Solid Gold Seduction (The Drakes of California) (13 page)

Chapter 30

R
ichard sat at the bar in Acquired Taste, sipping Hennessy and Coke. It was his first day back in Paradise Cove since Warren had surprised him by giving him a week off, with pay, and he’d driven into Oakland on a whim and met a honey. He’d been holed up at her place for five days. Now he was back to pacify Rachel, whose phone calls he’d mostly dodged. They had a date tonight, but Richard knew he’d need to be fortified to put up with what he assumed would be an interrogation. Rachel was a pretty woman, the type of “good girl” his late mother would probably have liked to see him bring home. But the sister he’d met in Oakland was more his speed, and his taste. Like him, she liked to access her inner freak. So they had, with relish, all week long.

“Freshen that up for you?” the bartender asked.

“Why not?” Richard said.

“Can I get you something to snack on?”

“No, thanks, man. I’m going to dinner in a little bit.”

“And that won’t be here?” The bartender put both hands over his heart. “Say it isn’t so!”

“This is my favorite place, you know that. But everybody has to switch it up every now and then.”

The bartender smiled and nodded as he wiped down the counter. “I hear you.” He looked up as another man sat down. “Cedric! My man!” He walked over and gave the man a fist pound.

“Hey, Duane.”

“The usual?”

Richard watched as Cedric answered, then looked over and nodded in greeting. Richard nodded back.

“Don’t I know you?” Cedric asked.

“I don’t think so.”

“You work over there with Warren, right?”

Richard scowled. The brother had just sat down and was already asking too many questions. “I might. Why?”

“Sorry, man, I don’t mean to pry.” He moved and sat so there was only one bar stool between them. “Cedric Martin.” He held out his hand. “I’m good friends with his neighbor, Charli Reed.”

This got Richard’s attention. “Richard Cunningham.”

The men shook hands. The bartender delivered Cedric’s drink. “Oh, and hook me up with an order of those gourmet hot wings,” Cedric said.

“Coming right up.”

“Yeah,” Cedric continued once the bartender had gone to the other end of the counter. “It’s crazy what’s happening over there with Charli.”

“What’s going on?”

“You haven’t heard? They found a bunch of gold over on both her and Warren’s property.”

Richard sat back, his eyes narrowed. “You don’t say.”

“Yeah, man. Heard the brother was having a hole dug for his swimming pool and struck gold! I guess instead of water, him and Charli are going to be swimming in cash!” He laughed at his own joke and took a big swig of liquor.

Richard’s smile was easy but inside his blood boiled. Now it all made sense: the men leaving early after that first hole was dug, the area being cordoned off shortly thereafter. When he’d asked, Jackson had said it was for safety reasons.
Yeah, it was safety, all right. The safety of Warren’s riches!

“I didn’t even know that that still happened, people finding gold,” Richard said.

“Yes, it does, and that’s not even the first time.”

“Oh, yeah?”

Cedric told Richard the other story that had resurfaced, about Charles Reed and Walter Drake’s find all those years ago. “Some people are just lucky, I guess,” he finished. “I’d give anything to get my hands on that gold!”

“You should ask your girl to let you help mine it. You said that Charli’s your friend, right?”

“We grew up together, but...I don’t know that we’re tight enough for her to trust me like that.”

“Guess trust is hard to come by.”

“Meaning?”

“I was one of the men working on Warren’s house.”

“Oh, so you already know about the gold.”

“Not until now. Interestingly enough, I was given an unscheduled vacation last week.” Richard gave Cedric a look. “Guess the timing wasn’t coincidental.”

“Sounds like he trusts you about as much as Charli does me.”

“I guess. But like you, I’d do anything to get my hands on that gold.”

“You might have a chance if you could get past the security guarding Warren’s office building.”

Richard leaned forward. “I’m listening.”

“Heard some of the gold is stored in a room there before it’s picked up and hauled away to parts unknown.”

“Do you know how it’s transported?”

Cedric shrugged. “Nobody’s sure about that. On any given day there are a flurry of vans, pickups, you name it coming and going from the property. I suspect it’s precisely so no one can figure out who’s carrying the goods.”

“A sure carjacking if someone found out.”

“You know it. A gold jacking, more like it!”

The men paused as the bartender brought over Cedric’s hot wings. “I’ll get you a glass of ice water to go with those,” he chuckled.

“Make that two,” Richard said.

“You got it. Still don’t want anything to eat?”

“Naw, man. I’m good.” After he walked away, Richard took a sip of his drink. “I wonder how many men he has guarding the stash.”

Cedric gave Richard a side-eyed glance. “Why? You thinking about trying to lighten Warren and Charli’s load a little bit?”

