Secret Agent Boyfriend (3 page)

Patsy Adair had a reputation for ruling her domain with an iron fist, and the promise of that rule must have extended even to times when she was away.

Was that same personality capable of murder? And the cold-blooded killing of her husband, no less?

While he felt obligated to review every angle, something about it didn’t play for him. Why would a woman so determined to keep her place in society risk that place over something as pointless as murder?

Especially cold-blooded, calculated murder in her husband’s office.

The power Patsy Adair wielded came from the powerful man she’d married. Killing Reginald would have been tantamount to killing the golden goose.

Kathleen bustled back with his coffee and a wrapped muffin still hot underneath its napkin.

“You shouldn’t have.”

“I saw you eyeing them yesterday with Miss Landry. I try to tempt her with them every day, but that girl’s willpower is greater than my muffins. Please don’t break my heart and tell me you can refuse them, too?”

The rich scents of vanilla and blueberry wafted up from the warm muffin in his hand, and Derek shook his head. “No, ma’am. In fact, I was hoping to steal one from you, so getting it fresh out of the oven is an extra treat.”

“You enjoy.”

Derek took a moment to assess his chances with the sweet woman and decided to go for broke. “Sad things often make people lose their appetite. Landry will come around.”

Kathleen shook her head, the light vanishing from her gaze. “I hope so. There’s too much sadness here. I left after the holidays to help my sister and her family in Ireland. My niece got married and we made it a family reunion. They were happy times. Then I come back here to nothing but grief and pain.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“I’m not upset.” The woman dashed at her eyes. “I’m angry. Someone attacks Mr. Adair and leaves him for dead. Then they come after the family. It’s not right.”

Derek laid a gentle hand on her arm. “The family will get answers and things
will
be right again.”

“I hope you’re right.” She blushed once more, then pasted on another smile before she sent him on the way. Derek couldn’t help noticing the smile wasn’t quite as bright as when she’d handed over the muffin.

He maintained an easy stride past one of the property’s orange groves on his way to the stables. It was only when Derek got closer and saw the man he was looking for exercising a horse in a large paddock that the tension he’d lived with for the past six months returned to his shoulders and stiffened his spine.

If what Carson Adair suspected was true, Noah Scott had been living a lie.

And Derek knew it was his job to uncover the truth.

Chapter 3

D
erek waited until Noah was at a stopping point before lifting his coffee mug in a morning salute. “Hello!”

He willed the tension from his body as man and horse swung his direction. The last thing he needed to do was alert Noah he wasn’t who he claimed to be. And if the horse got spooked by the subtle tension, Derek could kiss his cover goodbye.

Noah’s comfortable smile remained in place before he directed his mount toward the edge of the paddock. “What can I do for you?”

Derek introduced himself, before adding, “I’m a good friend of Landry’s.”

“Ah yes, the new boyfriend.” Noah’s smile was friendly and his tone that of an easygoing cowboy. “It was all the kitchen could talk about this morning when I stopped in for coffee.”

A strange sensation—like thousands of bees stinging his face—worked its way across Derek’s cheeks and then on down his neck before he ignored it, repressing any sense of embarrassment. “People like to gossip.”

“That they do. And I can tell you it’s the national pastime here at Adair Acres.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Derek reviewed his approach in his mind, working through the script he’d planned through the long hours of the night. “Landry said I could come down and ride any of the horses. Said to confirm with you who’s feeling well and up for a new rider.”

Noah’s jovial grin grew even broader. “That’s her polite way of saying I needed to pick who I want you to ride and also make sure you don’t get a crack at Pete.”

“Who’s Pete?”

“Landry’s beloved thoroughbred. Paperwork says he’s come down through Seattle Slew’s line.”

Derek heard the words, even if it took his brain a few minutes to catch up.

Landry Adair had a horse from the same line as a Triple Crown winner? And she selfishly kept him to herself and gave him an ordinary name like Pete?

Maintaining the loose-limbed personality and devil-may-care attitude of an aimless playboy, he smiled and nodded. “I guess I’ll have to work on her, then.”

“Let me know how that goes. My cousin’s not easily swayed.”

Cousin. Or half sister.

Without even knowing it, Noah gave him an entrée to discuss the real reason he was here. “You’re cousins? Landry didn’t mention it.”

“Sure are. My mom and her dad are sister and brother.”

“So you grew up together?” Derek added a smile he hoped conveyed a dreamy, besotted quality. “I bet she was a cute kid.”

“If all knees and elbows are cute, with a side of bossy territorialism, then yeah,” Noah said. “There’s a little more than ten years between us so I missed her later years. The stories are legendary of her terrorizing the grooms until they finally put her up on her father’s favorite horse.”

“Another thoroughbred?”

“Yep. Shared the same sire with Pete.”

