Twin Seduction

“Not such a big leap,” Shay said. “I think we can all make it even without a bionic leg.”

D.C. shot him a grin. “Agreed.”

“We ran into Pearson today,” Cash said. “He seems confident that he’s going to close the deal with Maddie tomorrow night over dinner. So why the attack on Pete?”

“Because if Pete gets wind of the fact that Maddie is selling the ranch, he might blab about the existence of a find of turquoise,” Shay put in.

“And if she knew about the mine, Maddie wouldn’t feel so pressured to sell,” Jordan said.

“She wouldn’t have to sell—especially if the turquoise is of the quality that Pete has been selling her for years,” Cash said.

“The problem is if Pete was attacked so that Maddie would remain under pressure to list the ranch and sell it, why try to kill her? That won’t get her signature on the dotted line.”

“Good point,” Shay said.

“And don’t forget that someone’s trying to kill Maddie in Manhattan,” D.C. put in. “It isn’t just one twin who’s being threatened.”

Shay rocked back on his heels. “The attempts to kill Maddie and Jordan could be unrelated to the sale of the ranch. They could very well have been triggered by the will. It’s an open invitation to murder.”

“Jase would agree with you on that,” D.C. said. “There’s a real possibility that there are two things going on here. We were having a similar discussion in my brother’s office earlier today. On the surface, there seem to be two things going on in New York, too. Jase and his partner are trying to find the connection between Eva’s death and a robbery that occurred at her store about a month ago. And then there are the attempts on Maddie’s life.”

“And Jordan’s. What if it’s one big picture, and we just haven’t found a way to connect your dots yet?” Cash countered.

A man in a white coat with a stethoscope stuffed in his pocket stepped into the room. “Detective Alvarez?”

Shay moved toward him and guided him to where Lea and her mother were sitting. Jordan hurried to take a seat beside Lea and take her hand.

“He’s a strong old man,” the doctor began. “The MRI is clear. The X-ray showed no broken bones other than the ones in the hands. He has a good-size bump on his head, but there’s no sign of a concussion. We’ve medicated him for pain and we’re treating him for shock and exposure.”

“He was unconscious when we first found him,” Jordan said.

The doctor nodded. “The medics who brought him in said he was halfway down a cliff. Since his hands were pretty useless, there’s no telling how long he might have been lying there before you discovered him. With no way down to his horse, no way to get water, it’s not surprising that he was drifting in and out of consciousness. He might have died on that cliff.”

Lea Dashee wrapped her arm around her mother’s shoulders, then turned to Jordan. “You and Cash saved his life.”

Although Jordan had suspected that on some level, hearing the doctor confirm it had her throat drying. What if they hadn’t just ridden out? Their original plan had been to tour the ranch on the day after the jewelry show. Pete might not have lasted that long.

“He’ll be all right?” Lea asked.

“We think so. We’ve given him pain medication and a sedative. If his vital signs remain strong overnight, an orthopedic surgeon will operate on his hands tomorrow morning.”

“Can I talk to him?” Shay asked.

The doctor looked at Shay. “He’s going to be out for a while, and he needs his rest for tomorrow.”

“How about if I stop by before he goes into surgery? We believe he had some help falling off that cliff.”

The doctor considered, then nodded as he rose. “Just as long as you don’t upset him.”

As Shay walked the doctor out, Jordan put her arms around Lea. “You’re staying?”

“My mother and I will both stay.”

“What about the jewelry show?” Jordan asked. “Can I help out in any way?”

Lea managed a smile. “Oh, I’ll be there. My mother will stay with Pete. You should go back to the ranch now. Get some rest. I know you’re going to wow them tomorrow.”

Cash took Jordan’s free hand and drew her to her feet. Quite suddenly, she was exhausted. They were halfway to the door when Lea said, “Maddie.”

It took her a beat, and Lea called out the name a second time before Jordan turned.

“Thank you for saving my grandfather’s life,” Lea said.

