Читать книгу: «Lone Star Secrets»

One

Will Sanders blasted through the glass doors of the sheriff’s office and squinted as he emerged into the bright sunlight. The September heat rising off the pavement was nothing compared to the anger boiling inside him. Still no word on Richard Lowell’s whereabouts and, with the manhunt showing no signs of ending any time soon, Will was fed up with the lack of progress.

The son of the bitch had tried to kill him. Then, while impersonating Will, Rich had taken advantage of four women—that they knew of—robbing them of their money, dignity and leaving two of them pregnant. Lowell had murdered Will’s great friend and trusted confidant, Jason Phillips, stolen millions and continued to roam free. How many more lives was he going to ruin before getting his just deserts?

Hands shaking with rage, Will ripped the keys from his pocket and hit the button that unlocked his white Land Rover. For a second the color red glazed the landscape around him. Will lost his balance as his left foot caught on an uneven bit of pavement and the stumble cleared his head somewhat. He paused with his hand on the SUV’s hood and sucked in a deep breath. Losing control wasn’t going to help. As reason began to reassert itself, he released the air from his lungs, letting it hiss between his teeth. Another calming inhalation and his vision began to return.

Since waking up in Mexico with a blinding headache and scattered memories of what had occurred, his emotions had become volatile. Some days when he looked in the mirror, he didn’t recognize himself. Before leaving on that fateful trip with Rich, he’d had everything a man could ask for. And it had taken that huge wakeup call to realize he’d taken his friends, family and good fortune for granted.

That period was over, he reminded himself again and again, hoping the litany would keep his demons at bay.

He needed to stay calm because logic and clear thinking would win the day. He couldn’t afford to allow his runaway emotions to lead him to act in ways that would be counterproductive.

Sliding behind the wheel, he pulled out his phone and queued up his favorite contacts. His heart gave a little bump as Megan’s name appeared at the top of his list. Speaking of letting his emotions drive his actions...

Things between them had grown strained since they’d shared that explosive night of passion in the aftermath of Jason’s memorial service. They continued to talk a couple times a week, but their conversations veered from anything personal, revolving around the lack of progress in finding Lowell or how Jason’s daughter, Savannah, was doing now that she’d lost her father. Megan loved her seven-year-old niece dearly and tried to spend as much time as possible with the little girl. Will knew it broke her heart whenever Savannah asked for her daddy.

For about a week now Will had been waiting for Megan to open the door to them finally hashing out what had happened between them, but she was staunchly avoiding the topic. It was as if she wanted to forget it had ever happened. Will hoped that wasn’t the case. It sure wasn’t for him.

Maybe if he’d treated the encounter differently. Megan deserved to be wooed with expensive dinners and slow seduction. Instead, he’d come at her like a freight train, overwhelmed by the raw, primal need to comfort her as she grieved for her brother. They’d come together in a rush of heat and shared pain before establishing any sort of framework they could build a relationship on.

That was on him. Will hadn’t been thinking clearly or logically as she’d torn at his clothes and he’d slid his fingers up her thigh. Instead, he’d succumbed to his body’s call. The sensuality of her lithe body as he drove her wild with his mouth or the sounds she made as she came. She’d been glorious in that moment, and reliving it made him want more. Made him want to take her every way his overactive imagination could conceive. Hard up against a wall, gently in the deep tub in his master suite. In the backseat of his car like a couple randy teenagers.

Blood pooled in his loins as the list grew and he slammed his fist against the steering wheel to distract himself from the beginnings of an erection pressing against his zipper. It didn’t work. Hands shaking with need he closed his eyes and surrendered to the heat burning through him like a wildfire.

Yet even as his body was battered by desire, Will recognized the need to be cautious as he ventured forward. Just because lust had brought them together in spectacular fashion didn’t mean they could make a lasting relationship work.

Their situation was beyond complicated. Two strangers who’d been requested by law officials to maintain the legal aspect of their marriage for as long as Rich remained at large. They didn’t live together and, except for occasional phone conversations and encounters among family and friends, hadn’t spent all that much time together.

