Until death, p.28
Until Death, page 28
“Oh, I have bigger plans,” Dane informed her. “A little grooming and some prodding, I can arrange it, so you’ll be the next Mrs. Steele.” He grinned slyly and chuckled in his throat. “And that would be far more profitable for both of us, don’t you agree?”
“I don’t think Keefe would be too keen on the idea,” she informed him.
“You don’t need Keefe anymore,” he informed her. “With my brains and Mr. Steele’s wealth, you and I can have everything. It’s perfect.”
She considered his ingenious plan then laughed. “I like the way you think,” Elana announced while grinning. “I knew you weren’t actually retired. You were waiting for the right moment to strike, weren’t you?”
“I have my faults,” Dane informed her. “If you had me to guide you from the very beginning, you wouldn’t have had to use Callie as a go-between to Mr. Steele’s money. It could have been you all along. Lucky for you I don’t hold a grudge against you for trying to have me killed.”
“When did I try to have you killed?” she asked with surprise.
“When you hired those men to kill Brenda Steele two years ago,” Dane informed her. “That was the plan, wasn’t it? Kill Mrs. Steele and frame me? That’s why you planted those old articles in my locked box. It was supposed to look like I killed her and she fatally wounded me during the attack. Your first mistake was hiring outside help. Your second mistake was not anticipating Miller and Raina’s early arrival. I guess I really screwed your plans that night, didn’t I?”
She stared at him with surprise and shook her head. “You’ve got that all wrong,” Elana insisted as her eyes widened. “I never killed anyone. I’ll admit; the death of Otto’s wife was a stroke of luck for Callie, but I certainly wouldn’t condone killing anyone.”
“Oh?”
“Our original plan to dig up dirt on Otto was almost screwed when Callie started admiring Brenda’s jewelry,” Elana admitted. “Callie always had a thing for emeralds. Brenda caught her in her jewelry box, but when she didn’t take the necklace, she decided to confront Callie without involving you. I guess Brenda knew you would immediately fire her. I think Brenda felt sorry for Callie, and since she didn’t actually steal the necklace, she decided to give her another chance.” Elana added a tiny laugh. “Callie was concerned you would find out and fire her anyway, that’s when we had Keefe dig up dirt on your past. Callie planted those articles in your locked box as an insurance policy. You know; in case you became meddlesome.”
“I was the wild card, huh?” he teased, mocking his past.
“Sure, Callie found your locked box shortly after she arrived here. I guess she was hoping to steal something of value then changed her mind,” Elana informed him. “Those passports you were hiding were worth more than the money you had hidden, but you can’t con a conman.” She managed a tiny laugh. “Naturally, she let me in on what she’d found but blackmailing you wouldn’t be worth the trouble you’d bring. I told her to leave you alone and stay as far away from you as possible. When Callie was murdered, I just wanted the investigation ended, and you had the most incriminating past to make that happen.”
“Yes, lucky me,” he muttered.
“After Brenda’s death, Callie, Keefe, and I plotted and planned a way to move my sister from maid to lady of the house,” Elana explained then laughed. “With Raina and Miller out of the house, it made her seduction of Otto that much easier. She just needed to keep you from finding out until Otto was already head-over-heels for her and could keep you in check.”
“And you were right to assume that,” he announced. “Had I caught her coming on to Mr. Steele, I would have fired her on the spot.” He hesitated and studied her. “I guess things didn’t work out for either of you in the end, huh?”
“Actually, everything was going according to plan,” Elana corrected him. “I intended to blackmail her with her very own videos after she was married to Otto, but then she had to go and fuck it up, literally, by doing Nole on her wedding day.” She frowned and shook her head with distaste. “I don’t know what she saw in him. I guess he was good in bed--and over a desk. It was obvious Otto would divorce her. It was all going to be over before it even began. When the police ruled her death murder, I had to find a scapegoat. Who better than the butler with evidence already in his locked box from two years ago. It seemed perfect.”
