Endangered Heiress Read online

  Hudson was in the kitchen, leaning against the granite counter with a mug of coffee in his hand. “Ready?”

  She glanced around on the countertop. “As soon as I find my keys I’ll be out of your hair.”

  “You mean these?” He pulled a set from out of his pocket and twirled them around the finger of his free hand.

  She made a move toward him but he captured them in his palm, took a big sip of coffee and started toward the garage.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “Coming with you.” He cracked an infuriating smile.

  “I didn’t invite you.”

  “Yes, you did. At the Butlers’ house and, besides, you made a good point.” His intense brown eyes drew her in.

  “And what was that?”

  “It’s not safe here anymore,” he said. “We’ll stay at the Butlers’ until I can secure the ranch.”

  “What about Bullseye and the other horses?” she asked, her heart betraying her with a little flip at the thought of him coming with her.

  “Let me worry about them.” He opened the door.

  “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

  His strong facade broke for an instant and he looked tired. “I don’t know what’s going on between us. Or maybe I’m not that stupid and I do. I’m not ready to put words to what we have but you in my bed is the first time I’ve slept in longer than I can remember and I don’t want you to go. It’s not safe here and I get that, so I’m coming with you.”

  “I don’t need you there. I’ll have plenty of security,” she said.

  “True, but will you have this?” He ate up the real estate between them in two strides, placed his hand on her hip and pulled her toward him until their lips fused together. The earth shifted underneath her feet as a flame engulfed her in two seconds flat, catching her off guard.

  She was breathless by the time he pulled back and she could see that he was, too.

  “It’s the damnedest thing, isn’t it?” His face broke into a brilliant show of straight white teeth.

  Madelyn couldn’t help herself. She smiled, too.

  He held out his hand. “Ready?”

  The battle between what her heart wanted and her mind warned against raged. She took in a sharp breath. “We’re back at ground zero. You haven’t told me anything about your past and I still don’t know who you are.”

  “I will,” he said with earnest eyes. “All I need to know is if that’s good enough for now.”

  Tentatively, she took the hand he was offering. All logic said she should make him give her something more.

  Her heart took over as he pressed a kiss to her lips. This time, the brush was so gentle and yet lit so many fires inside her.

  And she was powerless against it. She hoped that didn’t come back and burn her.

  * * *

  PULLING INTO THE Butler estate, Madelyn immediately noticed a deputy’s SUV parked out front and her heart sank.

  “I wonder what that’s about.” Her first thought was that something else had happened on the ranch and she immediately second-guessed her decision to come. Was anywhere safe anymore?

  “Let’s find out.” Hudson parked and they walked to the front door hand in hand.

  It took a couple of minutes for someone to answer. It was Ella Butler and the look on her face dropped Madelyn’s heart to her toes.

  “Come in.” Ella ushered them inside.

  Madelyn followed Ella into the same dining room they’d been in yesterday.

  Ed Staples immediately stepped forward. “You’re going to hear something disturbing, but I assure you no one here knows what’s happening.”

  Madelyn noticed that Hudson had positioned himself between her and the rest of the Butlers. Everyone was standing and Deputy Harley nodded toward her.

  “What is it? What’s going on?” Madelyn asked.

  The deputy angled his body in her direction. “We found traces of lipstick markings on the bathroom mirror where you said someone had written a note. Forensics returned the sample and we were able to identify a brand. It’s an expensive lipstick, not something many folks around here would know about or be able to afford. So, the sheriff thought it might be a good idea to come here and ask if anyone knew anything about Rat-tat Red.”

  He looked to her.

  “Never heard of it in my life,” she said.

  “Neither had any of us, but then we discovered the brand is from Paris and there’s only one family in town who would have the kind of money to buy Rat-tat Red lipstick in France, so we stopped by to inquire if there’d been a burglary,” he continued.

  “And we said that there hasn’t been one that we know of.” Ella was wringing her hands together.

  The deputy agreed with her admission. “And that presents a problem for us because when we looked in Cadence Butler’s cosmetic drawer, you can guess what we found.”

  “Rat-tat Red,” Madelyn said.

  “That’s right. So, if there wasn’t a burglary, that means someone with access to her cosmetics wrote that on your mirror.” The deputy stood, feet apart, in an athletic stance.

  “My sister wasn’t even here. She’s sick and she’s been gone.” And then it seemed to dawn on Ella. “When did this happen?”

  “Three days ago between the hours of 3:00 and 5:00 p.m.,” the deputy responded.

  Ella sat down at the table, looking a little lost. “She was here during that window but there’s no way she would...”

  “Do you know Trent Buford?” Madelyn asked.

  Ella’s forehead scrunched. “No.”

  “Your sister might,” Madelyn said, looking to Hudson. He nodded. “Seems convenient that Cadence left when she did.”

  Hudson clasped his hands. “She would have to be working with someone else to pull this off.”

  “He works at the motel. Doesn’t seem like they’d run in the same circles,” Madelyn said.

