Eliza knocked on Aegina’s parents’ front door and waited. It was a clear, sunny day, and the neighborhood was alive with activity. People worked in their yards, washed cars, walked or biked. Kids laughed and shouted from somewhere a block away. No cars drove by. A typical small-town neighborhood where families thrived, something she’d missed out on ever since she’d left Vengeance. It gave her a nostalgic feeling, one that came with a sting of regret.
The front door opened and Aegina’s plump, gray-haired mother appeared. “Eliza.” She sounded wary.
“Is Aegina here?”
“Yeah,” Aegina said from behind her mother’s bulk. “Let her in, Mom.”
The woman stepped aside, still wary.
“Thanks.” Eliza hugged Aegina. “I’m so sorry for what my brother did.”
After glancing over Eliza’s shoulder at her mother, Aegina took her hand and led her through a kitchen that was still messy from lunch. Outside on the back patio, Aegina sat at a table with a bright red umbrella and flowers blooming all around them. A pitcher of sun tea was on the table with a stack of disposable cups.
“Are you having a barbecue?” Eliza asked.
“No. Mom just felt like having tea for the day. She thought it would cheer me up.” She dug into the ice bucket beside the pitcher and filled two cups.
Eliza waited while she poured the tea, and then she accepted one of the glasses and took a sip.
“Where’s Brandon?” Aegina asked.
“I left him at the ranch.” It hadn’t been hard to elude him once he’d started work for the day. Although he’d instructed her to come and get him if she needed to go into town for anything, this was one trip he didn’t belong on. This was girl-talk time.
“Any news on David?”
Eliza shook her head.
“Sorry. It must be so hard for you.”
Losing a husband and over the moon for his brother. Yeah, that was pretty hard.
“I went out to breakfast this morning with some friends. I heard some things that were kind of surprising.”
“About David?”
“No...about you. Is anything going on between you and Brandon?”
“People are talking about me and Brandon?”
“He was with you the night you and David fought at the Cork.”
“Yes, but—”
“One of my friends said David freaked because he found out about the two of you.”
“That isn’t true!”
“And the affair is still going on. You and Brandon are glad David is gone. They even speculated you’re about to get away with murder, that maybe you killed David to be with Brandon.”
And two other people? Eliza had been away for a long time. Most people in town didn’t know her very well. They may have heard about her strained relationship with her brother and her high school love affair with Brandon. The party girl who left town to plan parties in Hollywood. On the surface she had the résumé for scandal. But murder? Killing one man would require a lot of insensitivity and motive. Killing three, one who was a good friend to her, was too much of a stretch.
“That’s ridiculous.” Who was spreading those nasty rumors?
“I set my friends straight, don’t worry, but I thought you’d want to know what’s blowing through town today.”
“Who told your friend that?”
“Her sister, who said Jillian Marks told her. Who knows where it started though.”
“It started right there. Jillian is doing that on purpose.”
“Really?”
“She wants Brandon.”
“That’s right. I heard they were seeing each other.”
Until Eliza had come to town.
“Well, it’ll be over by morning, you wait and see. End of the week tops.”
Eliza sighed her exasperation. “Will that woman never give up? Brandon broke up with her. I’m hardly stealing him from anyone.”
“You have to admit, the timing is pretty bad. You show up, Brandon breaks up with Jillian and then your husband is murdered.”
“I didn’t kill David.”
Aegina put her hand over hers. “I know.”
Eliza smiled with warm appreciation. It was time to get to what she came here to say. “You’ve always been a good friend to me.”
“You’ve been a good friend to me, too.” Her tone was tense, preparatory for what was to come.
“What Ryker did...”
“I really don’t want to talk about it.”
“Just hear me out, okay?”
Aegina sipped her tea. “He kicked open the door and said ugly things to me.”
“I know. And he deserved to be arrested. But, Aegina, that isn’t my brother. He’s a good man. He’s just confused. And then finding out you’re seeing someone else...he broke down.”
“He’s not as confused as you think. He’s just upset that I was with another man. Men can’t handle that. Their egos are weak that way. He’s upset, nothing else.”
“You’re wrong. Ryker loves you.”
“He’ll love me more after we’re divorced and nothing is stopping him from going anywhere but Vengeance.”
“You don’t think your kids will stop him?”
Aegina looked away. “They might, but I won’t.”
“What about our mother? Ryker is always throwing her in my face. Would he leave her here?”
Her sister-in-law turned back to her. “It doesn’t matter. It’s over. I’m finished. I can’t do this anymore. I can’t be with a man who doesn’t love me enough to have a strong enough reason to want to stay in Vengeance.”
“But you are enough reason for him. Every bit as much as your kids.”
“I appreciate you trying, Eliza, but this has been a long time in the making. Ryker and I haven’t had a real marriage for years now. We haven’t had sex in months. We fight all the time.”
