Читать книгу The Barons Of Texas: Kit - Fayrene Preston, Fayrene Preston - Страница 9

Kit slammed the front door shut in Des’s face.

Damn the woman. A muscle clenched in Des’s jaw as he opened the door and went in after her. He found her in the living room, lighting a fire.

“What were you thinking about, talking to the sheriff like that?”

She wheeled on him. Her green eyes flashed, vivid with anger, and her long red hair curled like flames against her shoulders. “Don’t ever do that again to me.”

“Do what? Save you from incriminating yourself?”

“Don’t ever again tell me what to say or not to say. And don’t ever give me an order in front of my men. You may own fifty percent of this ranch, but I run it.”

“Listen to me, Kit. You can’t tell the sheriff everything you did without expecting to be arrested. Not in this case. Why didn’t you do as I said?”

The logs began to burn behind her but she barely noticed. “Do as you said?”

All of his career, he had faced hostile clients, lawyers, judges and juries. Part of his success was that he was always able to remain cool under fire. Staying calm and above the fray was one of his trademarks. No one ever got to him.

Kit got to him.

He wanted to shake her. Worse, he suddenly realized, he wanted to kiss her. Lord help him, where had that come from?

“Whether you realize it or not, Kit, you’ve gotten yourself into a serious situation. And just because it was me who gave you the advice, doesn’t mean you had to go against it.”

“That’s not what happened.” She stripped off her coat and threw it across a chair.

“That’s exactly what you did. Admit it. You hate for anyone to try to tell you what to do, but this case is different, and you need to realize it. In this case, you don’t know what’s best. I do. And believe me when I say, you told him entirely too much.”

She threw up her hands. “For heaven’s sake, get over yourself. The women you go out with must not have any brains, but I do.”

“You’re not hearing what I’m saying. Dealing with men like that sheriff is what I do for a living, and I know what I’m talking about. Let me do my damn job.”

“This isn’t a job you need to concern yourself with. Whatever happened, happened in my realm. I’ll take care of it.”

He shook his head. “Trying to defend yourself is the worst thing you can do.”

“I’m not trying to defend myself.”

“Then tell me what you think you’re doing.”

“Telling the truth about what actually happened.”

He gave a sound of disgust. “Prisons are filled with people who told the truth. At this stage of the game, everything you say is important. Even how you say it. You have to be careful, and you weren’t.”

“What are you talking about? The sheriff didn’t indicate he suspected me.”

“If you believe that, you weren’t listening.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Cody’s body was just found. It’s way too early for the sheriff to suspect anyone.”

“Granted, it’s early, but have you ever heard of quick arrests?”

“Of course, but—”

“Ideally, authorities like to make an arrest within the first twenty-four hours of a crime. After that, witnesses can go foggy, crime scenes can be tampered with, or any number of other things can happen. Kit, face it. That’s exactly what may happen here, because, unfortunately, it looks as if everything so far points to you.”

“That’s not true. They haven’t even found the murder weapon yet.”

“Are you telling me that if the murder weapon turns out to be a shovel, or any one of the implements used in that barn, your fingerprints won’t be on it?”

“No. They probably will be—” Abruptly she broke off and swiveled back to the fire. “I don’t have my own silver-plated shovel, Des. At one time or another, I’ve probably used and touched everything in that barn.”

She was electric, all fire and fury. But he also saw the fragility there. He had always been able to. He had often heard his adoptive father, William Baron, grumble about the stricter than strict way his brother Edward was raising his three daughters. He hadn’t seen Kit on a daily basis or even a monthly one, but rather over time and at various stages of her life.

Living on the same ranch, he’d had a unique perspective from which to watch her grow up. As a little girl, she had tried in vain to battle against the tyranny of her father. As a teenager, she had become subdued and resigned to living beneath her father’s thumb.

Her father’s death when she was twenty had finally given her the freedom to come into her own, but that had also been when her rebellion kicked in. It had seemed to him that during those years she had been all flash and fury, yet she had also taken the reins of the ranch. Now she had everything she ever wanted, including power. The problem was, she now seemed to be rebelling against him. Worse, he felt the effects much more than he should.

He took a steadying breath, but it didn’t have the desired effect. He couldn’t seem to hold on to his objectivity. Deep down, he was frightened for her. Even more frightening to him, he was coming to realize he badly needed to keep her safe. Where had that come from? And when? “I’ll put an investigator on this Cody Inman and find out about him.”

“Don’t be stupid. You won’t find anything unusual about him. He was just an ordinary ranch hand.”

“He was a man who hurt his boss, a woman. He tried to force himself on you, or have you forgotten?”

“Of course not.”

“Odds are good that somewhere he’s got a bad history, and I need to find out what it is. It could make a difference in the trial.”

“Trial?” she practically sputtered. Her hair flew out around her as she spun around. “There’s not going to be a trial—at least, not with me as a defendant.”

