Redemption (18 page)

He ticked off each point on his fingers, watching her expression.

“Then I find out that he not only crossed paths with you, but he also accosted you—I believe that was your word—even hit you, before Jack French heard the commotion and came to your rescue.”

She started to say something, and he quickly continued, “Although you didn’t feel you needed Jack’s help at the time. You said you thought the man was drunk, confused, had the wrong woman, but the thing is, he described you to a local man here in town, who knew exactly who the stranger was asking about. The next morning, the stranger is dead.”

“I told you that—”

“You’d never seen him before,” Frank finished for her. “But the funny thing, as it turns out, is that you have a
connection
to him.” He nodded. “The man’s name was Darrell Ackermann. Ring any bells?”

“Should it?”

He smiled. “Darrell was released from prison in Yuma, Arizona, along with his brother Gallen. Most people in these parts thought the Ackermann boys were dead and had been for more than thirty years.” He gave her a brief history of the Ackermann family right up until the day that his father along with county deputies tried to get into the place after a neighbor said a woman was being held on the property against her will.

“I don’t see how—”

“I’m getting to the part where you come in,” he assured her. “Cullen Ackermann was arrested that day. I won’t get into all the gory details, but the four boys and a little girl disappeared. One of the boys’ remains was found that next spring up in the mountains and it was believed that all had perished. That’s why it was surprising to learn that the dead man was an Ackermann.”

Kate leaned back in her chair as if realizing this was going to take a while. She folded her arms across her chest looking bored, but he suspected she also didn’t want him to see that her hands were shaking.

“That’s when it gets more interesting. Cullen Ackermann died in prison recently. You’ll never guess who visited him in prison. His oldest son, Cecil, and of all people, Claude Durham.”

If he was hoping for a reaction to this, he was sadly disappointed.

“See, this is my problem. Claude visits the prison, later dies, leaves you the café. Then out of the blue, one of the Ackermann boys returns to Beartooth and is looking for you—and ends up dead.”

She shrugged. “That’s a pretty flimsy connection, isn’t it?”

“I think it might be clearer if we knew why Claude visited Ackermann in prison. You have any ideas?”

“Not a one since I barely knew Claude and I’d never seen the dead man before.”

He studied her for a long moment. “Well, maybe you can help me with this. Saturday-night dispatch got a call from a woman using the pay phone behind the bar to say that she saw two men in a dark pickup truck trying to break into the Beartooth General Store and that one of the men had a gun. The woman refused to give her name. One of my deputies spotted the pickup and gave chase but lost it. I’m thinking that one or both of those men might be the two missing Ackermanns. I think they were in town not to break into the store, but to see you, and that you made that call.”

Kate said nothing, as if determined to wait him out.

“Kate, I think you’re in trouble and I want to help you. These Ackermann boys were dangerous when they were young. Now...I don’t know why they’re back here or what they want with you, but I suspect you do.” He stopped to meet her gaze. “I suspect you’re the reason they’re here. Whatever it is they want, they won’t rest until they get it. I’ve already got one murder on my hands—I don’t want another one.”

“Whatever these men might want, I promise I’ll do my best not to get murdered,” she said, pushing back her chair and getting to her feet. “If that’s all...”

He picked up his hat from where he’d set it on his knee and snugged it down on his head as he rose. “I don’t want to see you get killed, either.” He glanced at her arms. They were muscled from carrying heavy plates filled with food for what he guessed was a lot of years. Could she strangle a man?

“If you ever need my help—”

“I can take care of myself.”

Frank met her eyes. “That’s what worries me. I’d hate to have to arrest you for killing someone. If you haven’t already.”

* * *

K
ATE HAD BARELY
closed the door behind the sheriff when there was another knock. Thinking it was Frank Curry with another accusation, she opened it, ready to tell him to either arrest her or leave her alone.

“I’m going out on a limb here,” Jack said when Kate opened the door. He leaned into the frame, shoved back his cowboy hat and grinned at her. He couldn’t have been more handsome—or more annoying. “Want to bet that this is what that man who’s dead now was looking for?” He held up the map she’d lost.