“That’s because Ryker was confused. He isn’t anymore. He loves you, Aegina. You have to believe me.”
Shaking her head, Aegina looked away again. “No, he doesn’t. He never did.”
“You’re wrong. He thought leaving Vengeance was what he wanted. It isn’t. Your affair made him see that.”
Aegina kept her head averted.
“He’ll forgive you for the affair.”
“That’s what you don’t get. Ryker will never forgive me for that. It’ll be his convenient excuse for agreeing for a divorce.”
“No—”
Aegina stood, the chair scraping on the stone patio. “Thanks for coming by, Eliza. But I think you should go now. We can be friends if you’re able to respect my wishes. I want to divorce Ryker. If he’s had a change of heart, then I’m sorry, it’s too late.”
It was futile to keep trying to convince her. In time maybe she’d relax her stance. Reluctantly, Eliza stood with her and led the way to the door. Once there, she paused.
“All I ask is you consider what I’ve said. I know my brother. He wasn’t happy about being stuck with our mother here in Vengeance. What he didn’t realize until now is that has nothing to do with you. I should have helped him more.”
“Oh, Eliza, stop being such a saint. Your mother has nothing to do with what’s going on between me and Ryker, and you have nothing to do with it, either. We’ve managed to mess that up all on our own.”
Eliza smiled for lack of anything else to say or do. “I hope you change your mind about him.”
Aegina said nothing, only hugged her before waving goodbye when Eliza turned on the front walk to do
the same.
On the way to her car, her thoughts turned from her brother to what had lain beneath the surface ever since Aegina told her. David believed she and Brandon were having an affair. If the rumors were true, even partially, he’d died thinking such a horrible thing. That bothered her, festered in her conscience. The wrongness. The scandal. The lack of respect for another human being. Her husband.
She shut the car door a little harder than necessary, and the glove box bounced open. Leaning over, she saw a cell phone and froze. David’s cell phone. She picked it up and stared at it. She turned it on. The battery was low, but she was able to navigate to his recent call list.
There was a number she didn’t recognize, and the call was received the night before he was killed. She called the number.
A man answered. “Who is this?”
“Who is this? Why was David Reed receiving calls from you?”
“Are you his wife?”
Eliza ended the call and started the engine. The man knew David was married. Did he also know he was dead? Had she just talked to his killer? Why would he answer if he killed David?
She began driving. As the busy town center gave way to a rural landscape, she noticed a car following her. It was the car she’d seen parked on the hill at the ranch. Swallowing a sudden flash of anxiety, she pressed for more gas. The car stayed far enough behind that she couldn’t see the person driving. The bulky shirt suggested it was a man.
The turnoff for the ranch appeared ahead on the road. Eliza drove onto Brandon’s gravel driveway and watched the car pass along the highway. She breathed a sigh of relief.
* * *
Brandon ran out of people to call to find out where Eliza had gone. Damn her. His father could be anywhere. The thought of his dad harming her made him want to punch the wall. He’d suffered enough of his father’s cruelty. No more. Eliza had to stay with him so he could keep an eye on her.
The sound of tires over gravel spared him. He went out onto the front porch. Seeing her drive up in the rental eased his tension. He waited for her to climb the steps.
She held up her hand. “Before you say anything, I went to see Aegina. Men weren’t welcome for that talk.” She entered the house.
“I told you not to go anywhere without me.”
She swept her hands in front of her body, palms out. “As you can see, I’m fine.”
More than fine. She looked great in white shorts and a black-and-white summery top. Except she seemed tired and preoccupied with something. And she glanced back at the road, which caught his attention. “You were gone a long time.”
“I had to stop at the police station.”
Had something happened? “Why?”
“I found David’s cell phone in the glove box of the rental. A strange man tried calling him the night before he was killed. The police are looking into it.”
“What was the man’s name?”
“I only had a number. He wasn’t in David’s address book.” She looked back, searching the road again.
Brandon didn’t miss it. “Did someone follow you? Do you think it was him?”
Her head spun back to him and her lack of response answered for him. He had to quell angry frustration. She’d sneaked away without him and then, just as he’d feared, she’d run into trouble. She’d made it back here, but what if something had gone wrong? Why did he care so much anyway? She was a grown woman. She could take care of herself, and she hadn’t been alone. And she was obviously fine.
“Who followed you?” he demanded anyway.
“It was that car.”
“The one that was parked on the hill?”
“He passed the turnoff to the ranch, though.”
Someone was watching Eliza. Did it have something to do with David’s murder? The notes? Or was it his dad? Was his dad responsible for all three incidences?
“Was it a man?”
“He was too far behind to tell. It looked like a man, though.”
