Montana Desire

Chapter 25

Cori

The sun was setting earlier, but everything still felt bright in my world. I was leaning in to the happiness that being with Grant brought me, and now that I’d made the decision to stay in Garnet Bend no matter what, my whole soul felt lighter.

There was only one dark spot, and that was the Pearson problem. Kevin confirmed that the poison could definitely be used to kill. Not enough people knew to look for it, so it was almost always ruled a death by natural causes.

Convenient, if what you were trying to do was to get money from an insurance company.

Kevin was quietly reaching out to others he knew to see if there was anything we could prove. We had the blood test results, but this wasn’t like dealing with a straightforward crime. The Pearsons had money and power. One blood test wouldn’t be enough.

“Cori?” Jenna called.

“Yeah?”

“Someone here to see you,” she said, stepping into my office.

I had no more appointments left today. “Okay, be right there.”

It was almost time to go home anyway, so I started to wrap things up. Grant wouldn’t have waited out front, and Jenna knew him now. So, it was someone else.

My body froze when I stepped into the waiting room. “Mr. Pearson. This is a surprise.”

He smiled. When he did, he reminded me of Joel. They both had smiles that could charm people when they needed to. “A good one, I hope.”

I looked at Jenna. “You can go. I’ll lock up.”

“You sure?” She looked between Pearson and me. “I can stay.”

“I’m sure. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay.”

We both waited until she’d pushed out of the door before I turned back to him. “I’m shocked to see you in Garnet Bend at all, let alone my clinic. Is everything okay?”

I needed to tread carefully here. My phone was in the office, so I couldn’t text Grant. But it was Mr. Pearson and not Joel. At least there was that. I didn’t think I had anything to fear from him. Not while he didn’t know what I’d done.

He looked around the lobby. “I’ve always been curious about your clinic,” he said. “It looks like it’s in good shape.”

“Thank you.” I wasn’t sure that was a compliment.

“You seem to have a good thing going here. And all the years you’ve taken care of my animals, you’ve done well.”

This time, I didn’t say anything. I could tell he wasn’t done.

“I’d hoped that it would work out between you and my son,” he said with a wan smile. “Free vet care, you know?”

There wasn’t any point in telling him it still wouldn’t have been free.

“I should have seen it coming, that you would figure it out,” he said. “You were so persistent about that damn horse.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, my throat going dry. Now this, this was dangerous territory.

“Don’t you?”

I shook my head, hoping there was a chance he’d believe me.

“Funny.” Mr. Pearson sat in one of the waiting room chairs, looking as comfortable as if he were in his own living room. “Because Kevin Bridges told me you’d run a blood test on Hazelwood. And that you knew I was using coumarin to poison that horse.”

My jaw nearly fell open. He’d admitted to it. Kevin had told him? The betrayal stung. But the Pearsons were legends in the racing world. The reach they had was far and wide. I needed to remember that. “And you’re here to do what?”

“Congratulate you,” he said, giving me a round of applause. “You figured it out. I’m glad, too. Because doing that? Every day? It’s frankly more work than I’m willing to do long-term.”

“Why are you doing it at all?”

He gave me a look. “You’re a smart girl. Surely, you’ve already figured out that all of this has to do with money. But I’m not going to give you ammunition against me either.”

I swallowed. “Then I don’t know why you’re here, Mr. Pearson. You don’t seem bothered by the fact that I know.”

“Bothered?” He chuckled. “I’m ecstatic. Like I said, dosing those horses every day was a lot of effort. Now that you know the truth, you can do it. That’s far easier and preferable.”

Now my jaw did actually drop. “Excuse me?”

“Which part wasn’t clear to you?”

“The part where somehow I’m involved in insurance fraud. If you honestly came here for that, you’re in the wrong place.”

Pearson rolled his eyes. “This is very simple, Cori. I need the money for those horses. And I can’t get that money while they’re still in my stable. You’re the best person to execute—pun intended—this plan. I’ll even cut you in for a percentage of the money. Maybe you can use it to make this place less of a dump.”

I ground my teeth together, not taking the bait. Just a few minutes ago, he’d said it was in good shape. This whole thing was a game to him—one I had no interest in playing. “If you’ll excuse me for a minute.”

“I will not,” he said. “Stay here. I don’t want to have to force you. I don’t want you calling that new boyfriend of yours. He’s not going to know about this visit.”

“And I’m not going to help you murder horses,” I said. “Doing that would go against my oath as a vet, not to mention my morals as a person. And though you clearly already know, what you’re doing is a crime. The very idea that I would ever help you with this is absurd.”

“Is it?” He pulled out his phone and typed something.

Movement in the corner of my eye suddenly had my body frozen in fight-or-flight. The door of the clinic opened, and Joel strode in. Why the hell didn’t I have Jenna lock the door? Now I was in here with the two of them, and I was no longer sure that the elder Pearson had no intention of hurting me.

