Last Kiss (13 page)

“You’re needed back at the house.” He glanced at me and I could sense he was unsure whether he should say more in front of me.

Immediately, I feared the worst. “Is it Amber?”

Reeve arched a brow, seconding my question.

“I’m not sure. Come with me and you’ll see.”

It was vague, but the little bit he’d shared combined with his anxious demeanor was enough to send chills down my spine. It was also enough to get Reeve moving. He jogged to one of the ATVs parked at the side of the corral. I turned back to Parker to ask for a ride, but he was already driving off toward the house.

Dammit.
I’d have to hike back, another fifteen-minute walk.

But then Reeve pulled up beside me. He didn’t meet my eyes. “Coming?”

I climbed on behind him, too worried about Amber to care that I’d just told him we were over. I’d meant it in the moment. But I wasn’t so sure when my arms were wrapped around him, my body pressed tight against his solid frame. Wasn’t so sure I could ever be over him.

We followed on Parker’s tail to the shed, where I assumed we were parking the ATVs. But he pulled up short instead of driving all the way in. That was when I noticed the security guard standing by the open door, looking as though there were something of interest on the other side.

I hopped off as soon as Reeve cut the engine, but I let him take the lead, following two steps behind as he circled the open door. He halted suddenly, and I had to step to his side to see around him.

Joe was there, kneeling on the ground. A second security guard was at his side, and, between them, lay Jenkins. Vomit pooled around his mouth, and his eye was lifeless and glassy like a marble, and it only took me a second to realize he was dead.

But I wasn’t a squeamish woman, and it wasn’t his limp body that made me gasp. It was the word painted on his side in large red letters: MINE.

There was something utterly menacing about the image, and not just because the dog was dead. I had a feeling the word would have had the same impact if the dog had still been alive, and I found myself wondering if Jenkins’s death was meant to be a message as well or if it was just easier to apply paint to an animal that couldn’t move.

And if death was the message…

I shivered and casually took a step closer to Reeve. Whether we were together or not, I felt safety in his presence. Ironic, considering how often he scared the hell out of me.

“Time of death had to be recent,” Joe said, delivering his report to Reeve, and, unless I was imagining things, avoiding all eye contact with me. “The body’s still warm.”

“Antifreeze?” Reeve asked.

“That usually takes a couple of days to affect the kidneys. Chloroform, maybe?”

Though he was trying to mask it, Parker seemed sullen. “He was completely fine when I fed him at dawn.”

I’d forgotten that he’d taken an interest in Jenkins. Working on a ranch, Parker was surely used to dealing with animal deaths. He must have felt particularly close to this dog to be upset.

Honestly, I felt a bit unsettled as well, especially with all the other emotions festering inside me. It had happened so fast, too. “I just saw him about ninety minutes ago.”

The second security guard, the one sitting with Joe, stood and addressed me. “Was he acting strange then? Did he seem thirsty or was he convulsing at all?”

I tried to remember if I’d seen anything unusual. “I don’t know. I was too far away, but I’m pretty sure his fur hadn’t been painted then. Amber was with him. I think she would have said something if he was acting out of the ordinary.”

“Actually,” I added, feeling oddly like I was about to get Amber in trouble, “someone else was there with her. Buddy is the only name I know. I think he’s one of the Callahan men.” There was still nothing to validate the creepy feeling Buddy gave me, but my gut sure felt like he was capable of murdering helpless animals.

Reeve and Parker exchanged glances. “What was anyone even doing up here on branding day?” Parker asked his boss. “I said it seemed suspicious how there were so many new guys this year. You thought I was being paranoid.”

“Let’s not make any rash conclusions. There are ways to get on the land back here without passing through the front gates. This could have been anyone.” Reeve said “anyone” as if he might mean someone in particular. Someone who wasn’t on the ranch at all.

He gestured at the graffiti on Jenkins’s body. “Even if this Buddy person did this, he’s not the one behind it.”

The hair stood up on the back of my neck, and I had that eerie feeling of being watched.

Reeve nodded to one of the guards, who then pulled out his cell phone and made a call. “Yeah,” he said, not bothering to step away, “we need a deeper investigation of everyone on the Callahan crew list, particularly someone named Buddy. That’s the only name I’ve got, obviously it might be a nickname. Also, all recording equipment that has a view of the shed and the yard around it needs to be pulled and watched starting around noon. If you see the dog in any of the footage, mark that.”

“The only cameras we have focused out here are on the shed itself,” Parker said, shifting his jaw like he wished he had snuff tucked in his cheek. “We don’t have anything watching the trees beyond.”

Reeve’s expression remained stoic. “We could get lucky. Security footage will at least rule out some possibilities.”

