To Desire a Wilde (16 page)

A
lthough she'd made the three-hour drive to Cheyenne by noon, at 7:00 p.m. Ellie was just pulling into the parking lot of the building that housed the executive offices of Jasper and Brant. A glance around the lot showed it to be as deserted as she'd hoped.

With her stomach tied in knots, Ellie cut the engine on her car and sat with her hands clenching the wheel so tight her knuckles strained.

She relaxed her grip and took a deep, calming breath. During the last week, time after time she'd found herself lifting her cell to punch in her supervisor's number, only to lose her nerve and press the end button before the call could go through.

At first she had thought it was nerves holding her back, or the lack of courage in confronting the man. She had wondered if it was all in her mind, not wanting to accuse him of something so low.

And then she'd remembered in shame how she'd accused the man she claimed to love of the low act.

Throughout the long drive, she'd thought over everything that had happened, from her being fired to the ugly accusations she'd thrown at Shilah.

What kept cropping up in her mind was the careful way he'd held his body, the almost neutral expression on his face. But it was his eyes that had told a different story. His eyes held a different truth, one that in her hurt and anger…confusion, she hadn't seen.

She'd made the decision to come to the office and confront him face-to-face. As she made the long drive, a different plan began to hatch in her mind instead, and so after her arrival, she waited until long after she thought he'd left for the day before making her way to Jasper and Brant.

With a heavy sigh retrieved her bag and left the car. Glancing around the nearly empty parking lot, Ellie hoped that she hadn't made the drive unnecessarily and that Clarence was still in his office.

She walked to the entry of the building, and peering into the large glass double doors, saw a guard nearby.

She flashed her badge through the window for the guard to see, hoping her supervisor hadn't yet gotten around to alerting the guards of her new status.

The guard glanced at the badge through the window and, when he lifted his key to unlock the door to allow her inside, she released the pent-up breath she held.

“Hi, I'm Dr. Ellie Crandall,” she said, smiling up at the guard. “Don't suppose you know if Clarence MacArthur is still in?” she asked, flashing a purposeful smile on her face, hoping none of her anxiety showed.

The guard glanced down at his clipboard briefly, before looking back at her, shaking his head.

“'Fraid not, Dr. Crandall. Says here he left a bit ago. You just missed him,” he said, shaking his head, his glance falling to the small portable television behind his desk.

Ellie put on a faux look of disappointment, hiding the relief she felt that Clarence wasn't around.

“Darn. Was hoping I'd catch him before he left for the day. I was supposed to give him something before he leaves town tomorrow.”

“Well,” the guard drawled, his eyes shifting to the television behind his desk before turning back to her.

“If you want you can go on up and put it on his desk. Said he'd be in tomorrow before he left for the airport,” the guard supplied, and Ellie grinned.

“That would be great,” she said and turned away.

She stopped, and turned back to the guard who was quickly walking back to his desk. She watched him pull out his chair, a grin of anticipation splitting his lined face as the theme music for
Judge Judy
blasted from the small set as a commercial ended. He rubbed his hands together gleefully, mumbling, “Oh, you 'bout to get it now, playa!”

“Oh, no…I didn't bring my key. Thought I'd catch him in time. Don't suppose you have the key?” she said, placing a sheepish look on her face, knowing the guard held the keys to all the offices.

She held her breath, hoping the lure of
Judge Judy
would prevent him from questioning her further. When he seemed to hesitate, his glance going to her and back to the television, Ellie rushed in to explain.

“It's just that I have a plane to catch myself tomorrow.
And if he doesn't get this…” She allowed her voice to trail away.

After a considering look he nodded his head. “Guess that wouldn't hurt anything. Here, why don't I give you the key. Just bring it back when you're finished,” he said and Ellie hid a triumphant grin, sending a silent thank-you to Judge Judy.

“Just don't tell nobody,” he said with a wink.

She grinned back. “I love
Judge Judy
myself,” she said, and he laughed. “No fears…your secret is safe with me.”

