Hearts On Fire (16 page)

Chapter 30

    
Fingers skimmed
across smooth flesh. Over her flat tummy, the flare of her hip, her ribs. He
cupped a breast and when he heard his name on her breath he pulled her closer,
nestling her to him. Still in that world between wakefulness and sleep he took
in the subtle scent of the shampoo she used on her hair and soap she cleansed
her skin with. It was something feminine but not overpoweringly so. She smelled
like a summer rain storm. Never had the scent of a woman drew him so. Putting
his lips to that sweet spot between her shoulder blades he found she tasted of
the rain too.

     “JD,” she whispered
urgently as his hands moved over her intimately. A part of her knew she should
stop him now, knew he wasn’t awake. But she could not do it.
One more time,
she told herself.
Let me love him one more time.
So instead of moving
away from him she moved to him, offering herself. “JD, please.”

     Just hearing her whispered
plea drove him to the edge of sanity. If he was dreaming he knew he never
wanted to wake. She stirred something in him no other woman had ever been able
to. It was a hunger so primal he had no control over it. Nor did he wish to
control it. Instead, he let it take over, just as he always did with her.
Nothing else mattered. Nothing existed beyond his need for her. He was lost
again. Always lost in her.

    
Grady didn’t like
being ordered around. No, not one bit. But in this case the guy giving the
orders was a cop. A mean cop. So he knew he’d better shut up and do as he was
told. “How do I know you won’t just take the money and split?” he asked
petulantly as he watched Matt secure his skis.

     “You don’t.” He stood
straight again and snatched a backpack from a bench in the old boathouse.
Giving Grady a wicked grin he asked, “You wanna strap some skis on and come
along?”

     “I don’t ski man. Never
learned. Fuckin’ rich boy sport.”

     Matt’s family had been
anything but rich. But he’d had rich friends who’d been more than generous with
their money. Kinda like now, he thought with an inner grin. “Look, you do what
I told you to do, okay?”

     “What makes you think she
went to MacGreggor’s place anyway?”

     “Because she doesn’t have
anywhere else to go. And because she was screwing Josh. And she has a soft spot
for him. She’ll turn to him sure as shit.”

     Grady made a face. “Katy
ain’t got a soft spot for nobody.”

     “She does for him, trust
me.”

     “What do ya want me to do
with them?”

     Matt frowned. “Sit on
them. Make sure they stay put until this is over.”

     “What damn difference
does it make? They’ve probably already called the state cops and told them
about you.”

     He shook his head. “Nah.
Katy won’t want to do that. She’s too greedy. She’s gonna want to make a move
for the money. She’ll con Josh into helping her on the QT.”

     “You think he’ll do it? I
mean she did try to screw over his little sister and all.”

     “He thinks with his dick
and she knows how to play him.”

     “She is good at that,”
Grady agreed. “She knows just what to do to a man.”

     Matt didn’t want to
contemplate how Grady might know that. Though he’d been with Katy himself on
numerous occasions the thought of Grady touching her sickened him. The thought
of Grady touching
any
woman sickened him. He pulled a heavily lined hat
over his head then began wrapping a scarf around his neck. “You just do what I
asked you to do. I’ll take care of getting the money. Meet me where I told you
at exactly seven and everything will be fine.”

     Grady huffed out a
breath. He still didn’t trust Matt.

     “Look, man, I know it
goes against your nature to trust a cop, but in this case there isn’t much
choice. I don’t exactly trust you either. But the fact is right now we need
each other. I’m not going to fuck you over. I won’t make it off this mountain
without you. Once it’s full light they’ll start searching for Lizzie and JD.”

     “Can I kill them?” Grady
asked suddenly.

     Matt inclined his head
curiously. “You want to?”

     “I want to kill that
little bitch Katy. She was gonna leave me high and dry.” He thought giving her
her just deserts after he was done making her do whatever he wanted her to do
to him. “Yeah. I think I wanna kill her.”

     Matt shrugged. “Do
whatever you want.” He stopped himself and gave Grady a good long look. “Except
what you’ve got on your pea brain right now. You keep your hands to yourself
and your dick in your pants, Summers.” He could see Grady was about to protest
and held up a hand. “I mean it. You get close enough to her to do that and she
just might knee you in the balls and scratch your eyes out. She’s a tricky
little bitch, which I’m sure you know. Just make damn sure you’re at our meet
point at seven or the whole thing falls apart.”

     Grady stared him down.
“You make sure you’re there.”