Parker scratched behind his neck, then turned his whole body toward Reeve. “It’s him, isn’t it?” He didn’t leave any chance for response, apparently confident in the
him
he guessed was responsible. “What do you think he means by ‘MINE’? The land? Is he trying to stake some claim to Kaya?”

Reeve shook his head and I suspected it meant he didn’t know rather than a firm
no
. He was still studying the animal on the ground. “Have you turned the dog over?”

“Right,” Joe agreed. “We need to see if there’s more.” He grabbed Jenkins’s front paws while Parker took his hind legs and together they flipped the dog to his other side.

As Reeve must have guessed, there was painting on this side of his body, too – SHES.

“Shes?” Parker pronounced the word with a short
e
vowel.

“It’s missing the apostrophe,” Joe explained as he stood, wiping his hands on his pants.

“She’s mine,”
Reeve said quietly, putting the words together.

Parker squinted up toward Reeve. “But who’s ‘she’?”

Before anyone had a chance to speculate, another voice piped in behind us. “Me.”

We spun in unison to see that Amber had joined us, her arrival unnoticed.

“It’s me,” she repeated, a distinct tremor in her voice. “It’s from Micha, and he means me.”

Reeve’s eyes hit me the minute I walked in Amber’s room, knocking the wind out of my lungs. I pretended I was just out of breath from running up the stairs to get there, but the truth was I’d taken my time.

While Amber had been fairly composed when she’d first arrived at the scene of the dead dog, it didn’t take long before she’d worked herself up to hysterics. Both Reeve and Joe had tried to calm her, to no avail. Eventually, after summoning for Jeb to meet him in her room, Reeve had swept Amber in his arms and carried her inside.

Joe had followed without a glance in my direction, essentially confirming my suspicion that he was avoiding me.

I’d lingered behind, feigning interest in the guard’s investigation as they took pictures and looked for more clues around the shed. Mostly I hadn’t wanted to be with Reeve as he attended to Amber. I hadn’t thought I could stand it if he ignored me while caring for her.

I hadn’t realized that his attention would be just as unbearable.

Amber didn’t seem to notice my appearance with her face buried in Reeve’s chest. She lifted her head. “He said he would find me if I ever left. He says that to all the women.”

It was the same thing she’d said outside. She’d been repeating variations of it for the better part of the last hour, and every new rendition gutted me.

Reeve sat with her on the bed, his arm wrapped around her shoulder, but he kept his gaze locked on me. “He’s not going to get you here.”

His intense stare made my focus shift so that he was front and center in my vision, and everything else around him blurred and lost context. Yet, even though I refused to see his hand drawing soothing strokes up and down her arm, I could
feel
it. As sure as if it were my body he was caressing. Except that, instead of making it buzz with butterflies, my stomach curled. And instead of wishing it would last forever, I prayed that it would just end.

Jeb, who’d been at the dresser filling a syringe, turned toward the bed now. “Amber, can you give me your arm?”

Though she seemed barely aware of anything but the man holding her, she turned up her forearm, exposing it toward Jeb.

“This will make you rest a while,” Jeb said as he emptied the medicine into Amber’s arm. “So you can relax.”

She nodded obligingly. Then she sat up with an anxious start. “He marked me, Reeve. He thinks I’m his! He’s coming after me! He’s warning me!”

“He’s warning
me
.” Finally Reeve moved his eyes to her, and my entire body sagged as though I’d been relieved of a heavy weight. “And I don’t take warnings lightly.”

Already I missed the burden of his stare.

“You have to keep me safe. You can’t let him get to me.” Amber’s pitch crept higher and it was impossible not to feel worked up with her.
For
her. My skin itched with agitation, and I kept shaking my arms, thinking I’d find something crawling on them but never did.

And Reeve – his expression was stoic and his voice even, but behind his eyes I saw a glimmer of helplessness. “I’ll organize shifts again,” he said, and in that moment I was glad he was there for her, no matter how torn up with jealousy it made me. “You won’t ever be alone.”

The words he’d intended to be comforting only stirred her up more. “No, I don’t want babysitters,” she insisted. “Micha had people watching me all the time. And you.” She paused just long enough for her meaning to punch. “I can’t live like that again.”

I hadn’t put that in perspective before, hadn’t really thought about how she’d gone from Reeve’s prison to Michelis’s. I’d assumed she’d been rebelling against Reeve’s authority when she’d demanded no more attendants the night before. Now I realized she was just trying to grasp at freedom that likely felt fleeting.

Reeve’s expression fell as he absorbed the impact of her statement. “Then I’ll double the guards on the house and at the gate instead. Is that better?” He managed a smile, but it felt strained.