“Hello, Cori.”

I didn’t move. The odds of me getting to my office and grabbing my phone were slim to none with both of them in here. The only door with a lock was my office, but it wasn’t the kind of lock that would stop someone determined. As I knew Joel could be.

“Why don’t you show Cori what will happen if she doesn’t help us?”

Us. It was an us. Joel was involved in this, too. Of course he was. The further I dug down into who he was, the less impressed—and more terrified—I became.

He came closer, and I fought the impulse to shrink back. The last thing I needed to do right now was show them I was afraid. What would Grant do in this situation?

Probably, he would come crashing in and show them what he thought of them. But I wasn’t him, and there was no way I could fight two men even if I had those kinds of skills. If he were in exactly my position? He’d tell me to stay calm and make sure I got out alive.

Joel brought out his phone, the look on his face one of disgust. “I said before that you were a whore for your perverted tastes, and now I’ve got the proof. I also warned you that you were mine, so consider this part of your punishment. Know that these aren’t the only copies.”

Holding the phone in front of my face, he began to scroll through an album of photos. My stomach plummeted. It was me. In my office. With my hands handcuffed above my head while Grant and I had sex.

If I weren’t being blackmailed with them, I’d say that the photos were hot. You could see the way Grant held me under his command in those photos, and you could also see that I was having the time of my life. No wonder Joel looked so disgusted. There wasn’t ever a time when I’d looked like that during sex with him.

But he’d been there. Watching. Or he’d hired someone to do it. So that private moment was now tainted by knowing we’d been watched.

“If you don’t help,” Mr. Pearson said. “These photos will be released.”

“Not released,” Joel nearly growled. “Plastered. They’ll be printed and put on every bulletin board. Emailed to your friends. To your family. Have fun trying to explain that. Oh, and I’ll tell them all about how you tried to have that same kind of kinky sex with me in the stable.”

My cheeks flamed with mortification and embarrassment. I was overwhelmed by the instinct to hide. And not have any kinds of photos out there. Breathe. I held in the breath and counted to five, releasing the impulse. My friends loved me. My friends didn’t care that I liked kinky sex—some of them already knew it.

“Do it,” I said. “I don’t care. There are worse things than liking bondage in bed, Joel, despite your weird reaction to it. And I don’t think you want to bring up the stable. Unless you really think people will take kindly to the fact that you tried to rape me for revenge.”

“Your word against mine, babe.” His smile was sickening.

Strong. I had to stay strong. “If you think that your word is worth more than mine in this town, you have another thing coming.”

His smile died then. I could feel satisfied that I’d hit my mark later.

“Fine,” Mr. Pearson said. “I told him that wouldn’t work on you. He was convinced you’d cave at the idea of showing your tits to the world, but I always knew you were made of stronger stuff than that.”

“I would like you both to leave my clinic. I will be filing a restraining order against both of you.”

Mr. Pearson stood. “This can’t come as much of a surprise to you, Miss Jackson, but I don’t actually give a fuck about what you’d like. You are going to do this for me, and you’re going to do it gladly.”

I copied his words from earlier. “What part wasn’t clear to you?”

Pearson laughed as he approached me. “You’re spicier than I realized. No wonder this one has been a mess since you dumped him.”

“I didn’t dump him,” I snapped. “He dumped me and nearly became violent. And as previously stated, your precious son tried to rape me on your property. I have enough for an assault charge if I wanted. Now. Get. Out.”

“I have it on good authority that Grant Carter was in Missoula yesterday morning,” he said evenly. “He had an early morning appointment with a Dr. Amanda Keyes, regarding the spinal injury he suffered while serving in the military.”

Chills ran down my spine. “How do you know that?”

“I know lots of things. Someone like me? I have people everywhere.”

“Congratulations,” I whispered. “You’re very impressive.”

“Glad you think so,” he said cheerily. “I didn’t want to have to do this, you know. I hoped that you’d go for our first offering, even though I suspected you wouldn’t. But since you already passed on that, I’ll lay out the second offer.

“Amanda Keyes is an incredibly talented surgeon. And she’s worked hard to get there. But unfortunately, she doesn’t come from a background of wealth like us. There was no way she could ever pay for college and medical school. Especially at one of the elite medical centers. Luckily for her, her father did some work for me.”

My stomach was in knots, dread seeping into my chest. He was so confident that I was terrified. Mr. Pearson was always confident, but he was acting like he’d already won. Which made me wonder if he had.

“There are a great many reasons why it’s convenient to have a surgeon in your debt,” he said. “This is one of them.”

I didn’t want to ask. “This?”

“If you help us, then everything is fine. Grant Carter will schedule his surgery, and chances are, it will go well. Amanda really is talented. Your boyfriend will be whole and pain-free. Congratulations.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Then Mr. Carter will schedule his surgery, and you’d better make sure that you say your goodbyes. Because once he’s put to sleep, I’ll make sure he never wakes up.”