A Texas Sky (Yellow Rose Trilogy) (15 page)

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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A Texas Sky 101

"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 since 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.

ATbxasSky 103

"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