Against the Wind (29 page)

She bit her lip. He could feel her start to tremble. Gabe's hold tightened. “Tell me, dammit!”

The tears in her eyes spilled over onto her cheeks. He saw it then, saw what he had been missing, why none of this had made any sense. “My God, you're in love with him!”

Her features crumpled. A sob escaped and fresh tears flooded her eyes. “I love him so much.” And then she started crying in earnest.

Every instinct urged him to pull her into his arms and comfort her, tell her everything was going to be okay.

But too much was at stake. His brother's future. Sarah's. Even little Holly's.

“I want to know, Sarah. I'm not leaving until I find out what's going on.”

She looked up at him, her face as pale as glass. Her words came out so softly he almost didn't hear them. “I killed him. I killed my husband. I'm the one who shot Andrew.”

Stunned silence followed. Somewhere a clock ticked. Of all the things he could have imagined her saying, this wasn't one of them.

“You killed him?”

She nodded, her whole body drawing inward as if she were in pain.

“Did you plan it? Was it murder? Did you shoot him on purpose?”

Disbelief widened her eyes. “No! Oh, God, I would never do something like that!” She swallowed, moistened her trembling lips. “H-he called me downstairs and I—I—”

“Stop right there—don't say another word. This isn't for me to hear. It's Jackson who needs to know.” He glanced around. “Where's Holly?”

“She's with…with Nan. I had some work to do. Nan said she'd watch her for a couple of…of hours.”

“Get your purse and let's go.”

Sarah didn't argue, just woodenly picked up her bag and let him haul her out the door. He urged her around to the passenger side of the Jeep, opened the door and shoved her inside, then went around, climbed in himself and started the engine.

Sarah said nothing as he drove down the lane and turned onto the road into town, nothing as he continued on to the two-lane road headed north then turned onto the private lane leading into Raintree Ranch.

She was shaking when the big sprawling ranch house came into view. And so pale he was a little afraid.

“We're almost there,” he said, driving up in front of the house, hoping that Jackson was inside as he had been all week.

Gabe turned off the engine, went around to the passenger side and helped Sarah out of the Jeep. She was silent as he took her arm and guided her through the front door into the living room.

When he walked into the study, he saw Jackson sitting in the chair behind his desk. The computer was on. He caught a glimpse of a cost analysis program but Jackson wasn't looking at the screen. He wasn't looking at much of anything until he saw Sarah.

He jerked as if he had been punched, slowly pushed to his feet. “Sarah…”

Jackson started to move toward her, but she held up a trembling hand. “Please…just stay where you are. I have something…something I need to tell you.”

She glanced over at Gabe, who gave her a nod then took his cue and quietly closed the door, slipping off to the kitchen. He needed a strong cup of coffee. He hoped Livvy had a pot on the stove.

 

For several seconds, Sarah just stood there, soaking up the sight of him. It didn't matter that Jackson needed a shave or that his shirt was wrinkled. It didn't matter that he looked a little thinner than he had before. He was still the handsomest man she had ever seen.

And she was still desperately in love with him.

“Your brother brought me here,” she began. “I hoped…hoped I would never have to tell you, but I can't go on like this any longer.”

Jackson's dark eyes searched her face. “For God's sake, Sarah, what is it?”

“First, I want you to know that I lied to you the last time I saw you. I said I didn't love you but it wasn't the truth. I love you so very, very much. I've loved you for a long time, but—”

He started to move again, but she shook her head and he stopped. “But sometimes loving someone isn't enough. I never wanted to hurt you, Jackson. I never meant for any of this to happen.”

“Sarah…”

“I'm the one who killed Andrew, Jackson. That's the reason I can't marry you. Sooner or later the police will find out. I don't want to bring that down on you. You don't deserve it. You never have.”

Jackson stood frozen.

Sarah closed her eyes, steeling herself, determined not to cry. “Now that you know, you can do whatever you feel is right. I've made arrangements for Nan to take Holly, so you don't have to worry about that.”

Jackson's jaw tightened, but he still didn't move. “How did it happen? I need to know that, Sarah.”

She nodded, utterly resigned and sick at heart. “He came home while I was packing. He was furious. He demanded I come down to the study. I could tell how mad he was. I could hear it in his voice.”

“Come down here, Sarah.”

“What…what is it you want, Andrew?”

She told him the rest, how Andrew had threatened her, how he'd told her he was going to kill her then take Holly with him to Rio. Told him everything that had happened that night.

“I had a gun,” she said, her voice thick with emotion.
“Patt—a friend of mine sent it to me through the mail. She said I should use it to protect myself. She said I should never…never let him hurt me again.”

“Go on,” Jackson said, his features like granite.

