DJ sat behind her desk, trying to focus on the file in front of her. She couldn’t concentrate, not after what had happened today. DJ could see in her eyes that Kat had been devastated. Her insides had twisted when she’d tasted the tears on Kat’s lips. The kiss had been filled with pain and anguish. DJ had never expected to experience anything like that with Kat. She understood why Kat had said the things she had and couldn’t help thinking it was all true. She deserved everything Kat had thrown at her. Could DJ make Kat forget it all? She had to find a way to make her see past her deception, or she would never be a part of her life.
She slapped the folder closed, shot up, and headed across the room. She couldn’t just sit around and do nothing. DJ needed answers, and she was going to get them out of Mark Hamilton, one way or another. She marched through the doorway and down the hallway to Mark’s office. The door was open, but the only person in there was one of the cleaning crew that came through nightly. She glanced at her watch. Eight o’clock.
“Damn.” DJ took off down the hallway and barreled into Marcia, practically knocking her off her feet. “What are you still doing here?”
“I thought you might need me for something.”
“Could you find Mark Hamilton’s home address for me, please?” DJ went into her office for her briefcase.
When she came out, Marcia glanced up from her desk and handed her a slip of paper. “Here you go.”
“If anyone asks, you don’t know where I went.”
Marcia lifted her eyebrows. “Do I ever?”
“Thanks, Marcia.” DJ looked at the paper she’d handed her and hesitated. “You’ll let me know when you need some time off, right?”
“Of course.” Marcia smiled. “And I’ll expect it with pay.”
“And you’ll get it that way.” DJ laughed and headed down the hallway to the elevator. Marcia might be a thorn in her side sometimes, but DJ could trust her.
DJ screeched out of the parking garage and headed toward Mark’s loft. She needed some answers, and if it was going to take another face-to-face with the man in his own territory, so be it.
DJ parked her BMW in the lot next to the Waterstreet Lofts and hurried around to the front of the building. After climbing the stairs to the third floor, she was a little winded. She found the door and gave it a swift succession of raps—no answer. She twisted the knob—locked. The door had a deadbolt, but maybe Mark wasn’t a stickler for security. She slid a credit card into the doorjamb and shoved hard with her shoulder. The door flew open.
She rubbed her arm as she stepped inside and took a minute to survey the condo. The place wasn’t very big. One bedroom with a small loft. She spotted a desk upstairs and went straight to it, passing the bedroom and kitchen to the narrow, small, metal spiral staircase. The top of the desk was spotless. She opened the drawers but found nothing. This place was just as clean as his office. DJ hurried down the steps and hit the bedroom next, checking the dresser, closet, and mattress—still nothing. It didn’t look like he even lived there, or he wasn’t planning to stay around much longer. Maybe he was planning to move in with Rebecca. She heard voices in the hallway but didn’t balk. At this point DJ didn’t care if Mark caught her. She rushed to the kitchen and scanned it.
Where would I hide something in this place? A few plates and glasses sat in the drain board. She opened the dishwasher door. The packing tape was still on the rack. Why wouldn’t he use the dishwasher? She squatted down and looked inside—nothing. She closed it and felt around the plate covering the electrical wiring at the bottom. Some of the screws were missing. She pinched the piece of metal between her thumb and index finger, and it popped off. Bingo! A small manila envelope had been hidden in between and under the wires.
The envelope wasn’t sealed, so DJ had no trouble sliding the documents out to see what they were. As she read through them, she realized Mark’s predicament. Mark did know Victoria Maxwell. In fact, he knew her very well, and the parasite was putting the screws to him big-time. It looked like Mark’s get-rich-quick scheme had backfired. DJ slid the papers into the envelope and pushed it into her coat pocket. Someone else needed to see these.
It was past ten when DJ knocked on the front door of Rebecca’s condo.
“Who is it?” DJ recognized Mark’s voice through the door.
“Dani Callahan.”
She heard the deadbolt flip, and Mark opened the door slowly.
DJ didn’t wait for an invitation. She pushed her way inside. “I thought I might find you here.”
Mark turned, still standing in the doorway. “What do you want, Dani?”
“We need to talk about that little land deal you took care of for Mr. Belmont.”
Mark closed the door and lowered his voice, “I told you, I didn’t have anything to do with that.”
DJ gave him a look of warning. “Don’t dig yourself in any deeper, Mark.” She reached her hand under her coat and let him see the envelope. “I know exactly what you did, and now I have the proof.”
Mark reached for the envelope. “You broke into my loft.”
“Door was open. I just looked around a bit.”
“You don’t know what you’re doing, Dani.”
“Why don’t you fill me in?”
Mark kneaded the back of his neck roughly with his fingers and paced the room until he seemed to drop his shoulders in relief. “I was caught in the middle of this mess and couldn’t find a way out.” His eyes shifted nervously. “I only did what Charles told me to.”