“I suppose it did seem perfect,” Dane announced then shrugged. “I guess I’m just too sneaky for my own good. Try to remember that.”
“There is one minor problem standing between you and me cleaning out old Otto,” Elana informed him.
“You mean Keefe?”
“I mean, he’s a lot of fun, but he’s not the brightest guy,” she insisted then shrugged. “Other than flexing his muscles, he doesn’t bring much to the party. Know what I mean?” She smiled almost seductively at Dane. “With you as my new partner, we don’t need him, and we wouldn’t want to share all Otto’s money with him.”
“Are you saying you’d like to ‘terminate’ your relationship with him?” Dane asked.
Elana laughed then smiled. “You really are smart, aren’t you?” She shook her head. “I want nothing to do with killing anyone, but I’m sure you could find a way to pin the murders on him. That would be enough to remove him from the picture. You’re smart, right?”
“I’m grossly underestimated,” he announced then grinned. “I hear and see everything in this house, and no one notices me. Let me worry about Keefe. You just go upstairs and act naturally. I’ll have a foolproof plan by morning.”
She stood and eyed him while grinning. “Callie had no idea what she was giving up with you,” Elana announced and gave him a quick once-over. “After we have all Otto’s money, maybe you and I could be more than partners.”
“Concentrate on Otto,” he informed her and showed little reaction to her seduction scene. “You need to succeed where Callie failed. We don’t need another repeat of that wedding night.”
“You’re right. Just keep that in mind,” she announced while grinning. “See you in the morning.”
As Elana left the study, Dane leaned back in the chair and stared at the open doorway while deep in thought. Only a few minutes passed before Raina entered the study and shut the door behind her. She leaned against the door with her arms across her chest and a cold look on her face.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” she muttered.
“You and me both,” he announced while frowning.
“Please tell me she confessed to everything and you got it all on video,” Raina remarked and finally straightened.
Dane casually removed an expensive tie clip and held it up. “It’s all right here on my little spycam,” he announced then frowned and tossed it across the desk. He groaned with defeat and rubbed his eyes. “She didn’t kill anyone.”
Raina stared at him with surprise then turned angry while approaching the desk. “She’s lying.”
“No,” he replied with a defeated sigh. “She confessed to blackmailing just about everyone and even how she tried to frame me for her sister’s murder. Unfortunately, I believe her when she says she didn’t kill anyone.”
She looked at him with concern. “Aren’t you afraid she’ll tell the police about your past?” Raina asked. “It would look very bad for you if Detective Payne learns you were a jewel thief.”
“She has no proof,” Dane reminded her. “I was trained to cover my tracks and vanish without a trace. Detective Payne can dig all he wants; he’ll never find anything to link me to those thefts. According to my real passport, I haven’t even left the country since my discharge from the service. She has more to lose by turning me in. I’ve got the goods on her blackmail operation.”
Raina sat on the edge of the desk and held her head. “At least you’re in the clear,” she scoffed then straightened. “Unfortunately, that still leaves my father and Miller back on the prime suspect list.”
Dane stood, approached her, and pulled her into his arms. She clung to him while resting her head on his shoulders and gently smoothed his suit jacket.
“We’ll figure out a way to clear them,” he insisted softly in her ear. “I promise you; neither of them will be framed for murder. I just need time to connect the dots.” He sighed and pulled back to look into her eyes and offered a reassuring smile. “Between the two of us, we can figure this out.”
She stared into his eyes a long, silent moment. “I don’t want to be alone tonight,” Raina said almost timidly.
Dane smiled while staring into her eyes. “I’ll be up in ten minutes with tea,” he announced and gently touched her face.
He kissed her warmly but passionately then hesitated and opened the desk drawer. He removed his semiautomatic and handed it to her. She stared at it a moment with some confusion.
“I want you to keep this on you, for protection,” he informed her.
“Are you sure?” she asked. “Shouldn’t you keep it on you?”