Her heart ached just to look at him. She had known it would be this way, known what he would think, what any man would think. She had tried so hard to protect herself from the awful look in his eyes, but it was there just the same.

She swallowed the tears in her throat and forced herself to continue. “When he started toward me, I pulled the pistol out of my purse. I told him to stay away from me. I told him I wouldn't…wouldn't let him hurt me again.” She bit down on her lip to keep it from trembling. “Andrew just laughed. Even the gun wasn't…wasn't enough to frighten him.”

“You dare to threaten me? I'm going to kill you for that, Sarah.”

“What happened then?” Jackson pressed.

She drew in a shaky breath, forced herself to continue. “I warned him. I told him I'd shoot him if…if he came any closer. He said…he said I didn't have the guts.” Her voice broke on the last. Her head was spinning, the whole room seemed off-kilter.

“Finish it,” Jackson demanded.

She braced herself, shoved out the words. “Then…then he ran toward me. I don't remember pulling the trigger, just the roar of the gun and the feel of the pistol jerking in my hand.”

She knew she was crying, could feel the wetness rolling down her cheeks. “I knew I should call 911, but Andrew…Andrew was already dead and I was afraid for Holly.”

She dashed at the tears on her cheeks. “I kept…kept thinking of my little girl. What would happen to my daughter? Dear God, the trial would take months. I knew they would put her in foster care. I had no money. I couldn't afford a lawyer. If they put me in prison, what would happen…happen to Holly?”

She hadn't seen him move; he was simply there, pulling her against him, holding her tightly in his arms. She felt the shudder that rolled through his tall, lean body.

“Jackson…”

“It's all right.” His hand smoothed over her hair. “You were protecting yourself and your child. You did what you had to. Andrew left you no choice.”

Sarah clung to him, and she wept.

“We'll find our way through this, Sarah.” He pressed his cheek against the top of her head. “Somehow, we will.”

For long moments she just stood there in the circle of his arms, her heart aching with love for him, wishing she didn't have to tell him the rest. Finally, she let go of him.

“This isn't going away, Jackson.” His gaze searched her face and she forced herself not to reach for him, not to step back into his arms. “Mercer called. They found the gun.”

He straightened, seemed to collect himself. “What did you do with it after the shooting?”

“I—I wiped off my fingerprints. That night, after Holly went to sleep, I asked one of the neighbors to watch her while I ran a quick errand. Then I walked down to the end of the pier and tossed it in the ocean.”

“How did Mercer find it?”

“He said some divers were working and they…they
found the gun in the sand at the base of one of the pilings.”

Jackson swore softly.

“Mercer won't…won't give up.”

Jackson looked at her hard. “Neither will I.”

Everything inside her seemed to cry out with regret. It was happening, exactly as she had feared. “Are you sure, Jackson? Are you sure I'm what you want?”

He moved closer. She felt his lips against her hair. “You've been what I've wanted for the past sixteen years.”

J
ackson started things rolling the following day. He and Sarah dropped Holly off at her grandmother's place in Sheep River, then headed for Sarah's newly rented house in town.

He had asked Sarah to move back to the cottage and amazingly, she had agreed.

“I never wanted to move away,” she confessed. “I love it on the ranch…I love being with you, Jackson. I just didn't want to drag you into all of this.”

But he was in the middle of it now and he was staying. They were going to see this through all the way to the end.

While Sarah went to retrieve the boxes she had saved and stored in the garage, Jackson used his cell phone to call his attorney, Thomas Carson. He finished his brief conversation and closed the phone.

“Carson's going to get back to us with a couple of
names.” The best criminal attorneys in the L.A. area. “Dev's on it, too.”

He had known from the moment Sarah had told him the truth about the shooting what he would have to do.

What both of them would have to do.

They couldn't get on with their lives until the matter of Andrew Hollister's death was resolved. To do that, Sarah needed to come forward with the truth.

“It's funny,” she said, slipping into his arms. “Now that you're with me, I'm not afraid anymore.” She rested her cheek on his shoulder and God it felt so good just to hold her.

“You did what you had to.”

She eased out of his embrace and he immediately felt the loss. “I keep thinking…maybe if I hadn't had the gun…”

“If you hadn't had the gun, your husband likely would have killed you. He would have taken Holly and you know what would have happened if he had.” He caught her shoulders. “A man died that day up in Alpine Meadow. Things happen. Sometimes you don't have a choice.”

“You weren't the one who killed him.”

“No, but I would have if I'd had to. I would have done whatever it took to protect the people I love.”

Sarah stared up at him. “I never thought you'd understand. It never occurred to me that I could trust you with such a terrible secret.”