“Calm down. I’m just thinking ahead. It’s what I do.”

Her brow furrowed with anger. “Who asked you?”

“Damn it, Kit—” He stopped himself and forced another deep breath through his lungs. He wasn’t going to be able to help her unless he could regain his composure. Unfortunately, his temperature was rising by the minute.

She affected him way too deeply.

For most of his life he had deliberately stayed away from her and her sisters. Their father’s will had stipulated that unless Kit and each of her sisters made his idea of a fortune within ten years of his death, they would lose their thirty-three and one-third percent portion of Baron International. Even though she was the youngest, Kit had already met the first condition of the will, earning that fortune plus more. Her sisters Tess and Jill had, too.

In addition, they had all known that his step-father, their father’s brother, would leave his fifty percent of the corporation to him upon his death, which would essentially give him control of the company, unless the three of them voted together at all times, leading to a stalemate.

The sisters had quickly come up with the theory that if one of them could obtain control of his fifty percent of the Baron empire through marriage, she could thus control Baron International. So, like her sisters, Kit became caught up in the mad game of trying to get him to succumb to her charms. She and her sisters had actually competed to get him to the altar.

Most men would have reveled in the attentions of three beautiful women, but under the circumstances, he had decided reticence was the intelligent response. Fortunately for all concerned, the game had come to an abrupt halt when Tess and then Jill had married. In effect, they had given up everything for love and left the path to him wide open for Kit.

But then, suddenly, she had started to shun him. It didn’t make any sense to him, and anything that didn’t make sense bothered him.

She had always intrigued him, and now that he was no longer preoccupied with his father’s health or a trial, he had vowed that this was the trip home when he would find out why she was going out of her way to avoid him.

But now, just when he had decided to seek her out, fate had stepped in before him. A murder had put her in peril, and he wanted, needed, to help.

But she continued to confuse him.

She made his mind veer away from the subject at hand and on to the fact that she was the most desirable woman he had ever seen. At the moment she was practically vibrating with anger at him, yet all he could think about was how much he would love to kiss her.

The knowledge was a shock to his system.

He shrugged out of his vest and carefully placed it on the back of a sofa. “Let’s go at this a different way. You told the sheriff that Cody had wanted to take your relationship farther than you did. What exactly was he to you?”

“Just a guy to go dancing with.” She wrapped her arms around herself and began to pace. “I never meant it to be serious.”

“Then why did you go out with him in the first place?”

She fixed him with a straight gaze. “Do you plan to take every woman you go out with to the altar. Or even to bed?”

“I’ve never dated a woman who ended up dead the next morning.”

“Then obviously you’ve been lucky and I was unlucky. But believe it or not, I didn’t know Cody was going to be murdered.”

He shook his head, frustrated beyond belief with her, with himself. And he knew what the problem was. He was letting himself get too involved, something he never allowed with clients. Yet even armed with that knowledge, he couldn’t stop himself. “Your flirtations have always been within inches of getting out of hand and you know it. It’s called playing with fire, and sooner or later it was bound to get you into trouble.”

She made a sound of anger. “You know nothing about how I handle my personal life.”

“I know enough. I’ve seen you on the dance floor with one guy after another, and, honey, let me tell you something. The way you dance is an invitation to every red-blooded male in the state.”

“That’s not true.”

She looked as if he had struck her, but at least she was finally listening. “It’s true all right,” he said, his tone grim. “The last time I saw you at a party, you were wearing a little nothing of a white dress, and every man in the place was salivating.”

She stared at him, her green eyes wide and gorgeous. “You remember what I was wearing?”

He frowned, as surprised at himself as she was. “It doesn’t matter. Let’s get back to Cody. What happened when you were out with him last night that made him think he could have a future with you?”

Years ago, he’d had firsthand experience of how easily she could melt against a man. Even now, just looking at her made him want to grab her into his arms and make love to her. In fact, he couldn’t get the idea out of his mind. So he didn’t even want to think of her in another man’s arms. The very idea infuriated him.

She made a vague gesture. “Nothing extraordinary happened.”

Nothing extraordinary. She would probably classify the kiss they had shared in the barn all those years ago as nothing extraordinary, too. Hell, she probably didn’t even remember it. But he did. He always would.

He crossed to her and gripped her arm. “That’s where your faulty thinking comes in. You are extraordinary. You turn those green eyes on a man, you press that sweet body of yours against him, and I guarantee a man’s going to feel something.”

He couldn’t help himself. He pulled her against him, and his throat went tight. He hadn’t felt her body against his since she was seventeen. Then he had kissed her and hadn’t wanted to stop. Now he felt the same way. It was completely inappropriate. It was totally astounding. “Exactly how hot and heavy did you get with him?”

She twisted, trying to free herself. Her breasts and thighs rubbed against him, making him hard. What little control he had left was about to disappear. Suddenly he was quite sure he was about to do something irrational, and abruptly he let her go. He needed to help her situation, he reminded himself, not harm it. He needed to remain clearheaded.