DJ saw what seemed to be a twinge of remorse, and she didn’t know what to think. “But you knew it was illegal.”
“You’re an attorney. You know there’s a fine line between legality and loopholes.”
“At the very least, it was unethical.” DJ looked toward the bedroom. “How’d you convince Rebecca to sign the papers?”
An arrogant smile crept across Mark’s face. “It’s amazing what you can get a woman to do by just paying attention to her.”
“You seduced her so you could manipulate her?” DJ knew Rebecca was the one who was going to be hurt here.
“Seriously?” Mark let out a short breath. “You’re doing the same thing to her sister, and you have the nerve to question my motives?”
DJ sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Mark was right. When DJ had started this whole thing, she wasn’t much different from him. Somewhere along the line, DJ had developed a conscience and fallen in love. Which came first she wasn’t sure, but knowing what she’d done to Kat made her stomach turn.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s not like either one of them wasn’t willing.” Mark gave her a sly grin. “What’s wrong with mixing a little pleasure with business?” He let out a chuckle.
Mark’s eyes flew wide as DJ hit him hard across the chin, sending him flying over the couch. It was much more than pleasure for DJ. Mark touched his lip, and his eyes narrowed when he saw the blood on his fingers. “If her wife hadn’t died, you wouldn’t even be in the picture.” He wiped the blood on the bottom of his shirt and stood up. “I’m surprised she isn’t already shacked up with Victoria Maxwell.”
DJ went after him again. She pushed him up against the wall and held him there. “That’s enough about Kat.”
“What’s going on out here? I can hear you two all the way in the bathroom.” Rebecca emerged from the bedroom in her robe. “Dani, what the hell’s the matter with you?” She wedged herself between them.
DJ stared past Rebecca at Mark. “Your boyfriend and I were just having a little discussion.”
“Doesn’t look like much of a discussion to me.” She planted her palms on DJ’s chest and shoved her so Mark could slide out from behind her. “You’d better leave.”
“I not going anywhere until you and I have a talk,” DJ said, ignoring the cell phone ringing in her pocket.
“She’s not your business anymore,” Mark spouted.
“Oh yes, she is.” DJ kept her gaze firm and steady.
“Isn’t that your phone, Dani?” Rebecca reached into DJ’s coat.
DJ took the ringing phone from her hand and dropped it back into her pocket, unanswered. “You need to know a few things before you become any more involved with this man.”
“Just what exactly does she need to know, DJ?” Kat said, appearing in the doorway of the spare bedroom. “And why should she believe anything that comes out of your mouth?”
The venom in Kat’s voice caught DJ off guard. She deserved every bit of her wrath, but for whatever reason she hadn’t expected it to cut so deep.
“Well?” Kat crossed her arms and waited for her response.
DJ searched her eyes for some glimmer of understanding. “I didn’t know you were here.”
“This isn’t about business, Kathryn. It’s about you and your sister,” Mark said, pointing a finger at her and then at Rebecca.
DJ moved toward Mark again. “You’re damn right it’s about them.”
“Back off, Dani,” Rebecca said, still standing between them.
With her eyes fixed on Mark, DJ slowly withdrew. “I guarantee there will be another time for this.”
Rebecca pushed DJ to the door. “You need to go now.”
“We have to talk, Rebecca.”
“Not now.” Rebecca opened the door, pushed DJ out, and closed it before she could say anything else.
Before DJ reached the elevator, her cell phone rang again. She fished it out of her pocket, touched the screen, and pressed it to her ear. “What!”
“Is this Danica Callahan?” the voice on the other end asked.
“Yes.”
“Ms. Callahan, I’m a medical flight nurse out of Austin General.”
Her stomach clenched. She immediately thought something was wrong with Elizabeth. “Yes.”
“There’s been a fire at the Jumpin’ J Ranch.”
“Fire?” She was barely able to hear the man’s voice over the swishing helicopter noise in the background.
“It looks like it started in the horse stable.”
“What happened? Is everyone all right?”
“The fire chief isn’t sure how it started, but it looks as though Mr. Jackson may have been trampled by a horse. Someone found him on the ground in one of the horse stalls and carried him out before the fire burned out of control. He’s unconscious now, but before we sedated him, he took your card out of his pocket and asked me to call you.”
Fear flashed through her. “How long till you arrive at the hospital?” Virgil was the only person Kat was close to in this world.
“About thirty minutes.”
“I’ll be there.” She slid her phone into her pocket and rushed down the hallway to Rebecca’s door.
* * *
Kat had almost reached the bedroom when she heard the banging on the door. She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. She needed time to think, and it didn’t look like DJ was willing to give her that. She pushed off the wall and went to the living room.
“I told you to go home, Dani,” Rebecca shouted without opening the door. “She’s not up to dealing with you right now.”
