Kenton (19 page)

job raising her boys, as she called them. Emma had never had a family, or at least one

that she had any desire to spend time with. But these men, she thought perhaps she was

going to have the best time of her life with them. And was glad that she’d slipped the

ring on her finger that day.

Kenton was waiting for her. He looked so good in his suit and tie. She felt her

mouth water when she thought of the sexy little nighty that she’d gotten yesterday

when shopping for a dress, and wondered what he’d say when he saw her in it. She

was sure that it wouldn’t be on long, and that was what she was counting on. Smiling at

him, she told him that she loved him with all of her heart.

“I love you too. Very much so, and am happy you are marrying me.” She smiled at

him when he kissed her on the nose. The judge, a very nice man, cleared his throat.

Kenton smiled at him as he spoke. “I can’t help myself, Your Honor. She’s just too

pretty not to want to kiss all the time.”

“Be that as it may, young man, we have things going on here that require a certain

amount of decorum. Now, let’s get the two of you hitched up, shall we?”

Twenty-five minutes later she was Mrs. Emma McCade, married to the man she

loved more than anyone else. Then, just as they were introduced to the rest of the

people in the room, each brother—all five of them—welcomed her to the family by

planting a big kiss on her mouth. She’d never been so thoroughly embarrassed in her

lifetime.

~~~

Kenton laid his gun on the table just as Baldwin Franks was shown into the room.

He didn’t care for it, hated having it on his person. But he knew how to use it and

would if the man proved to be stupid.

Dalton had searched him, and even the wolf that was one of his police buddies had

said that he didn’t so much as have a single ounce of steel on him. Not a knife or a

screw was found to be a part of his clothing. As he sat down across from him and

Emma, the man looked lost.

“I’ve been a fool. Not that I won’t continue to be one, but on this, I’ve been had as

much as you have, I’m afraid.” Kenton said nothing, and looked at Emma when

Baldwin did. “You look like my mother did when she was younger. I’m glad for that.

Your mother only looked like herself. Not a very good representation of herself either. I

think…no, I know that I fucked up royally, and in that, I’ve lost something very

important. But I can fix it…even if it’s just a little, I can fix some of this.”

“What do you mean by that?” There was censure in her voice when Emma asked

her grandda, and when she realized what she’d said, she cleared her throat. Kenton was

proud of her in that moment. “I mean, why you think my mother is a fake? I’m

assuming that’s what you mean.”

“It is and she is. I guess I knew that all along, but it was easier to give in than to

listen to her lambast me about how she was underprivileged and so on. That part I take

on as my own fault. But some of this, I lay it at her door. I guess I knew, way deep in

my heart, that she was a terrible person, but I never dreamed the extent of her evilness.”

Kenton said nothing. He’d seen spoiled children like the man was describing his own

daughter as. The difference was, he was ashamed of what he’d done, Kenton thought,

rather than proud of what he’d created. “I was told that you were to be married on

Friday. I’m assuming that it was always on Thursday afternoon, and that you knew

there might be trouble.”

“Yes. The courthouse isn’t opened on Saturday or we might have done it on that

day instead. Whoever told you that was mistaken.” Baldwin nodded at him, but Kenton

wasn’t sure what point he was trying to make. “Did Anderson tell you that we were

getting married tomorrow?”

“No. My assistant did. I think, as I told your brother, that Steward is

fucking…sleeping with Anderson. And that for some reason, they’re plotting your

demise. I can’t be one hundred percent sure of that, but I think it’s as good as done as

far as they’re concerned. Especially since you’re your father’s only living relative as far

as the courts are concerned, and you stand to inherit all of his money and property. It

would be difficult if not impossible for her to inherit since she is supposed to be dead.

That would be my guess.”

“I did get it all, and we’ve already been informed of it the other day. My father

figured out what was going on before he was killed.” Kenton nodded at Emma to

continue when she glanced at him. “Bart worked for you. And in doing so, I think he

killed my father. You believed that Bart killed my mother, or at least had something to

do with her supposed death, didn’t you?”

“I did. He did have everything to do with it. And he admitted as much to me when

I saw him in the hospital just before he killed himself and that young man with him. He

also said that you were in on it, but I’ve since figured out that he lied about that as well.

Bart was very good at blaming others for things he’d done. I should have known that.

But I don’t think he knew she was alive. Do you?” Kenton had a feeling, like Emma did,

that he’d been helpful in Bart’s suicide. Emma told her grandfather that she didn’t think

Bart knew, but had never been sure. “He had a bomb in the sublevels of the basement

where you worked too. Did you know that? It was set to go off when the building was

empty. It’s too bad that all those other people had to die for things to come to light

about Bart.”

Kenton, like Emma, believed that her grandfather had been a part of that as well.

The bomb squad had found the other device, set far enough away from the one that had

gone off that it was still intact. Bits and pieces of the other bomb had been found in the

wreckage. The one that had killed everyone had been much bigger, as well as set to go

off when the building was full, as it had been that day.

“Yes. It’s very sad my father was killed senselessly. But I’m to understand that he

was nearing the end of his life anyway. He had inoperable cancer, I was told.” Kenton

wanted to ask Baldwin if he’d done it, but he wasn’t sure what they wanted to know.

Not really.

“Emma, did you have anything to do with the disappearance of your mother? I

know what Bart told me, and I don’t believe him. But I needed to ask you.” Baldwin

looked…broken came to mind. Sad for sure. And Kenton was sure he was angry as