“It isn't going to be a secret much longer, and once it's out in the open and all of this is settled, we can get on with our lives.” He tipped her chin with his fingers. “I think we should get married. Holly would be protected. To a certain extent, so would you.”

Her lovely blue eyes welled with tears. “I want that. I want to marry you more than anything in the world, but I don't want to start our lives together with this awful shadow hanging over our heads. I can't do it, Jackson. Please don't ask me.”

“What about Holly?”

“I talked to Nan sometime back. She'll take Holly if it comes to that. It would be wonderful if you and Livvy would help her.”

“You know we will. I'm hoping it isn't going to go that far, but if it does, Holly will have everything she needs—including people who love her.”

She nodded, brushed away a tear. “Thank you.” She walked into the bedroom to begin packing her clothes. He saw her there next to the bed and for the first time in weeks, allowed his mind to remember how good it had been between them. He imagined her lush body spread open on the quilt, welcoming him, taking him deep inside her. He imagined having her in every way a man could take a woman and make her completely his.

She must have read his thoughts because her gaze grew soft and warm. He could see the heat, the desire rising there, the passion that was so much a part of her.

“I feel empty, Jackson. I need you to fill me, make me believe this is all going to work.”

There was nothing he wanted more. He ripped open the snaps on the front of his shirt, tugged it free of his jeans and walked toward her. He hauled her into his arms and kissed her long and deep.

He had never wanted a woman the way he wanted Sarah, never felt such satisfaction with a woman before.
He meant to go slowly, to remove each of her garments and kiss the soft pale skin he exposed. He meant to spend the next few hours making slow, languid love to her. But the weeks he'd spent without her had taken their toll.

Once men were warriors and he felt that way now, his groin swelling, his erection throbbing against the fly of his jeans. He wanted to bury himself inside her, plant his seed so deeply she would never think of another man.

The sex was wild and lusty—hot, sweaty, raunchy sex that had nothing to do with love and everything to do with a man claiming his mate.

The second time was different, easy and gentle, the love he felt for her pouring out of him, the love she felt for him washing over him in a soft, sweet wave.

“I wish I could stay in this bed forever,” she said with a smile as she lay contentedly beside him.

Jackson chuckled. “I don't know about forever, but I can manage a few more hours.” He came up over her, kissed her and began to make love to her again.

The persistent knock at the door finally reached him. It was fierce and determined. Jackson knew in an instant who was there.

And that they had waited too long.

 

“Sarah Adelaide Allen, you're under arrest for the murder of Andrew Hollister.” Detective Ed Mercer stood next to Ben Weber and a female deputy sheriff.

Sarah trembled, lifted her chin and stepped forward. They had dressed hurriedly, Sarah once more in her jeans, sneakers and a blue cotton blouse. Mercer spun her around and clamped a pair of plastic bands around her wrists.

“Is that really necessary?” Jackson asked, doing his best not to grab the man by the front of his coat and bust him right in the mouth. Knowing if he did, he would go straight to jail and if that happened, he wouldn't be any good to Sarah.

“Probably not,” Mercer smirked, “but that's the way it's going to be.”

Ben Weber looked embarrassed. “I'm sorry it turned out this way, Jackson.”

“It was self-defense, Ben. And she was turning herself in. We've just been waiting for a call from her attorney.”

The sheriff nodded. “I figured there was more to it. Let me know if there's anything I can do.”

Jackson had known Ben Weber for years. There was a great deal of mutual respect between them. If Jackson said Sarah was innocent, Ben would give her the benefit of the doubt. Unfortunately, Ed Mercer and the LAPD weren't going to be quite that cooperative.

“I'll follow you down to the station,” Jackson told Sarah. One the way, he would call Carson and Dev. One of them was sure to have a name by now. Sarah needed legal help and she needed it today.

She stopped at the bottom of the steps, turned and looked up at him. “You don't deserve this.”

“Neither do you.” He caught up with her, walked beside her to the door of the sheriff's car. “I'll pick Holly up at your grandmother's and take her to Nan's, explain what's happened. We'll work things out between us.”

Sarah just nodded. Bright tears glistened in her eyes. “I'm so sorry.”

Jackson leaned down and kissed her full on the mouth. “Just hang on, all right?”

She nodded. Mercer shoved her head beneath the roof of the patrol car and she settled inside. She didn't look at him again as the car pulled off down the road.

 

“So where is Sarah now?” Dev asked Jackson over the cell phone.

“Her attorney advised her to waive extradition proceedings. They're transporting her straight to L.A. I haven't left Wyoming yet. At the moment, I'm standing outside her house in town. I need to pack some clothes for Holly. She's still at her grandmother's house. I'm going to pick her up and take her over to Nan Hargrove's for the next few days, till we see what's going to happen. As soon as I get her settled, I'm heading for L.A.”

