you at my house,” Sarah said.

Drew helped her put on her coat, wrapped her scarf around her neck and placed one more kiss on her mouth before he shoved her out his kitchen door ahead of him.

Sarah basked in the warm afterglow of feeling loved—even though she knew it wasn't the real thing—all the way home.

Alarm bells went off when she pulled up to the house and found the pickup gone. She'd left the keys for the truck in a kitchen drawer in case of emergency, but she'd warned Nate, “It better be a real emergency, or you aren't going to be driving again until summer!”

Drew was right behind her as she hurried into the house and called out, “Anybody home?”

No answer.

She hurried to the phone to check the answering machine, to see if the kids had left her a message.

And found a handwritten note from Brooke on the counter. Her heart nearly stopped when she read it.

“Oh, no,” she whispered.

“What is it?” Drew asked.

She handed him the note without speaking. Her heart squeezed in terror as she read it again along with Drew.

Sarah's throat had swollen closed by the time she got to the “Love” Brooke had squeezed in as an afterthought above her signature.

“My kids,” she choked out as she turned to Drew, tears springing to her eyes. “My kids were out in that storm. I've got to find them.”

Sarah headed for the door, but Drew hooked her arm and turned her around.

“Let go of me!” she snarled.

Drew had both her arms now, and was holding tight, so Sarah couldn't pull free.

“I'm scared shitless, too,” he said. “But think, Sarah! Niles Taylor may be able to tell us exactly where Kate is being held. We'd have a better chance of finding your kids if we know where they might end up.”

“I can't wait,” Sarah wailed. “They might be—” Sarah couldn't say what she feared. If Nate and Brooke and Ryan hadn't found shelter, they might have frozen to death in the storm. Her best hope was that they'd found the place where Kate was being held captive and were holed up with her.

Then she envisioned what the men who'd brutally murdered Lourdes Ramirez would do to her children if they found them. She stared into Drew's agonized eyes and moaned.

He pulled her into his embrace, and Sarah held on tight.

“Just hang on,” he muttered in her ear. “We'll find them, Sarah. I promise you, we'll find them.”

Sarah swallowed over the painful knot in her throat and said, “They're alive, holed up somewhere. I just know it. My kids are resourceful. And smart. And—”

Her voice hitched and quavered, and Drew folded her more tightly into his arms. His own voice wasn't too steady as he said, “And when we do find them, I intend to give those disobedient whelps a good piece of my mind!”

Sarah realized he sounded exactly like…a parent.

Drew was surprised, when he and Sarah drove up to King Grayhawk's ranch house at Kingdom Come, to find Niles Taylor just arriving. The ten-thousand-

square-foot log house, with its immense stone chimney, was set on a beautiful hillside surrounded by aspens and evergreens and had a breathtaking view of the Grand Tetons.

Niles stepped out of a chauffeur-driven limo and smiled broadly. “Why, hello, Drew. What brings you here?”

“Same thing that brings you here, I expect,” Drew replied. He didn't reach out to take the hand Niles extended, and the other man withdrew it with a frown.

“I see you've got a deputy with you,” Niles said, eyeing Sarah.

“That's Detective Barndollar to you,” Sarah said in a cold voice.

Drew watched as Niles surveyed the other cars parked along the circular drive. “Looks like quite a few folks were invited to this shindig.” He stared up at the imposing house, then back at Drew and Sarah, then at the open limo door.

“Don't even think about it,” Drew said.

Niles smiled and gave the door a little push. It closed with an expensive-sounding
thunk.
“Wouldn't dream of leaving before I see who's come to the party.”

Drew felt Sarah bristle beside him as they followed Niles up a stone walk to the front door. Niles didn't get a chance to ring the brass bell announcing his arrival before one of the double front doors opened and North Grayhawk said, “Come in, Niles.”

Drew saw the older man stiffen when he realized that Blackjack and Clay were standing beside the stone fireplace, while King sat in a leather chair near the fire.

Drew heard Sarah draw a sharp breath when they entered the great room, which had a thirty-foot ceiling framed by log beams and featured a second-story walkway leading from one side of the house to the other. Oak floors shone beneath an impressive central chandelier made of elk and deer and moose antlers. Floor-to-ceiling stone covered the wall that held the fireplace, where a cheery fire crackled.

It was as good a place as any for a showdown, Drew supposed.

“Come in and take a seat, Niles,” King said.

“I'd rather stand,” Niles said, eyeing the two Blackthorne men at the fireplace and watching as Sarah and Drew crossed to join them.