Then Jordan let Cash draw her out of the room.

HOURS LATER, Cash stood at the window in Maddie’s bedroom and watched Jordan sleep. She was curled on her side, her hand tucked under her chin. Moments before he’d been lying next to her. The urge to touch her and wake her so that they could make love again was so strong that he’d forced himself to slide out of bed.

She was exhausted—emotionally, physically. He suspected that it wasn’t normal for her. She hadn’t had much sleep since she’d arrived in Santa Fe, and he was partly responsible for that. She’d dropped off on the drive to the ranch and had only roused slightly when he’d carried her into the house.“What?’ she’d asked. Her eyes had been glazed.

“We’re home,” he’d said. “Go back to sleep.”

After laying her on Maddie’s bed, he’d returned to the kitchen to talk briefly with D.C. Jase’s brother had been making himself a sandwich.

“I’d say make yourself at home, but I see you’re already doing that,” he’d said.

“I usually do,” D.C. had replied around a mouthful of food. “They don’t feed you on airplanes anymore. Probably just as well.”

“When you’re done, turn left in the hall. You can take the room at the end.”

“You’ll be with Jordan, I take it.”

Cash hooked his thumbs in the front pockets of his jeans. “You have any objection to that?”

D.C.’s eyes had been steady on his. “Just don’t hurt her.”

“I’m going to do my best not to. You can pass on the same warning to your big brother with regard to Maddie.”

Two beats had gone by before D.C. had given him a brief nod. “Fair enough.” Then he took another bite of sandwich. “Got any beer?”

“There’s another refrigerator in the pantry.”

“Thanks. You can go along to bed if you want. I may be up for a while unwinding. Plane trips rev me up for some reason.”

As D.C. turned and made his way to the pantry, Cash said, “I don’t like playing a waiting game. I’d like to figure out a way to take a more proactive role in this.”

D.C. had turned and grinned at him. “You’re a man after my own heart. You think this Pearson’s behind the vandalism?”

“I do. And he might very well have attacked Pete.”

“There might be a way to get him to reveal himself…I’ll sleep on it.”

“Me, too.”

Then he’d left D.C. to his foraging.

Jordan stirred and then settled again. Cash hadn’t slept on it yet, but he’d given it some thought. All he’d come up with was to get Pearson alone and beat the truth out of him. It was hard to think of anyone or anything but Jordan when she was in the same bed with him.

Even now she pulled at his thoughts. The hand resting on her thigh appeared delicate—even more so than Maddie’s. But it wasn’t. He’d seen the way she’d handled Brutus and felt the strength of those slender fingers on his skin.

He let his gaze drift to her face—that so familiar face. It too looked delicate, fragile, sensitive. It was all of those. She was all of those. But beneath all that, she had a strength of purpose and a generous heart. He’d watched her with Pete and with his family. If Lea and her mother hadn’t said they were going to stay the night with the old man, Jordan would have insisted on keeping him company.

He’d nearly lost her. The thought frightened him, infuriated him. The impulse filled him again—to take her away somewhere safe. To lift her onto his horse and ride off into the sunset with her, just as if they were characters in one of those Western movies she was so fond of.

But they weren’t. And they couldn’t run away from reality—not while she was being stalked by a killer.

Without looking, he could tell the sky was beginning to lighten behind him. And he sensed deep in his gut that time was going to run out on them. He thought of Maddie in New York. The attacks on both the twins had escalated. He didn’t have to be a security expert or a police detective or even an army MP to know that their would-be killer was getting desperate. And while desperate people could make mistakes, they also could get lucky.

Jordan stirred again, and this time her eyes opened. He watched her run one hand over the space in the bed where he’d been. “Cash?”

“Right here.” He moved to the side of the bed.

“I thought you’d gone.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” He slid in beside her.

Her arms curled around him as she settled her body against his. “Is it time to get up?”

“Not yet.” He pulled her closer. “Go back to sleep.”