As Good as Dead (37 page)

There's no way-"

"Good God, are you telling me that Jazzy Talbot is my cousin?" Brian asked. "How is that possible? She's Sally Talbot's niece. She's lived here in Cherokee County all her life.

If she was Uncle Dodd's child, wouldn't he have known?

And what about Max? If he knew this Dinah person, wouldn't he have seen the resemblance before now?"

"I never made the connection." Max wrung his hands nervously. "I had no idea Jazzy was a twin. If I had known, I might have seen something, but-" he looked directly at Farlan. "What are you going to do about-I mean, if they are Dinah's twins, will you-?"

"What's the big deal?" Brian asked. "So Uncle Dodd fathered a set of twins thirty years ago. Either he acknowledges them as his children or he doesn't. It's not like the; truth is going to hurt anybody."

Brian's calm, indifferent attitude amazed Veda. Knowing how detrimental the complete truth could be to him, Veda thanked God that he was unaware of those past events, that he'd been spared the memories that haunted her.

"You're assuming the twins were mine," Dodd said.

"Yes, I-" Brian stared quizzically at his uncle. "Are you saying they weren't your children?" When Dodd didn't reply, Brian looked to his father. "Who-?"

"The twins were-are-my daughters," Farlan confessed.

"Damn!" Brian turned to his mother. "And you knew?"

Veda didn't think she could bear another moment of this insanity. Everything she'd do-ne, she'd done to protect her son, but if Farlan insisted on taking this revelation to its logical conclusion, how would the outcome affect Brian? He had always been Farlan's only child, the heir to the MacKinnon fortune, but if Farlan proclaimed Reve and Jazzy as his children, what would happen? Thirty years ago that damn Dinah had done enough to hurt her family, to put Brian's future in jeopardy. She had to find a way to end this nightmare before it went any further.

"Your mother and I came to an agreement," Farlan told Brian. "When I explained to Dinah that I could never marry her, could never leave Veda and you, she agreed that the best thing for her to do was take the twins and move away. And that's what she did. Or at least that's what I thought she did."

Farlan zeroed in on Max. "You took her ten thousand in cash. And she drew on the account I set up for her for several years. Isn't that right?"

Sheer terror in his eyes, Max looked away and stared at the floor.

"Answer me, damn it," Farlan said. "That's right, isn't it? I entrusted you to handle the matter for me, as my lawyer and a member of my family."

"I-I took the money to her apartment, just as you'd instructed me to do," Max replied.

"But she wasn't there. She and the babies were gone. She'd already moved away. I asked some of the neighbors, and nobody had any idea where she'd gone. She hadn't left a forwarding address or anything."

Rage burned in Farlan's eyes. Veda cringed. Oh, God, she had never dreamed mis day would come-the day that Farlan would find out that Max had stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars from him, that Dinah and her twins had never seen a dime of the money he'd intended for them. Of course, she had known the truth all these years, but she'd kept Max's dirty little secret because it had been to her advantage to do so. If Farlan had known Dinah and those babies had simply disappeared, he would have hired a private de-tective to find them.

"I'm sorry." Max still couldn't bring himself to look Farlan in the eyes. "You know how I was always short on money back then. When I couldn't find Dinah, I thought what harm would it do for me to keep the money. I'd just intended to keep the ten thousand, but then when she never did show up asking for the money, I-I decided to forge her signature and withdraw the money you put into her account each month."

"Are you telling me that Dinah and my daughters never received the money?" Farlan's features were contorted with rage, his hands tightened into huge fists. "Why did you suddenly stop withdrawing money from the account? You told me that there was no need to keep depositing money into the account because Dinah hadn't withdrawn anything from the account in quite some time. But it was a lie. All lies!"

"I don't know why I did it. And I stopped because… well, I guess I got scared. And I started feeling really guilty. After all, Farlan, you've always been good to me, helped me and-"

"What do you know about Dinah's disappearance? About the fact that those babies we-re abandoned?" Farlan charged Max, grabbed his coat lapels and shook him. "Answer me, damn you! I trusted you to help me take care of Dinah and my daughters."

