Dark Valentine (29 page)

Rhianna was a jump ahead. “Please don’t tell me you’re going back there.” Panic swept the serenity from her face.

Wondering when she had become so obvious that her lover could second-guess her every move, Jules took Rhianna’s hand and led her to the sofa. “Baby, I’m working with a detective at the sheriff’s office, and we’re going to catch Brigham. The two men he assaulted in Denver will testify against him. He’s going to prison.”

“I’m happy about that,” Rhianna said mildly. “So why do I feel like I’m missing something?”

“That would be the part about me putting on a blond wig and waiting in your bedroom.” Jules winced.

“I see.” Rhianna’s gaze was steady. “Is this your version of taking a bullet for me? You think you owe me something?” Anger leaked into her expression. “So you’re going to place yourself at risk for the sake of past regrets? You want to serve me Brigham’s head on a plate?”

Unnerved by the accuracy of her perception, Jules said, “There’s some truth in that. But I’m also acting out of self-interest. I want him out of your life so there’s room for me. For us.”

Rhianna’s chest rose and fell unevenly. “Don’t you understand, I’ve already forgiven you.” Her voice caught on a sob. “The last thing I want is for you to take a risk like that! That man has cost me everything I cared about. I can’t let him take you away. I just can’t.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Jules said. “I know how to take care of myself.” She held Rhianna in her arms and stroked her hair. “You have to trust me. I wouldn’t do this if I thought there was any chance I’d never see you again.”

“I’m afraid. Please don’t go,” Rhianna begged. “I’ve been learning to shoot. I don’t feel so vulnerable anymore. Let’s just get on with our lives. They’ll catch up with him. If not now, later.”

Jules shook her head. “He’s a time bomb. I talked to him in the parking garage at your friend Mimi’s building.”

Rhianna drew back. “He was there?”

“He’ll always be there,” Jules said grimly, “biding his time, waiting for his opportunity. Screw that.”

She felt a shudder pass through Rhianna’s body. “If you’re doing this, I’m coming, too.”

“No. Absolutely not.”

“This isn’t a negotiation,” Rhianna said with cool vehemence. “Lisette can look after Alice. They adore each other.”

“Who’s Lisette?”

“The showgirl with the blond wig you don’t need to borrow anymore. There are plenty of standby dancers. I’ll get her up here right away.”

Jules tried again with the common sense. “It’s not a good idea for you to be around. You’re safe here and I don’t have to worry about you. Please. Let me and Percy handle this.”

Rhianna got to her feet, her expression mutinous. “That creep thinks he can hunt me? Well, the boot is on the other foot now, and I want to know how that feels.”

“I understand—”

“No, you don’t,” Rhianna said harshly. “You think you owe me something? This is what I want.”

*

From the safe, anonymous confines of his rental Chevy Trailblazer, Werner contemplated his options. He had pulled off the road at Bullshead City just in case he was making himself look suspicious. He knew exactly where that interfering bitch, Julia Valiant, was going with Rhianna. He’d done his homework since arriving in Oatman.

Rhianna was employed by the owners of the Enchanted Palace casino. If she was accompanying their child on a road trip to Laughlin, there could only be one destination. He had seen the couple depart in the morning and assumed they were on their way to their workplace. Parents like them routinely left their children to be raised by someone else. For a wild moment, he considered seizing both Rhianna and the infant. He felt sure she loved that baby. Its presence would mean a lot to her, and Werner could turn the situation to his advantage. Rhianna was tenderhearted and unselfish. If she feared for the child’s safety, she would be extremely compliant.

But as the idea took shape, Werner realized he would be making a huge mistake. Imagine the furor if he kidnapped the child of wealthy casino magnates. The FBI would be on his tail. He would be at the center of one of those vast manhunts. He wouldn’t make it out of the state, let alone north to the remote wilds of Minnesota, where Rhianna’s home was waiting. But if by some miracle, he slipped through the police dragnet, a worse fate would be in store.

Those two fat cretins who had broken his door down back in Denver were hired by the Mosses. He had squeezed the details out of them while they pleaded for their lives. They were amateurs, but the fact that they’d been sent in the first place meant the Mosses had friends in organized crime. Werner could imagine the strings they would pull to get their baby back. They would put out a contract on him. He would be dead meat.

Werner plucked another chicken nugget from the box on the passenger seat and stared at the dark gray Mercedes parked in the roped-off V.I.P. area. He still couldn’t decide on the smarter move. Sooner or later, now that she’d dropped Rhianna and the baby off, Valiant would leave and his path would be clear. He had no idea what she was doing here in the first place, but it occurred to him that Mommy must have sent her.

He had told her about the two criminals bleeding in his study, and she had agreed that his leaving town was a good idea. She had promised then that she would deal with Rhianna for his sake. Perhaps she had sent the attorney with a cash offer—compensation for any pain he had inadvertently caused. Valiant’s powers of persuasion were impressive. He knew she didn’t like him, but she’d taken care of his interests all the same. He felt sure she would talk Rhianna around and leave her with the right impression of the Brigham family’s power and wealth.

Perhaps he would not have to remove Rhianna by force. If the lawyer had done her job, Rhianna might even receive him warmly. Las Vegas was just down the highway. They could get married in one of those tawdry chapels with a preacher who looked like Elvis. Later on, their real wedding service would be held in Denver.