“Something’s happened at the ranch,” DJ shouted, urgency vibrating in her voice.
Panic surged through Kat as she rushed across the room and yanked open the door. “What?”
“Virgil’s been hurt. They’re not sure exactly of the circumstances, but there was another fire in the stable. One of the hands found him on the ground inside and carried him out.”
“Another one?” Her mind spun in a million different directions. “Oh my God, is he all right? Where is he?”
“He’s being flown to the emergency room at Austin General. They should be there in about thirty minutes.”
She pushed by DJ and headed for the door. “I have to go.”
“Kat.” Rebecca grabbed her arm. “You should put some other clothes on first.”
“Right.” Kat held her head, trying to settle herself as she rushed into the bedroom to change.
DJ followed her in. “I’ll take you.”
Kat ripped off her pajamas and pulled on a T-shirt and wool field shirt. “I can drive myself.” Her hands trembled as she grabbed her jeans off the chair and slid them on. “Damn it,” she said, her voice slipping into a fragile shakiness she hadn’t wanted DJ to hear. I can’t lose Virgil.
“Kat, I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Rebecca said, trying to calm her.
“He has to be.” Kat yanked her boots on and rushed past her.
“I’ll be right behind you,” Rebecca said.
“Thanks.” Kat turned, giving her a quick hug before continuing out the door.
DJ quickened her pace, following her out the door and into the elevator. “You’re in no condition to drive. I’m going to take you.”
She didn’t argue as she pressed the elevator button repeatedly. “Did they say how badly he was hurt?”
“No,” DJ said, hesitation in her voice. “I’m sure you’ve seen accidents like this before.”
Kat punched at the elevator button again. “If they’re flying him in, it can’t be good.” DJ was trying to prepare her without alarming her too much. It was serious.
DJ took her hand. “Kat, all I know is what I told you.”
She tugged her hand from DJ’s as the elevator doors opened and headed for her truck.
DJ grasped Kat’s hand again and towed her along behind her. “You’re as stubborn as a mule. I told you, I’ll drive.”
When they reached the road, Kat sat motionless, staring at the white line on the pavement in front of them. “How could something like this happen?”
“You never know with horses. They can be pretty temperamental.”
“Those horses are all harmless, and Virgil’s the best trainer I know. It must have been the new filly.” Why would he be messing with the new filly? She had to call the ranch and hear the whole story. “Can I use your phone?” she asked softly. “I left mine at Rebecca’s.”
DJ took her phone from her pocket and handed it to her. Kat punched in a number and waited for someone to answer. When the cook finally did, she kept a calm, even tone as she shot off the beginning of a string of questions. “What the hell happened out there?”
“I don’t know. I was cleaning the kitchen when I heard the commotion. No one knew Virgil was in there until George carried him out. He was in Minow’s stall.”
Another flash of panic hit her. “Is Minow all right?” she said urgently.
“She followed him out.”
“Thank God George was there. How in the world did we have another fire?”
“They don’t know yet. They’re still here looking things over.”
“What about the horses?” Her voice settled into the calm tone she’d started with.
“They’re all okay. Someone let them out into the corral.” Kat suspected that person was Virgil. Probably the reason they found him in the stable.
“Okay, thanks. Let me know if you find out anything.” She hit the end button and held the phone to her chest. Everything was falling apart. DJ, the ranch, Virgil. How had her life suddenly gone to shit?
DJ reached over and glided her hand across Kat’s leg before curling her fingers underneath her thigh and letting it settle there permanently. The warmth sizzled through Kat, and her system jolted. Suddenly the confines of the car seemed very intimate. What the hell was wrong with her? The man she respected most in the world was seriously hurt, and all it took was a single touch from DJ to scatter all her thoughts.
“This doesn’t change anything between us, DJ,” Kat said, offering her the phone and hoping she’d remove her hand. She did, and after sliding the phone into her pocket, DJ let her hand rest on the gear stick. Kat shifted in her seat, thankful for something besides her leg to occupy DJ’s hand.
“How did it happen?” DJ asked.
“They don’t know.” She stared out the window through the droplets of rain into the darkness, trying to envision what had gone on. “George found Virgil in the stall with Minow.”
“With Minow?” DJ’s voice rose.
“Apparently this storm went through there tonight too. Maybe the lightning started the fire and spooked her.”
“Stranger things have happened.”
“That’s crazy.” Kat shook her head. “Minow doesn’t spook. I trained her myself. She’s the gentlest horse I have.”
“Do they know when it happened?”
“No. They’re not sure how long he was lying there before they found him. My guess is it wasn’t too long ago. Virgil checks the stable every night about nine o’clock?” She sat in silence for a moment. “Damn it.” She shook her head.
DJ looked over at her. “What?”
“Something strange is going on.” Kat twisted in her seat to look at her. “If a storm was coming, Virgil would’ve already had the stable locked down with the horses in it. Right?”
