Read A Texas Sky Page 11


  out. She knew it was still Aurora, but she couldn't quite

  picture where. She'd been tired the night before and eager

  to get on the train that morning. Was it that morning?

  "Is it still Wednesday?"

  "Yes."

  "Do you have the time?"

  "Miss Hewett/' Eliot tried this time.

  "Stop calling me that."

  "All right, Annabelle, why do you wish to know the

  time?"

  "That's enough!" Darvi's voice cracked with enough

  force to surprise even herself. She stared at them, eyes

  furious, her hands coming out to make her point

  "I don't know whaf s going on here, but you will stop

  calling me that name. My name is Darvi Wingate. I was on

  the train this morning bound for St Louis when two men

  threatened me with a knife and removed me from my seat

  I want some answers, and I want them now."

  "I should have known she was going to make this

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  hard," Eliot said to Seth.

  "Yeah, I suppose you're right Lef s give her some time

  to think."

  The men filed from the room then, and Darvi was completely

  confused. Her attention strayed around the small

  living area as she searched for answers, so she was startled

  when one of the men returned.

  Seth handed Darvi her satchel.

  "I thought you might want this."

  Darvi took the bag.

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  "The gun is out," he added, holding her eyes for long

  moments before exiting once again.

  I have to think, Darvi told herself, trying to ignore the

  headache. With that her eyes caught sight of the door. Bag

  in hand, she went to it and found it open. Hating to leave

  her gun and thinking she might be dreaming after all, she

  began to walk out onto a wooden landing that led to a tall

  flight of stairs. There was a door at the bottom. She was just

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  closing the apartment door when she heard, "Did you lock

  that door?"

  Darvi didn't even bother to catch the latch. Knowing

  she'd been found out, she lifted the front of her skirt and

  flew down the stairs as fast as she could move. She didn't

  make it halfway before an arm caught her around the

  waist. Darvi froze, waiting for him to let go, but he didn't.

  Not seeing any other way, she began to scream and

  struggle. A sound had barely escaped her when a hand was

  put over her mouth. The voice at her ear was quiet, almost

  gentle, but the words were no less serious.

  "The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but I can't have

  you escaping or screaming." Saying this, Seth shifted her

  so she could see his face. The terror in her eyes nearly got

  to him, but he still said, "Understood?"

  Darvi nodded and stayed quiet when he slowly

  removed his hand.

  "Now, back up to the apartment you go. We have to

  come to some type of agreement before you leave."

  "What agreement?"

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  "Well, ifs like we said. Mr. Silk wants you to come to

  dinner, as you missed seeing him today."

  Back in the apartment, Darvi turned to see him put her

  satchel on the floor while the other man locked the door.

  "I don't know who Mr. Silk is, and I didn't come here on

  my own. I don't know how much plainer I can make it,"

  The men said nothing. The one nearest the door pocketed

  the key, and the one who had caught her on the stairs only

  looked at her. A moment later they exited the room again.

  "excuse me," dakota interrupted the man at the ticket

  window.

  "Yes, sir, what can I do for you?"

  "I was just wondering if there's any chance you

  remember a woman buying a ticket this morning? She

  wore a navy suit and had reddish blonde hair."

  The man nodded. "I remember her. Headed to St.

  Louis."

  "Yes, she's the one. Do you happen to know whether

  she was on the train when it left?"

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  The man looked thoughtful. "Well, I assume she was.

  She didn't come back to say she missed the train. They

  always do that when it happens."

  Dakota debated how to ask the next question delicately.

  "Did you by any chance happen to see her leave the station

  area?"

  "I didn't see her go, but then I can't see as much as the

  men out front. You might want to check with them."

  "Thank you."

  Dakota stepped away from the window fighting the

  frustration rising within him. He'd already talked to the

  men who worked along the tracks. They hadn't seen

  anyone leaving who matched Darvi's description and told

  him to check with the man at the ticket window.

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  / don't think I can do anything else, Lord. Is it a lack.of trust

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  to wonder if she's all right? If that wasn't Darvi, then why

  haven't I seen another woman like her in town today? But

  Dakota's questions went unanswered. He honestly didn't

  know what to do. His money, including the funds that

  Brace had given him, was down to nothing. If he stayed in

  town, it would have to be outside tonight. He was more

  than willing to do this if there was a need, but if this was

  nothing more than a case of mistaken identity... On the

  other hand, if Darvi needed him, Dakota would never

  leave her.

  Deciding to stay in town one more night and keep his

  eyes open, Dakota went in search of a cheap meal. He

  hadn't eaten since breakfast, and it was now way past

  noon. He had to assume if he didn't have answers by

  morning, he would have to leave well enough alone.