Werner ate another nugget, then cleaned the oily debris from his gums with his toothpick. He wasn’t sure how realistic these hopes were, but it didn’t matter. He could adapt to a change in circumstances if he had to. That’s exactly what he was doing now. He stared at the elevator and wondered if it was time to locate the Mosses’ accommodations. The family could not stay in their rooms indefinitely. The parents had a business to run. They would soon leave Rhianna alone with the baby, or perhaps they would send her back home to the ranch. That was the optimum scenario.

Werner sharpened his gaze as one of the uniformed valets entered the parking area. Apparently he would not have to wait much longer. The boy aimed a remote at the Mercedes and its lights flashed. Julia Valiant was on the move.

Chapter Seventeen

I know he’s coming,” Rhianna said, listening for the sound of a footfall that did not belong.

Every home had its own unique nocturnal personality. In the winter it creaked and whined a hymn of protest to the cold weather. Summer made its wood stairs and panels thirst, and took a harsh toll on its painted skin.

Rhianna had lived in the Mosses’ ranch house since the previous October, and she knew the sounds it made as it settled from the heat of the day to the cool of the desert night. She recognized the protests of certain floorboards when Hadrian moved from his beanbag in the corner of her bedroom to the food station in her tiny kitchen. She knew the muted click and sigh of the air-conditioning.

Bonnie and Lloyd had made a big deal out of soundproofing. They wanted to be able to turn up the bass in their home theater without waking Alice. Lloyd liked to work out in the gym with Cher turned up loud. Bonnie thought Cher was a fine actress but hated her singing. Rhianna was thankful they had stuffed the walls of her apartment with insulation. She played the piano and preferred not to torture the household when she practiced her scales and arpeggios every night.

During the day, she barely noticed the subtle noises that seemed so loud at night. Her hearing was amazingly acute when she was lying in bed with all the lights out. She could make out the faint cries of night creatures, the wet plunk of insects landing in the swimming pool, the ghostly drone of passing cars, the occasional bleat or whinny coming from the barn.

She usually kept her blinds tightly closed after dark, but tonight Jules had arranged them with a couple of tiny gaps in strategic places. She said she wanted to invite Brigham to peep in so they could see him. There was more light outside than there was in the apartment, once all the lamps were extinguished. They would see Brigham if he came around the back of the house, and Jules was certain that he would. She and Percy had walked around the exterior and interior soon after they got back, planning which rooms would be lit and at what times. Jules wanted Werner to make faulty deductions about where people were.

“Are you saying he’s coming right now?” Jules asked from the sofa near the sliding doors.

“Yes, I can feel him. It’s not my imagination.” A malevolent presence seemed to have entered the house. Rhianna didn’t want to let her imagination run away with her, but she could swear that Werner had been inside her room. She detected the taint of evil, and her senses shrank from it. “I think he’s been in here. Maybe he broke in while we were out.”

“That’s unlikely,” Jules said. “He followed us to Laughlin.”

“He did? How do you know?”

“Because I saw him. Remember when we stopped for gas in Needles? He was parked on the other side of the road.”

Jules had almost had a heart attack when she recognized the gray-blue Chevy Trailblazer from earlier in the day. While she was filling the Mercedes, she’d paid close attention to the driver. Male, tall, light hair, droopy shoulders. She could not identify him with any certainty, but what were the odds of the same Trailblazer showing up twice in one day exactly where they happened to be? She had taken down the tag number and an accurate description of the make and model.

“Why didn’t you call the police?” Rhianna said.

“I thought you wanted to go through with this.”

“I did…I do.” Rhianna dropped down onto the sofa, too far away for a hug. There was misery in her eyes. “What if everything goes wrong? Situations like this can get out of hand. We’re not experts.”

“Calm down,” Jules said. “As soon as we know he’s on the property, I’ll put in a call to that detective I told you about.”

Rhianna stood up again, clearly agitated. Her right hand wrapped itself tightly around her waist. “I’m going to close the blinds. What if he sees you in here and shoots you?”

“He’s not going to risk it,” Jules said. Without good light he can’t be absolutely sure who he’s shooting. That’s why I still borrowed the wig in the end.”

Rhianna looked up at Jules’s head and humor soothed her puckered brow. “Blond is
so
not your color.” Her gaze became slightly more intent. “But I could still go there.”

Jules held out her arms. “Turn those lights down a little and come here.”

“Oh, no. This is a stakeout. We can’t get distracted.”

Jules laughed. “We’re not doing the staking out. He is.”

“Are you sure about that?” Rhianna peeped out a narrow gap in the blinds. “We’re playing chicken with him. Waiting for him to make his move.”

“He’s not going to do anything until two a.m.,” Jules said. “He’ll want to catch us sleeping. That gives you and me four hours to find new and interesting ways to keep ourselves awake.”

“Are you seriously suggesting we make love?”

Jules wasn’t, but her mildly flirtatious overtures were having the desired effect. Rhianna’s shoulders were no longer rigid, and she was moving away from her paranoid vigil at the window.

“We could make out,” Jules suggested. She was not in the mood, and she needed to keep her guard up, but they had a long night ahead of them and Rhianna’s jitters were infectious. She patted her lap. “Just first base.”

Rhianna smiled with endearing shyness. “I never thought you’d be here. In my room.” She sidled over and positioned her butt daintily before settling. “I mean, I thought about it a lot. After Palm Springs.”