     Matt grinned behind the
scarf.
Stupid fucker,
he thought to himself. “Oh, I’ll be there,” he
assured him as he threw open the door and jumped out onto the snow. Pushing off
with his poles, he was gone.

    
“You know how
to
ski too. I watched you guys when we were kids.” She thought back a moment. “You
were on the ski team in high school.”

     “Katy, we should be
calling the state police right now. Let them handle this.”

     “How are they gonna
handle it? You think they’ll buy the sheriff of our fair town is a killer based
on
my
word? They’ll laugh me off after they haul my ass in and throw me
in a cell.”

     He knew she had a point.
But he didn’t like it. Not one bit.

     “C’mon, you know it’s
true. They’ll arrest me and pat themselves on the back. As far as the official
word goes, I’m the one who broke the law. It’ll take days for them to sort this
shit out. And my sister and your brother don’t have days. They have till
morning, I’m betting. Matt wants that money in a bad way, trust me,” she told
him, her fingers unconsciously going to her throat.

     “God damnit.” Josh wanted
to punch something. Someone. “You sure fucked up this time, Katy Lee. If
anything happens to my brother because of this…” He stopped when she sauntered
to him one hip at a time in her tight blue jeans and put her arms around his
neck. She looked up at him with those big baby blues and batted her lashes at
him, a slow smile touching her lips.

     “We’re not gonna let
anything happen to them, Josh.” She brushed against him, knowing the effect she
had on him and using it.

     “Katy…” Reaching up he
grabbed her wrists and removed her arms from his neck.

     “Get your skis, cowboy.”

     “And you?”

     “Julie skis too, right?”

     “Yeah.”

     “Then I’ll be right
behind you. I spent a winter in the Alps. A very wealthy Swiss gentlemen taught
me how to ski. Among other things.”

     He scowled at her,
ignoring her little sidebar. He didn’t like the idea of going out after Matt. But
worse than that he didn’t like the idea of her coming along. He didn’t trust
her, for one thing. Not one bit. “Maybe you should stay here.”

     Her eyes iced over. “Like
hell. I’m in this up to my chin. You go, I go.”

     “Fine,” he snarled,
knowing arguing with her would be both a waste of his time and his breath. He
headed for the front door. “All the equipment is in the shed. I’ll just go get
it.” He eyed her carefully. “Don’t even think about getting up to no good in
here while I’m gone.”

     She chuckled at him.
“What, Josh? You don’t trust me?”

     “Not as far as I could
throw Fat Macy,” he told her, grabbing his coat off the peg by the door.

     “Look, after this, I’m
out of it. No more shady deals. No more swindles.” She held a pinkie up and
then made the sign of the cross. “Swear to it.”

     He frowned as his zipped
his coat. Who the hell did she think she was fooling? “Yeah. Right.” Grabbing
the doorknob, he twisted it, still looking back at her. Still wishing the
circumstances were different and he could just carry her up to his bed and make
love with her all night long. But that was over. Long over. What she’d done
this time went way too far. People could have been killed. People still
could
be killed. And she was standing there with that damn smirk on her lips and that
twinkle in her eyes because she loved the rush. When he pulled the door open he
saw her eyes widen in fear. He saw her mouth open to scream a warning. He
turned to the open door to fight. Too late.

Chapter 31

    
The smell of coffee
woke Lizzie. It was a welcome aroma, considering just how wonderful she felt at
the moment. Still dazed and sated from the attention JD had given her just
hours ago she stretched under the blankets and blinked her eyes open slowly.
She wished he were still under the covers with her but the coffee smelled
almost good enough for her to forgive him. She sighed as she stared into the
fire. Forgiveness. So JD had decided to forgive her. Gathering the blankets
around herself she sat up on the couch, looking around for him. They still had
a lot…

     Her gaze landed on him as
he stood by the little wood burning cook stove sipping a cup of coffee. And
looking at her as though he’d like to kill her with his bare hands. Swallowing
the sudden lump in her throat she shrank back from him reflexively.

     “Coffee’s ready,” he told
her, his voice just as cold as his gaze. “Just hot water and instant, but it’s
better than nothing.” He grabbed a second mug and poured water into it. “Your
clothes are dry too.” He crossed the room and stopped before her, holding out
the steaming mug. “Get this in you while I get the horse ready to go. I want to
head back down the mountain as soon as we have light.”

     Taking the mug from him
she looked into his eyes. They were full of cold fury. When he turned from her
she had to think twice about trying to stop him. “JD?”

     He retrieved his coffee
mug from the surface of the wood stove before turning back to her, one dark brow
lifted in question.

     “Are you angry with me?”