Dodd interceded, grabbing Farlan by the arm and jerking him away from Max. "None of that matters, now, does it? If Jazzy Talbot and Reve Sorrell are Dinah's twins, then I'd say that they are what matters now. Everything else is unimportant. You can deal with Max later, once this current crisis has been handled."

Farlan nodded. "You're right. I have to find out for sure if they're my daughters. I think I should go to Jacob Butler and tell him everything."

"No!" Veda screamed. Had her husband lost his mind?

"I agree with Veda," Max said. "What will going to the sheriff accomplish?"

Farlan speared Max with his gaze. "You, Maxwell, don't have a say in this matter.

You'll be lucky if I don't bring you up on charges."

"Farlan, you wouldn't," Veda said. "Max is family. We protect family."

"Jazzy and Reve may well be family, too. Someone tried to kill Jazzy," Farlan said.

"And there's a possibility mat it wasn't the serial killer. That means-"

"Of course it was the serial killer," Veda said. "She's a redheaded slut who got dumped in the creek, just like those other women."

"Don't ever call my daughter a slut again," Farlan told his wife. "Do you understand?"

Oh, yes, she understood. Farlan would defend and protect Dinah's children, just as he had tried to take care of her. And he would love those girls, just as he'd loved Dinah.

"She's not your daughter," Veda replied in a voice far calmer than she felt. Inside, she was a mass of jittery nerves. "But even if she is, she's still a slut. Just like Dinah."

"Dinah was the sweetest, most loving young woman I've ever known." Farlan focused all his attention on Veda. "She knew how to love." He swallowed the emotions lodged in his throat. "She loved me."

"She loved your money, you damn fool!" Veda stood to face her husband.

"No, you're wrong. A man knows when a woman loves him. Dinah loved me. You're the one who loves my money. You've been obsessed with being Mrs. Farlan MacKinnon all our married life. Your one thought has been to retain your position as my wife, to keep your hands on my money."

"For Brian! Not for myself. He's your son."

"And Dinah's twins are my daughters."

"You say that as if you're proud of the fact that you fathered some trashy whore's two bastard children."

When Farlan lifted his hand to strike Veda, Brian stepped between them. Farlan's arm froze in midair.

"Don't," Brian said calmly. "You don't want to hit Mother."

Veda could not stem the tide of tears cascading down her cheeks. How was it possible that the pain was as fresh and raw this very moment as it had been all those years ago when she'd discovered that not only had her husband been unfaithful, but that he had fathered his mistress's babies?

Farlan stared at Brian, his eyes glazed. He lowered his arm.

"And you don't want to go to Sheriff Butler," Brian said. "What would that accomplish? If something happened to Dinah and her twins years ago, you know nothing about it. None of us do. So how would making some personal confession to the sheriff do you or anyone else any good?"

"I want proof that those girls are mine," Farlan said. "And if somebody hurt Dinah… If somebody tried to hurt those babies.."

"I suggest that if you're hell-bent on revealing the truth, you should contact Griffin Powell," Dodd said. "Reve Sorrell hired him to investigate her past, didn't she? Speak to Mr.1 Powell, tell him whatever you need to tell him to see if he will reveal what he knows."

"He'll go straight to Reve Sorrell with whatever you tell him," Veda said.

"Probably." Dodd looked at her with sadness and sympathy in his eyes. "But if Reve and Jazzy are Dinah's daughters, it's only a matter of time before Mr. Powell finds out and once he does, then everyone will know."

"They won't know that Farlan is their father, not unless he makes some foolish confession." Veda hated the desperation in her voice, but God help her, she was desperate. Desperate to save Brian's inheritance, desperate to save her marriage, and desperate to keep the truth buried in the past.

"I suggest that we all sleep on this tonight," Brian said. "And tomorrow, when everyone's emotions have settled down a bit, then Father can decide what he wants to do."

"I agree." Dodd patted Brian on the back. "That's a sensible suggestion."

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Max said. "Sounds right to me."

"Mother?" Brian slipped his arm around Veda's shoulders.

Her precious son. Always loyal to her.

"Of course, whatever Farlan decides to do, we will support him." What choice did she have? She hadn't come this far, kept so many deadly secrets, to lose everything now. But she knew exactly what she had to do, no matter what Farlan decided. And she had to do it soon. Very soon.

