Double Take (18 page)

“I hit her, Rafe,” Trev said hoarsely. “When she told me the gun wasn’t any of my business, I smacked her.”

Rafe whirled. “You hit Sam?!” He was aghast.

“I will regret it until the day I die,” Trev said grimly. “Sam still isn’t speaking to me. But that’s why Lana made headway with her, I think.”

Rafe jerked his wide eyes back to Kait. Suspicion was etched all over his face.

Kait recoiled. “She needed a friend,” Kait whispered.

“And you’re her friend? Since when? Oh, wait, since you and Trev are weeks away from a permanent split!”

Kait was stunned that he would be so rude—that he would not make an attempt to hide his true feelings—that he would say exactly what he was thinking.

“Rafe, Lana tried to help,” Trev said sharply. “In fact, she did help.”

“Really?” Rafe looked furiously at him. His temper seemed about to explode—and he seemed to be struggling not to allow that. “Oh, yeah. Since you handed her divorce papers, she’s had a personality change. Since then, she’s decided to be a mother to Marni, to Sam—Jesus, to the entire world!?” He looked at Kait. “Forgive me, darlin’, if I just don’t buy the whole sweet, big-eyed act of wifely devotion and motherly love.”

Kait was frozen with disbelief. Her mind had gone blank, except for one single thought—
this man loathed her sister.

“This is uncalled for,” Trev said, grasping his brother by the arm and whirling him around. “We’re here to get Sam out of trouble—and to make sure she stays out of it!”

“And you’re buying Lana’s act, hook, line, and sinker,” Rafe said, shaking him off. “Goddamn it, this is déjàvu!”

Trev hesitated. “This isn’t an act. Sam’s in trouble and Lana has been more than kind.”

“This is exactly how she played you when she picked you up in New York!” Rafe cried. “She’s been playing you ever since that day, and damn it, knowing all that you do, she is still playing you!”

Trev grabbed his brother by the shoulder and it turned out to be more of a push than anything else. Kait stiffened, horrified. “I asked you here tonight to talk about Sam—not about Lana,” he said angrily.

“How can I not say something? Listen to yourself!” Rafe exclaimed. “She’s got you by the balls, and I bet I know why.” He gave Kait a look of disgust. Then he strode to her. She shrank back. “The day Trev made it clear he was taking you to the altar, no matter what I thought, was the day I shut up and did my best to tolerate a real bad situation. But he’s handed you divorce papers, and Goddamn it, I am not going to let you bring him down again.
Do you hear me?
”

Kait was horrified. “It’s not like that,” she said weakly. But this was the second person who had stated that exact intention, and dear God, how could she have been so stupid as to not recall that Max Zara had uttered those exact same words?

Had Zara changed? He also wanted to destroy Lana—just as Rafe Coleman did.

“Cut it out.” Trev seized Rafe from behind and whirled him around.

“How gullible can you be? After the past six years of lie after lie?” Rafe demanded.

Trev was angry, but he gave Kait a look that told her that he was being swayed by his brother. “Nothing’s changed,” he said. “Lana and I have agreed on a divorce. But this is about Sam, damn it! It’s about my daughter—your niece. It’s not about Lana and me.”

“Yet somehow she’s in the middle,” Rafe said, more calmly.

Kait swallowed and sucked up her courage. “Sam needs a friend right now. She’s only sixteen, and she’s in trouble—or very close to it! If you cared about her, you’d be asking me about the gun and that gang—instead of hurling accusations when you don’t know squat about me!” Kait cried, far more firmly now.

Rafe’s hands found his hips. The fact that he wore a gun made him even more intimidating. “Trev gave me the gun. I’m running a check on it.” His green eyes were cold. “
You
found the gun?”

She nodded. Now she had a very bad feeling, based on his inflection of the word “you.”

“In Sam’s room?”

“Yes, in a drawer with her underwear.”

His mouth quirked, but with no humor. “Now why the hell would you be looking in my niece’s bureau? That is something Trev didn’t get around to explaining—as if he could.”

“What?” She stiffened.

“I want to know what you were doing in my niece’s bedroom, Lana. I mean, this is all a bit much for me.”

“I was looking for a sweater Sam had borrowed,” she managed.

Rafe’s look was mocking and incredulous, all at once.

“Rafe, Lana is not on trial here,” Trev said firmly. “Sam had a gun, and the reason seems to be to protect herself—or that Jenkins boy—from a gang of young thugs.”