“Right.”
“They said all the other horses were out in the corral when they showed up.” The timing was all off.
“Maybe the storm came up quicker than he thought.”
“No.” She shook her head. “Virgil can smell a storm coming. There’s no way he would’ve left the horses out.” She slapped her hand to the dash. “I don’t think this fire was an accident.” Only Virgil could tell them what really happened. She just hoped he was all right.
DJ pushed the accelerator pedal to the floor, sending the speedometer shooting up past the speed limit.
After entering the emergency room at Austin General, they found that the medical flight helicopter had already arrived. The two of them went straight to the nurses’ station.
“Can you give me any information on Virgil Jackson?” DJ asked.
The clerk spun around in her chair to speak to the nurse behind her. “You have any info on Virgil Jackson?”
The nurse looked up from the chart she held. “They just brought him in. Are you a family member?”
“I’m DJ Callahan, Virgil’s personal attorney, and this is Kathryn Jackson, his daughter-in-law.”
“Well, Ms. Callahan, I don’t have a status yet, but if you’ll follow me, we can check with the flight nurse that transported him.”
Kat followed with DJ firmly in tow.
“Only one at a time, please. This is a trauma center,” the nurse said before going through the double doors.
DJ turned to Kat. “Wait here a minute. I’ll be right back.”
“But—”
“You’re too emotional now, Kat.”
“Emotional, my ass.” Kat pushed past DJ and through the door. “You wait out here.”
DJ rushed up next to Kat as the nurse led them through the doors and down the hallway to the exam rooms.
“I said only one of you.” The nurse stopped and blocked the doorway with her arm.
DJ flashed the nurse a disarming grin. “Can you make an exception, just this once?”
Kat blew out a quick breath of air through her nose to let DJ know she was disgusted with her tactics, but DJ didn’t seem to care.
The nurse pointed to the woman in uniform, packing supplies into a medical kit. “There’s one of the flight nurses that flew in with Mr. Jackson. She might be able to answer some of your questions.”
“Thank you so much.” DJ took the nurse’s hand between hers and held it momentarily.
Kat clenched her hands into fists and swallowed hard. “That smooth charm certainly comes in handy, doesn’t it?” She didn’t know what she expected. DJ had used her good looks and charisma so often, it was probably second nature.
DJ reached for her. “Kat…”
She threw her hands up. “Not now, DJ.”
Without argument, DJ whipped around and headed into the exam room. “DJ Callahan, Mr. Jackson’s personal attorney,” she said, extending her hand. “And this is his daughter-in-law, Kathryn Jackson.” She motioned to Kat. “How’s he doing?”
“I’m afraid there’s not really much to tell yet. They just took him up to surgery.” The nurse shook DJ’s hand, gave Kat a nod, and continued to pack the kit. “He has multiple chest contusions. I saw that when I hooked him up to the monitors.”
Kat looked at the bloodied gauze on the floor. “Is all this from him?” she asked and sucked in a deep breath, trying to keep the queasy feeling at bay. Her stomach felt as though it might erupt at any minute. She didn’t know why it bothered her. She saw more blood than this during the animal births she handled at the ranch.
“I’m afraid so,” the nurse said.
“How serious is it?” The thought of Virgil lying helpless, tubes running from various parts of his body, and machines hovering next to the bed swept through Kat’s mind, and she felt scared and very much alone. Virgil wasn’t a young man, but he always took pride in his virility. An immovable fixture in her life, he would by no means be considered frail or weak. He was the rock she’d held onto so many times when things got tough. He had to be okay.
“It’s serious.” The nurse looked up momentarily and seemed to take note of Kat’s fixed gaze on the blood-soaked gauze strewn across the floor. “He could have broken ribs and internal bleeding.”
“Did he regain consciousness at all?” Kat asked, her voice weak.
“Just for a few minutes. As I told Ms. Callahan on the phone, he gave me her card.”
Kat’s body heated, and her vision went fuzzy. The nurse ripped open a pack containing a wet cloth and moved quickly to her.
“Here. This should help.” The nurse blotted Kat’s face with the cool cloth and then slid it across the back of her neck.
The double doors swung open, and Rebecca came into the room with Mark following her. “Any news?” Rebecca asked as she wrapped her arm around Kat’s shoulder.
“Nothing current.” Kat sank into Rebecca and closed her eyes to combat the light-headedness.
“She needs to sit down. Would you please take her outside while I finish up here?” DJ said.
Rebecca nodded and led Kat to the door. “Come on. Let’s go out here where it’s a little cooler.”
“I’m fine,” she said, fighting the darkness blurring her mind. She didn’t want to leave. She didn’t like being handled. She wanted firsthand information about what had happened, but the blood had done her in. Heat pricked her neck, so she went with Rebecca to the waiting room.