Yet each time he saw her, Will grappled with a growing ache to be with her, to have her intimately tangled in his life. A shift in his perception had taken place. He no longer viewed her as merely Jason’s beautiful younger sister, but had started to think in terms of my wife.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t really his. Not in the way he was coming to want her to be.

She’d married an imposter, and Will continuously wondered if the sight of his face, so similar to the man who’d stolen his identity, was one she despised. She refused to discuss Rich. No doubt she felt the same humiliation and fury at being tricked that weighed on Will. Would she forever glimpse his face and be reminded of all the terrible things that had happened?

The truth was, he had a ton of things he wanted to discover about Megan. Putting aside his urgency to glide his hands over her naked flesh, feast on her mouth and plumb her richest fantasies, he wanted to learn about her dreams and aspirations, to explore her goals for her company and figure out why he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

So what tied his hands when it came to puzzling out these and many other questions? Why except for that frantic, passionate encounter following Jason’s memorial service, hadn’t he acted on his irresistible attraction to Megan? In part because the fierce physical pull between them threw his emotions into a tailspin. When he’d first returned home, he’d intended to bide his time until Rich was caught and then secured a divorce or annulment and never looked back. But long before the night of stormy passion, when he’d held her in his arms and tasted her hunger, he begun dreading the time when he’d have to let Megan go. She’d slipped beneath his skin and ignited his lust in a way no woman had ever done before. At the same time, he wasn’t sure how to hold on to her or even if he should.

Whatever else Will wanted, foremost was for Megan to be happy. Already he’d been too late to save her from a sham marriage, and Jason’s death was a burden he’d never put down. He’d trusted Lowell. He’d believed they’d been friends. Will’s bad judgment left a tainted residue in his psyche that couldn’t be washed away by wishing or throwing money at the problems Rich had created. People had been hurt. And it was all Will’s fault because he’d been responsible for Rich coming to Royal.

His phone came to life in his hand. Startled, he glanced down at the screen before answering.

“Hey, Lucy, what’s up?”

“Just wanted to remind you that I’m heading out of town for a few days to deliver a couple horses and to check on some rescues in Houston.”

His stepsister was a talented horse trainer, specializing in rescues. She and her four-year-old son shared the main house at the Ace in the Hole with Will.

“I hadn’t forgotten,” he lied, realizing how preoccupied he’d become in the week since Lowell’s secret stash had been discovered.

To make the millions he’d plundered something he could easily conceal and move, Rich had converted the money to gold bars and hidden them outside Royal. No one understood why he hadn’t taken them with him when he’d fled months ago, but everyone agreed that he’d be back for the loot.

For many days Will had been convinced the discovery meant the imposter’s capture was imminent, but as the days dragged on with no sign of Rich, Will grew more and more frustrated.

“Are you still taking Brody?” he asked.

“The trip is going to go longer than I originally thought, so I decided it would be better if he stayed in Royal.”

“Sounds good. He and I will have a blast while you’re gone.”

“Ah...” Lucy began, sounding reluctant. “Actually, I was going to have him stay with Jesse and Jillian. Brody really loves being around Mac and you’ve got a lot going on...”

Jesse was Lucy’s older biological brother and Will’s stepbrother. He’d dedicated himself to running the family ranch, providing Will the freedom to pursue his passion for the family business. Since returning home, Will had watched Jesse fall in love with another of Lowell’s victims, Jillian Norris. A former Las Vegas showgirl, she’d become pregnant with Mackenzie after a one-night stand with Rich while he’d been impersonating Will. It had been her emails and phone calls to Will in the weeks before the fated fishing trip to Mexico that had led to his being attacked and nearly killed by his former best friend.

“Sure,” Will said into the awkward silence, making sure none of the gut-hit he’d just taken came through in his voice. “I understand. Tell Jesse and Jillian that I’m available if they need any help taking care of Brody.” Although even as he made the offer, he doubted anything would come of it. “Have a safe trip.”

“Thanks. I’ll see you in a week.”

He hung up the phone, trying to shake off the rejection that fouled his mood like cobwebs. In the months he’d been in Mexico, his whole focus had been on what he’d had to do to return home. He’d been eager to return to his life, focusing on close relationships with family and friends, the success he was having with his business ventures and general satisfaction with how great his life was.