Looking shaken, she rubbed herself where he had gripped her and moved away. “Hot and heavy? Charming phrasing, Des. Really charming.”

It was a clumsy phrase, but his vaunted word power had deserted him. He drove stiffened fingers through his hair. He knew better than anyone the need to keep personal feelings out of this, but the thought of her in danger made him crazy. “You know what I mean.”

“No. In no way did I lead him on. Furthermore, nothing hot and heavy happened. At the bar, he forced a kiss on me and I brought the evening to a quick halt.”

“And after that, what happened? Did he just accept your decision?”

She shrugged. “He got a bit sulky. After we got back to the ranch and I went to drop him at the bunkhouse, he tried to kiss me again, but he didn’t get very far.”

“How did you manage that?”

“I had one of the guys at the hangar secure the helicopter for me, I dropped Cody off, then I came home.”

“And do you know what he did after you left?”

“I don’t have a clue. Except…”

“Except what?”

“Well, it was obvious this morning that, whatever else he did, he went off and began drinking heavily. When we were together, he had two beers.”

“How many did you have?”

Resentment flared in her eyes. “None of your business.”

“Someone’s going to ask, Kit. It might as well be me.”

“I had one. Okay? I had one.”

“Is that usual for you?”

“What are you getting at?”

“To your knowledge, has anyone where you were last night ever seen you drink a lot? Or even get drunk?”

“No.” Her eyes darkened with her anger. “Do you honestly believe I would have had more than one beer when I was flying home?”

He studied her for a moment, believing her and wondering how his planned quiet talk with her had turned into this angry confrontation. Then he silently answered himself. He had just realized that he cared too much. “Okay. You said you dropped Cody at the bunkhouse. Did anyone see you drive off in your car alone?”

“Probably. What difference does it make? I was dropping him off at the bunkhouse.”

“When you’re involved in a murder case, you have to backtrack and look at every single detail. For instance, the person who saw you two drive away from the hangar together could have thought that you were bringing him here. He could have assumed you two were lovers, and if the sheriff heard that, he could have decided you two had a lovers’ quarrel and you killed him in a fit of rage. It happens a lot.”

“But it didn’t happen in this case.”

“Had you slept with him, Kit?”

“No.”

The relief he felt was out of all proportion to what it should have been. “When you’re involved in a murder case,” he said quietly, “you have to look at everything.”

“But I’m not involved.” She started to pace again, her long legs eating up the ground behind the big sofa, her hair gleaming in the light.

“You’re involved, Kit. You were the last person to see Inman alive, and you admitted having an argument with him. You admitted to a physical fight with him. Lord…” He wearily ran his hand through his hair. “You’re a smart woman, Kit. You’ve run this entire ranching empire by yourself for nine years. So why can’t you see that you’re in trouble?”

“And why can’t you leave me alone?”

She grimaced, as if she didn’t like what she had just said. He didn’t like it, either. As a matter of fact, he hated it, because he didn’t have an answer. He tried to find one that made sense. “Because, Kit, you need advice of counsel. You don’t realize how serious this is.”

She halted and directed a level gaze at him. “Contrary to what you may think, I do see this as serious. Someone, while in my employ, has been killed on the Double B, which is my land. I take that very personally and will help however I can. But the sheriff needs to get his focus off me and look somewhere else.”

“That’s just it. He doesn’t have to look somewhere else. Not if his mind is made up. And think about something else. Wouldn’t it be a coup if he were to arrest the well-known Kit Baron and make it stick? The local district attorney would be drooling. The publicity would shoot them both into national prominence. There would be the possibility of book deals and interviews and maybe made-for-TV movies. It’s happened before.”

“But I didn’t do it.”

He waved dismissively. “I know you didn’t.”

She blinked. “You do?”

“Kit, you’re incapable of intentional cruelty or a cold-blooded killing.” She was so beautiful, so stubborn. He felt an aching near his heart. He was in serious trouble. How was he going to help her when it was all he could do just to contend with the new feelings for her he had just discovered?

“Worst-case scenario,” he said absently, trying to figure out answers to the questions he was asking himself, “we could plead self-defense.”

She picked up a vase and threw it at him as hard as she could. He ducked as it whizzed by his head and crashed against the wall behind him. “Damn you, Des Baron!”

A deafening silence descended between them, and it grew in intensity and volume until Des wanted to put his hands over his ears to drown it out. Instead, he fought to regain his composure.

“You know,” he said calmly, “if anyone but me had seen you throw that vase, they might just believe you could lose your temper at a man who made you angry, maybe even do him bodily injury. Maybe even kill him.”

He saw her shudder as if a cold chill had slid down her spine. At last one of his points had hit home.

“Get out,” she said softly.

“I’ll leave. For now.”