Read A Texas Sky Page 12


  to make something up and couldn't think of it fast enough."

  Eliot stood with a groan. "Take the first shift. I'm tired."

  "All right. I didn't lock her door, so check the front

  again. I've got the key."

  "All right. Call me before you nod off."

  "Will do."

  Seth was left alone with his thoughts, and they weren't

  happy ones. He had no idea what to do next. Not tired in

  the least, he determined to sit on the sofa until he had that

  woman figured out

  Darvi sat on the edge of the bed, her arms wrapped

  around her middle, wishing she hadn't eaten all the food.

  Her stomach was so upset from fear that she thought she

  might be ill. She had sat alone in the living room most of

  the day, even nodding off at times. She hadn't liked going

  to the kitchen; the living room seemed safer. This whole

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  ordeal was wearing on her.

  I'm so confused right now, Lord. I don't think they mean to

  harm me, but I want to be let out. I'm not afraid to go back to the

  train station and try again, but these men have me at their mercy.

  Just thinking of the word mercy reminded Darvi of

  God's great mercy to her. She still did not have answers but

  was greatly calmed as she prayed. She poured her heart out

  to the Lord and asked Him to comfort her and provide

  wisdom. She didn't feel at all tired, but when Seth checked

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  on her some two hours later, he found her sleeping in her

  clothes, curled up not far from the edge of the bed.

  ^"S'w*

  Dakota didn't leave Aurora without some misgivings,

  but on the whole he knew a great peace. He hadn't seen his

  brother, a man he dearly loved, in a long time.

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  He asked God to bless Darvi, trusting she was still on

  her way home and knowing she would face her family

  soon. Outside of town, Dakota picked up the pace. He

  would be in Kinkade tonight and home for the first time in

  ages.

  5"3r^*

  Eliot came back to the apartment, breakfast in hand. Seth had just finished shaving, and as Eliot passed Darvi's room, he saw that the door was open and she was still

  sleeping. Apparently Seth had covered her with a blanket

  The younger man's hands shook just a little as he set the

  plates down, but he wasn't given much time to compose

  himself. Seth came into the room just a moment later. One

  look at Eliof s face told him something was wrong.

  "Whaf s the matter?"

  "I just saw Annabelle Hewett heading into the newspaper

  office."

  "You're sure?"

  "Positive."

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  Seth couldn't hold his smile.

  "Do not be smiling about this, Seth. What about Jared?"

  "Jared or not, Eliot, this is the best news I've ever

  heard."

  Eliot stared at his older brother. They'd been through so

  much together. Seth was as levelheaded a man as he'd ever

  met. Why now? Why her? Eliot couldn't think of worse

  timing. He was on the verge of telling his brother just that

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  when a small cry came from the other room. Both men

  moved across the hall to investigate. They found Darvi on

  the floor looking very sleepy and bewildered.

  "Did you fall out of bed?" Seth asked as he came forward.

  Darvi, who had just awakened from a horrible nightmare

  about these men, tried to scoot away from him, but

  her legs caught in the blanket Seeing her fear, Seth halted.

  "When you're ready/' he said quietly, "we have some

  breakfast for you."

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  "I'm not hungry."

  Seth only nodded and cleared out of the room, shutting

  the door behind him.

  "Let me handle this/' he told Eliot as he moved to the

  outer door. "Don't tell her what we know. I'll go take care

  of things with Jared and come back here."

  "What are you going to do with her?"

  Seth didn't even hesitate. "Take her home."

  "To the ranch?"

  "Yes."

  Eliot was given no time to comment. Seth slipped out

  the door, and the remaining brother locked it in his wake.

  5"3r^r

  "What do you mean the plan won't work?" Jared

  demanded, having already closed his office door.

  "Just that. We tried and it failed."

  "Tried? How?"

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  Looking much more composed than he felt, Seth met

  Jared's eyes.

  "We had a woman picked up who bears a striking

  resemblance to Annabelle Hewett. She tried to tell us she

  wasn't Hewett, but we didn't believe her. Then Eliot

  spotted Hewett in town this morning. We still have this

  other woman at the apartment."

  Jared's look became shrewd.

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  "That's perfect. Now that you know exactly who

  Annabelle is, you can still pick her up and get her to agree

  to my terms."

  "No."

  "What do you mean, no?"

  "Just what I said. The whole idea is crazy. Do you know

  how many people would miss Annabelle Hewett? I

  thought of that before, but not until we had this woman

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  who doesn't even live in Aurora did I see that this won't

  work with anyone as well known as Hewett"

  "But I want her stopped!"