Richard looked at Cedric. “Are you?”

“Hell, yes,” Cedric replied, as his brows creased. “I’ve got a score to settle with little Miss Charli.”

“Sounds like there’s some history between you two.”

“My uncle used to work on Charli’s farm and I spent a lot of time there,” Cedric replied. “I know that property like the back of my hand, pretty much. Different ways you can get in.” He paused, then added, “Without being seen.” He finished his drink and set the glass on the bar counter a little harder than necessary. “Even though they’ve got guards posted and whatnot.” His laugh was sinister. “I know how to get through.”

“You need some help?” Richard asked.

Cedric picked up a wing. “You volunteering?”

“Hell, yeah. As long as we can split the spoils.”

The bartender brought over the glasses of ice water and both men ordered another drink. Richard called Rachel and told her that he’d be late picking her up. The men put their heads together, voices low, and continued to plot and plan. Richard justified his upcoming actions by thinking Warren should have told him about the gold and cut him in, their being old friends and whatnot. Cedric’s motive was more obvious—he didn’t get the girl.

Payback was a bitch, both men agreed. They also felt that for them...payday was coming.

Chapter 31

“I
thought I’d made myself quite clear on this,” Charli said, pushing an errant curl back under her cowboy hat. They were standing in the driveway, admiring Warren’s newly landscaped front yard. “I won’t accept your offer.”

It was the day after Warren had had the tense conversation with his father and grandfather, and later the family, about the Reed Ranch and how to handle the distribution of profit from the gold. After that, he’d called his attorneys and given the green light for the final draft of the contract to be executed and sent over for Charli’s signature. Obviously, she’d read it.

“I’m sorry if I phrased that like a question. It was a statement. The profits will be split fifty-fifty.” His voice became stern, authoritative. “It’s a decision I’ve made, one not up for discussion.”

He watched as her jaw clenched and her nostrils flared.
Damn, you’re sexy when you’re angry.
He crossed his arms and held his ground.

“You’ve made all the investment, for machinery and manpower.”

“True.”

“Even after deducting those expenses, a sixty-forty split would be more than generous.”

“The split will be fifty-fifty of the gross profits.”

“We’ve got to—”

“Don’t argue with me, woman.”

“Don’t push me, Drake.”

“The name’s Warren.” The air crackled with tension as Warren watched Charli war with her emotions. When he saw her shoulders relax, a smile slowly stretched across his face. “A simple thank-you will suffice.”

Her eyes narrowed. She tucked her hands into her back pockets. “I don’t like this, Drake. Fair is fair.”

“You’re welcome.”

She let out an exasperated breath. “Fine. Thank you.”

“Thank you,
Warren.
”

“You really are pushing it.” He lifted a brow. “Warren. Thanks.”

His heart warmed at the sound of his name on her tongue. He liked the way her lips pursed as she said it, and how her arms behind her brought attention to those round, brown breasts that he loved so much.

Which reminded him of the other reason why he’d asked her to come over. “The house is finished.”

“Already?”

“I had them put a rush on it—wanted to be in there during as much of the harvest as possible.”

“I’ve wondered about how that works, having a vineyard and all.”

“It’s already begun, but we still have two good months of harvest left, so I’d be happy to show you around, tell you as much about it as I know. In fact my cousin Dexter, the true expert, is due back soon. I’ll have you over for dinner, let him guide the tour. It’s pretty exciting, actually.”

“Sounds interesting. I’d like that. How do you like your new home?”

“It’s beautiful. Kind of empty, though.” Her expression was unreadable. “I’m going to spend the night here tonight, for the first time. I’d love it if you’d join me. I’m even going to try my hand at cooking a meal.”

“And you want me to be the guinea pig?”

“Who’d you think would be cooking when you came for dinner with Dexter?”

Charli shrugged. “I thought bourgie possums like you had chefs.” Her eyes twinkled as she repeated the term she’d eventually shared with him in San Francisco, a favorite of her grandfather’s when it came to the Drakes.

Warren smirked as he stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her. “I promise not to poison you. But I can’t say the same for whether or not the steak will be over-or undercooked.”

“Steak, you say? Don’t bother with the experiment. Both in the field and in the kitchen, the cow is my forte. What time do you want dinner?”

He looked at his watch. “Does seven-thirty work for you?” She nodded. “Okay, I’ll be back soon.”