His dad. Jack Reed had the personality of someone who could kill his own sons, like what he saw on the news every once in a while. The man who killed his wife and kids and then himself. No rhyme or reason. Just a lethal dose of mental instability. Maybe he’d gotten to David. Maybe the senator and sheriff were involved somehow. But why would he send the notes to Eliza? To make Brandon afraid for her welfare? It was working.
No matter where his concern came from, he had to protect her. He had to keep it platonic, however. His heart could not be involved.
“Don’t go anywhere without me anymore, Eliza.”
“All right. I won’t.” She walked around him and entered the house.
She was acting strange. As though she was uncomfortable with him. After putting her things down, she veered a wide arch around him on her way to the kitchen. Curious over her seemingly exaggerated distance, he went there with her.
She opened his refrigerator and took out the milk, then found a glass.
“One of those nights?”
“I have a lot on my mind. I just need to let go. Unwind.”
He chuckled because he’d teased her and she hadn’t caught it. She looked at him, lowering the glass of milk and eyeing him quizzically.
“I have something stronger for that.”
“Milk relaxes me.”
“Wine would, too.” Especially if she wanted to let go and unwind.
Frowning in reproach, finally catching on, she took her milk to the living room and turned on the television. Avoiding him again.
He followed, sitting on the chair next to the couch where she switched channels until Entertainment Now played. Milk and celebrity news. It was so like her...and then...not.
Unable to stave his adoration, he watched her for a while. As the entertainment program led into the latest Hollywood breakup, she leaned back with a sigh and sipped her milk. When her gaze wandered away from the television, he wondered what had made her so tense. She was distracted, and something was keeping her from acknowledging his presence. He should leave her to her quiet mood. He was glad she was home. Before she’d arrived, he was so worried. Now he needed to know why she was stressed, even melancholic.
“What did you and Aegina talk about? Why did you go there?”
Her brother, but that didn’t answer all of his questions.
“Ryker.”
“She must be upset.” Ryker had been arrested because he’d threatened her.
“She is,” she answered without taking her eyes off the television.
Another noncommittal answer. Was it her brother who made her that way or something else? Had she and Aegina talked about something other than Ryker?
“What did Aegina say?”
“She doesn’t believe Ryker loves her.”
There had to be more. “What else did she say?”
That snapped her head toward him.
So, she did say something. “Did she tell you something that upset you?”
She turned away again. “It’s nothing.”
Now he was certain there was something. “What did she say, Eliza?”
With another sigh, this one not so relaxed, Eliza turned off the television and moved so that her body faced him more, her legs angled along the couch. “People are saying we’re having an affair.”
“Us?” Had his ranch hand said something? Or someone else? Jillian? Why would she do that if she was so hell-bent on having him that she’d stalk him?
“They’re also saying that David knew.”
He was beginning to understand her melancholy. That didn’t settle well with him, either. He’d slept with his brother’s wife. If he could change that, he would. But murder wasn’t something that had been on his radar.
“And that I could have killed him to be with you.”
The last delivery of information caused his mood to plummet down with hers. The David from his childhood, the one not burdened with physical abuse, had been kind and fun-loving. He didn’t deserve to die the way he had, much less believing his own brother was in love with his wife.
“It could be just rumor,” he said.
“It’s not.”
“But it could still be a rumor. No one saw us....” He couldn’t say it.
“They saw us together.”
“We aren’t having an affair.” But they had.
Now it was his turn to want distance. He bent his head, wondering if it was too late to go find something else to do. Why had he followed her in here, anyway? Did he mean to seduce her again? Could he do that to his brother, even in death? A deeper part of him argued he and Eliza had more history than she and David did. David should have talked to him before he ran off to Vegas to marry her.
“We did, Brandon,” she made it worse by saying. “And it may have killed David.”
“How could that have killed David?”
“I didn’t love him. If he thought I did when he married me, he may have been driven to extremes.”
“Did he love you?” Brandon suddenly doubted that he had.
“I don’t know. I made a mistake marrying him. That mistake led to his decisions to sleep with other women and gamble more. It’s what kept him away from your ranch. If not for that, maybe he would have been here instead of walking into his death.” Eliza lowered her head as her voice quivered and she struggled with a few rogue sobs.
The guilt was hard on him, too.
She wiped her eyes as tears spilled.
Not going to her didn’t seem like an option. He got up and went to her, sitting beside her and wrapping his arm around her. She leaned against him and cried softly, the tears of real remorse.
He wished he could do that. Cry. But crying had become something he was incapable of doing. His father had seen him cry once, and he’d vowed it would be the last. His father had taunted him, calling him a crybaby and then hitting him and yelling that no amount of crying would bring his mother back. Crying wouldn’t absolve him, either. The beatings had grown worse and worse, beating the guilt into his sons.
