Endangered Heiress. Barb Han
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Название: Endangered Heiress
Автор: Barb Han
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Короткие любовные романы
Серия: Crisis: Cattle Barge
isbn: 9781474078887
isbn:
And then Ed Staples said the words she least wanted to hear. “I’m afraid not. It’s true.”
Madelyn gripped the piece of paper. The edges crinkled in her hand.
“I’ve never even met this man. This can’t be—”
Ed sat there, looking like he had a well of patience to draw on. And then he said, “Who do you think gave your mother that necklace you’re wearing?”
Those words exploded in her head. She was on her feet fast and racing toward the door before she could even begin to process. The day her father had given her the trinket popped into her thoughts. He’d looked so grieved when she opened the gift on her fifteenth birthday. Her mother had given him death-bed instructions to make sure Madelyn received it. He’d looked so pained as she opened the box. Until now, Madelyn had always believed that the necklace reminded him of her mother. Could his expression have meant something else? Was it a reminder of the affair she’d had?
Madelyn didn’t bother to look back to see if Ed Staples had followed her. All she needed was a quiet room and a way to rewind this crazy day.
With every step toward her pale blue convertible, a little more life escaped from her. A shot of adrenaline was the only thing keeping her legs moving, her flee response having kicked into high gear. Her chest squeezed and it felt like her lungs were seizing.
Hands shaking, she took a few tries to get the letter unstuck from the moisture gathered on her fingers and grip her car key.
She wasn’t sure how she managed to get the key in the ignition and start her car. It was all a blur. Was her entire life a lie? A secret this big couldn’t be hidden for thirty years...could it?
Tears blurred her vision. She blinked them away the best she could and focused on getting the hell out of there. Time seemed to slow as Madelyn tried to process the possibility of Mike Butler being her birth father. Maverick Mike Butler.
One hand on the wheel, she absently fingered the delicate silver dragonfly dangling from its chain as the log-style home shrank in the rearview mirror.
Madelyn parked in front of her motel room. Her limbs felt like hundred-pound weights and her body sank deeper into the driver’s seat. She managed to pick up her phone and dial her father’s number.
Of course, he didn’t pick up. Why would he start now, she thought bitterly.
Madelyn forced herself out of her car and into her motel room. The second she walked in, something felt off. Hadn’t she placed her laptop on the second bed, not the one closest to the door? Her overnight bag was unzipped and some of the contents spilled out. On the mirror at the back of the wall were scribbled large letters in what looked like red lipstick: Walk away or die.
Taking a couple of steps backward, she stumbled over her overnight bag. She quickly recovered her balance, grabbed her laptop and shoved it inside her small suitcase.
A few seconds later, panting, she was inside her car. She locked the doors and tossed her bag in the back seat. All she could think about was getting out of there and far away from Cattle Barge.
But go where?
Madelyn thumped the steering wheel, refusing to cry. Then the questions flooded. Who was behind this? How did someone find out she was staying at the Red Rope Inn? How on earth did someone get inside her room? Was she being followed? That was a stupid question. Of course someone had followed her—the white sedan from earlier. The feeling of eyes on her prompted her to scrutinize the parking lot.
All the cars appeared to be empty but appearances could be deceiving. She drove around the building to the motel lobby. She parked, locked her car door and stalked inside, tucking her fears as far below the surface as she could. Like a simmering pot, her emotions threatened to boil over without warning.
Later, she would process this horrific day. Right now, all she could think about was finding out who was behind this threat. A dozen scenarios fought for attention. She’d been so quick to blame Owen for trying to run her off the road earlier. Her thoughts moved in a different direction now. The person behind the mirror scrawl was most likely the driver of the white sedan.
It was obvious that someone wanted her far away from Cattle Barge. Did one of Mike Butler’s children know about her? What about Ed Staples? Could she trust him? As far as she knew, he was the only one who knew she was coming to the ranch. Why would he summon her there and then try to hurt her? He had her number, probably her home address. Why wouldn’t he just assault her without making himself known? It didn’t rule him out, but placed him lower on her possible suspect list.
Nothing else made sense. She’d been nearly run off the road, shot at and threatened.
Madelyn was certain of one thing: someone was watching.
A bell jingled as she swung open the glass door to the lobby and stalked inside.
“Where’s Trent?” Madelyn asked the smiling woman as she walked to the counter. A metal nametag pinned to her shirt read Kelsey.
“Shift change,” Kelsey reported, looking a little taken aback by Madelyn’s direct question. “How can I help you?”
Madelyn glanced at her watch. One fifteen was an odd time for a shift change. She debated tactics. Being nice usually got her the information she wanted. What had happened back there in her room had thrown her off balance and she felt violated. There was no better way to describe her emotions. She still couldn’t figure out who would have an issue with her. The envelope Ed Staples had handed her was sealed. Based on the way he’d examined her features when she’d first arrived and his knowledge of the origin of her mother’s necklace, he had to have known the contents. Personally, she didn’t know the man from Adam, so she couldn’t get a good read on him. Was he a loyal employee to Mike Butler? A personal friend? Or was he closer to the family? Did he feel sorry for them and decide to take matters into his own hands?
He’d seemed honest and even a little bit caring, but maybe it was an act. People faked friendly all the time, smiling at strangers when they were really just trying to get their own way. She’d seen people try to manipulate others using charm tons of times in her line of work. Her profession had also taught her that people had two faces, the one they showed the public and the one they kept to themselves. Both were real. And she could never be certain which one she was getting. Until a tipping point happened...
“Who has access to my room?” Maybe Trent was friends with one of the Butler kids and figured he’d be doing them a favor by scaring her off. That was probably the best-case scenario.
“No one.” Kelsey blinked.
“Not even the front office?” Madelyn pressed. Cattle Barge was a small town. If news had leaked that she was the daughter of Mike Butler then someone could be trying to protect the family. Heck, it could’ve been someone in the family, for all she knew. Was her arrival the tipping point? What about the lawyer reaching out to her? Everyone had to be looked at as a suspect now.
“Well, СКАЧАТЬ