“No, I have my shotgun,” he replied then grinned. “And I suspect we’ll be spending a lot of time together, so it’s best you keep it on you.”
She smiled timidly and accepted the gun. Raina placed the gun down the back of her pants and covered the handle with her shirt. Dane walked her to the study door where they parted ways. Raina headed for the main stairs while Dane headed for the kitchen. Raina paused by the banister at the bottom of the grand stairs and looked down the hall toward the kitchen. Dane paused near the kitchen door at the opposite end and stared back at her while smiling. He blew her a kiss then danced backward through the kitchen door without taking his eyes off her. Raina laughed and headed up the stairs.
Chapter 54
Raina Days and Mondays
Early the following morning. Dane woke in Raina’s bed and reached alongside him to find her spot vacant. It was five o’clock in the morning and only three hours after they’d gone to bed. It was at least half an hour until sunrise, but by the sounds of the pouring rain that had continued throughout the night, there wouldn’t be any sun. Dane looked across the room and noticed the bathroom door was open and the area beyond it remained dark. Dane turned over in bed and scanned the room. Raina sat on the window seat with her head against the wall and stared into the darkness at the pouring rain. She was miles away in her own thoughts. Dane sat up in bed and scratched his mildly mussed hair.
“Did you get any sleep last night?” he asked.
She didn’t look at him, and her expression didn’t change as she pulled her knees to her chest. “Not really,” Raina gently replied.
“Are you worried about your father being questioned by the police?” he pressed.
“A little,” she replied then shifted uncomfortably. “I hate the rain.”
“I’m not particularly fond of it either,” he announced then lay on his side facing her while propped on his elbow. “If there’s a moment in time that shapes and defines who you are for the rest of your life, mine was the night my grandfather died.”
Raina looked at him as the words left his mouth and felt her heart sink. They stared into each other’s eyes across the dimly lit room a long moment without comment.
Dane shifted beneath the covers then managed a tiny smile. “Your father told you, didn’t he?”
“Yeah,” she replied softly. “I dragged it out of him.” Raina shifted uncomfortably while studying him. “Why did you run away?”
“Don’t you remember what you were like at fifteen?” he teased then frowned. “I’d lost my entire family over the course of a few years. I was angry at the world. I heard your father talking to child services. I knew he wanted me to stay, but I didn’t want anyone feeling sorry for me. I didn’t want the burden of caring about anyone again.”
Raina moved off the window seat and joined him on the bed. She crawled under the covers with him and snuggled against him then met his gaze.
“Where did you go?” she asked delicately. “You were only fifteen.”
“I went home,” he replied and offered a tiny smile. “My parent’s home had been left abandoned. A rickety, old farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. Yes, I’m a farmer’s son. I planted corn, milked the cows, and shoveled shit.”
She managed a tiny laugh trying to imagine him working on a farm. Her look turned serious. “How were you able to survive on your own in the middle of nowhere?” Raina asked with surprise.
“There were still some crops growing. I planted some of my own as well, and my friends would bring me things,” he replied then shrugged while frowning. “Other things I’d steal. A year or so later, my friend’s brother talked about joining the military. I wanted to find a new life, so I followed him.”
Raina stared at him a moment then skeptically raised her brows. “You couldn’t have been eighteen.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “No, I was two months from turning seventeen at the time. I didn’t have a driver’s license or a birth certificate. The recruiter was nice enough to take my word and that of my friend’s brother that I was eighteen.” Dane frowned. “He died during our first tour in Iraq.”
She again felt her heart sink. “You really did lose everything you ever cared about.”
Dane offered a strange smile. “You asked why they called me ‘Great Dane’,” he remarked then raised his brows. “Every unit has that one man willing to sacrifice himself above all others. He’s usually the man with nothing else to lose. He doesn’t worry that he might die, because he has nothing left to live for.”
She stared at him, feeling the horror, but she understood. “You had a death wish,” Raina replied softly.