Now, after spending months staying out of sight, watching those around him live their lives to the fullest—falling in love, being actively engaged in the world—he was feeling more isolated than ever. Once again, Will queued up his favorite contacts and stared at Megan’s name.

He wanted to reach out to her. She’d become important to him these last few months that they’d been thrown together while Richard Lowell was on the loose. Will’s brows came together. Why was he lying to himself? Playing it cool about his feelings for Megan to others was one thing, but denying the fierce desire that lashed at him whenever she was around was just plain idiotic.

Pain bloomed in his chest as he recalled their lovemaking after Jason’s memorial service. She was a fire in his blood, an addiction he never wanted to be free of. The desperate hunger in their kisses and near frantic coupling had transported him to a whole new level of passion.

Was he getting in over his head with her? Obviously. His emotions were all over the place where she was concerned. Nor did he have a good idea how she felt about him. That heated, wild encounter had been about coping with a loss neither one of them wanted to face alone. He shouldn’t expect that something born of grief could be the start of anything.

Yet for him it had been.

His intimate connection with Megan that night had launched a drumbeat of longing. Will wanted to have what his brother had found with Jillian. What Cole had found with Dani. Of the five women invited to his funeral as his supposed heirs, only Megan wasn’t with the love of her life. Had that man been Rich Lowell, pretending to be Will? Would she have fallen for Rich himself? He’d not asked any of these questions of her, unsure how her answers would affect him.

Before he could question his motives, Will pulled up his app and typed a message.

Cora Lee planning BBQ at the ranch next Saturday. We’d love to see you there.

As soon as he sent the message, he was overwhelmed by a sense of anticipation. No matter what his jumbled emotions, he and Megan were stuck with each other for the time being. In an ironic twist, Will realized that part of him hoped Lowell would continue to elude the authorities for a little while longer. Because until he was caught, Will could enjoy as much time with Megan as he could handle. He caught himself smiling for the first time in hours because when it came to the stunning Megan Phillips-Sanders, Will could handle a whole lot.

* * *

The sky outside her office windows was well on its way to becoming a vivid midnight blue by the time Megan finished looking over the numbers for this year’s fall shoe collection. Her staff had outdone themselves, and pride bloomed in her chest as she contemplated yet another triumphant season.

The success of her company had startled everyone in her family, herself included. Megan had started Royals Shoes to get out from beneath her brothers’ shadows. When she’d voiced her intention to get into the luxury shoe business, they’d initially been stuck on their perception of her as the tomboy who’d spent her childhood trying to keep up with her older siblings. That, she could understand. They were her big brothers, after all. But that they’d doubted her ability to start a company and make a success of it had stung.

In a state like Texas and a town like Royal, bigger was always better. Ranches, fortunes, personalities. It was hard to stand out in an environment where achievement was the norm rather than the exception. Striving to be noticed by her family had preoccupied Megan from the time she was old enough to recognize that her brothers were her parents’ pride and joy. Aaron and Jason had been at the top of their respective classes. And, as if that wasn’t enough for her to keep up with, they’d both excelled at sports, as well.

Megan sank into the leather couch in her office and lifted her feet onto the glass coffee table. The sight of her company’s stiletto pump with its wallpaper-inspired, broad black-and-white stripe and crystal-embellished buckle made her smile. Recognizing that to do well Royals Shoes had to stand out in a crowded luxury shoe market, Megan had decided that every single pair of her shoes would have a wow factor.

Her cell phone buzzed. A glance at the screen revealed a text from Dani Moore. The two women had struck up a friendship in their teens when Dani had been a freshman and Megan had acted as her senior buddy to smooth the transition into the academic and social challenges presented by high school. Despite the difference in their ages, they’d stayed friends through the intervening years separated by distance and time.

Can’t make it tomorrow at 2.

Megan read the text and heaved a disappointed sigh. Between Dani’s work schedule at the Glass House, her new relationship with Cole and her active role as a parent to twins, her free time was slim. In anticipation of enticing her friend to take a little time for herself, Megan had recently gifted Dani a pair of shoes, hoping it would inspire her to come dress shopping for something to wear to the engagement party for Megan’s older brother Aaron and Kasey Monroe, Will’s former assistant turned nanny to seven-year-old Savannah.