  “They could be linked by Kelsey,” he said.

  Ella grunted. “That name sounds familiar.”

  “Where is Cadence now?” the deputy asked Ella. “I’ll need to speak to her in order to establish a connection.”

  Madelyn looked at everyone differently now. The few tentative strands of trust had snapped the minute the lipstick was traced to this house.

  “I’m not sure,” Ella admitted, “but I can call her.” She was already looking for her cell.

  Dade leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “Looking at this from your perspective, I can see how damaging this seems. We aren’t the kind of people who would do something like this. No one is more upset than we are to find this out, and I’m certain my sister isn’t involved.”

  “We’ll get to the bottom of this,” Dalton agreed.

  Madelyn would reserve judgment for the time being. The twins seemed sincere and Ella appeared distraught.

  “She’s not picking up,” Ella said, ending the call. She made a face as she fired off a text. “I just can’t imagine that she would be involved in something like this.”

  “Who else has access to the bedrooms?” the deputy asked.

  “May, our housekeeper, but I’d trust her with my life,” Ella said, and the twins were nodding.

  “We limit people from coming and going ever since our dad was killed and Ella was targeted,” Dade said.

  Which narrowed down the suspect list to the people in the room and the missing sister.

  Madelyn turned to Hudson. “Let’s go.”

  “Don’t,” Ella pleaded. “At least not until we can clear this up. This is crazy and I don’t want you to leave thinking that we’re some lunatic family. We’re actually pretty decent people, and although we haven’t been the most welcoming, we want you to know that we’ll adjust. Whether you turn out to be our sister or not, our father wanted you to be
part of this family, and we haven’t been good at respecting his wishes.”

  “I’d hate for any of you to put yourself out,” Madelyn shot back, leading with her emotions. She reminded herself that staying objective was how a good reporter uncovered the truth. Living that axiom was so much harder when it came to her life.

  “What she means is that we’re actually a nice bunch who look out for each other,” Dade interjected. “Our relationship with our father was complicated.”

  Ed stepped in front of the French doors. “I was hoping to do this with the entire family in the room, but since that seems impossible with—” he glanced at the deputy “—the current...situation, I think this might be as good a time as we’ll get. The DNA test results came back.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “And?” Madelyn didn’t want to admit how much she needed the confirmation. She already had proof from Charles. He’d told her that she wasn’t his and yet her logical mind needed this evidence. Her hand came up to her dragonfly necklace, fingering the details.

  “You’re a Butler, Madelyn.”

  There was something primal about needing to know something so basic, something that most people took for granted, which was where they came from. Knowing who her parents were.

  “And as I was going through more of your father’s things this afternoon, I found this.” He handed over another envelope.

  She stared at it like it was a bomb, remembering how much her life had changed when he’d done this before.

  “It won’t bite. I promise,” Ed said softly, urging her to take the offering.

  She did and she pulled out the first item, a picture of her about to dive into the water. She remembered that city meet like it was yesterday. “This was senior year. I won that race with a record-setting time. But who took this?”

  “I didn’t,” Ed said. “I believe it was your father.”

  She dumped a few similar pictures out onto her hand and it was like taking a trip back into the past. Photos of various swim meets, most likely taken with a telephoto lens. There were papers, too. Letters from coaches at various top colleges.

  “He’s the one who made sure I got into a good college, isn’t he?” she asked Ed. “It all makes sense now. And being inducted into the school’s hall of fame. The donation didn’t come from alumni. It was him.”

  “Seems like he was very proud of your accomplishments, Miss Kensington.” Ed had that same fatherly pride she’d heard in her own father’s voice when she’d told him about the ceremony.

  A hot tear streaked her cheek.

  “Sounds about right,” Dade muttered under his breath, and it seemed Charles wasn’t the only father who wasn’t stellar about sharing emotions.

  Madelyn turned her back to everyone and studied the contents of the envelope, not wanting anyone to see just how sensitive she was. There were pictures of her over the years and something she treasured even more, photos of her mother.

  Hudson moved behind her and brought his hands to her shoulders, bringing warmth to her tense muscles. It caught her off guard that Mike Butler being proud of her made her emotional.

  Had Cadence Butler discovered this? Been jealous? It was convenient timing that she had the flu and was out of town. Had she set all this up to spook Madelyn? To get her out of the way?

  Or was someone else trying to protect the family?

  So much more made sense about her swimming scholarship that had landed almost out of the blue. Even her coach had seemed surprised and she’d known that he’d been holding something back when he’d delivered the news. Mike, her father—and that still seemed too weird to acknowledge—had obviously set everything up. If his right-hand person, Ed Staples, didn’t know about it then he must’ve done it himself, and that meant more to her than she should allow.

  “I think we should go,” she said, feeling suddenly awkward in the house, tucking the envelope along with its contents into her purse.

  “Please, stay for a little while. At least until we hear back from my sister,” Ella said, motioning toward the dining chair.