“Damn.” Derek shook his head and tried to imagine a young girl of no more than eight or nine up on a horse designed for speed and endurance, descended from a horse who had those traits in spades. “Where the hell were her parents?”

“Around.” Noah said nothing more, and Derek knew he needed to pull back. Whatever loyalties were there were embedded deep, forged over a lifetime. He needed to go slowly.

“She’s quite a woman. Clearly that started at a young age.”

“That it did. Look. Give me a minute to get Lucky Strike taken care of and I’ll get you settled.”

Noah dismounted and walked the regal Lucky Strike toward a groom waiting at the edge of the corral. Derek took the moment to observe the exchange, the groom’s respect more than evident in the set of his shoulders and the ready smile at whatever joke Noah told.

In moments the man was back, directing Derek toward a long barn equipped with the latest in technology. Electronic signs lit up the walls, detailing feeding schedules, medicine needs, upcoming vet and farrier visits, and general comments around exercise and well-being. The horses he passed in each stall were impeccably groomed and glowed with good health.

Noah’s doing?

“You manage this part of the estate?”

“In a roundabout way. I manage most of the agriculture on Adair Acres. But the horses are my passion. So this is where I spend most of my free time.”

Derek hadn’t been on a horse in years, and he was surprised to find himself anticipating the experience like a kid waiting for Christmas.

“Why don’t you take San Diego Sunrise out? Diego needs some time in a big way.” Noah pointed toward a horse two stalls down from where they stood. The large bay was a deep brown, the color of the richest dark chocolate.

“Anywhere on the property you’d prefer we don’t go?”

“Nah. Enjoy the morning and give him his head for a bit if you will. He hasn’t been out for a while. And be sure to give him some time in the alfalfa pasture down on the south edge of the property.”

Derek patted Diego’s nose, smiling when the horse nudged his palm. “He wants me to butter you up.”

“A few well-placed words never hurt, but a trip to his favorite pasture and Diego here will be yours for life.”

They worked in tandem, quickly saddling the horse, before Derek pushed his last comment of the morning. “Thanks for the help. This is a beautiful place. It’ll be great to see it up close and personal.”

“There’s something special about Adair Acres. I felt it the first time I came here.”

The specific word choice caught Derek’s attention, and he cycled quickly through the details Carson had provided in advance. He knew what the family believed about Noah’s parentage, but if the man hadn’t even been in the States, how could he be the missing Adair heir?

“First time? Haven’t you come here your whole life?”

“Nah.” Noah added a few notes to Diego’s stall via a keyboard. He quickly tapped his way through several screens before turning back toward Derek. “I lived in Europe as a kid. Didn’t get here until I was about eight. But I fell in love with this place and haven’t looked back.”

Was he purposely kept away from the ranch and his real family by his mother? Or was he truly the biological son of Emmaline Adair Scott, Reginald’s widowed sister?

Derek reflected on the implications as he maneuvered Diego out of the barn. Noah Scott seemed like a decent, hardworking, stand-up sort of guy.

And whatever love or sense of belonging he felt at Adair Acres was at risk of breaking into a million shattered pieces.

* * *

Mark Goodnight glanced at the various materials laid out on his desk and calculated how much he’d need to use to tip Winchester off. He’d already cut out enough letters from magazine covers and newspaper headlines to make a pretty good demand note. All that was left was to glue it together and then mail the note to Winchester at the FBI office.

So damn easy.

It’d be even easier if he could just sneak the materials into the lab and run a few tests on his own, fudging results where he needed to, but a guy couldn’t have everything.

Besides, he didn’t need everything. He just needed Sarah. And in a few more weeks, he’d have her. He’d already been the world’s greatest friend, meeting her every afternoon for coffee and letting her pour her heart out about Derek. How he wasn’t there for her. How he made the job his life. And how he couldn’t get the disappearance of one small girl out of his head.

What else could she do but leave him?

Mark crooned out loud, his whispered chorus of “of course you needed to leave” a litany that spilled from his lips as he unscrewed the cap on a bottle of rubber cement.

And when
he
solved the case of the missing Rena, Derek’s mania would finally be put to rest.

Winchester hadn’t been trying to help the girl.

He’d been obsessively destroying her.

And Mark would deliver the proof that put Derek Winchester far away from Sarah. And his job. And everything else he held dear.

* * *

Landry let Pete move at his own pace, the fresh morning air whipping past both of them as the thoroughbred thundered over the lush fields of Adair Acres.

Fool. Liar. And freaking Lone Ranger wannabe.

She’d made a deal with Derek Winchester, and a mere twenty-four hours later he’d already disregarded their agreement.

Toad.