Megan had been a little surprised at how fast the brilliant, driven Aaron had adapted to being solely responsible for his brother’s child. Of course, it was quite possible that Kasey had been the driving force behind his abrupt domestication.

She gave a little sigh as she pondered the recent spate of romances spawned surrounding the shake-up in their community thanks to Rich Lowell’s impersonation of Will. In fact, Megan and Will were the only two who’d proved immune to love in the months since his return. Not that she was interested in having a love life after what Rich had put her through. Plus, it was a little challenging for either of them to succumb to a new romance when she and Will had been asked by the authorities to maintain the appearance of being married.

As soon as she responded to Dani, explaining that she understood and soliciting other times later in the week, Megan opened the text she’d received earlier from Will. Her pulse gave a familiar start as she read the simple message.

Cora Lee planning BBQ at the ranch next Saturday. We’d love to see you there.

Megan stared at the words for several minutes, wishing she knew how to respond to what appeared to be a casual invitation. Obviously he was being polite and it infuriated her that it annoyed her. She didn’t want to recognize that what she wanted was for him to indicate his interest in resurrecting their passionate encounter from a week earlier. As electric as that night had been, Megan had become self-conscious around him, making their interaction seem overly polite and awkward.

Or maybe she was just imagining things. Will wasn’t behaving differently. He was the same solicitous man he’d been since discovering he had a wife. He recognized that she’d been duped by Richard Lowell and, although neither of them understood the legal ramifications of their sticky situation, he’d understood that she was as much a victim as he was.

With a heavy sigh, Megan stood and gathered her purse and briefcase. It was late and she needed to go home. She hated returning to her big empty house on the edge of town. What had once felt like a symbol of her success now reminded her of the biggest mistake she’d ever made. Some days she wanted to set a torch to the place and burn it to the ground, but the memories of her marriage to a man who’d lied and manipulated her were deeply embedded in her psyche and there was no escape.

After setting the alarm, Megan let herself out the front door. Since the building was accessed by electronic locks, she could sail through the door without pausing to secure it. Before her, the small parking lot lay in deepening shadows. Near the far edge sat her Porsche, its carmine red darkened to a maroon blob. She loved the sporty car and drove with the top down as often as possible. Tonight, however, she wasn’t in the mood to let the hot Texas wind blow her long brown hair into knots.

A sudden wave of weariness assailed her, brought on by a dip in her blood sugar. She’d neglected to eat dinner again and had not had anything since breakfast fourteen hours ago. No wonder she was feeling tired.

Her steps slowed as she dug into her purse for her keys. The damned things were always getting lost in the bottom of her bag. Finally her fingers closed around them and she eased a relieved sigh from her lungs. A second later her breath hitched.

“Megan.”

Her head swung toward the familiar voice. Rich. Heart hammering, she stopped in her tracks and rotated her gaze in his direction. He was dressed in dark tones, gray or perhaps black, the color making him barely distinguishable from the shadows filling the parking lot. From the way his clothes fit his powerful physique, she guessed he wore one of the expensive suits he favored. Leave it to Richard Lowell to be impeccably tailored while on the run.

She was struck once again how much his features matched Will’s. Yet after getting to know the real Will Sanders these past few months, Megan couldn’t believe she’d ever been taken in by this monster. And yet the proof that she had occupied her finger. How could she have been so stupid?

Shame flared, attacking her confidence even as her “husband” advanced from her right, moving to get between her and the Porsche. Too late she realized her danger. Terror blazed. What a fool she’d been to stay so late and then leave on her own.

“What are you doing here?” Despite her bone-chilling fear, she was proud of her strong tone. “What do you want?”

“I want you. The only reason I came back is to convince you to come away with me.”

His words sent a spasm of revulsion through her. She rocked back, knowing there was nowhere to run. In her five-inch heels she’d never make it back to the building before he overtook her.

She stood her ground and made sure he couldn’t see her fear. “What do you mean?”

“You’re my wife. We belong together.”

The deepening twilight made his expression hard to read, so Megan wasn’t sure if he actually believed this or if he was enacting some twisted game to terrorize her.