     He stared at her for a
few beats then snorted, shaking his head. “I’m downright furious with you,
lady.”

     Confused, baffled, she
could only stare at him through the steam rising from her coffee. How could he
stand there and say he was furious with her after the way he’d touched her so
recently? “But we… the way you made love to me…” She drew her knees up to her
chest and shivered under the coldness of his stare.

     A corner of his mouth
lifted insolently. “Don’t go reading too much into what happened between us. I
woke up with an itch to scratch and there you were laying warm and naked next
to me.” His eyes glinted maliciously. “And you were more than willing to
accommodate me.”

     She deflated for a
second, her shoulders slumping, stricken by his callous words. So he had just
used her for the sex. Tears threatened, burning the backs of her eyes. She
stiffened her spine and raised her chin proudly. She’d be damned if she’d give
him the satisfaction of crying in front of him. “You sanctimonious prick,” She
hissed between clenched teeth. She let her pride take over. “You think you’re
so much better than everyone else. You think you have all the answers because
you’re a fucking MacGreggor. Well you don’t!”

     He gave her a lazy grin.
“You think you have a patent on using people, Lizzie? That it?”

     “I think you have things
a little backward. I never used you, you bastard.
Never
.”

     “No?” He glared at her as
he reached for his hat and crammed it down on his head. To hell with her. “You
used me. And my son.”

     She tilted her head, waiting
for the rest, knowing that look in his eyes. He was on the warpath now and
would steamroll anyone in his way.

     “How much did my mother
give you? Or should I be asking how much did it take for you to agree to leave
town with my child? How much to never let me know I had a son?”

     So that’s what this was
about. Money. It always come down to money with the MacGreggors. Finally they
were getting down to the bare bones of it. “So, you and dear sweet mommy had a
heart to heart, I see. Did she let you know just what a money grubbing tramp I
was? Did she tell you how eager I was to leave town with my tail between my
legs and my pride shattered? Or maybe she told you how devious I was, getting
pregnant with a married man’s child and extorting money from his family.”

     He ground his teeth. “She
filled in the gaps you left.”

     “I’ll just bet she did.”
She slammed her coffee mug down on the little table by the couch. Hard. Hot
coffee slopped out over her fingers but she didn’t care. “Two things, senator.
Firstly, you never gave me another chance to expound on my version of what
happened. Secondly, I never left with Sean because of the money. I left with
him because his father was married to another woman and his evil grandmother
had threatened to take him away from me!” She was shouting at him now but
didn’t give a damn.

     “If it wasn’t about the
money then why’d you take it?”

     “You’re fucking right I
took her money! I had no job, no education, no health insurance and no
prospects! My mother was a drunk and my step-father had to split because he’d
tried to rape me! To top it off I was going to have a baby. A married man’s
baby!
Your
baby. All the very reasons your mother was so desperate to
keep me away from you. She let me know just how devastated she would be if I
‘interrupted’ your life and your marriage. And she let me know just what kind
of vengeance she would take upon me. So I took her money. I had to. That money
bought me an education so that I could provide a life for my son. A better life
than I’d had. A life he deserved.”

     “Damnit, Lizzie, don’t
you see? You should have come to me! To
me
!” he bellowed, thumping his
chest with his thumb. “Not run to fucking Seattle with Brian Castellanos so he
could sleep with you every night and raise
my
son as his own!”

     “We’ve covered that
ground, senator. I did what I did because I was afraid of what would happen if
I didn’t do as I was told.” She waved a hand at him. “It’s water under the
bridge now.”

     Afraid he’d break his
damn teeth off he forced himself to relax his jaw. “Well, you’re about to live
your worst nightmare.”

     Huddled there under the
covers she felt her heart begin to knock in her chest. There was a satisfied
glimmer in those cold eyes of his now. “What do you mean?”

     “I’ve retained a lawyer,
Lizzie.”

     “A lawyer? What for?” But
she knew. Deep down in her soul she knew.

     “Don’t be coy. You suck
at it. I want my son. It’s that simple.” He set down his empty mug. “I want him
and you’re not going to keep him from me any longer.”

     “JD, you don’t need to do
that,” she whispered, her fear so great drawing breath was a task. “I’ve told
you—”

     “You’re a lying bitch,”
he stated calmly.

     “JD, I want you and Sean
to get to know each other. I want you to spend time with him. I do. But taking
him from me isn’t the right thing to do.”

     “For whom? You?” He
yanked on his winter coat. “I think you’ve had enough time with him. It’s my
turn now.”

     “He’s my son, JD. He’s
lived with me for all of his twelve years. If you just swoop in and take him
from me you’ll only wind up hurting him. He’ll be frightened and confused.”

