Wilder Than the Rest: MacLarens of Fire Mountain (17 page)

“Are you ever going to let me explain my side of what happened?” Lee’s warm breath washed over her through the thin fabric of the silk robe.

She closed her eyes, wishing she’d never listened to Owen’s cryptic comments about his friend and partner. “You don’t need to explain. I was there, remember?”

“It wasn’t what you thought, Eva.”

He was gently massaging her shoulders and neck, using his thumbs in circular motions. It was how he’d always relaxed her.

“You were there, she was there.” Eva sighed and dropped her head back against his chest. “I understand, truly I do. You were still in love with her when we met, you said as much. I’d thought, hoped, that at some point, the feelings we had for each other would be strong enough to help you forget her. Now, I understand that some losses can never be forgotten.” Her heart squeezed as it always did when she remembered that night and the terrible sense of betrayal. She hadn’t understood how much she’d loved Lee until it was too late.

“You are so wrong. I loved you, Eva, and still do. Constance was a memory, that’s all.” He turned Eva to face him. He started to say more when a soft knock on the door stopped him. Lee dropped his hands, but didn’t step back. “Promise me you’ll let me explain.”

Eva didn’t answer as she skirted around him, opened the door, and accepted the message from the young man. “Thank you,” she said in an absent tone then shut the door.

“The carriage will be outside in two hours. I need to start getting ready.” Eva looked to Lee, who hadn’t budged. She began to walk past him, but stopped as his hand gently wrapped around her wrist.

“We can work this out if you’ll let me explain.” His voice was close to a plea. She felt his hand squeeze her wrist lightly before he let it fall back to his side.

Eva studied his rugged face and eyes that had darkened to a deep emerald green, thinking of how many nights she lay in bed dreaming of a chance to be with him again, knowing it would never happen. She shook her head and continued into her bedroom, closing the door softly behind her.

Chapter Fifteen

Pierce finished dressing in his comfortable ranch clothes then hurried down the stairs. The last thing he needed was to run into Mollie on his way to the Pound residence. She wasn’t a part of tonight’s activities, and he’d been careful to keep his plans from her.

Lee had arranged for a horse to be waiting behind a hotel where his carriage driver dropped him off. Pierce walked through the hotel lobby, out the back door, and around the corner where the horse was saddled and waiting. It would take less time to maneuver the busy streets on horseback than to go by carriage or use one of the horsecars, which most residents rode and were always crowded. His forty-five Peacemaker was hidden in the special holster Noah had sent, and for the first time in weeks, Pierce felt like himself.

It didn’t take long to reach his destination. He rode to the back of the property then tied his horse to a post another block away and hidden from the main street. He’d get in and out before anyone discovered his presence. There were to be just a few guests and he’d seen no guards posted, as was the case at the Mayor’s Ball. No one was expecting trouble tonight. Truth was, Pierce didn’t want any trouble either, just a clean visit without being discovered.

His dark clothes concealed his tall, lean frame as he traversed the short distance through the shrubs and crouched below a well-lit window on one side of the mayor’s house. Laughter and conversation flowed from the room, which he guessed was either the dining room or parlor. He looked around and smiled at his luck. There were several large trees within a few feet of the house. The one closest to him had large branches that spread out and touched the upper windows near a second-story balcony. Lee had told him the library, which served as the mayor’s office, was downstairs. The mayor also had a small, private study on the second floor. He needed to check both.

Pierce dropped to the ground at the sound of voices near the window.

“How long will you be in the city, Lee?” It was the mayor’s voice.

“Weeks or months, neither Eva nor I have decided.”

“She’s a beautiful woman, a little mysterious for my tastes, but no doubt a most gracious companion. I don’t have to tell you how lucky you are.”

“No, Mayor, you don’t.”

“Supper is served,” a servant announced.

Pierce could make out the sound of footfalls as everyone moved to the dining room. He stood and peered through the window into the parlor then stooped low to silently traverse the perimeter of the house. He needed to locate the library, then find the upstairs study. The library was on the other side of the kitchen, on the opposite side of the house from where he’d started. Pierce reached up and tried the window, relieved to discover it hadn’t been secured. To his relief, it made no noise as he lifted the double-hung window. He pulled himself over the sill and dropped inside.

Pierce moved to the desk, rifling through drawers, and feeling around the bottoms and sides. Finding nothing, he walked the perimeter of the room, locating a small wall safe. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pouch of tools. Within a minute, the safe was open and he was searching the contents. Again, he found nothing except personal papers and some money. He closed the safe, returned the picture to its place, and took one more careful look around.

A small stand caught his attention. The top shelf was thicker than most, capable of concealing a drawer. He silently approached and noticed what appeared to be a shelf on glides. Pulling it open he found a stack of papers. He searched through them, and again, found nothing except private documents.

It was time to locate the study. He dropped back outside, closed the window, then soundlessly returned to the large tree on the other side of the house. A short time later, he was up the tree and standing on the small balcony. He tried the door. It opened and he slipped into what he guessed was the bedroom used by the mayor and his wife. The inside bedroom door opened to a dimly lit hallway. The third door he tried opened into a surprisingly large study.

Two walls held books, the third was to the outside and had just one window. A desk was pushed up against the fourth wall with tall cabinets on either side—that’s where he started.

The third drawer down on the right side of the desk held various files, one labeled ‘G and F.’
Grayson & Flannigan?
Pierce wondered as he pulled it out and looked through the contents. His eyes widened as he scanned the documents inside. He read the contents twice, memorizing as much as possible before returning the file to the drawer to search the rest of the room. The file in the desk was the only item of interest. He’d started toward the hallway door when he heard footsteps and voices.