“I’m not your wife.”

Yet as bravely as she declared the words, she wasn’t sure that was true. She’d married him. Richard Lowell. She might have sworn to love, honor and cherish Will Sanders, but she’d stood before this man, looked him in the eye and pledged to be with him forever. The reality had crippled Megan’s confidence these last few months.

“You are,” Rich countered, his tone harsh. “You love me.”

“I fell in love with Will Sanders.”

Was she imagining the rage transforming Rich or had she picked up on subtle body language, clues that made her brace for an act of violence. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d put his hands on her.

Looking back over their time together, Megan wondered how she’d ever believed he could be Will. The two men were nothing alike. Yet she’d made one excuse for another for his mood swings and quick temper. She’d been a fool to avoid looking past the surface resemblance and not recognizing that this man’s soul was tainted with poison.

“You fell in love with me. I was the man in your bed. The one you couldn’t get enough of.” He took several menacing steps in her direction. “Do you remember how you gasped my name as you came?”

Summoning her waning bravado, Megan declared, “I called Will’s name. Not yours.”

“I was Will. Your Will.” His right hand balled into a fist but his arm remained rigid at his side. “The only Will Sanders who would have you.”

Even as she absorbed Rich’s verbal blow, Megan’s instincts warned her to keep her attention on Rich’s hands in case he made any sudden moves in her direction. She carefully shifted her stance and put her feet shoulder width apart for better balance. If he tried to grab her, she wanted to make sure she was ready to dodge.

“But you aren’t Will Sanders,” she declared, standing her ground. “And you’re nothing like him.”

Her instincts screamed at her to shut up. He was a murderer and she was alone in a dark parking lot with no one to come to her rescue.

“No. I’m better.” Bragging about his superiority caused the tension to ease from Rich’s posture but his tone remained razor-sharp. “I was always smarter than him. The difference between us was that I didn’t get a fortune handed to me on a silver platter. I had to work for everything I got.”

And Megan suspected that was where Rich’s obsession began. Maybe this was something they had in common. She had endured her own bout of fascination with Will during high school. Only, in Rich’s case, admiration had twisted into the darkest sort of jealousy.

“Why did you kill my brother?” While bringing up his crime was the height of foolishness, Megan needed answers.

“Jason asked too many questions and discovered too much.”

“So you killed him.” The declaration rasped from her raw throat as grief nearly overwhelmed her. “Are you planning on killing me, too?”

“I could never harm you. You belong to me.”

“I don’t belong to you,” she shot back, the very idea filling her with dread. But then curiosity got the better of her once more. For months she’d brooded over why he’d picked her. Had he glimpsed some weakness and exploited it? “Was it all just a big game for you?”

He didn’t answer but she sensed she’d surprised him. Whether by her question or the bitterness with which she’d delivered it, Megan didn’t know.

“Come with me and I’ll show you how important you are to me.”

His cajoling tone transported her to those first days of their courtship when he’d swept aside her reservations with a barrage of romantic words and sweet gestures. Her treacherous heart began to pound. She knew her feelings for Rich were based on a farce, but opening herself to love had transformed her.

Where once she’d avoided romance and sentimentality, falling for “Will Sanders” had been magical and had filled her with wonder. To have it all eventually turn to dust had returned her heart to a Popsicle.

Megan shook her head. “You’ve lost your mind if you think I’d leave town with you.”

Little by little during their exchange, Megan’s right hand had been making slow progress toward the side pocket in her purse where she kept the pistol she’d bought in case of an encounter just like this one. Neither its compact size nor its pink-pearl grip detracted from the gun’s reliability and stopping power. She’d bought the pistol in the days following Will’s reappearance in Royal. Living alone and working late, she’d imagined this scenario hundreds of times, but now that she was here, Megan wondered if she was equipped to shoot Rich in cold blood.

“My life is here,” she continued, thumbing off the safety and curving her fingers around the grip as Rich took a step in her direction.

“Your life is here...or is it all about Will?” Rich sneered. “You’re a fool if you think he could ever love you. I’ve seen you with him and know why you haven’t filed for divorce. You’re hoping he’ll eventually come to love you. But that won’t happen.”