She started to speak. He stopped her with one raised hand.

“I’ll even go farther out on that limb to suggest that those two men with the guns were here for the same thing and that is also why the sheriff just paid you a visit,” he said. “Convince me I’m wrong. Go ahead.”

Kate glanced at the map in his hands. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Then I guess we won’t be needing this anymore.” He started to tear it up.

“Stop!” she cried as she grabbed for the map.

“Not so fast,” he said, pulling it back out of her reach. “Start talking or I’m calling the sheriff. He couldn’t have gotten far. I would imagine he can be here in a matter of minutes. I think he might be interested in this map, the dead man’s connection and where I found you today.”

“Can you at least come in and close the door?”

“Not until you tell me what this is,” he said, holding up the map.

“It’s a map,” she said, meeting his gaze with a dark, angry one.

“I can see that. A map for what?”

She shrugged, giving up lying since it was obvious he already knew. He just wanted her to admit it. “What else? Treasure.”

“Ackermann’s fabled buried gold?” He laughed. “I don’t know where you got this, but it is nothing more than some crude drawings scribbled onto a piece of old freezer paper used to wrap meat. This piece even has the discolored places where tape had once been adhered. Whoever drew this map must have had elk steaks for dinner first.” He scoffed. “Someone sold you a bill of goods if you really think this is a map to Ackermann’s alleged hidden treasure.”

“I don’t care what you think,” she snapped, taking it from him.

* * *

A
S SHE TURNED HER BACK
and walked into the room away from him, Jack stepped into the apartment, closing the door behind him. He stared at her slim back. By the set of her shoulders, he could see that she was upset.

He felt sorry for her, and more so for himself, because he didn’t want to see her dreams crushed. Especially by him. Or worse, get herself killed.

“Did you know that they used to call Montana the Treasure State?” he asked. “You’re not the first one who’s come here chasing a legend. Hell, the first men who came to this country were in search of treasure. El Dorado, Sierra Madre and all were conveniently found and lost again.”

“I really don’t need a lecture.”

He ignored the interruption. “All these lost-treasure stories have two things in common. Whoever found this amazing treasure was forced to leave it and was unable to return, usually because he was killed. But,” he continued before she could interrupt, “the discoverer left behind clues, a map or journal—something so those fools after him could spend their lives searching for this mystical fortune. The second thing these lost treasures have in common is that there is always a curse attached to them. Didn’t you learn anything from your father’s example? This is just going to get you killed.”

“Are you finished?” she asked, turning to look at him, arms crossed over her abundant chest. Her hair was windblown, as if she’d kept her pickup window down all the way back to town, and she still wore the tank top and dirty jeans. She couldn’t have looked more sexy.

“You’re wasting your time.”

“It’s my time to waste.”

He studied her. “That’s what brought you here. This lost treasure. It wasn’t the café.” He needed her to say it.

Kate looked away. “What if it is?”

Then it was just another reason not to get any more involved with this woman. “And that’s what that man wanted. The dead one. He wanted the map.”

She raised her gaze to his and locked eyes with him.

Jack let out a curse. “Why didn’t you just give him the damned map if he wanted it so badly? It isn’t worth the paper it’s scratched on.”

“Because it’s
mine.
It was left to me.”

He thought the map and a bunch of worthless old treasure magazines might have been all that she’d been left. Kate hadn’t had an easy life. Was that something else they had in common?

But he quickly reminded himself that one man was already dead and Kate LaFond was in this up to her pretty little neck.

“Was it worth killing for?” he had to ask.

“I didn’t kill anyone.”

Why did everything out of her mouth sound like a lie? But what a mouth it was. He’d wanted to kiss her senseless from the first time she’d opened it.

Jack shook his head, mentally kicking himself for butting into her life that first night, let alone coming here now. “The sheriff has stopped by twice to talk to me about the murder.”

“He talked to me, too.”

“I know. You sent him after me.”

“I had to tell the sheriff about the night in the alley. I couldn’t chance that someone else had seen the three of us and already told him.”