Until Eliza had shown up and he’d slept with her the day his brother was killed, Brandon had sworn off guilt the same as he’d sworn off crying. Could he swear off guilt where his brother was concerned? His brother had been a victim just like Brandon when they were kids. Victims of their father’s warped abuse. His blame.
Back then, he was innocent. Now he wasn’t. He’d taken his brother’s wife. And if his brother had known that before his death, Brandon deserved to feel guilty.
And then, maybe he didn’t. Maybe he shouldn’t feel guilty at all.
Eliza’s tears eased and she lifted her head, red eyes needy and blotchy, puffy skin wet. “Do you think he would have blamed me if he hadn’t been drunk or in trouble with gambling?”
It was uncanny that she used that word. “Blamed you for what?”
She quieted another sob. “Loving you.”
Eliza’s sincere plea for a reassuring answer kept him from withdrawing from those words. She was a sophomore again. Needing him.
If his brother had been thinking clearly when he ran into her at the athlete’s party, he wouldn’t have been so reckless. David had confronted Brandon after he broke up with Eliza and told him he thought he was making a mistake, that he and Eliza belonged together. That had puzzled Brandon when David had called to brag about marrying her, something he would have never done when they were teenagers. He and David had always been a team. Something had changed that. Something had pushed David too far. And now that he was dead, Brandon was certain that something went beyond drinking and gambling. His addictions may have triggered what had led to his murder, but David hadn’t meant to alienate his own brother. Brandon was sure of that.
“I think he would have never married you.”
Eliza tensed and pushed away from him. He removed his arm from around her, letting her go. Distance was better right now. She’d already told him she loved him when they were teenagers. That had been a guided missile. To hear her talk like that now...
“I didn’t mean that I love you now.” She stood, hugging herself and moving away from the couch and coffee table. “I was only talking about when we were teenagers. I thought I loved you.”
Backpedaling.
Gladness that she’d clarified, regret that she didn’t mean it and doubt that she didn’t all clashed in him. He didn’t dare get up, lest he try and convince her she should love him.
“I’m going to get a room in town tomorrow.”
That got him to his feet. “No.”
“Yes, Brandon. People are talking about us.”
He went to stand before her. “I don’t give a damn what anyone says. You’re not going anywhere.”
His father had escaped prison. David’s murderer could be anywhere or anyone. Jillian...
And something deeper motivated him, something he was reluctant to identify.
“I can’t stay here.”
Brandon noticed how she’d picked up on whatever undercurrents were in operation between them. “Yes, you can. And you will.”
“I’m going to stay in town.” She headed for the hallway. It was much too early for bed, but she was eluding him. He had to let her go.
But he’d protect her. Even if he had to get his own room wherever she was staying.
* * *
Something woke her.
Eliza sat up on the bed, listening. Her cell phone. Its distinctive chime was muffled inside her purse. She got up and retrieved it, checking the caller ID to see who it was. She didn’t recognize the number. It was after two in the morning.
She answered.
“Eliza Harvey?” a man’s voice said. His voice was deep and a little crackly, like he was talking through an apparatus. A little muffled.
“Who is this?” And why was he calling her Harvey?
“That’s not important. I need to talk to you. It’s about David.”
Eliza breathed through her alarm. His voice frightened her, so calm, deep and slow. Sinister. “Tell me who you are.”
“I can’t. Please. If anyone discovers I’ve called you, I could be in serious danger. Can you come outside to meet me?”
“Outside?”
“I’m here, at the ranch. I’ve taken a risk coming here.” The voice was slow and careful. “I’m sorry for the hour. I didn’t know any other way. Whenever I see you in town, you’re always with Brandon.”
Someone was trying to reach her. In secret. What did this man know?
“Brandon could help you.”
“No.” The voice sounded panicked. “I’ll leave if you bring him.”
“What do you want me to do?” Who was this? They were afraid.
“Come to the stable. Alone.”
“What do you know about David? Who are you?”
“If you want to find David’s killer, come to the stable. Alone.” The caller disconnected.
Eliza would either go out there alone or the man would leave. What should she do? Wake Brandon? If the caller saw him, would he run? What if this was a ploy? What if the man wanted to get her alone to harm her?
But what if it wasn’t a ploy? What if the caller was truly afraid? If he knew something about David...
She moved to the window and looked out. She couldn’t see anything through the darkness and nothing moved in the lights near the stable or driveway.
Still undecided, she went into the entry and opened the drawer of the table where Brandon kept his pistol. She lifted it out. She had a cursory knowledge of guns and had seen him handle it. Copying his moves, she readied the weapon and went outside, leaving the door open just in case.
It was a quiet night. Clear sky. Stars speckled the blackness. Seeing an ATV parked alongside the stable, she wondered if one of Brandon’s workers had left it there. At the stable, she saw that one of the doors was open. Stepping inside, she saw no one there. Willow nickered softly.
Then something hard hit her on the back of her head.