  (3'"3"3'

  "I need to let Cassy know I won't be home tonight,"

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  Eliot said of his girlfriend.

  "Maybe Nate's in town. He could tell her," Seth replied,

  speaking of Cassy's son.

  "I'll head out and check." Eliot stood. "How is she

  doing?"

  "The last time I looked she was reading her Bible."

  The men shared a smile, and Eliot slowly shook his

  head. "She's good. I'll give her that"

  "That she is, but I must tell you, the lady fascinates me."

  "You've seen her column in the paper, big brother. Don't

  forget she has claws."

  Eliot left to the sound of the other man's laughter. Seth

  went back to his paper. He had only just returned to his

  reading when Darvi came to the door.

  "May I please leave now?"

  Setting the paper aside, Seth shook his head. "We have

  to come to an agreement," he said, keeping his voice gentle.

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  "You're going to have dinner with Mr. Silk, and you're

  even going to tell your readers about it, both before and

  after. You've had some pretty ugly things to say about him

  over the last year, and it's time to do some repair work."

  Looking as devastated as she felt, Darvi turned away.

  Not giving her more than a few moments alone, Seth followed

  her. He found her sitting and looking toward the

  window, but s
ince it was growing dark outside, he knew

  she could see little.

  For a time, Seth cursed Jared Silk's very existence. None

  of this was going the way they had planned. Nevertheless,

  Seth knew he had a job to do.

  "I'm sorry you won't cooperate, Miss Hewett, but if

  you'll just work with us, you can go home."

  "Please don't call me that"

  The lantern was not turned very high, but it did illumine

  the side of Darvi's face, catching the smooth skin on

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  her cheek, the adorable shape of her tumed-up nose, and

  that incredible mouth. Seth felt his heart turn over with tenderness

  for her and wanted to shake his head at this

  interest His boss would be enraged if he knew. Annabelle

  Hewett was the enemy, and he would do well to remember

  that!

  "Now listen," he spoke harshly, coming close to Darvi

  and towering over her as her head whipped around. "I've

  got better things to do than sit around here and wait for

  you to admit the truth. You can knock off this act and come

  dean. You know what I want, and I'm not going to wait forever."

  Nearly growling with frustration when the light would

  not give him a clear view of her eyes, he turned it higher.

  The tears, fear, and confusion he saw were almost his

  undoing, but he made himself go on, albeit in a quieter

  tone. Reaching for an old newspaper, Seth sat next to Darvi

  and searched until he had found her column.

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  "Look at this. You say right here that Jared Silk is a con

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  artist, but do you have any proof? You stir up a lot of

  trouble for one of the town's more popular businessmen.

  Mr. Silk just wants to know what you have against him. He

  believes if he could speak with you, you would see that

  you have him all wrong."

  Darvi looked at the paper, telling herself she was not

  going to cry or panic. She tried to lick her lips, but her mouth was alarmingly dry.

  "I didn't write this. I don't know how else to tell you.

  I'm not Annabelle Hewett. And if your plan is to starve me

  until I say that I am, then you're going to have a corpse on

  your hands."

  Seth stopped dead in his tracks. This was not supposed

  to have taken all day. They hadn't given Darvi a tiling to eat

  or drink. He was saved from falling all over himself when

  he heard the door open. He met his brother when he was

  no more than a foot inside, the smell of food enveloping

  him.

  "We forgot to feed her!" Seth whispered in panic.

  "I remembered that when I was out," Eliot whispered

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  back. "I've brought some dinner from the hotel."

  Seth straightened his tie and jacket and even smoothed

  his hair. Chin raised and determined to be all business, he

  returned to the living room.

  "We have some dinner for you now. Come on through

  to the kitchen and eat."

  Hoping he was not playing games with her, Darvi went

  ahead when he motioned for her to precede him. The room

  was not overly large, but she was directed to take one of the

  four chairs around the kitchen table. The smell of food

  assailed her; her mouth ran with saliva so suddenly she

  had to swallow several times. She'd been praying all day

  for strength, but if they planned to make her sit here and

  not eat, they might have a hysterical woman on their

  hands.

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  "Here you go." Eliot set a plate in front of her, some silverware

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  on the side. A glass of water came next, but Darvi

  just sat, her hands clenched in her lap. The men had food

  f / of their own, but she was afraid to trust this situation.

  Trying not to look at her, Seth started on his food. Eliot

  couldn't. He watched her sit there for a few seconds and

  then spoke up.

  "You can eat."

  "I don't have to do something first?"

  "No."