* * *

About a half a mile away, on the other side of the two-lane highway in front of the Reeds’, Cedric lay in the ditch, a pair of binoculars up to his eyes. They were pinned on Charli and Warren. Talking about something serious, Cedric assumed, if Charli’s face was any indication. But then she said something, and Warren laughed before wrapping his arms around her. Cedric frowned. Something about the way she looked up at Warren made the vein in his neck throb. For years he’d chased her and wished that she would look at him that way.

“That’s all right, witch,” he muttered, adjusting the binoculars as his subjects began to come closer, Warren walking Charli to her car. “Before this week is over the only thing you and that asshole will have to hold on to is this wretched country land, those stinky-ass cows...and each other.”

* * *

“What are you doing?” Griff asked, watching as Charli pulled ears of corn, potatoes and a few spices from the pantry. “I’ve already cooked beans, corn bread and baked chicken. It’s almost ready.”

“I’m heading back out,” Charli replied, knowing that the answer wouldn’t be enough information but deciding to answer only to what was asked.

“Where?”

“Over to the Drake place.” Purposely, she didn’t meet his eyes but rather pulled one of the recycle bags out of the drawer and placed the vegetables inside it. Then she went back into the pantry for oil and flour.

“As a cook?”

“As a neighbor. Drake’s house is finished.”

“And he don’t have food?”

After scouring the shelves, she went to the freezer for a package of rolls. “I don’t know. But I thought it would be nice to fix him a meal.”

She picked up the bag and prepared to leave. Griff stopped her. “I don’t like it. Now, don’t get me wrong. He seems like a nice enough fella, especially for a Drake. But your grandfather would—”

“Griff, I’ve always respected you, felt your words had the same kind of weight that Grandpa’s did. And I know about the bad blood between him and Walter Drake. But it’s his bad blood, Griff. Not mine. You’re right. Drake is a good man. We’ve become good friends.”

“How good?”

In a rare show of affection between them, Charli kissed her play uncle’s grizzled cheek. “Goodbye, Griff.”

“I’ll wait up for you.”

She stopped in the doorway, turned and answered, “Don’t.”

Five minutes later, Charli pulled up to Warren’s beautifully landscaped, warmly lit house, and sat, amazed. Anyone who didn’t know otherwise would have thought the home had been there forever. There was not a speck of remaining dust from the construction, not a blade of the new grass out of place. Flowers danced with the wind, a lit water feature gurgled melodically and the arrangement of shrubs and bushes bordered by large colored stones looked to have come straight out of an architectural magazine. Charli was reminded of the vast difference between them when it came to money and for a moment, she felt out of place. She looked at the recycle bag from the grocery store, her simple blue tank top—clean but old—well-worn jeans and sandals. Looking at his house she felt as though she should be wearing satin and pearls.

Any thoughts that she might have had to cut and run were abolished when she looked up and saw Warren at the front door. He looked as casual as she, wearing a pair of khaki shorts that looked as though they’d seen better days, a beige polo shirt, leather sandals and a welcoming smile. She grabbed the bag of food, took a deep breath and exited the car.

“Howdy, partner!” Warren walked toward where her truck was parked.

It was dorky, but just the greeting she needed to calm her nerves.

“Drake,” she replied, stepping into his open arms for a brief hug. He reached for the bags that she was carrying before they went inside.

* * *

A short distance away, Cedric and Richard sat in a borrowed car, a nondescript Honda that could be found on any highway. Cedric had borrowed it from a friend as neither man wanted their rather showy vehicles—Cedric’s BMW or Richard’s classic Cadillac—anywhere around the soon-to-be crime scene.

Richard looked at Cedric after watching Warren and Charli enter the house. “Looks like your girl has a new friend.”

Cedric made a sound of disgust. “Man, he can have my leftovers.”

“Oh, you’ve already hit that?”

“Please. I sampled that piece of country from one side of the ranch to the other. Every time my uncle went to work for her grandpa, I went to work on her.”

“Hey, with a history like that, I’m surprised you’re not still friends.”

“I got tired of her and kicked her to the curb. She never got over it. Hates me to this day for breaking her heart.”

“It sounds like your stealing the gold is a bit of a vendetta.”

Cedric shook his head. “Not at all. This isn’t personal, Richard. This is business.”

“I feel the same way.” Richard looked toward the house. “We know where two people on the property are. And we know that they’ll be busy. So all we need to do is locate all of the security detail and take out the guy guarding the office door.”

“Piece of cake,” Cedric snarled as he put on a cap and dark glasses.

While Cedric used the disposable phone he’d just purchased to call their accomplices, Richard turned the vehicle onto what used to be a car lane but was now overgrown with weeds. He pulled forward until the car was no longer visible from the road.

Then he turned off the car and turned to Cedric. “Are you ready?”

“Born so.”

“Cool. Let’s do this.”