  Madelyn wanted answers. Staying, spending time with the Butlers would give her a chance to get to know them better. And there was another pull to the ranch that she wasn’t ready to analyze but it made her feel closer to her mother.

  Half an hour later, Ella’s phone rang. She glanced at the screen. “It’s my sister.”

  The deputy had already left to continue his investigation elsewhere, promising to follow up on all leads. He’d also asked to be notified when Cadence checked in and said he’d be trying to find her on his own. Everyone was clear that she needed to report to the sheriff’s office immediately.

  “Where are you?” Ella immediately asked.

  “Put the call on speaker,” Dade said, no room for argument in his tone. Did he suspect his baby sister of foul play?

  “Oh, right, sorry,” Ella said. She moved the cell away from her ear and did as he’d asked.

  “What’s going on, Cadence?” Dade asked with authority. He would’ve made a great law-enforcement officer.

  “Nothing,” she said, and there was more than a hint of defensiveness in her tone.

  “Don’t mess around. This is serious.” Impatience edged his tone. “If you did something to Madelyn Kensington you need to speak up because the sheriff’s office is involved and there are real consequences.”

  “What are you talking about? You’re going to have to fill me in because I have no idea,” Cadence said with a shaky voice that quickly recovered.

  “Tell us what you know about Madelyn.” He glanced up at her and she didn’t know him well enough to figure out what he was thinking.

  “I have no idea who that is,” Cadence said, but the tremble to her voice said otherwise. Or maybe she really was still sick like they’d said before. She definitely sounded off to Madelyn. But then, maybe she was just reading too much into the situation. It was impossible to stay objective when she was this close to the story.

  “Sounds like you might,” Dade said, and she appreciated his honesty and directness. He certainly wasn’t pulling any punches now even though he’d defended his sister fervently before new evidence came to light. “Like I said before, if you know anything about what’s going on with Madelyn Kensington—” she noticed he stopped short of calling her their sister, but then she realized that he might be trying to trip Cadence up “—you need to speak up now or face the very real possibility of spending time in jail. Dad isn’t here to bail you out this time.”

  His words were harsh and his stare intent. Even Ella seemed to feel like he’d gone too far when she shot him a look.

  Madelyn looked to Hudson, who stood strong and silent beside her. He stared at the travertine floor intently, expectantly. She thought about his background, his former employment with Houston PD. From what she could see so far, he would’ve been great at his job. Missing the action was most likely the reason he’d been so eager to help before. Don’t get her wrong, ranching life seemed to suit him, but the pace was much slower and there were no adrenaline rushes. Most of the cops she’d known needed them in order to feel alive.

  “I already said I don’t know her,” Cadence said, but there was real fear in her voice now.

  “Cadence, who’s Trent?”

  The line went dead quiet.

  “You should come home,” Ella said. “Now.”

  “I’ll be on the next flight,” she said.

  “How long will that take?” Ella asked.

  “Hold on.” The sounds of fingers on a laptop came through. “I can be home tonight.”

  “That’s too late,” Dade said. “We’ll send a pilot to pick you up now.”

  Cadence issued a harsh sigh. “I’m at the lake house in Boulder Mountain. There are fires, so the private airstrip is closed.”

  Dade didn’t seem impressed with the n
ews. “I’ll arrange for an earlier flight out of Denver airport. Can you get there within the hour?”

  “That should work.” She sounded resigned.

  “We’ll see you this afternoon,” he said.

  Ella ended the call.

  Hudson’s hand was on Madelyn’s elbow now as he squeezed. She guessed that he had something to say that he didn’t want the others to hear.

  “Okay if we take a walk?” Madelyn asked, looking to the concerned eldest Butler.

  “Of course,” Ella said.

  Madelyn walked out with Hudson close on her heels. Whatever he needed to say seemed urgent.

  * * *

  HUDSON FELT LIKE he had a pretty good read on the twins and Ella. All three of them were innocent.

  “I don’t trust Cadence,” he said to Madelyn after making sure they’d walked out of earshot. He glanced behind them, checking to ensure no one had followed. Until they had definitive proof none of the Butlers were involved, they needed to watch their backs. “She’s either hiding or covering.”

  “I got the same impression but I’m curious what makes you think that,” Madelyn said, eyeing him carefully.

  He hadn’t given her much to go on or trust him and she’d shown that she was willing to give him leeway. Thinking about the past, let alone talking about it, had been something he’d been avoiding. Normally, when he thought about it a heavy curtain dropped around his shoulders.

  This time was different.

  “You already know that I used to be a cop in Houston,” he admitted and discovered it wasn’t horrible to talk about.

  “Most cops I’ve met would never leave the job.” She folded her arms like she was readying herself for the wall that would come up between them. She was a quick learner and he regretted the times he’d done that when he should’ve forged ahead into uncomfortable territory and talked. “What made you?”

  A mix of emotion swirled through Hudson, bubbling to the surface. Talking could make everything a whole lot worse, although his situation—he hadn’t really been able to sleep until this beauty had come into his life—didn’t seem like it could get much worse.