Before he could change his mind…or before Judge Judy could dispense her legendary swift judgment and end the show, Ellie grasped the key and swiftly strode toward the elevator, her heart bouncing against her chest in part jubilation and part anxiety.

Before unlocking the door to the office, Ellie peered though the glass pane of the small sitting area, just in case Clarence was inside, rapping her knuckles against the pane lightly. When she saw no sign of movement, no sound, she slipped the key in the lock and quickly walked inside.

 

After spending the last twenty minutes unable to find anything—no documents, no files, nothing to show Clarence's involvement in the photos—Ellie felt foolish, a cloud of despair cloaking her as she thought that maybe she'd been wrong after all and he hadn't been involved.

Which would mean that someone at Wilde had been, she thought, her shoulders slumping in dejection.

Putting her hands on her head, she allowed her head to droop.

“What did I think I would find?” With a sigh she bent
down to lift her bag from the floor where she'd placed it next to her.

As she did, she heard a slight ping and turned, glancing toward the computer.

She looked down and saw the message indicator on the left of the screen indicating a new email.

She'd opened the computer when she'd first sat down, surprised that he hadn't locked it, until she'd tried opening several documents only to find them password protected.

But, when the email alert pinged again, quickly she clicked on the icon, breathing out a huge sigh of relief when she was allowed in.

Her elation grew in direct proportion to the knot in her stomach, when after going though his inbox, she saw her name on several of the subject lines.

The lump that had been slowly forming in her stomach grew and with shaky fingers she clicked on the first file folder with her name.

This email had only a single sentence, stating,
We got them
…along with an attachment. She clicked on the attachment and within moments a kaleidoscope of images filled the screen, the same ones that had been slipped beneath Shilah's door.

She drew in a breath. She'd never shown the photos to Clarence.

Chills ran over her spine as she opened the next document. In this one, Clarence had written to the USDA, telling them of Ellie's resignation, due to a family emergency.

A week before she'd told him about the pictures.

The last document was an email from Clarence to someone at Rolling Hills.

Like dominoes in her mind it all fell into place, and Ellie's hands fell to her stomach as it churned, making her literally sick as she thought of how stupid, how incredibly stupid she'd been. How could she have blamed Shilah, his family, for the duplicity?

She scanned the rest of the documents, her eyes widening at the deceit staring her in her face.

“You shouldn't have come here, Dr. Crandall.”

Ellie spun around in her chair, her heart in her throat as she faced her supervisor. She glanced from his face to the .35 he held in his hand as he kicked the door closed and advanced into the room.

E
llie's glance slid from Clarence, to the shiny .35 he held in his hand and back to meet his face. Swallowing deeply, she placed her printouts behind her back, trying to slip them into her purse without his noticing.

Dear God, what could she do…what could she say to him, she thought, racking her brains for a solution, anything to get her out of the office alive.

“I—I thought I'd catch you here, but I missed you.” She swallowed, dragging a trembling smile to her face.

“Now, Ellie, surely you don't expect me to believe you just came here to shoot the breeze with me, did you?” he asked, walking inside the office and closing the door behind him. He reached behind his back and she heard a soft click as the lock slid into place.

Waiting for the fear to come, instead Ellie felt a steely
strength rush over her. Purposely putting on a disdainful expression, she turned to face him.

“Seems like someone's been a busy boy,” she said, one side of her lip curling upward.

She saw the surprise in his eyes, as he halted in his steps momentarily.

Sensing she had a slight advantage, she turned back to her purse and withdrew the photos, she faced him again.

“Had you just come to me in the first place, all of this,” she said, waving the photos in her hand, “wouldn't have been necessary, Clarence.”

His glance slid to the photos in her hand, then back to her face. “Oh, really? And why is that?”

Firmly keeping a nonchalant smile in place she walked toward Clarence. Once she was close enough to him, she ran a finger down his chest, dropping her eyes.

