Whisper In The Dark (The McKinnon Legends-- The American Men Book One) (25 page)

Several miles down the road she felt safe enough to move from the fetal position she had balled into directly behind Robert’s back.

“Are you all right?” she asked peaking her head up over the seat.

“Yeah, you?” he said running his hand over the top of her head and then gently pushing her back down.

“I think I need to change my pants.”

He laughed softly, totally sympathetic. He figured he was right behind her in the changing room.

Kate felt a flood of relief as they arrived with no further incident just as the police pulled up at the Carson City airport. She got out of the rental and quickly examined the overall damage.

“Wow, I would love to see just exactly how you plan on explaining this one to the rental agency,” she said looking up at Robert.

He shook his head, shrugging as if being shot with high-powered weapons was an everyday event. “Not the first time. Not the last either, I’m sure. That is why I self-insure.”

This one was not going to be a pretty bill to pay. The vehicle looked like it had been through a riot and did not come out a winner. No wonder they had gotten some strange looks along the highway. The missing passenger door was just the beginning.

“And here I was under the misguided assumption I was the queen of turning things to complete crap. Congratulations, you win. I cannot even come close to topping this one.”

He smiled in spite of what they were going through.

“Come on. Time to leave.” He did not have to tell her twice.

This was no time for standing out in the open. Robert helped her up the steps of the waiting aircraft, placing a supportive hand to her side. She noticed he shielded her body just the way he had Candi’s the night she saw him whisking her into the limo.

Robert gave a quick statement to the authorities while in the protection of the cabin of the jet as the pilot prepared the plane for take off. He told them exactly what had happened and explained what he felt to be the connection between the two murders and their attack. The authorities agreed the attack was directly related to the double homicide of the county clerk and her husband who had married them. It was just too coincidental not to be related. All parties accepted and agreed it was a murder they may never solve.

As Kate sat there watching the events going on around her, she realized there were now three people dead. Robert also could have died defending her against unknown assailants seeking unsubstantiated riches. Whoever was after the treasure was very tenacious. Never before could she remember a time when the pitch to find the gold had been this high. Making things worse, the stakes were rising.

After taking off from the airport, Kate had time to think, not always a good thing. The legend had to die before more people suffered the same fate as Kyle and the couple who married them just a few short days before. She had to solve the mystery and lay it to rest. However, as long as the legend was alive, the hunter would be the hunted. While formulating a plan in her mind to present to Robert, she determined her idea was not going to be an easy one to sell to a man with high moral and ethical standards.

“Think about it, Robert. If we find the treasure then the legend will be dead and the mystery solved. Any further discussion about the treasure will be finished. No one except the two of us needs to know we planted it. We can work out the details of our agreement later after the press dies down if you agree to extend the terms.”

“You know it just might work.” Robert was finding himself agreeing and could not believe he could actually go along with this scheme.

Finding authentic materials and currency might be a bit tricky, though not impossible. The real trick was to find the articles without leaving a trail leading right back to them. The fortune had to be authentic or the game was still on, and the press would crucify them as frauds. The press would be right. They would be frauds. Nonetheless, Robert understood that there were always ways around the system, and with his connections, it was feasible.

In the meantime he would place Kate under twenty-four hour security watch. He was not about to leave her side after nearly losing her to fire, drowning, and the shootout all in the span of less than a week. She was holding up amazingly well, all things considered.

Letting his guard down and thinking they would be safe for a few more days allowed the three armed amigos to get way too close for comfort. He got sloppy, and it was unacceptable with any client but even more so with the woman who was now his wife. He could bet that was not happening again. They were very lucky, but neither one fooled the other. It could have just as easily gone the other direction. If she had not fallen in the water, and he not felt the urge to get the cold medicine, the assassins would have surprised them. Aside from the ringing in his ears from firing the gun inside the cab of the SUV and a few shards of glass he pulled out of his scalp, they were both no worse for wear, at least not physically. Emotionally, he was a jumble of nerves and the thought of her in the hands of men capable of doing what had been done to the clerk and her husband made him physically ill. He just wished he knew for certain he had killed all three. He knew there would be others coming, but still he would like to know for certain.

He extracted a promise from the Carson City authorities to share any word on the identification of the three riders. However, he was not holding out much hope of discovering who the men were in reality. The bikes were unmarked, and they were all dressed alike in suits which could be grabbed from anywhere without attracting notice. Black leather from a motorcycle shop was as common as generic aspirin, and even though the commercials say
never leave home without it
, he was quite sure none of them would have their American Express cards stuffed in their wallets. Hired assassins usually did not carry identification for this very reason. Even he did not carry identification when on an OP unless it was necessary to get past security or legal authorities, and then more times than not, fabricated passports were standard issue. In this line of work, culpable deniability on the part of his employer, which in many instances was good old Uncle Sam, was always a mandatory agreement. He saw no difference in this instance from many of the jobs he, Mason, and Chase did for hire. These guys were just working on the wrong side of justice, and he tried not to find himself there if at all possible. Mason and Chase were not quite as picky but even they had their boundaries on this side of the law.

“Let’s get back to Texas and then we can talk further. I’m in no rush to finalize our agreement on the treasure hunt. Getting the guys responsible for Kyle’s death is my priority and the other can wait. Our families have shared this land for generations, so what are a few more weeks?”

He patted the seat next to him.

She got up from the adjacent captain’s chair and crawled on the couch beside Robert in the main lounge of the aircraft. Pulling her legs up under her, she slipped her arm through his and laid her head on his shoulder. There was nothing sexually advancing about her move. She was seeking comfort, nothing more. He understood but wished it were more as he reached to hold her head against his shoulder, giving her head a loving pat.

“We came close didn’t we, cowboy?” she asked softly after sitting there a few moments listening to the drone of the jet engine.