Rafe stared. “I just find it odd that Lana found the gun, putting her smack in the center of everything.”

“I was looking for my sweater,” Kait repeated. “Sam’s been borrowing things, actually, and I felt certain that it was in her room.”

His hand shot up. “So now you’re calling Sam a thief?”

“I said ‘borrowing,’ not stealing!” Kait cried. Why was he so intent on backing her into a corner this way?

A long pause ensued. He finally smiled, with no mirth whatsoever. “It will be interesting to see how the gun checks out. Because, somehow, I know this isn’t about Sam. This is about you.”

“What?” Kait gasped.

Trev set his scotch glass down. “What the hell are you saying?”

“I’m going to talk to Sam. She in her room?” he asked.

Trev’s jaw was hard. “Yeah.”

Rafe headed out of the living room. Trev quickly followed. Kait trailed after them, but did not cross the threshold. She watched Trev grip Rafe’s arm. “What did that last comment mean?”

Rafe faced him. This meant that he faced Kait in the doorway—but he didn’t look at her now, not even once, though he had to see her. “Am I a good cop?”

Trev didn’t hesitate. “Yes. You should still be with D.C. Homicide and you know it.”

Rafe made a self-deprecating sound. “My instincts are screaming at me, Trev.”

Kait saw Trev’s shoulders stiffen. “And that means?” he asked.

“It means don’t be a sucker for a piece of pussy now.”

Kait winced, hugging herself.

Trev hesitated and looked at Kait. Then he turned to his brother and said, “That was uncalled for. Lana found a gun in Sam’s room, Rafe. Just how the hell does that make me a sucker?” he demanded.

“That’s what
she
says,” Rafe returned. “Have you gone nuts? That woman has done nothing but lie to you from the day you met! Her schemes are so complicated that nobody, not even me, can figure them—or her—out! And suddenly she comes back from New York without her hair, without her red lipstick, suddenly she’s wearing your shirts, suddenly she falls off a horse! And she
claims
someone shot at her. There was no trace of a gun having been fired out there, Trev. We combed the area. If someone shot at her, we would have come up with a casing, residue, something!”

So he had investigated the claim she had never made, Kait thought.

“Not necessarily,” Trev said harshly, but uncertainly.

Kait couldn’t move—but she wanted to flee. Her heart continued to sink, and it was hard to imagine it getting any lower. She would give anything if she could just up and leave, head back to New York.

“She said the bullet went past her ear, damn it! I had some buddies of mine in D.C. do a projection on their computers, Trev. We know where the shooter would have been, within a diameter of fifty feet. We have a wider radius for where the bullet must have landed, but a radius nonetheless. And we came up with nothing. Zip. Zero.
Nothing.
”

Trev stared at Rafe; he stared back. A long moment ensued. Kait turned and went back into the living room, sinking into her favorite chair. A heavy, unfamiliar weight had claimed her—the weight of depression. How much more of this could she take? Just when things were looking slightly better, along came Rafe Coleman. Trev’s own brother was as suspicious of her as everyone else.

And he was the county sheriff. He should be on her—Lana’s—side. He should be the one they turned to when the time came—if it ever did—to go to the police.

But he was the enemy, that is, because he hated Lana so that made him Kait’s enemy too.

“I can see it now—she’s doing a number on you, isn’t she? That cute little haircut, the natural girl-next-door look, tripping over her high heels. Please!...But mostly, the whole mother thing. She’s not the motherly type. She hasn’t changed. She’s up to something. I can smell it, Trev. With my cop’s nose.”

“I hope you’re wrong.”

Rafe made a disparaging sound. “In fact, I
know
she’s up to something.”

“What are you saying?” Trev was asking quietly, dread seemingly in his rough tone.

“I know for a fact she’s not being straight with you. But I can’t say any more,” Rafe said. And finally, he looked over—and directly—at Kait. “Not yet.”

And Kait didn’t move. She was sick inside, sick in every fiber of her being. She wanted to scream at them both; in that instant, she wanted to tell them the entire truth as she knew it. But that would be selfish. She could not get out now, not until this was entirely over and she knew for a fact that Marni and Lana would remain safe and sound, and that there was no more danger threatening either one of them.

“What the hell do you mean, you can’t say anything?” Trev demanded.

“Don’t trust her,” Rafe said, clapping his hand on Trev’s shoulder. Both men were the exact same height—an inch or two above six feet tall. “Fuck her brains out if you must, but do not trust her.”