“We weren't expecting you, Detective Barndollar,” King said. “But you're welcome.”

Sarah gave King a jerky nod, then focused her gaze once more on Niles.

“You might wonder why I've asked you here,” King began.

“I have a pretty good idea,” Niles said sardonically.

“Shut up,” King said, stamping his cane on the floor with a sharp crack of wood against wood and then rising to his full imposing height. “I'll make this simple. Tell me where my granddaughter is.”

“What are you offering me if I do?” Niles said.

Drew heard Sarah suck in a gasp of air at this blatant admission that Niles knew where Kate Grayhawk was.

“I'll let you live,” King said.

“I'm making no promises,” Blackjack said.

Niles blanched. “I'm not going to tell anyone who Kate Grayhawk is.” He glanced at Clay and said, “I mean, that she's your daughter.”

“What makes you think Kate Grayhawk is my daughter?” Clay said.

“You're here, aren't you,” Niles said snidely. “I know the truth about you and your bastard brat. That should have been enough to keep you dancing like a puppet on a string for years. But no,” he snarled, “that wasn't good enough. He said we had to set you up with the girl and take pictures.”

“Who are you working for?” North demanded. “Who's in charge of this filthy racket?”

Niles's eyes narrowed. “Wouldn't you like to know. Maybe I do have some negotiating room here.” He turned to Clay and said, “I'll tell you his name for a pass on investigating the consortium.”

“No deal,” Clay said. “You're going to jail. With any luck, you won't have a pot to piss in when you do.”

“You sure as hell aren't going to be the one prosecuting me,” Niles shot back. “You're going to be resigning in disgrace!”

“Where's my granddaughter?” King repeated, reminding them why they were all there.

“Are my three children with her?” Sarah asked.

Drew saw surprise on Niles's face before he answered, “Why would anyone want to kidnap your kids?”

Drew watched Sarah clamp her teeth to keep her jaw from quivering and said, “The detective's children are missing. We think they headed up Game Creek Canyon before the storm.”

“I don't know anything about them,” Niles said.

“Sarah and Clay each got an anonymous call giving directions to where Kate is supposedly being kept,” Drew said.

“Then why do you need my help finding her?” Niles snapped.

“We need to know how accurate the directions we got are,” Drew said.

“They're good,” Clay interjected.

Drew frowned and said, “How do you know?”

“Because the ‘anonymous' man who called was Governor Harvey Donnelly. Harvey and I roomed together in college. When he heard what happened to me, Harvey called to say the same thing had happened to him. One of the guys who removed the body when he was blackmailed bragged about how they'd kept the girl captive in Game Creek Canyon.

“Harvey went up there afterward and found the spot where the tent they'd used had been set up. He said there was no guarantee it would be in the same place this time, but because these guys lacked imagination, he'd be willing to bet it wouldn't be far off.”

“Where is Kate being held, exactly?” Blackjack said, taking a menacing step toward Niles.

Niles took a half step back, then stopped and squared his shoulders. “I want a guarantee—”

Without warning, King swung his oak cane, which landed with a bone-crunching
thwack
across Niles's solar plexus, doubling him in half.

Niles grabbed his belly and retched.

Drew looked at Sarah to see whether she would protest this brutal assault, but her jaw was clamped and her hands were knotted into fists.

“Where is Kate?” King said in a steely voice. “You've got thirty seconds to tell me before I brain you with this thing.”

Niles put his hands up to cover his head, but was still unable to stand up straight. “You're the law,” he said to Sarah. “Do something! Help me.”

“I won't let him kill you,” Sarah said.

But it was clear to Drew, if not to Niles, that she wouldn't stop King much short of it.

Niles coughed and gagged and said, “She's up Game Creek Canyon.”

“How far?” Sarah demanded. “How do we get there?”

“I don't know,” Niles admitted. “I never went there myself.”

“How do we know you're telling the truth?” Sarah demanded.

“Because a worm like him wouldn't soil his hands doing his own dirty work,” North said in disgust.

“Get out of my sight, you slimy bastard,” King said.

Niles turned and stumbled toward the door, fumbling to get it open and slamming it closed behind him as he left.

“Are you just going to let him go?” Sarah asked incredulously.

“He's not going far,” Clay said. “The FBI is waiting for him at the airport.”

“How do we find Kate?” Sarah asked. “And my kids?”

“We follow the directions Harvey gave us,” Clay said.

“What are we waiting for?” Drew said. “Let's go.”