Page 37 of Dusty
“Let me get this straight. You found Sharon in San Antonio, after Tara and her team had found her in that little town, what was it again?”
“Shiloh Springs,” Lennox sputtered out.
“Ah, yes, Shiloh Springs. Yet, you found her in San Antonio. How fortuitous. I won’t question your methods since they yielded results, but let’s continue. You missed your opportunity to bring Sharon back from San Antonio, and thisman,” Cooper practically spat out the last word, “not only helped Sharon elude you, but managed to get away.”
“I put a tracker on his pickup, so we knew where they were. They managed to get about a half hour ahead of us, but we found them quick enough.” He sounded like an eager puppy, seeking his master’s approval, and Sharon wanted to tell Cooper exactly how they’d managed to catch up with them. She might later, if she needed to distract attention from her. She’d have no trouble throwing Lennox under the bus.
“I see. My question is, why did you leave this man alive? Is he not a witness to you taking Sharon from the barn against her will? Some people might consider that kidnapping, Troy. Yet younot only left him alive, to testify against you, but you don’t have my evidence!”
Sharon cringed at the vehemence in Cooper’s words, the way his voice had raised at the last few words. In all the years she’d known him, she’d never heard or seen him lose his composure, but now she was seeing a whole new side of the man she’d been engaged to.
“I’ll fix it, boss. He’s a dead man.” Troy raced from the room, his hand going straight to his pocket. Sharon knew he was going to call someone who’d go after Dusty.
“I’m afraid I’ve been a terrible host. Can I get you something to drink?”
She stared at Cooper, wondering if he’d lost his mind. He’d just ordered the murder of the man she loved, and he was asking her if she wanted a drink?
“No.”
Lennox returned to the study, sliding his phone into his jacket pocket. “It’s done. Found out he’s a sheriff’s deputy, so we need to eliminate him. Can’t discredit his testimony, that’s for sure. Our contacts will be watching for this deputy, if he’s still alive. I hit him pretty hard. If he heads back to Shiloh Springs, we’ll have him. Flights from Texas are delayed due to the weather, but we’ll have men at O’Hare and Midway just in case.”
Sharon’s heart sank. Dusty would come for her—foolish, brave Dusty—flying straight into a trap. She had to think quickly, figure out a way to stall until she could come up with a plan, one that would save his life.
“Cooper,” she said, softening her voice, shifting strategies as her mind raced. “This doesn’t have to end badly. Remember when we used to talk about Christmas in Aspen? The plans we made?”
Cooper’s eyes narrowed, but she caught a flicker of something—nostalgia, perhaps—in their depths. “Trying to manipulate me now, Sharon? That’s beneath you.”
“Not manipulation,” she said, taking a calculated risk by standing and stepping closer to him. “Remembering what we had. Before all this got so…complicated.” She gestured vaguely at the gun in his hand, still aimed loosely in her direction. “How about we have dinner? Talk like civilized people. For old times’ sake.” She gave him a sad smile. “The least you can do is give me a good meal if it’s to be my last.”
Cooper studied her for a long moment, his expression unreadable. “You think I’m a fool? That I’d fall for this transparent attempt to buy time?”
“I think you’re a businessman,” Sharon replied carefully. “And businessmen understand negotiation. I have something you want. You have my life in your hands. We both know how this ends if we can’t come to terms.”
Troy Lennox shifted uncomfortably. “Boss, we should handle this quickly. We don’t know who else might be—”
“Shut up, Troy,” Cooper snapped, his eyes never leaving Sharon’s face. “The deputy is a problem for later. Tonight…” He paused, something calculating in his gaze. “Tonight, we’ll have dinner. For old times’ sake.”
Sharon forced a smile, though her insides twisted with dread. “Just like we used to.”
Cooper nodded to Lennox. “Have Maria set the dining room table. The formal service. And keep two men at every entrance. If she tries anything…” He didn’t need to finish the threat.
Lennox appeared ready to protest but thought better of it, exiting with a curt nod.
“You’re stalling,” Cooper said again once they were alone, sliding the gun into his jacket. “But I’m curious to see how faryou’ll take this charade. And I’ve always enjoyed seeing you in evening wear.”
Sharon swallowed her disgust. “In that case, I’ll need to freshen up.” Oh, how she wished Lennox hadn’t found the burner phone in her pocket when they got to the airport. Her heart ached, not knowing if Dusty was still alive.
“Of course,” Cooper gestured toward the door. “Your things are still in the guest suite. I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of them.” His smile turned predatory. “I always knew you’d come home.”
As a maid escorted her upstairs, Sharon’s mind whirled with desperate plans. She thought of Dusty, battling weather and distance to reach her, unaware of the welcome his arrival would receive. She thought of the evidence safely hidden where Cooper would never find it. Troy’s men had groused when they’d been unable to find it, even after tearing apart the barn. Guess they hadn’t looked that hard after all. Dusty would know what to do with it. He’d make sure Antonio got the evidence to the right people—people who weren’t in Cooper’s pocket.
In the guest suite—decorated for Christmas with the same tasteful, expensive touches as the rest of the mansion—Sharon found her old clothes, the few she’d left there from times she’d stayed over, exactly where she’d left them when she’d gone on the run. It was as if Cooper had preserved her life in amber, waiting for her return.
Her hand trembled as she opened her jewelry box. Everything was there: the diamond earrings he’d given her for their first anniversary, the sapphire necklace from Paris. Symbols of a gilded cage she’d once mistaken for love. An engagement that was a farce, a charade played out for the public.
At the back of the drawer, her fingers found something else—a small penknife she’d kept from their camping trip inMontana. Cooper had laughed at her then, calling her “his little survivalist.” He’d forgotten about her keeping it. But she hadn’t.
Sharon concealed the knife in the bust of her evening gown, heart hammering as she applied makeup to cover the reddening mark on her cheek. In the mirror, she saw not the terrified woman she felt like, but someone with steel in her eyes.