Pete’s powerful body moved and shifted underneath her, sinewy grace and unleashed speed. The ride matched her mood—wild and untamed—and she hoped like hell Derek Winchester had put on a hazmat suit this morning, because she was about to unleash a rain of fire on his too-fine ass.

She caught sight of Derek and Diego, just where Noah had promised they’d be. The horse grazed in his favorite alfalfa pasture and Derek held lightly to his reins, walking beside the horse at a leisurely pace, bridle in hand.

She applied subtle pressure to Pete’s back and he slowed instantly, the hard race over the grounds calming to a swift gallop. His ears perked up and she could have sworn she felt him begin to prance beneath her as he realized their destination.

Every resident of the Adair Acres barn loved the rich field that lay at the south end of the property. Her father had planted it for the thoroughbred he loved—Pete’s brother—and it had become a sort of tradition on the property.

She slowed Pete down even more as they grew closer before bringing him to a halt a few yards from Diego and his traitorous rider.

“Good morning.”

“Save it.” She dismounted and held up her free hand. “I do not want to hear it.”

“Isn’t exercise supposed to make you less grumpy? You swam God knows how many laps this morning and just rode hell for leather over the grounds. Where are all your endorphins?”

Whatever she’d been about to say sputtered to a halt at the jovial fellow who stared at her. Where was the pensive bodyguard? Or the FBI agent with hidden, troubled depths? Or even the frustrated playboy wannabe who had to demonstrate a decided lack of ambition to the governor?

She’d seen all those personas yesterday, and wondered how they’d given way to the happy fellow standing in the middle of an alfalfa patch.

“I have plenty of endorphins.”

“Could have fooled me.”

She felt Pete’s tug on his reins and stepped back, unwilling to tease him so close to his treat. She made quick work of removing his bridle, leaving only his halter so he could graze properly.

Or gorge, if he had his way.

As soon as she had him situated, she turned back to Derek. “We made a deal yesterday. I’d do this with you if we were equal partners. And first thing this morning you run away when you knew I wouldn’t be looking to come talk to Noah.”

“Yes, I did.”

She was so taken aback by his words she simply stood there. Did he really think she’d calm down in the face of his honesty?

“Look, Landry. What would it look like if you were with me the first time I tried to get to know the guy?”

“It would look like I was introducing my supposed new boyfriend to my cousin.”

“And it would have been polite chitchat before he turned tail and ran to avoid being in the company of the new lovers, in the throes of new, unbridled passion.”

She swallowed hard at the image he painted, her mind quickly filling in the heated detail of what unbridled passion actually looked like.

And
felt like.

Shaking off the bold images, she forced as wry a tone as she could muster into her voice. “Right. Because I can’t keep my hands off you.”

“Hey. You said it.”

The sheer lunacy of their conversation struck her at the same moment she registered his shockingly huge sex appeal. A worn gray T-shirt stretched over his shoulders and chest, molded to the perfection of his body. Faded jeans followed as she worked her gaze down his body, covering his slim hips and long, long legs.

The man was a vision, and she was increasingly helpless to ignore that fact.

She’d been around the block, and hadn’t lived a completely chaste life in her first twenty-six years. She wasn’t promiscuous, but she wasn’t innocent, either.

And no man she’d ever met made her as
aware
as Derek Winchester.

Energy flowed between them, swift as a raging river, as they stood there in the middle of the pasture. Pete tugged on his lead, pulling her back to the fact that more than a thousand pounds of horse stood behind her.

“Want me to take him?”

“No.” She took a step back, the lead once again going slack in her hands. “I’ve got him. Focus on Diego. He’s liable to race off if you don’t keep watch.”

“Right. Because he’s found the equine equivalent of heaven and he’s going to race off without getting his fill and then some.”

“Just—” She broke off, not sure of what to say. The self-righteous anger that had carried her across the grounds faded in the reality of his words. Her presence would have stood in the way of Derek’s initial introduction to Noah.

But it still stung.

She was more than everyone’s expectations of her. And for some strange reason she’d thought Derek Winchester had understood that.

Derek moved closer, letting the length of Diego’s lead out as he moved. “This field has some pretty fantastic properties for humans, too.”

“Oh?”

He took another step closer, one hand closing over her hip while the other held the full extension of Diego’s lead. “I’d say it’s pretty amazing, actually.”

“It’s just a grazing pasture.”

“No. It’s more than that.”

She tried to keep up, but the heat of his body was wreaking havoc on her ability to form a coherent thought. “More? I don’t think so.”

“It’s a pasture with Landry Adair standing smack in the middle of it.” That lone hand on her waist pulled her until she was flush with his body. The hard lines of his chest pressed against the sensitive curves of her breasts, and a hard tug pooled low in her belly.

“And if I play my cards right, she might even kiss me.”

A question formed on her lips, then vanished as his mouth came down over hers and answered it.