I shifted uncomfortably, wishing I were anywhere else. My emotions and loyalties were tied up in knots. Even as my chest ached with sympathy for Amber, my blood also heated with resentment. She’d
left.
Reeve had treated her shamefully, but she’d made her own choices after that. Was it fair to add her sins to the load of guilt he already carried?

“That would be better,” she said, snuggling into the crook of his arm. “I feel safe right now. With you here. Don’t leave me, Reeve. Say you won’t leave me.”

I wanted to throw up. I wanted to scream. The best I could get away with was rolling my eyes, and I turned around so that no one would notice.

Except Joe noticed.

I hadn’t realized he was sitting on the arm of the love seat behind me and when I turned, his glare hit me as forcefully as Reeve’s eyes had met mine when I’d walked in.

I groaned inwardly. Everywhere I looked there were thorns.

Well, Joe would probably be easier to deal with than Reeve and Amber.

I crossed over to him. “Did she say anything about Buddy before I got up here?”

“No,” he said, his voice hard. “She’s useless.”

“She’s scared.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen quite a few addicts get ‘scared’ just like that when they wanted a dose of something.”

I gaped, taken aback by the harsh judgment. “She’s received a horrible message from a horrible man. She’s upset!”

“You’ve seen her bruises and scars. I can’t believe this is the worst that Vilanakis has done to her.”

“Which is exactly why she’s scared that he’s back,” I snapped. It was obvious his remarks had more to do with me than with Amber. With the day’s events, the argument I’d had with him the night before seemed petty to me. Apparently,
he
was holding a grudge.

And I was already cranky. Cranky enough to let him have the fight he seemed to be intent on having.

“Don’t forget you wanted to save her, too,” I hissed, only half-heartedly attempting to keep my voice low.

Joe stood, and I followed when he gestured that we take our conversation to the hallway. “I wanted to get to Vilanakis’s more serious crimes,” he said, when we were outside the room. “I was hoping she’d be more helpful in that department.”

My brows lifted with indignation. “Is that why you’re really still here? Were you hoping that he’d be lured after her? You’re probably ecstatic that you can continue your investigation now.”

He drew back, appalled. “What? That’s not…” He shook his head. “Okay, yes. I was concerned that Vilanakis would come after her. Would come here. So I stayed. But it wasn’t because I wanted to draw him out and it wasn’t for her.”

“Sorry that Amber’s life isn’t meaningful enough for you,” I sputtered, ignoring that he’d implied he’d stayed for me. “Next time I’ll make sure that the person I hire you to save scores high on the Joe Cook barometer of worth.”

He eyed me for a beat, a hint of amusement in his features. “‘Joe Cook barometer of worth’?”

He was mocking me. But hearing him repeat it, I realized it really had been a silly thing to say.

I let out a sigh. “I don’t know what I’m saying. You’re mad at me, and I’m irritated because I really need a friend at the moment.”

“I’m not mad at you, exactly,” he said, suddenly fascinated with the toe of his shoe. “You’re just frustrating.”

“So I’ve been told.” Most recently today, when Reeve said he wanted to tie me up like the calves. I’d probably find that a turn-on if the rest of the conversation hadn’t been so painful.

My chest pinched with the reminder of the heartache I was trying to ignore. I pushed past the urge to cry. “Anyway, I’m sorry for being difficult. I’m sorry for being someone who makes decisions that are rarely wise and generally impossible to understand. That’s kind of the definition of who I am.”

“Nah, I shouldn’t have belittled your feelings like I did.” He lifted his eyes to mine. “And there’s definitely more to the definition of Emily Wayborn than ‘rarely wise and impossible to understand.’”

His kindness was another thorn. It reminded me again of all the things I would never be, such as a person who could be loved by a decent guy.

I cocked my head and offered to shake. “Friends?”

He scowled. But he took my hand and shook it. “Friends.”

We were still shaking when Reeve walked out of the room. Immediately he fixed on our clasped hands, as if he were jealous of Joe. As if he had a right to be jealous of anyone.

It infuriated me, and even as it did, I jerked free from Joe’s grip. God, I disgusted myself. No wonder Joe was frustrated with me.

“She’s sleeping,” Reeve said, whether updating us on Amber’s state or explaining why he’d left her, I wasn’t sure. “Jeb’s going to stay with her for now.”

“She said she didn’t want babysitters.” I hated how spiteful I sounded almost as much as I hated how spiteful I felt. “Are you ignoring that?”

“No, but I think someone should be with her until I can get guards on the house. Especially when she’s been given a sedative that should really be administered in a hospital-type setting.” His reasoning was fair, but his tone was as nasty as mine.

