Losing Ladd (28 page)

“
Excuse me?”

“
You heard me,” he said
coolly, the idea gaining steam. “We’re going to burn the whole
damned place to the ground.”

“
I ain’t going to jail for
your vendetta,” Rob told him. “I want my money, plain and
simple.”

“
The money? There is no
money!” What part of an empty mine site did he not
understand?

“
Maybe not here, but that
ain’t my problem. It’s yours.”

Staring into the cold eyes of a
stony-faced criminal, a man he’d known all his life, Jeremiah
wanted to spit. Rob understood what was at stake. He’d been where
Jeremiah had been. They’d endured the worst and survived. These
people didn’t deserve to be rich and happy. They didn’t earn it.
They didn’t suffer for it. Not a bit. “Scared?” Jeremiah
taunted.

“
I ain't interested in
burning no hotel down!” the younger brother cried out.

Rob flicked a glance to him. The
effect was silence. Then to Jeremiah, he said, “I ain’t in no mood
for games.”

“
Who’s playing games?”
Jeremiah questioned. “And why the pussy foot around? You know they
deserve it.”

Returning a humorless gaze, Rob
approached, kicking Jeremiah’s pulse into overdrive. Sticking a
grimy finger in his face, he said, “I done told you I’m here for my
money, nothin’ more and nothin’ less. I told you so from the
get-go.”

“
You know I don’t have
it,” Jeremiah said, trying to calm the battering in his
chest.

“
Get it.” Grabbing the
bottle of whiskey from the table, Rob tossed back a swallow.
Glistening lips spewed a sour breath into Jeremiah’s face. “No
games, no fire, just money.”

Jeremiah fumed inwardly. And let them
walk away scot-free while he was picked up for murder and arson?
Not a chance in hell. “Fine. I’ll get your money. But I’m leaving a
mark, just the same.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

After a quick bite of lunch in the
hotel café, Annie, Emily, and Cal gathered in the hotel lobby with
Casey and her infant child snug within her arms while she spoke to
Troy on her cell phone. The way Casey handled the baby, Cassidy Jo
seemed more an appendage than a separate entity. But that was
Casey’s style of parenting. Where she went, Cassidy Jo
went.

Casey ended her call and slipped the
cell phone into a back pocket of her jeans. “Troy said we could go
up and take some of the hotel horses,” Casey said. “He thinks it
would do them good to get out of the barn and out into the
forest.”

Cal was glad to hear it. He was
anxious to get back to normal operation but wasn’t about to push.
Troy knew the horses. If the okay came from him, he was good with
it. “Now that’s the best news I’ve heard all day.”

“
Are you sure you can’t
come, Daddy?”

Staring down into the eager eyes of
his daughter, every fiber of Cal’s being wanted to join them. He
wanted nothing more than to ride through the hills, sharing tales
of the land and forest with her, but with Malcolm still at the
hospital with Nick and Felicity, he was on manager’s duty. With the
investigation in full swing, they wanted to remain available to the
police department should they require any assistance. His ride with
his daughter would have to wait for another day. “I’m sure. But I
plan to be free by supper time, so will you save me a
seat?”

She smiled. “Of course.”

“
We’re going to Fran’s,”
Annie told him.

“
Good idea. I’ve been
hankering for a plate of fried cabbage and Fran makes some of the
best.”

Emily scrunched her nose. “That
doesn’t even sound good.”

“
I realize some of our
dishes take a bit of getting used to...”

“
Like those boiled
peanuts?” Emily didn’t miss a beat. “Those things are
awful
.”

Cal gave her a teasing glare. “Now
don’t go disparagin’ my favorite snack food, young lady. I’ll have
you know that’s the greatest food on the planet. Healthy
too.”

“
They are?”

“
Yes, ma’am. Packed with
protein and full of antioxidants!”

Nick Harris walked in the front door,
his presence sucking in Cal’s complete attention. Annie and Casey
turned. The determination in Nick’s step as he walked over shouted
the man meant business. Had he heard something?

“
Cal.”

“
Nick.”

“
Hello, Annie.
Casey.”

“
Hello,” they replied in
unison.

“
So you must be Emily
Foster,” Nick said, his tone easy and relaxed with a smile to
match.

Which couldn’t be easy for him, Cal
mused. Nick was under an inordinate amount of stress at the moment,
and Cal appreciated the gesture. “That she is,” he said, then
introduced, “Emily, this is Nick Harris. He’s the owner of Hotel
Ladd.”

“
Really? Wow, it’s so
beautiful…”

“
Thank you. I hope the
fire hasn’t ruined your ability to enjoy yourself.” He glanced at
Cal and said, “It’s normally a very tranquil place.”

Shadows entered her gaze. “No. I’m
only sorry it happened to you and the horses.”

“
Me, too. But we’ve got
the best hands working the situation and they’ll be back to normal
in no time.”

“
We’re going to see Troy
and the horses,” Annie said, ushering forth a small smile. “See if
any would like to get out of the barn for a while.”

“
Sounds like a great
idea.” Placing a hand to Casey’s shoulder, Nick said, “Give Troy my
sincerest thanks, will you? I know he’s done a lot for the animals,
and I can’t tell you how important that is to me.”

Casey nodded. “He loves those
animals.”

“
I know he does. It shows
in everything he does.”

As though uncertain whether or not to
broach the subject, Casey ventured softly, “How’s
Travis?”

“
Still in
surgery.”

“
Lacy called,” Annie said.
“She said Delaney is out and doing well?”

“
So far it looks that
way,” he continued. “Only time will tell, but I’ve got all the
confidence in the world in her. Delaney’s a fighter. She’ll pull
through.”

Annie released a tight sigh. “Oh,
good. We’re planning on stopping by the hospital on our way to
Fran’s later.”