“So why didn’t you tell Frank that you knew the man?”

“I
didn’t
know him.”

Jack made a disgusted sound and started for the door, but before he could get there, she grabbed his arm. “I didn’t know him and I didn’t kill him.”

“But. He. Knew. You. He wanted the map.” He could see her making up her mind whether to keep lying.

She nodded slowly and let go of him.

“How did he hear about it?”

“I don’t know. Honestly,” she said as he started to turn away again. “I thought no one knew but my father and I.”

Jack rubbed a hand over his face before he looked at her again. “Okay, let’s say that’s true. But if your father had the map, then why didn’t he go after the treasure?”

“He couldn’t.”

Jack laughed. “Or he was full of shit and knew the map was worthless.”

She got that determined, obstinate and angry expression again.

He studied her angelic face, seeing the devil gleaming in her eyes. What was it about her that made him unable to stay away? “You’d better hope there is a treasure and that you find it, because you’re going to need that money to keep your butt out of prison—that’s if you don’t get killed first.” He turned for the door again.

“You know this country. You could help me.”

He stopped and swore under his breath, his hand on the doorknob. Just a few more steps and he would have been through the door, out of this woman’s life. At least that’s what he told himself.

All the good sense he’d ever possessed told him not to turn around.
Just keep going. Don’t look back.
It wasn’t as if he didn’t know what was coming.

“I’ll split it with you. Seventy-thirty.”

“Seventy-thirty?” he said, spinning around to look at her and knowing he was as lost as her treasure. He took a step toward her, eyes narrowed. She stood her ground, not even blinking as he closed the distance to stand over her.

“That map already has blood on it, and we both know more will be shed whether there really is a lost treasure or not,” he said heatedly. “If you didn’t kill that man, then whoever did will be coming after the map soon enough. I’d guess it was the two thugs from the other night. I’m surprised they haven’t returned already. Unless they’re waiting for you to find the gold, so they can take it from you.”

“Sixty-forty,” she said without batting an eye. She took a step closer. “I’m not used to asking anyone for help.” She was just inches from him.

He saw what she planned to do even before she started to kiss him. He grabbed her shoulders and forced her back. With a curse, he reminded himself that he’d just spent two years in prison for getting involved with the wrong woman.

“Eleven years ago I lied to the sheriff to protect a friend of mine,” he said. “I’m not doing that again. And when we kiss, it isn’t going to be as some sort of bribe.”

Her dark eyes fired.

“Fifty-fifty or forget it.” He didn’t believe there was any buried treasure, but he couldn’t stop himself. He had to see this through wherever it took him. “Like you said,
I
know the country.”

Kate held his gaze for a long moment. “Fifty-fifty. But if you try to double-cross me—”

“I know what you do to men who cross you,” he said, and held up his hand to stop her from professing her innocence again. “Also, insulting me isn’t the way to begin a partnership.”

She seemed to bite her tongue.

“But for the record, you’re wrong about me,” he said. “Maybe the other men you’ve known couldn’t be trusted, but I’m not one of them.”

Her expression said she’d believe that when she saw it.

“Shall we shake on it?” she said.

“Hell with that.” He grabbed her and kissed her hard on the mouth. Just the taste of her stirred the banked fire inside him. Her lips parted, no doubt only in surprise. It didn’t matter. He’d felt that slight tremor in her, almost an echo of the more powerful one that moved through him. She felt it, too. He broke the kiss, wanting more, but afraid of where it would take him.

She already had him right where she wanted him.

* * *

T
HE NEXT DAY,
Frank had two horses saddled and was waiting for Tiffany when he got a call. His deputy had information about the black pickup he’d chased the other night.

“The truck was found abandoned down by Fishtail,” the deputy said. “It had been stolen in Laramie, Wyoming, two days before it was seen leaving Beartooth. I have the Billings cops seeing if they can turn up anything in the pickup, including a good set of prints.”

Frank figured at least one of the men in that truck could be the missing Gallen Ackermann.