“There are two types of soldiers who get medals for bravery,” he informed her while raising his brows. “Those who are brave and those who are stupid.” He grinned almost proudly. “I’m the latter.”
“I doubt that,” she affectionately replied and caressed his chest. She then stared at him with concern. “You don’t still have a death wish, do you?”
He eyed her with surprise, grinned, and chuckled in his throat. “Hell, no.” Dane then considered the comment. “Although, you might be disappointed to learn that only changed when I came to work for your father and stepmother. I finally had a family.” He hesitated and raised his brows. “Not that I didn’t have a family in the military, but constantly being vigilant in keeping them alive during life-and-death situations only intensified the risk-taking.”
Raina kissed him affectionately on the lips then touched his face while staring into his eyes. “I realize I wasn’t the nicest person toward you back then,” she informed him. “But despite what you thought, I never tried to get you fired. Maybe after our first clash, but I actually enjoyed fighting with you.” She made a face. “Miller never argued with me. It was quite annoying.”
Dane laughed and pulled her against him while nuzzling her. “Not that I didn’t enjoy our uncivilized behavior toward each other, but I prefer holding your naked body to mine.”
She gently caressed his shoulders and chest while staring into his eyes. “As strange as it sounds; the pouring rain makes me want you more.”
He grinned and brushed his lips past hers. “It is rather romantic.”
Dane kissed her warmly but passionately. She immediately returned the kiss with a little more aggression. Dane groaned, flipped her onto her back, and positioned himself on top of her while kissing her.
§
Just before sunup, Miller thundered down the grand stairs in his bare feet. He had hastily pulled on a pair of pants and was attempting to slip into a white, button shirt on his way down the stairs. He jumped the last few steps and ran to the foyer, scaling the few steps before reaching the double doors. He unlocked and threw open the door. A man walked past the fountain toward the front patio while braving the pouring rain and violent wind.
“Dad,” Miller cried out and stepped onto the patio beneath the covered porch.
Otto had his hands in his pockets and was in no particular hurry up the outer steps. He was already soaked. He groaned as he approached Miller, who eyed him with surprise.
“Why didn’t you call for someone to pick you up at the police station?” Miller demanded. “Did your lawyer drop you off at the bottom of the driveway? What the hell--?”
“He had no choice,” Otto replied and stepped into the foyer while dripping wet.
Miller entered and closed the door behind them. “Why’s that?”
“The bridge is completely flooded,” Otto explained with little patience. “In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s pouring like a bastard out there.”
“Completely flooded?” Miller asked. “Impassable?”
“That’s what completely flooded means, Miller,” Otto grumbled.
“The house phones are down, but why didn’t you call our cell phones?” Miller demanded. “We could have met you at the bottom of the lane. My God, that’s a quarter of a mile trek up the driveway.”
Otto glared demandingly at him. “I did call. I called Titus, Levi, and Dane,” he announced with impatience. “No one answered.” He shook his head while frowning. “Everyone still doped from the earlier drugging? I get Levi not hearing the phone. He can’t hear anything over his own snoring, but why didn’t Titus answer? Why isn’t Dane picking up his cell phone?”
Miller tensed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m guessing Titus turned his off,” Miller remarked then fidgeted. “Dane probably left his phone in his jacket pocket on vibrate again.”
Otto glared at Miller through squinting eyes. “Dane’s never forgotten his phone in his jacket pocket,” he remarked. “And he can hear that thing vibrate a mile away in the middle of the night--even above Levi’s snoring.”
“Maybe he’s in the shower. He’s usually in the kitchen by six,” Miller informed him. “You can yell at him after you’ve showered and changed into some dry clothes.” He then turned enthusiastic. “Why don’t I tell him to bring you an Irish decaf coffee to your room?”
Otto stared at Miller a moment as if attempting to read his expression then waved him off. “Yeah, you do that,” he muttered and sloshed his way up the stairs.