“I'm sure we could have come to a…mutually satisfying…arrangement. It's still not too late for that, you know.”

He frowned down at her, but she could sense his intrigue as well as the effect she was having on him, hiding her disgust at the way the front of his slacks bore evidence.

“And how's that?”

She shrugged, feigning calmness. “I'm guessing you were the one behind the pictures?” She went on, without waiting for his reply, “And…I'm guessing for whatever reason, you didn't want my report to go through. I'm also guessing the reason for that would be that you've made a side deal with someone who doesn't want the ranch cleared?”

She saw his face blanch.

“I'd say you're guessing way the hell too much,” he said, eyes narrowing.

“Now, now… The report still hasn't been sent in. Think how much more effective…and immediate…it would be, if my report went in…doctored, of course.”

“I'm listening,” he said.

Playing it solely by ear, she went on, laughing lightly. “Appears to me you're going about this the hard way. Sure, you tell them my evidence was inconclusive, get my investigation thrown out, but that still leaves the problem of another investigator coming in. I have a feeling that after this the USDA will send in one of their own.”

When he nodded his head, she went on. “But, like I said, if the report is sent in…altered, there would be no need for the USDA to continue with the investigation. And even if the Wildes protested the report, the damage would be done. They would be shut down and forced to sell.”

He grabbed her hand, closing his fist around it so tightly for a moment that she turned pale. When he saw the reaction she couldn't hide, the ends of his lips curled up, the smile he gave her cruel.

“I never was one for playing games, Ellie.” The warning in his voice made it clear what would happen if she were toying with him.

“Neither am I,” she said, holding his gaze.

“So, what's in this for you?”

“I bet we can come up with an agreement that will make us both…happy,” she said, allowing her lids to drop.

Ellie held her breath, her glance stealing to the gun
he still held in his hand, waiting for him to lower his guard, for just one minute…that's all she'd need.

She didn't think for a minute she still had a chance in hell that he'd just let her go after what she knew. But if he lowered his guard, and the gun, for just one minute, that's all the time she'd need.

He placed a finger beneath her chin, jerking her face up to meet his. Slowly he lowered his mouth to meet hers, and Ellie bit back the nausea that bubbled in her stomach. Right before his lips met hers, she reared back her knee, and with as much force as she could, rapped him in the groin.

With a curse he dropped the gun, grabbing his groin, and fell to his knee. Quickly scrambling away from him she spun around, searching for the gun. Knowing she had only a few precious moments, she lunged for the weapon. As she did so, she twisted her knee, the painful tear she heard nearly making her black out.

She pushed away the pain and, scrambling to her feet, crawled the short distance to reach the gun.

As her hands curled around it, she cried out in pain when Clarence landed on her hard, and together they rolled along the floor. With gritted teeth, Ellie held on to the gun, knowing her life was on the line.

For long moments nothing was heard in the room but their panting breath, as Ellie fought hard to maintain her hold on the weapon.

Her head snapped back and a cry fell from her lips when he reared his hand back and slapped her hard across the face, snatching the gun from her.

Tears fell from her eyes when he grabbed her and hauled her to her feet. The tears that ran down her face
weren't from the pain, but an overwhelming sense of failure.

“Let's go,” he panted, forcing her close to his side, turning to leave the office.

 

Shilah killed the lights on his truck, allowing the engine to idle as he glanced down at the slip of paper on the passenger seat. He'd been given the address of the building, the headquarters of the company Ellie worked for, by her father less than three hours ago. Driving like the proverbial bat out of hell, adrenaline racing through his veins, he'd made the three-hour drive in less than two.

With relief he saw Ellie's small Toyota in the isolated parking lot, he breathed a sigh of relief, drumming his hands impatiently against the steering wheel, deciding what his next move should be.

The day Ellie had shown him the damning photographs, he'd gone to his brothers. Although he hadn't shown them the photos, he'd told them what had transpired between them and grimly the brothers had spent the morning going over their next course of action in response to the blackmail.