“Morgan Slater is one of the best attorneys in Califoronia. He'll do a good job for Sarah.”

“I checked him out. He's got one helluva reputation.”

“Listen to me, bro. You need to keep your head on straight. You have to believe that Sarah's going to be all right. Hollister was a scumbag and a wife-beater. With Sarah's medical history, self-defense should be a pretty easy sell.”

Jackson released a breath. “I hope you're right.”

“I'll keep my ears open. I'll let you know if I come up with anything useful.”

“Thanks, Dev.” Jackson closed the phone and used Sarah's key to open the door to her little rental house. The place seemed forlorn without her. As he crossed the living room and went into her bedroom, he could almost hear her cries of pleasure as he had made love to her there on the bed.

He shook his head and tried to focus his thoughts on
what needed to be done. Her luggage was in the closet right where she'd told him to look.

His eyebrows went up when he spotted it and he whistled.
Louis Vuitton.
He almost smiled. Sarah had kept almost nothing Andrew had given her. But what woman could resist expensive designer luggage?

He pulled down two bags made of dark brown fabric with the logo woven into the material, dark brown leather handles and brass trim, and a personal tote to match. He opened them up on the bed. Sarah's initials were imprinted in gold on each piece, which was probably the reason she hadn't tried to sell them on eBay. The bags appeared to be several years old and had seen plenty of use, but they were still in good condition.

He glanced around the bedroom, thinking the luggage was probably the most expensive thing Sarah owned. The thought occurred that if he bought luggage for Sarah, he'd buy something with a soft floral pattern, something feminine and sexy. Undoubtedly Andrew liked the prestige of his wife traveling with world-class, designer bags.

He studied the cases, a thought suddenly niggling at the back of his mind. Andrew expected Sarah to go with him to Rio. He would have insisted she use the Louis Vuitton he had bought her.

He leaned over to examine the first bag, an overnighter, about twenty-four inches. He checked all the pockets and ran his fingers along the inside lining, carefully checking every inch.

He glanced at the tote but Sarah probably would have carried that on the plane, which meant it would have had to go through airport security. He checked it quickly, not really expecting to find anything.

He moved to the final bag, which was slightly bigger. Sliding his fingers carefully along the interior, he checked the pockets, tested each section of the lining. He was about to give up, when his fingers touched something behind one of the removable zippered pouches. Velcro buzzed as he unfastened the pouch and felt the protrusion.

His adrenaline kicked up as he pulled his pocketknife out of his jeans and cut into the lining, which had been stitched back together by hand. Reaching in, he carefully removed the item inside.

It was a USB flash drive. Small and compact, it could hold a huge amount of information. He rechecked the pocket, felt something more in the lining and pulled out a slip of paper with a row of numbers written on it.

Andrew hadn't wanted to carry the disk or the paper himself in case there was a problem, but his wife was another story. Jackson shoved the piece of paper into his pocket, walked over to Sarah's laptop and turned it on. He waited while the machine warmed up, then shoved in the flash drive.

A list of files popped up.

Good ol' Andrew,
Jackson thought as he opened the first file and found exactly what he and Sarah had been searching for all along.

There was information on Martin Kozak's illegal operations, a long list detailing the man's every move.

There was information on Vernon Rimmer, the greedy highway inspector, the dates and amounts of the payoffs he had received, and the numbers identifying Rimmer's offshore Caymen Island accounts, the same ones Dev had managed to come up with.

Another file held documentation of Hexel Pharma
ceuticals' activities, including the weight of the barrels of toxic waste and the dates they were delivered to the mine. There were numerous other miscellaneous infractions.

A number of other companies were mentioned, other shady deals outlined in glaring detail. None of the company names were familiar, but Jackson figured the FBI would likely know who they were.

The disk held a wealth of information.

If he was lucky, the contents would be valuable enough to exchange for dropping all the charges against Sarah. The only one who was truly interested in seeing her convicted of killing a scumbag like Andrew was Ed Mercer. Jackson had a strong suspicion, this time Mercer was going to be flat out of luck.

He grinned as he closed the files and turned off the computer, pocketed the disk and flipped open his cell phone. The first call he made was to Morgan Slater, Sarah's attorney. He filled Slater in on his find and Slater agreed to make the call to Richard Kemp at the FBI. They had to handle this very carefully, or it would be Jackson who went to jail for withholding information.

Satisfied things were progressing in the direction he wanted, he walked back to the bedroom, grabbed one of the suitcases and went in to collect some of Holly's things. As soon as he got the little girl settled, he was heading for L.A.

He wasn't coming back until he could bring Sarah home.