  "Be that as it may," Seth responded in a voice that had

  gone cold, "you'll have to find another way to do it"

  Seth stood, and Jared wisely backed off. It had taken years

  to find men to work for him who had the sophistication that

  Seth Redding and Eliot McDermott displayed. He paid them

  well, but they were worth every dime. And over the years

  he'd learned some things. He knew when he could push and

  when he'd gone too far. The men did have their limits.

  "What will you do with this woman?"

  Seth shrugged as though he didn't care. 'Take her to the

  ranch for now."

  "Whaf s her name?" Jared asked before thinking, then

  swiftly held up his hand to stop the question. "I don't want

  to know any more. Just handle it"

  Seth started toward the door.

  "I'll let you know when you're needed again."

  "All right We'll be in the apartment until after dark."

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  Jared only waved in his direction, his mind already

  working on the next plan. Never once did the banker's brilliant

  mind remind his heart that he could have used his

  intelligence to gather wealth honestly. This was the way

  he'd always done things. A different approach had never

  occurred to him.

  %r%r%r

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  Darvi rubbed at her hip. She had finally climbed from

  the floor, but she felt stiff and sore, and her hip ached. She

  must have landed directly on it. She rubbed the back of her

  neck, glanced around the room, and noticed the steam.

  Moving to the pitcher and basin, she saw that someone had

  brought her hot wash water, soap, and towels. A wash

  sounded good, but to do it right, she would have to

  unbutton her dress and loosen her clothing. The though
t

  alone sounded wonderful.

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  Darvi moved toward the room's only chair, a thin piece

  of furniture but her only choice. She carried it across the

  floor and tried to jam the back under the doorknob. She no

  more had it settled when someone knocked.

  "Are you all right?" Eliot called from without.

  "Don't you try to open that door. I've put a chair there."

  "Why did you do that?"

  "Because I want some privacy."

  There was silence and then, "If I hear glass breaking, 111

  bust the door down."

  Darvi didn't answer.

  "Do you hear me?"

  "I hear you."

  Darvi wanted to hear him walk away, but when he

  didn't, she still went to the basin. Hearing the splash,

  Eliot's suspicions about her trying to escape eased, and he

  went back to the kitchen to check on the two breakfasts he

  had set on top of the stove. He could see the food was

  drying out, but he thought it still looked edible.

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  In the room, Darvi took as much off as she dared and

  began to scrub with a vengeance. It occurred to her for the

  first time that her surroundings were impeccable, but her

  own fear had naturally caused her to perspire. Bathing was

  a definite help to her spirits.

  I'm going to get out of here today. Lord, she proclaimed as

  she started to rinse off. I don't know how just yet, but I'm not

  going to sit around here again and try to convince these men.

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  They can take me back to the train station, or I'm going to cause

  such a ruckus that I'll bring the whole town down on their heads.

  Darvi hoped she could actually manage all this once she

  was faced with it It was easy to be tough behind dosed

  doors.

  "You told Dakota you would do just fine on your own,"

  she whispered to her reflection in the small mirror even as

  tears filled her eyes. "Oh, Dakota, I hope I didn't lie to

  you."

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  ftae

  0%

  DARVI EXITED HER BEDROOM ABOUT AN HOUR after she fell

  out of bed. She didn't have a confirmed plan in her mind,

  but she was going to keep her eyes and ears open. She

  found one of the men in the living room, his jacket off, his

  feet on the table. She was grudgingly impressed when he

  stood and reached for his jacket. It made the whole situation

  all the more curious.

  "What exactly do you do for a living, Mr.--"

  "McDermott," he supplied. "I'm a personal assistant to

  Jared Silk/'

  Darvi nodded. She had been too stunned yesterday to

  act. Today she was going to learn who this Jared Silk was

  and why Annabelle Hewett wrote about him.

  "Would you like some breakfast now?"

  "No, thank you. I don't suppose it would do any good

  to ask you to let me leave."

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  "I'm afraid not."

  "In that case, may I share some of your paper?"

  "Indeed. Please help yourself."

  "Thank you."

  Darvi was scanning the pages just a moment later, but

  Eliot was a little slower to go back to his reading. Since she

  was reading attentively, he was able to study her undetected.

  Something had happened since the day before. She

  was not the least bit afraid of him right now, and he again

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  experienced some of the fascination his brother was

  feeling.

  Completely unaware of his scrutiny, Darvi could not

  believe what she was reading as she went through nearly

  every newspaper in the two piles that sat on the floor of the

  living room. Not all of Annabelle Hewetf s articles were

  about Jared Silk, but when his name was mentioned, the

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  woman was nothing short of scathing, A chill went down

  Darvi's spine. Jared Silk must hate this woman, and thest

  men thought they had her in captivity.

  At the same time...