And Trev did hesitate. “I don’t trust her. But—”

“No buts,” Rafe said flatly. He gave Kait a quelling look, and turned away. “I’m going up to see Sam.”

When he was gone, Trev turned around and looked right at her. For a long moment, he did not speak. Then he said, suddenly appearing weary, “I must be a fool. An idiot and a fool. Rafe’s right. He was right from day one.”

Kait came forward—and tripped on uneven planking in the wood floors. She recovered her balance and gripped his hands. “You’re not a fool!” Still, she couldn’t argue that Rafe wasn’t right. “Trev, I promise you that I will not hurt Sam or Marni. I promise,” she said harshly. And she wanted to add, I would never hurt you! But of course, she could not, she didn’t dare.

And even as she begged him silently to trust her, she was afraid that Lana would return and do precisely as Kait was now claiming she would never do.

Kait was afraid of what might happen when her sister returned.

He looked at her and she did not look away, partially because she could not, and partially because she so wanted him to trust her, Kait. She saw his eyes soften. Then his face tightened and he pulled away. “What is Rafe talking about, Lana? What is it that he knows about you—or thinks he knows—that he’s not telling me?” he asked very quietly.

Kait sensed that she was at a crossroads with him, one that would never again reappear. She desperately wanted to tell him the truth—that her personality change wasn’t that at all, because she wasn’t his wife—but she simply could not, because of Marni.

She sensed that he was as desperate now—that he desperately wanted to hear a genuine explanation from her.

She took a deep breath. Her mind sped, raced. What if she told him a part of the truth? “Trev, Rafe is right. There is something important that I haven’t told you.”

“And just what the hell is that?”

Kait straightened. “I’m deeply in debt.”

He didn’t say a word.

“I owe a lot of money to... someone. Maybe, that person is after me now.”

“What the hell are you pulling?” he asked slowly.

“I’m not pulling anything. You asked for the truth. I’m trying to fix things—really—but I can’t tell you any more.”

“I pay all your bills. You’re pretty extravagant, and I’ve let you spend as you choose. We don’t have any debt.”

She stiffened. He was refusing to believe her, and she didn’t know what to do now, because she couldn’t tell him any details. “I’m telling you the truth,” she whispered. “I’m afraid, Trev.”

He started. Then, “Why are you doing this? Why are you lying to me about this?” he demanded.

Kait was dumbfounded. Her plan to give him a grain of truth was backfiring. “I...I,” she began nervously and with dismay.

He was staring into her eyes. “What are you covering up?”

“Nothing.” She had to wet her lips again. She wanted to insist that she was telling him the truth, but suddenly, she could not get the words out.

“Why do I see fear—no—anxiety—in your eyes?” he asked. “And don’t tell me you’re afraid because you’ve been spending money you don’t have! Why the hell are you behaving this way?” Suddenly he seemed furious. “Why the hell did you cut your hair, damn it? Where the hell is that lipstick you wore every single day? What is this sudden love of blue jeans? Explain this to me, Lana!” He was shouting.

She could only stare, speechless.

He threw both hands into the air, turning away, his entire body taut with tension.

“I can’t,” she heard herself whisper brokenly.

He faced her, grim. “You know what the worst part is?”

He paused; Kait shook her head fearfully, speechlessly.

“I
know
I shouldn’t trust you—I think Rafe is right, and I have for some time—but I
want
to trust you,” he said.

She could not be thrilled. She was too upset, too shaken. He spoke again, and he was harsh, his green eyes resigned. “Ever since you came back from New York, somehow different, and changed, as Marni keeps insisting you are, I’ve had the oddest urges toward you.” He was quieter now. “But I am not going to trust you, Lana. I’ve had six years of bitter experience, and in all of those years, you have let me and the girls down, time and again.
I will not trust you
. No matter how that little body of yours may be screaming at me, tempting me, but I am not going to cave in, give in, trust you, all over again. It’s simply
not going to happen
.”

She heard herself say, “But you can trust me.”

He walked away.

No one trusted her.

Lana had so many enemies and one of them was Trev’s brother, the county sheriff.

Kait could deal with that. She had no choice. But what hurt was that Trev, who had been softening toward her, who wanted to trust her, refused to trust her and would not out of sheer determination and will.

How had their lives ever come to this? If only she knew what she and Lana were up against!