well. Men like Baldwin did not like to be thwarted in their plans.

“No, I had nothing to do with her much before her ‘death,’ and I don’t really want

her in my life now. As far as I knew, she was dead. And I think my father believed that

as well. He mourned her. I think, in his own way, he even loved her. But no, I had

nothing to do with it. As I said, I do know that she wasn’t the nicest person in the world

and she wasn’t a very good mother. She and I never got along. She and Bart were close,

or so I thought. Did you know that Bart wasn’t my father’s child?”

Kenton was watching Baldwin’s face, and knew that he might have guessed it but

didn’t know for sure. He asked if Bartholomew had known. Kenton pulled out the letter

that Emma’s father had given her and handed it to Baldwin. He read it and set it back

on the table.

“She ordered her perfume.” Kenton started to ask Baldwin what he meant when he

continued. “She’d ordered some of her own scent three days after she was supposed to

have been killed. The scent that I’d commissioned to be made for her when she was

younger. And she sent me the bill. I rarely go over the credit card statements, so I never

noticed it. But a few days after she was murdered, an order was placed and sent to an

address out of state. I found nine more such charges, not including her rent on the place

she was staying and a car rental. It never occurred to me to look for her. I thought she

was dead. I went back over my records after I had an encounter with her scent, on

Steward. He is playing me for a fool, and I’m going to take care of him.”

“She was charging your accounts and you never knew a thing?” Baldwin nodded at

Emma, and Kenton could almost feel sorry for him. The man had been hoodwinked as

well. “I don’t trust her. Nor did my father, it seems. But to be as low as to continue on as

if nothing had happened, as if no one was mourning her…. That’s about as callus as it

comes, don’t you think?”

“It’s the way she did things. Always. Your father…I never realized what kind of

man he was. I mean, not since he was killed. I looked into some other things when I

realized that Anderson had played me. I guess she played him as well.” Kenton asked

him why he’d done that, investigated her dad. “I thought he was a sap, to be honest

with you. And had I had my way, Anderson would never have married him. Not for

any reasons that you might think. I simply thought she could do better. Come to find

out, I think he could have done a hell of a lot better than Anderson. As for Bart not

being his child, I’m sorry for that. I knew that she was willful and headstrong, I just

never realized how fucking stupid she was too.”

“She believes that she’ll inherit all of Bartholomew’s money.” Baldwin told him that

he was more than likely right on that score. “But the will was changed, a few days

before he was killed. And I know that she’s staying at his home with another man.

Steward Jefferies. Do you know him?”

“He’s my assistant, or he was. He is still under the impression that he is, but I plan

to take actions on that as well. Steward told me about the wedding. I’m assuming that

you changed it on purpose to today and not Friday.” Kenton told him. “You don’t trust

them either. Good for you. I wonder if they might have had some plans for you and

Emma. I’m sure of it if we’re being honest.”

“I’m sure they might have. But this way, if they show up tomorrow, then they’ll

meet with some people that will be happy to see them. Even though Bartholomew

never cashed in the insurance policy he had on his wife, faking your own death is a

crime. And Steward will be held as her accomplice.” Baldwin nodded and asked if he

could get up and pace. “Sure, but you go to the window for any reason and you’ll be

dead before you can step away from it again.”

Baldwin just stared at him. It was several tense seconds before he laughed. And

when he did, Kenton smiled at him. It went a long way in easing some of the tension in

the room.

“You think I’d have someone out there that would come in and shoot you full of

holes? I love it. At another time I might have…no, I would have done just that. I’m a

man who likes things neat and tidy. But so you know, I’m not going to do shit to either

of you. And that you can take to the bank. I would, however, like to help you in

bringing my daughter down. She’s hurt a great many people for long enough.” Kenton

asked him about the people he’d hurt. “I’m sure that someday I’ll pay for that too, but

Anderson fucked with the wrong person when she decided to screw around with me

and mine.”

“And who would you consider yours, Grandda? Me?” Kenton looked at Emma

when she spoke. He could feel her pain too, how it hurt her that this man would be

willing now, after all this time, to help her out. “I don’t want anything from you. You

were never willing to love me or show me any love while I was right there for you to

see. So having it now, that’s not really anything I care to have. It’s too little too late.”

“It is, and I’m sorry for that. Profoundly so. Had I had more contact with you, I’m

not sure you would have liked me any better. But I’ll agree with you about my

treatment of you. I’ve been a fool, as I’ve said. And a bigger fool for believing

everything I heard from other people.” He nodded to the letter that still lay there. “Your

father at least had an excuse. I only wanted you dead for a part that you had no more to

do with than anyone else. Anderson was my little girl, and she fucked us both over. For

her own personal gain no less. I’m actually ashamed of her.”

They talked for another hour. Baldwin was a man used to getting his own way, and

no matter how much he tried to tell Emma he would help, she turned him down. Not

that Kenton blamed her. She’d been screwed by them all enough. But Kenton could see

the determination in the older man’s eyes, and wouldn’t be surprised to see him taking

action against Anderson on his own terms.

“She’s to meet us tomorrow at the courthouse.” Emma said nothing as Kenton told

Baldwin what he knew. “We won’t be there, of course, but she won’t know that until

it’s too late. If she shows, and I have no reason to believe that she won’t, there will be a

few people there waiting for her that have a few hundred questions. You can do what