Pierce dashed to the one small window, lifted the bottom half, and peered out. He’d break a leg if he tried to drop from that point. He closed the window and looked around the room, his eyes fixing on the tall cabinets next to the desk. He pulled open the doors at the bottom of one and had just crammed his large frame inside, closing the doors after him, when light appeared from the hallway.

“This is the desk I mentioned. It came over from England. Almost didn’t make it when the ship ran into a nasty storm. As you can see, it did survive and required only minor repairs.”

“It’s magnificent, Mayor, as is the room. This must be where you go to truly get away.”

Pierce thought he recognized the somewhat sultry female voice as belonging to Virginia Traxton and a chill went through him. Something about that woman set him on edge.

“Yes, Virginia, it is. Of course, I receive visitors and do some work in my library, as it is larger and more formal. This room is reserved for my own personal use. Shall we?”

Pierce waited until he heard the door close behind them before pushing open the cabinet doors and extricating himself from the small space. He stretched then pulled open the hallway door and dashed silently to the bedroom where he’d entered. Within minutes, he was outside, moving at a quick pace toward his horse a block away. It wouldn’t be long before he’d be back at the house before Mollie could miss him.

This is why he’d been interested in Noah’s offer to become an agent. He wasn’t any good at biding his time, waiting for actions to unfold. Pierce liked being part of the action, getting in the middle to make events happen. Tonight had gone well. He wasn’t sure if the file he read was damaging or an attempt by the mayor to do some investigating on his own, but it was a start. Lee and Eva would know what to do next.

******

Mollie paced the large entry hall, furious that Pierce hadn’t told her of his plans. She’d gone looking for him earlier, wanting to clear the air and try to make peace. When she couldn’t locate him, she knew his disappearance involved the case and he’d kept her out of it.

Mollie stared at the large entry door when she heard the sound of boots coming up the steps. He’d get everything she had to throw his way this time, she wouldn’t hold anything back. The door opened. Mollie was ready, hands on hips, and a don’t-mess-with-me aura about her.

Pierce came to a dead stop when he saw her. He pulled his old range hat from his head and tossed it on a nearby chair. “Mollie,” he greeted, then made an attempt to walk around her, indicating that he had no time for angry outbursts. She moved into his path, halting his progress.

“Where’ve you been?” She nearly spit the words at him.

“Working on something for Lee.” He tried to move around her again and failed.

“What, exactly?”

He could see she wasn’t going to budge. Truth was if it had been her taking off, he’d be mad as hell. “Fine. Let’s go into the parlor and I’ll explain it all.”

Pierce walked straight to the liquor cabinet, poured two shots, and handed one to Mollie. She took it without a word and downed the amber liquid in one gulp. He watched, fighting an urge to smile at how flushed her face got when she was angry. The whiskey would only add to the glow. He hoped it also mellowed her mood. He shot his back and poured one more for each of them.

He sat down in an oversized chair, stretched out his legs, crossed his ankles, and sipped the whisky, hoping she’d calm down.

“Lee asked me to check out Mayor Pound’s office. We both knew it was a one-person job. You weren’t needed.”

Mollie didn’t take a seat, choosing to continue to pace while watching her overconfident partner. She stopped to face him. “It doesn’t matter if Lee approved one or two, you should have told me, and I should’ve been there to make sure someone was keeping watch for you. That, Pierce, is what partners are for.”

“Lee didn’t see it that way. A lookout may have drawn more attention, Mollie. It was a simple supper party, not some major event. Anyway, it worked out fine.”’

“It could’ve ended up not being fine if you were caught. You’d have gone to jail and it would have taken days for Noah to get you out.”

She was right on that count. If any of them were arrested, the procedure was to notify Noah Dodd to handle their release. None of the other agents were to step forward and expose their cover.

“Well, I didn’t get caught and I got what Lee wanted.”

“Which is?”

“I’ll explain when he and Eva arrive, which should be real soon.”

They both turned as the door opened. Chaz walked in and glanced around, strode to the cabinet, poured a drink, and swiveled back to Mollie and Pierce. “Not here yet?” he asked, referring to Lee and Eva.

Pierce shook his head.

Chaz downed his drink, looked at the bottle again, decided against pouring another, and set his glass down.

Penelope opened the parlor door to let them know Lee and Eva had arrived and showed them in.

Lee didn’t waste time, walking directly to Pierce. “What did you find?”

“Not much, but enough to know that Pound is at least aware of some strange activities at Grayson & Flannigan.” Eva took a seat as Pierce continued. “There was a file in Pound’s upstairs study. A couple of items were receipts for goods that he and his wife had ordered from the east. One document was three pages long, handwritten, and spoke of his suspicions about Georgiana Grayson. The message was dated before Walter Grayson’s death. From the sound of it, the mayor and Walter met for lunch. They apparently were quite good friends. Anyway, Grayson suspected his wife was involved in some activities he knew nothing about, and that Jock Flannigan might be aware of what was going on. Pound mentioned that what Walter told him may have merit—that’s where the first part of the document ended. He must have picked up the document again after Grayson’s death to add more thoughts. The mayor mentioned that Georgiana and Thomas Traxton were somehow connected. He wrote of his intention to speak with Chief Curtis and have both Traxton and Georgiana watched. That’s when the writing stopped.”

“Could you tell when the last part was written?”

“It was dated two months ago.”

“Interesting. I wonder if he did go ahead with his investigation of the two.” Eva stood and walked to the darkened window, aware that the others were continuing their discussion behind her. There was a full moon, with sporadic cloud cover, which cast an eerie glow over the garden area behind the mansion. For an instant, she thought she saw a shadow race through the massive shrubs near the back. She watched another minute, and, when there was no further activity, turned back to the group.