He kissed the side of her forehead closing his eyes, nodding his head. It was a stark reality.

“I’ve come closer,” he confessed, “but never with as much to lose.”

Arriving back at the ranch, Robert's first order of busines was to get them settled into their rooms. For reasons he did not care for and failed to understand, Kate insisted on a separate bedroom.

He argued.

He lost.

However, he figured he would just sleep with her so the impasse was easy enough to solve without expending unnecessary energy on an argument he knew was mislaid.

Kate was upstairs resting and he was making phone calls in his study trying to make the necessary arrangements to put their plan for the planted treasure into motion. Honestly, he was not convinced it was the best course of action. Since, he had not come up with anything better, it was the best plan he had for the moment.

The commotion in the entryway got his attention as he hurriedly closed the conversation with Gage McKinnon, the current Duke of Seabridge and head of the McKinnon family. Rising from his desk, he was curious as to the source of the uproar currently going on outside his study door, and he could not have been more surprised if the president himself had waltzed into his entrance hall.

“Candice?” Robert asked in surprise as she threw herself into his arms kissing him fully on the mouth.

What the hell was she doing here, he wondered?

“Hello, darling. I knew you’d miss me,” she purred.

Bill Fleming, head of Candi’s security detail was standing there looking haggard and very relieved she was now Robert’s responsibility again. “Sorry, Robert. She insisted and you know how she can be.”

Robert did not care if Candice beat Bill up emotionally or physically. Bill knew she was a handful when he agreed to take her on as a detail responsibility. He was thinking the man was so fired for this.

“This is highly irregular, Billy,” Robert said taking her by the arm and leading all parties involved back into his office. “You have to take her back to L.A. tonight, right now. We are right in the middle of something really ugly here, Bill, and I cannot afford this kind of a distraction.”

“No, I refuse to go back to L.A.,” she pouted full red lips. “I want to be here with you, Robbie.”

“That is not a good idea, Candice.” Robert looked at the stairway and wondered if Kate was awake upstairs. The last thing he needed was for her to find Candi here, especially looking as lush as she did. He had a sister and he knew women. He knew Kate was still self-conscious about the way her hair looked from the fire. The stylist was coming tomorrow, but until then she could not measure up to the
just stepped out of a hat box
look Candice appeared so effortlessly to pull off. Kate would not understand he would think Kate was beautiful even if she totally shaved her head. She would feel intimidated by Candice regardless of the fact she was self-assured in so many other ways that were so much more important to him than looks.

“You invited me here, Robert,” Candi said sliding up next to him regaining his attention. She looked succulent and smelled wonderful, as always, but he was not interested in what he knew she was offering. He stepped away.

This is a first, he thought, not having the time to scrutinize the difference in his initial reaction to her physically.

“No, I did not invite you. Why would I when there is danger here?” He shook his head in complete denial.

“Because, Robert, you are a man of discriminating taste and driving need, and you need what only I can give you.” She slithered up next to him pressing her ample chest against his arm.

God she is forward, he thought, not realizing until now just how much she came off as a slut. Though, her actions were no different than usual, he was the one who was different.

“I received your invitation and came as soon as I could. Granted, I wanted to tear your eyes out when I first read of your wedding in the paper, but I am a logical woman and I fully understand why you had to marry that pathetic little creature.” She waved her hand half-heartedly towards the doorway and the small crowd of security gathered just outside the threshold.

This was a private matter and not for his employees to witness. They knew enough about his life without leaving the door wide open. He closed those doors.

Walking back over to where she stood, he tried to sort out what he was feeling. She had a way about her that could excite him. Even now he felt a slight rise in blood pressure just being near her. However, he also realized his feelings for her had changed, some subtly, some very dramatically. He could, for the first time, put his reaction to her into proper context which was something he was unable to do before Katherine walked into his life. He understood there were women, and men for that matter, who just had a magnetism which drew the opposite sex. It was pure animal attraction that he had always felt for her, but so did every other red-blooded male. Yet, after spending quiet and quality time with Kate, the heiress just fell flat, paling in comparison to the woman he called wife.

“You know nothing about what is going on here or why I did what I did, Candice, nor do I feel the need to explain it to you.” He really wanted her gone.

Running her nails through his hair Candi pressed herself close. She was using her knowledge of him to her advantage knowing he would never back down from a challenge. He would not step aside which was just fine by her. The longer she could retain physical contact with him, the more likely she would be sleeping in his bed tonight.

“But I do know,” she purred. “You had to protect your investment and hedge your bets. Money makes strange bedfellows, Robert. I accept your apology and you are more than forgiven,” she said inches from his lips.

“Just stop it, Candice,” Robert commanded as he unfurled her arms from around his neck.

“Robert, you are hurting my feelings. Why are you doing this?” Much to her surprise Candi saw her plan backfiring. No man had ever before rejected her and certainly never Robert. She always had him wrapped around her finger. In his eyes she could do no wrong and he could never say no, ever. The only thing different was his wife, yet Candice could not see what he saw in her. Kate was no threat or match for her beauty and cunning. Therefore, in her mind, Kate could not possibly be the reason why Robert was not falling into her seductive web.

“I’m married. Besides it would not be fair to Kate.”

“So what if you are married?” she said flippantly betraying her true nature and mantle of her moral fiber. “It means nothing except on paper. Even I can see this marriage for what it really is, Robert. And besides, it would not be the first time in history a man found his pleasures elsewhere. I have no issue being the other woman until you can get a divorce. I was here first after all.” Seeing it did not sway him, she changed her approach. “Honestly and truthfully, Robbie, I’m sure she understands that a man of your social standing deserves someone his equal to grace his arm and have his heirs, especially, in the circles we run. She is a waitress, for Christ’s sake. She will be an embarrassment to you.”