Kait wondered if he would ever come to trust her and believe in her once Lana returned, once he knew who she, Kait, really was—once he and Lana were divorced. She realized she badly wanted him to believe in her—to know who she really was, a woman with good family values, kindness, and consideration. Kait sighed, throwing in the towel. She sat in her favorite tweed chair in the living room, sipping scotch. Kait was furious with her sister.

Trev hadn’t deserved her inconsideration and he certainly hadn’t deserved to be a victim of her infidelity. And her behavior had affected the family—hurting Trev, Marni, and Sam. Lana should have gone for some kind of marital help years ago. Kait felt certain it was too late, not that her sister wanted to save her marriage. In fact, she didn’t deserve Trev Coleman.

There, she had admitted it—Kait had taken sides.

Kait closed her eyes in real despair. The real problem was that no matter what Lana had done—and Kait hardly knew the extent of the trouble she was in—she was still Kait’s twin sister and Kait did love her. Well, maybe everyone would find happiness after the divorce, even though it threatened to be a very bitter one.

On that extremely depressing note, footsteps sounded on the stairs. Kait opened her eyes and saw Rafe appear. Trev had been standing by the window, looking toward the rolling hills on the horizon, which was now purple and star-studded. His empty scotch glass was in hand. He, too, turned.

“Sam’s plenty upset,” he said, giving Kait a bleak glance—as if that were her fault. “But she gave me what I need as far as that gang goes. The leader is Ben Abbott, which is what I thought. He’s been picked up a few times, mostly for drinking and rowdy behavior. It’s a matter of time before he does something we can’t let slide. I hate to see a kid his age go to Juvy.” Rafe sighed. “He’s tough and remorseless. He’s trouble. I’ll stop by his folks’ house and then have a chat with Principal Greene. I’ll have the boys keep a closer eye on him as well.”

“What about Sam?” Trev asked.

“She claims the gun is hers.” He hesitated.

“I don’t like it, Trev. I think she’s got a big thing for this Gabe Jenkins, but I also think she’s telling the truth, and the gun is hers. Or, it’s not his. She won’t tell me how she got it.”

“The gun can’t be hers,” Trev said. “Go speak to Jenkins. The kid and his father.”

Rafe slapped his shoulder. “Read my mind. Look, I’ll pass on dinner, make these calls instead.” His gaze stayed on Trev, as if Kait were not even in the room.

Trev hesitated, and then glanced at Kait.

Kait stood. “No, stay.” She couldn’t smile, not if her life depended on it. “I’m exhausted. I’m calling it a night.” She suddenly wanted to cry. She had, stupidly, looked forward to a pleasant evening spent with Trev and his brother. When was she going to face what had become inescapable? Lana had alienated everyone in this family, and there was no way Kait was going to get past that, no matter how hard she tried, not until Lana returned and they came forward together to explain their deception, and maybe even then it would remain an impossible task. “Enjoy supper,” she managed through tears, and this was to Rafe. She hurried from the room.

She stumbled again in Lana’s damned high heels. As she caught the banister, she finally heard Rafe say, quietly, “In a way, I don’t blame you for falling for her all over again. Those big blue eyes are pretty hard to resist.”

Trev didn’t respond.

Kait halted, gripping the staircase.

“I never saw her cry before,” Rafe said then.

Trev said, “Me neither.”

Kait slowly came downstairs.

She was barefoot, but still in the Donna Karan dress. She had finished the scotch and had heard Rafe driving off. Just to be certain, she had rushed to a window in a guest bedroom, overlooking the front of the house. Sure enough, the black-and-white SUV had been driving away from the house. She was wildly relieved to have him gone.

She had waited a long time for Trev to come upstairs to the room he was using. But when he hadn’t done so, she had decided not to wait any longer. She was a bit buzzed, very confused, extremely saddened, and quite famished.

Kait crept downstairs as quietly as possible, hoping Trev was in his study with the door closed. She wasn’t up to being with him now—she was afraid of more questions, a confrontation, the look in his eyes—she did not have the strength to muster up another lie. Not tonight.

At least Rafe Coleman would now handle the situation with Sam, the gun she’d had, and that gang. Kait did feel that she could safely walk away from that one other burden, which she simply did not have the energy to bear.

Although the kitchen could be approached from the hall, the quickest way was to walk through the living and dining rooms. The moment Kait stepped into the living room, she sensed that she wasn’t alone.

But all the lights were off.

She faltered, straining to see and to hear.