Touch me, her mind screamed. Dear God, touch me. She was wound so tightly, her body so hungry for him, that she feared she would climax the moment he put his hands on her.

How had this happened? How had cool, calm and in-control Reve Sorrell become nothing more than a woman in heat? Not in her entire life had she ever wanted anything as desperately as she wanted Jacob Butler. Her few sexual experiences had been with men her social equal, men with whom she shared a long-standing personal relationship. The sex had been good-wasn't sex always good?-but right at this moment she couldn't remember what those other men looked like. Hell, she couldn't even remember their names.

Jacob Butler's presence filled her whole world. Every centimeter. Leaving no room for anything or anyone else. And that was what she had feared most-allowing him to domina-te her. He was a man accustomed to taking what he wanted, to consuming all he needed, and doing it with a passion that Reve had never experienced.

When he inched closer to her, she felt the heat of his big body behind her, his chest almost touching her back. She shivered, more from fear than the damp coolness of her wet body. Standing perfectly still, holding her breath, she waited.

He touched her. Trembling from head to toe, she sighed loudly. Warmth spread through her, from where his arms circled her waist and his big hands clutched the edge of her sweater to her entire body. Every muscle. Every nerve. Every inch of flesh. Whether she leaned back against him or he pulled her, she didn't know. Didn't care. He surrounded her, encompassed her. Allowing her head to fall backward onto his chest, she closed her eyes and savored the moment. He lowered his mouth just enough to kiss her temple, then moved °n to nuzzle her ear.

"Let's get you out of these wet clothes… baby."

Baby! Dear Lord, he 'd called her baby.

Her femininity clenched and unclenched. Tingles of pure sexual desire set her on fire.

Hot. Burning hot. His touch was electric.

And when he eased the edge of her sweater up over her belly, she didn't protest; instead she lifted her arms and allowed him to pull it over her head and off. Feeling as if she' be-en drugged, she rubbed herself against him as he undid the snap of her bra and eased the straps down her shoulders. She quivered, high on passion, her flesh super-sensitive. He kissed first one shoulder and then the other, just before he removed her bra completely and tossed it aside. His huge, rough hands cupped her breasts, lifting them as if he were weighing them. Her breasts filled his palms to overflowing.

He scraped his thumbs over her nipples and elicited a cry of pure pleasure-pain from her lips. While she writhed against him, wild with need, he kissed her neck, then licked a path downward to her shoulder as he continued tormenting her nipples.

Acting entirely on instinct, she turned in his arms and reached for the buttons on his shirt, wanting-needing-to touch his bare skin. When her hands trembled so badly that she couldn't undo the first button, he grabbed her hands and eased them up and under his shirt, flat against his chest. Then he undid the buttons and tossed his shirt aside. The moment his shirt hit the floor, he grasped her by the waist and hauled her up against him.

Naked breasts to naked chest

She loved the feel of him, of that smooth, hard chest, that taut flesh. He exuded an aura of strength and pure masculine power unlike anything she'd known. He was, as his ances-tors eons ago, a primitive male, now in his prime. And she had never felt more like a woman, as if she ruled the world, as if she could control this man with a look… a touch… a word.

Lifting her hand to drape his neck, she brought her gaze up to meet his and saw the depth of his desire.

"Jacob." His name came softly, like a whisper. Almost like a prayer.

He kissed her then, kissed her the way he had in her dreams, with a primeval force that shook her to the very core of her being. Overwhelming in intensity, consuming her totally, his mouth took hers, but the moment she responded, opening her mouth freely for his invasion, his entire demeanor gentled. The tenderness that followed the brutal storm con-quered her completely. She was his. Heart, mind and body. And she understood, without any doubts, that for this night, he belonged to her and her alone.

They kissed until she went weak in the knees and gasped for air. She couldn't get enough of him, couldn't get as close as she wanted. Only by joining her body to his could she reach the level of intimacy she craved.

When he cupped her buttocks and lifted her up and into his erection, she tossed back her head and keened, the sound one of complete surrender. Surrender not only to him, but to herself, her own human needs. His mouth came down to one breast, his tongue flicking back and forth over the nipple. She grasped his shoulders to steady herself and nearly ca-me unraveled when he suckled her.