A blackmail he and his brothers all agreed wasn't aimed at destroying Ellie, but the ranch. Mentally wrestling with the accusations she'd thrown at him, Shilah still hadn't been able to get her out of his mind or heart, as over the course of the next two days he and his brothers had questioned each of the men who worked for them. But none had shown any hint of deceit.

That morning two things had happened that led to his sitting in a truck, outside Jasper and Brant, deciding his next move.

Lilly had come to him and spoken of her concern about Anna, the new kitchen help she'd hired. Not in the mood to deal with domestic issues, he'd impatiently waved the concern to the side when Lilly told him she believed Anna was somehow involved.

Shilah, along with his brothers and Lilly, had gone to the girl's room and found her there, packing her bags, fear in her eyes.

They hadn't even had to ask to know she was guilty. Before they could speak, she'd taken one look at each of the big men crowding inside the small room before she'd broken down crying, admitting what she'd done.

With tears streaming down her face, she'd outlined her involvement in the scheme to discredit the ranch. A man who'd claimed to work for the USDA had approached her in town with an offer she hadn't been able to refuse.

The only thing she had to do was follow Ellie and report back to him anything she learned as she went about her investigation. When she'd seen Ellie and Shilah together, she'd told the man and he'd ordered her to follow them take pictures of them together. When she'd shared with him the pictures she'd then been told to place them under Shilah's door. And that was all she'd had to do.

Anna had cried as she'd finished admitting her guilt, saying she'd only done it because she needed the money for the baby she was carrying, that the father of her child had left her and she desperately needed the money.

Shilah had felt no sympathy for the woman, only a boiling rage at what she'd done.

He'd rushed to Ellie's parents' home to find Ellie and tell her what had happened. Once there, her father
had met him at the door and refused to allow Shilah inside. He'd swallowed his pride and pleaded with her father. The elder Dr. Crandall's face had softened lightly, and with a sigh he'd told Shilah he had 2.2 minutes to tell what he could
possibly
say to allow him into his home.

Shilah had accomplished the task in half the time, humbly telling Ellie's father that he loved her.

Reluctantly her father had allowed him in. There he'd told Shilah that Ellie had driven to Cheyenne earlier that morning to talk to her supervisor. Shilah had stopped him, asking the name of her supervisor.

When he told him, Shilah's heart had all but stopped, recalling the name Anna had mentioned when Nate had asked her the name of the man who'd approached her. Clarence MacArthur.

Shilah had spun around and run toward his truck, his tires leaving long skid marks in the street as he hastily flipped around and pushed his foot full down on the accelerator, rushing toward the highway and Ellie.

With shaky fingers he'd called the ranch and told Lilly what he'd learned, telling his brothers to meet him in Cheyenne. After getting off the phone with Lilly, he'd called Dr. Crandall, asking for the address.

Now, he cut the engine on the truck, pulling the keys from the ignition. As he opened his door, he jumped out, racing toward the entry. He had just reached the revolving door when a sound caught his attention and he turned, frowning.

Coming from the side entrance he saw two figures, one tall, thin, the other smaller, walking closely together. He would have kept walking had he not looked closer. The woman stumbled, and the man grabbed her by the
arm, dragging her to her feet. Before Shilah could make a move, he saw the woman's foot sweep out in a arch, catching the man off guard, bringing him to his knees. At the last moment, before the man went down, he grabbed her by the waist, bringing her down with him.

A sick feeling nearly doubled Shilah over as realization hit who the couple were.

At the same time the couple rolled on the ground together, and the overhead beaming halogen light shone against the shiny chrome-plated handle of a .35.

His heart felt like it exploded from his chest as he took off at a run toward the couple, yelling Ellie's name.

His world came to a stumbling halt when, as if in slow motion he saw her lift her head toward the sound of his voice, and immediately the rat-a-tat sound of bullets rent the air.