  Darvi's mind worked fast. She wondered if this might

  not be her way out. Clearly the men believed she was a

  reporter. Darvi wasn't sure if there was ever a right time to

  lie to someone, but at the moment she was tempted.

  Hearing the door open and watching the man in the room

  get up, Darvi kept studying the newspapers and working

  on the plan that was budding in her mind.

  '

  "Where have you been?" Eliot asked when he met Seth

  at the door.

  "I had some things to pick up, and then I went ahead

  and bought lunch."

  Eliot shook his head. "She never ate any of the breakfast.

  What did Jared say?"

  208

  "He wanted us to grab Hewett this time, and I said no."

  "That sounds a little too easy."

  "Not really. He pushed me, and I pushed back. He

  backed down and said he'd send for us when he needed

  us."

  This Eliot could believe. Jared slid along on the edge of

  the law, but he never crossed Seth. Seth could find work too

  easily, and they both knew it

  "How has she been?" the smitten brother asked.

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  "She's reading through the newspapers. She's not afraid

  like yesterday. I swear she has something up her sleeve."

  Seth looked thoughtful. "My bet is she's pretty harmless,

  but she did have a gun in her bag. We'll just keep on

  as we're doing, and hopefully I won't have to gag her

  before we leave here tonight"

  "Seth, are you sure about this?"

  "Very sure."

  "This kind of thing can bring a whole lot of trouble."

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  Seth studied his brother's pensive face before glancing

  toward the doorway as if he hoped to see Darvi.

  "Just go along with me, Eliot. I can't explain it, I just

  know what I have to do."

  The men's eyes met before Seth put a hand on his

  brother's shoulder. A moment later he went to the living

  room.

  "Lunch is ready."

  Darvi looked up to see the other man addressing her.

  She set the paper aside, and much as she had done the

  night before, preceded him to the kitchen. Mr. McDermott

  was already there, the food ready and waiting. Darvi was

  nowhere near as starved, but she was hungry. She didn't

  know where they picked up the food they brought in, but

  the beef and vegetables on her plate were very tasty. She

  didn't rush. She was still asking herself if lying to the men

  who had her abducted was wrong when she went ahead

  and plunged in.

  "I would like to look at those sample letters now," she

  said quietly, watching their faces.

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  The men had all they could do not to look stunned

  "You would?" Eliot questioned.

  "Yes."

  Eliot and Seth were careful not to look at each other as

  Eliot came slowly to his feet, went to the other room, and

  returned with the pages. Darvi took them from his hand.

  Eliot, watching his brother watch Darvi, had to smile.

  Seth was doing everything in his power not to show it, but

&
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  his heart was nearly in his eyes as he gazed at this woman,

  understanding exactly what she was up to.

  "And if I write this for the paper," Darvi clarified,

  "you'll let me go?"

  The men hesitated.

  "Isn't that what you said?"

  "There's been a slight change in plans," Seth began. "I'd

  have to run it past Mr. Silk."

  Darvi tried not to show how far her heart sank. She had

  not expected this, but she was going to keep trying.

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  "Can you do that now? Can you check with him

  today?"

  Seth appeared to consider mis. "I think I can do that If

  you're finished eating, why don't you let us talk it over and

  get back to you."

  Darvi desperately wanted to know what he meant by a

  change in plans but thought she should take what she

  could get for the time being. Trying not to appear as uncertain

  as she felt, she rose from the table and left the room.

  Both men remained very quiet, so they had no trouble

  hearing Darvi check the door in the living room. They

  knew it was locked. Next they heard more rattling of newspapers.

  Seth leaned back in his chair, a full-blown smile on

  his face.

  "Now tell me, Eliot, had I met her under any other circumstances,

  would you like her more?"

  "I like her now, Seth, and if s very easy to see why

  you're taken with her."

  There was so much to add to this, but Eliot did not

  waste his breath. His brother was lost on this woman.

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  Eliot stayed where he was even after Seth went to the

  other room and had a few words with Darvi, obviously

  telling her he was headed to see Jared. Eliot even heard her

  thank him, her voice sweet and grateful. Not sure she should

  be left alone for too long, Eliot did a quick cleanup job in the

  kitchen and went back to reading newspapers with Darvi in

  the living room as soon as Seth exited the apartment

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  -Kinkade,

  Texas

  Cash Rawlings dusted off his jeans as he walked

  through the back hall of the ranch house, his ears picking

  up the sound of a deep male voice. His cook, Katy Sims,

  laughed like a girl, and suddenly Cash knew exactly who

  was in the kitchen.

  Sitting on the counter as though he'd been there all his

  life, Dakota looked up when Cash entered, a huge smile

  covering his face.

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  "Ifs about time you got in. I've been sitting here for at

  least ten minutes."

  The brothers met in the middle of the room,