  Eliof s reply was very quiet. He had just gotten a taste

  of what his brother had seen. He made himself look down

  at his plate, but he couldn't miss the way she picked up her

  water, her eyes closing in relief as she drank. Drinking

  often, she began to work her way through the food. The

  rice was wonderful, but the chicken looked so good that

  she soon had a piece in her hand. She was just starting to

  feel normal when she glanced up to see that someone had

  filled her water glass again. Pausing only to wipe her

  hands, she reached for it. Not until that point did she

  realize the men were watching her.

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  For some reason, color filled her face as she slowly set

  down her glass. To her surprise, the men rose. They set

  their plates on the side counter and turned to her.

  "When you're finished, come back to the living room so

  we can talk."

  This order came from Eliot, and Darvi only nodded

  before they went on their way. She finished slowly, managing

  to eat every bite. It was during this time that her

  brain went back to work. She knew that the living room

  was out the door and to the left, but the one man had not

  exited that way. He'd come from the other side.

  Working not to scrape her chair on the floor at all, Darvi

  stood up, wiping her face and hands as she went. She

  didn't move her plate and did everything she could to

  keep her feet silent. Determined not to look toward

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  the living room/ she planned to hit the doorway and head

  right, hopefully out the first door she came to. And it

  worked/ right up to the moment she had her hand on the

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  knob. It was then she noticed the large hand that had

  appeared just over her head. It was holding the door shut

  Darvi turned in disgust to find Seth looking down on

  her. Having gained back some of her old pluck/ she lifted

  her chin into the air.

  "I almost made it," she told him before slipping past

  and heading to the living room.

  Seth was glad she couldn't see him, giving him time to

  wipe the smile from his face.

  "Please sit down," Eliot instructed her right away, his

  tone firm.

  Darvi complied.

  "I've got a sample of the articles I want you to write.

  You'll put one in tomorrow's paper, and the other one will

  go in the day after you dine with Jared."

  He tried to hand the papers to Darvi, but she wouldn't

  take them. Eliot let his head fall back, frustration written all

  over him. He didn't want to strike the woman he thought

  to be Annabelle; he just wanted to release her back into the

  alley and be done with it.

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  "I don't write for the newspaper," Darvi tried again. "If

  you want to take me down there and ask them yourself,

  thaf s fine. Maybe then you'll see I'm telling the truth."

  This was getting ridiculous. Jared's scheme had seemed

  a little far-fetched when he'd plotted it for them, but now

  this attempt to execute it was just plain foolish
ness.

  "May I leave?"

  The men looked at her.

  "No," Seth spoke up, trying not to be led by his heart. "I

  still think we can work something out"

  "But it's dark out; I have to go."

  "Where do you have to go?"

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  Darvi didn't answer. She just knew she needed to get

  out of there.

  "Did you find Nate?" Seth asked of Eliot.

  "Yes."

  Seth stood.

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  "If you'll come with me, Miss Hewett, I'll get you settled

  for the night."

  Darvi could not believe her ears. She could see these

  men did not mean her physical harm and that they truly

  had mistaken her for someone else/ but that didn't make

  the whole episode any less frightening. For the dozenth

  time that day, Darvi was forced to push Dakota's face from

  her mind. He would have taken such good care of her if he

  were here, but he wasn't, and she had to accept that.

  Following the man who picked up her satchel, Darvi left

  the room behind him. They went down the hallway and

  past the kitchen to a small bedroom. There was very little

  in the room. He set her satchel on the small bed.

  "The window is nailed shut, but even if you do figure a

  way to open it, it's a two-story drop. If you need something,

  I'll be across the hall or in the living room."

  Seth said all this while forcing himself not to look at her.

  He headed to the door and almost made it but looked back

  even as he had his hand on the knob. It was a mistake.

  Darvi stood looking around the room, that expression of a

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  lost, forlorn child back on her face. Seth couldn't get out of

  there fast enough. He nearly ran to the living room and

  threw himself onto the davenport

  "Something doesn't add up, Eliot, and I don't mean

  maybe. If that woman is Annabelle Hewett, she's the

  greatest actress who ever lived."

  "I was thinking the same thing. It has crossed my mind

  that she's playing us for the biggest fools alive, but if s getting

  harder to buy."

  The men sat in silence until Eliot had another thought.

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  "Could it be a relative, even her daughter or younger

  sister?"

  Seth shook his head. "She's never heard of Annabelle

  Hewett. She can't be faking that"

  "I thought for a moment that she was going to tell us

  someone was waiting for her or that she had someplace to

  be, but then she stopped."

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  "I thought the same thing. It even looked like she wanted