     “He’ll get over it.”

     He was angry. She got it.
But to use Sean… “JD, you better think this through before you do something you
can’t take back.”

     “I have thought it
through. He’s my son and you stole him from me. I want him back. My lawyer
seems to think I have a very good chance of getting sole custody. Based on the
fact you took money from my family to hide him from me. As you stated earlier,
that’s called extortion.”

     “Are you insane? You
mother… Oh forget it. I told you—”

     “I know what you told me!
I’m done listening. You’re no better than Katy, you know that? You lie, steal
and manipulate just like she does in order to get what you want. Well, I hope
that medical degree was worth it, lady, I really do.” He pulled on his gloves
and shoved his feet into his boots.

     “You’re making a mistake,
JD. A huge mistake.”

     He slammed the front door
as he stomped out.

    
The old shack shook
when he slammed the door. Shuttered windows rattled. He didn’t care. Clicking
on the flashlight he walked to the little barn. As the door squeaked open the
mare snorted at him. She was curled up in the straw but got quickly to her
feet. “Sorry to wake you so early, girl, but it’s almost time to head out.” He
stroked her thick coat gently, trying to get a rein on his flaring temper. God,
he didn’t think he’d ever been so angry with anyone in his entire life. And to
have to stand there and listen to her damn excuses… Leaning toward the mare he
rested his forehead on hers for a moment. Were they excuses?
Were they?
Or was he just not allowing himself to listen to her?

     “Fuck it,” he grumbled.
The saddle sat up-ended in the corner of the stall with the blanket lying on
top of it. He grabbed the saddle blanket and placed it on the mare’s back. He
wanted desperately to shut his damn mind off, but it would not shut off.

     He’d gone and lost his
damn mind in the early hours this morning and he’d made love to Lizzie. He’d
allowed everything else to fade away. There had been no hard feelings, no
anger. Only desire. “Lust,” he told himself now. “It was just lust. I mean who
could have resisted that? She was warm and willing and I was horny as hell.”
But that wasn’t all of it and he knew it. God damnit but that woman tangled him
up. And that, he knew, was the real reason he was so furious this morning. He
was angriest not with her, but himself. Because after all she’d done he still
wanted her like he always had. He kept going back to her. He felt an ache in
his chest now, a dull, hollow ache. And he knew what it was. He needed her.

     “Damned if I do,” he told
himself, lifting the saddle from the straw. “Damned if I will.” What she had
done was unforgivable. She’d taken his son from him and let another man raise
the boy. With practiced ease he placed the saddle on the mare’s back and
adjusted it near her withers and then just stood there in the semi-darkness
staring at the wall. Had what he’d done really been any better? Christ, he’d
slept with her how many times that summer without telling her he was married?
He’d lied to her too. Big time. And she’d found out in the worst way possible.
She’d found out from her would-be rapist.

     JD got moving again and
with shaking hands secured the girth. How close she’d come to being raped by
that pig Summers. If he hadn’t decided that night to come clean with her… And
that had been the only reason he’d snuck off to see her that night. He’d been
ready to confess to her his marriage to Darla. And he’d been ready to tell her
he was leaving his wife. For her. He’d had it all planned out. He would divorce
Darla and marry Lizzie. They would start a family… Little had he known that
part of the plan had already been underway. “But you were a fucking coward,
weren’t you? You strung her along all summer long and then Summers dropped the
bomb on her.”

     Removing one of his
gloves with his teeth he grabbed the bridle off a hook by the stall door and
placed the steel bit in his hand to warm it before putting it in the horse’s
mouth. “It’s no damn wonder she ran off.” He closed his eyes, fresh pain flaring.
She’d taken money from his mother instead of coming to him. Yes she had. But
he’d also turned his back on her after that night with Grady, hadn’t he? Damn
right he had. He’d tried once to reach her and she’d hung up on him. So after
his mother had been given a clean bill of health he’d left. Gone back to Denver
and his wife. He’d given Lizzie no reason whatsoever to trust him with her
love, much less with the baby growing inside her.

     “Crap,” he moaned.
“What’ve I done now?” He’d said things to her in there this morning he could
never take back. Things he was sure she would never forgive him for. He’d been
hard on her. Hell, he’d been downright vicious with her. Like he would a
criminal on the witness stand. And her only crime had been loving him and the
child she’d carried.

     He put the bridle over
the mare’s head and slid the warmed bit into her mouth, wondering all the while
if he begged her hard enough, would Lizzie ever be able to forgive him?