The sound of footsteps on the stairs drew my focus. I looked to see Brent ascending. He perched on the last step and nodded at Reeve. “Branding should be done in a couple of hours. Our guests will be on their way by dinner.”

“Good. No one knows there was an incident?” Reeve asked.

“Managed to keep it under wraps. The boys all think you’re tending to a sick girlfriend.”

I grimaced despite myself. A lot of those “boys” had seen Reeve fighting with me an hour before. They probably assumed he’d left to make up.

Oh, if it were only true.

“Thank you, Brent,” Reeve said, and even though I wouldn’t let myself look at him, I could feel his eyes on me. Always on me.

Brent leaned a hand on the rail post. “Have you had any e-mails from him since yesterday? Are you going to e-mail him back?”

I perked up at Brent’s questions. It didn’t take a genius to guess the
him
Brent referred to was Vilanakis. This was the first I’d heard about an e-mail, though. “What is he talking about?”

Reeve shot a warning look toward Brent before addressing me. “It’s nothing you need to be concerned about.”

Granted, it didn’t take much at the moment to piss me off, but this legitimately pissed me off a lot. “Bullshit. That’s my friend in there. What e-mail is he talking about?”

When Reeve didn’t say anything I looked to Joe. “No idea,” he said, his hands lifted in innocence.

I shot a glare at Brent instead.

“Not my business to say anything,” he said. “Shouldn’t have even brought it up.”

“No, you shouldn’t have,” Reeve agreed. Then, with a conceding sigh, he said, “It was a taunt, Emily. That’s all. A message meant to put me on edge and that’s all you need to know.”

I was beginning to feel as tired of babysitters as Amber did. “Will you stop sugarcoating and tell me what the damn message was already?”

He looked me firmly in the eye. “No. I won’t.” His tone and posture said the discussion was final. He turned to Brent next and said, “No, I’m not going to try to e-mail him. That’s what he wants. I’m not letting him bully himself into my life. But if he attacks again, he’ll regret it. He can’t break long-standing rules without expecting me to retaliate. Do we have the manpower to double up on security?”

Brent nodded. “If we don’t, I’ll make sure we do.”

The two continued to talk while I concentrated on holding it together. If I didn’t, I would explode. I wasn’t even sure what form my explosion would take, if it would be tantrum or tears. Anger, frustration, rejection – all were bubbling just under the surface, and it was all I could do to keep it down.

Brent’s lip twisted up in a mischievous grin. “Sure you don’t want to send him sort of message in return?”

“No message. He wants to play games, fine. I’m not stooping down to that level.”

Any minute,
I told myself,
Reeve will turn back to me and tell me about the e-mail.
He’d humiliated me by dismissing me in front of Joe and Brent. He’d shown he had the upper hand. Any moment he would realize he’d proved his point and he’d stop being an ass and answer my question.

“The security tapes are cued up in your office, by the way,” Brent said. “Whenever you’re ready.”

“I’m ready now.” Reeve didn’t even glance at me as he crossed to follow Brent down the stairs.

In disbelief, I called after him. “Reeve?”

“Yes?” His expression was impatient, and his brow arched in question.

“Nothing,” I said, biting back any emotion that threatened to show. I turned my back toward him. “Joe, I need to get off the ranch for a little while. Can you take me to dinner?” Admittedly, though my invitation was sincere, half of the reason I’d extended it was to ruffle Reeve’s feathers. It was manipulative and defensive, but I couldn’t help myself.

“Emily,” Reeve warned from behind me before Joe had a chance to respond.

Feigning innocence, I peeked over my shoulder and imitated his recent address to me. “Yes?”

He made a sound of incredulous amusement, a sort of harsh laugh that suggested he saw right through me.

He probably did.

Then he said definitively, “You’re not leaving Kaya.”

I spun toward him. “What did you say?”

“You heard me.” Though he’d left no room for argument, he didn’t walk away. Instead, he held his position, as if he wanted to see how I’d react. As if daring me to challenge him.

There was no way I was turning down that dare. “You’re going to try to keep me here?” I took a step toward him, hinting at his sins of the past. “You said you’d never —”

I wasn’t surprised when he cut me off. “This isn’t about anything but your safety. With what happened here today, this is not the time for you to be traipsing around town unprotected.”

“I won’t be unprotected. Joe will be with me. And, considering
what happened here today,
I’m not sure that you can say the ranch is safer than anyplace else.”

His irritation was evident in the slant of his eyes, in the way he held his shoulders, in the heat that radiated from his body and hung in the air like a blanket ready to smother any opponent in his path. “I’m telling you not to go, Emily. You choose to do with that as you wish.” Then he turned and descended the stairs after Brent.