“
I know she’ll appreciate
it. Felicity, too.” Clearing his throat, Nick switched gears. “Cal,
can I have a word with you before you?”

“
Sure.” Leaning down, he
kissed the top of Emily’s head. “Listen, you girls go take good
care of those horses. I’ll meet up with you later.”

Annie nodded, steering Emily toward
the door with Casey in tow.

“
You riding with the
baby?” Nick asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

“
No. I’m going up to visit
with Troy before he takes them out on the trails.”

“
Sounds like a good
idea.”

“
Have fun.” Cal waved them
off. Waiting until the women were out the door, he asked, “What’s
up?”

“
I want to know where
Jillian is.”

“
I don’t know. Haven’t
seen her since yesterday when the police came to question
her.”

“
Do we know if she’s still
here?”

“
No.”

“
Can we check her
room?”

The mounting urgency Cal heard
bothered him. Nick sounded like he was ready to check for himself.
“I can ask housekeeping if they’ve been to her room
today.”

“
How about I do one
better? What room is she in?”

“
You’re going to her
room
?”

“
You have a better
idea?”

Better than infringing on the privacy
of one of their guests? Jillian or not, the idea of Nick barging in
unannounced could not bode well. “How about we call up to her
room?”

Nick visibly bridled, clearly on the
verge of refusal, but said, “Fine. Call her.”

Cal went for the house phone by the
fountain and dialed Jillian’s room. He knew the number by heart. It
had been ingrained on his psyche since she checked in, as he
prepared himself for potential trouble. It was ringing. “No
answer.”

“
Doesn’t mean a
thing.”

“
You can’t go up there,
Nick. I mean, think about what you’re doing.” Cal was beginning to
feel like Malcolm. Nick was clearly not in a state-of-mind where he
should be confronting Jillian. “What are you after? Do you think
she’s going to confess to you?”

“
No. But I will be able to
detect the lie in her eyes.”

“
And then what? You going
to drag her down the stairs and take her outside for a whooping?”
Cal hated to overstep his boundaries with his boss, but the hotel
was under enough duress at the moment. Images of Nick and Jillian
in a screaming match on the third floor would only incite the
situation.

The blunt question seemed to shake the
cobwebs from Nick’s brain. “She’s guilty. The police need to arrest
her before she leaves town.”

Cal hadn’t thought about her skipping
town. She seemed pretty comfortable around Officer Griffin
yesterday when he was questioning her. Then Jack waltzed in and the
two were nothing but a cozy couple. Jillian appeared to be flying
above the fray on this one. “The police are doing everything they
can. Forensics is tying the evidence together, and if Jillian is
guilty, they’ll be able to prove it.”

“
They said the call came
from Jeremiah’s phone.”

“
That’s what they said,”
Cal said, realizing Nick didn’t buy it.

“
Do we know if the police
have picked him up yet?”

“
For what? The
shooting?”

“
I called Malcolm and told
him to make the report.”

Cal had been here for the
conversation. “He called but I haven’t heard anything
since.”

“
Damn it,” Nick burst out.
“Don’t they get that these people can skip town? Are they even
competent at their jobs?”

The pace of rural living did not keep
up with a man used to getting his way and getting it on demand. It
had only been two days since the fire, two hours since the
shooting. Cal wasn’t going to fault the police department for
taking their time and getting it right. “Listen, I hear what you’re
saying. If I see Jillian, I’ll let you know.” Cal understood a
man’s need to do something, but sometimes action did more harm than
good.

“
I’m going up to the
stables,” Nick said. “Call me if you hear anything.” Without
waiting for a response, he headed for the door.

Cal watched him go, debating whether
or not a return to the scene where Nick’s wife nearly lost her life
was such a good idea. It seemed the stables were the last place
Nick should be. But Cal turned, and walked back to his office. It
was Nick’s hotel. He could go wherever he wanted.

Nick made it to the top of the hill,
disturbed by images of blackened walls and yellow police tape. As
he paused, a sickening nausea rolled in his gut. He hadn’t seen the
place in the daylight. He’d only seen the swell of orange-red flame
as it raged against a night sky. In the clarity of day, the sight
of collapsed walls and sunken metal roof broke his heart. This was
Delaney’s second home. This was where she lived and breathed and
wanted to be. Nick didn’t doubt her love for him but he understood
and accepted that her heart dwelled here.

Steering clear of the investigation
area, he was mindful of the professionals sifting through the
embers in search of clues. Nick knew from experience they would
find their clues, isolate the point of origin, piece together the
blaze and follow it straight back to the culprit responsible. Nick
would love to save them the time and energy and deliver Jillian
Devane to them on a silver platter, but Cal was right. It was
better to let the authorities handle the details. If Jillian ran,
he’d follow her. He’d hunt her down to her home in South America or
wherever she decided to flee. She might have gotten away with
setting a blaze to burn out her competition in Brazil, but she
wouldn’t do so here. This was his jurisdiction. The U.S. was Nick’s
territory and he would drag her back kicking and screaming to face
the charges she deserved.

In the distance he could see several
of the horses gathered outside the barn. Nick imagined Troy was
saddling them for his family’s trail ride. Visions of the kid
running into the burning stables to save the horses burned deep in
Nick’s heart. He owed Troy. He didn’t even think about the animals.
The second he saw Delaney lying on the ground, everything else
vanished. A sharp pain wrenched his heart. His first thought had
been: she was dead. Her body had been lifeless. Her stables were on
fire and she lay on the ground. Only death would keep her from her
horses.

Nick kicked himself to move.
Extinguishing the images from his mind, he warned himself to get
away from the building. Move. There would be time to rehash the
fire and chain of events once he knew Delaney was safely on the
road to recovery. Until then, Nick would flatten anything that
stood in his way between here and justice.