What other choices could she have made other than leaving the County as Wayne Sorenson had attempted to ensure she did?
"Anna, you have the right to be safe," he retorted with that arrogant determination that turned her on even when it shouldn"t.
"Not according to my family," she said roughly. "They showed I only had the right to be sent away, to be kept alone." A bitter laugh pa.s.sed her lips. "I guess I had to be isolated for everyone else"s protection."
And that was exactly how it felt.
"Why haven"t they found Wayne yet?" Anna asked as they drew closer to the main ranch house, the nerves in her voice clearer now.
Archer inhaled slowly. "I don"t know. He didn"t have plans to leave town though, that much I know."
"How do you know?" Her fingers tightened on his as the truck rounded a curve and the two-story ranch house came into view.
"He had scheduled several meetings today and tomorrow, one of which was with his stockbroker who had flown in from New York and arrived at the hotel this morning. He was cashing in some of his stocks and having them routed to an account in the Caymans to cover an account he had routed from Aspen."
"He was getting ready to do something then," she mused. "Any idea what?"
"You turn twenty-five soon." He shrugged. "He was allowing you to live for that reason alone, according to him. Whatever his plans were, he knew he would need cash."
At one time, the Barons, including the Callahans, had discussed merging their properties and turning them into a vacation resort along the lines of the Callahans" plans. It was the Callahan Ranch that was pivotal in that plan, though.
Archer"s father had mentioned it to him when he was a teenager, how they had all discussed the plans with Randal and made him the offer to enter the partnership so they could show one non-landowner in the deal. That would have given them an edge at the time with several organizations who gave favoritism to tourism businesses with partners who owned no land, nor held large amounts of money.
Then JR Callahan had become ill, his wife"s family had threatened to disown her if she didn"t stop working herself to the bone to save a ranch that was going broke, and her infant had, everyone believed at the time, died.
Those plans had just drifted away. Then just when it looked as though everything would come together again, JR and Eileen had died in that blizzard, going over the same cliff their sons and daughters-in-laws had gone over years later.
The coincidence, as his father had stated more than once over the years, was too much to believe. Too many deaths, especially those attributed to the Slasher, were tied together, and it had haunted him.
Just as it had haunted Archer.
Now that the threads were finally coming together, it was beginning to make sense, and realizing exactly how far back the bitter hatred and greed had gone shocked him.
Nine generations were far too many for such secrets to have been buried, and for one family to torture and torment four others without being identified. Ivan had finally tied Wayne Sorenson as a direct descendant to Clavern Mulrooney, the pirate father known only as the Raider.
But he"d also identified another family, one far more secretive than even the Mulrooneys, and much, much smarter at hiding.
With Clavern Mulrooney and his son Blood, the pirate"s first mate and boyhood friend, Edward Bosworth the third, the son of a t.i.tled family and closely related to the English throne.
He"d been a serial killer. He and Clavern had preyed upon not just the settlements of Colorado Springs and Aspen, but also the Native American tribes in the area.
All women. All whose reputations were those of witches, prost.i.tutes, adulteresses; all women who, at the time, had broken some of society"s most sacred taboos.
The Bosworth name had not shown up again. The tie to the throne had never been given a surname that had been proven, and the first mate"s family had drifted into the shadows of time.
Archer dragged himself from the past as the main yard came into view.
Situated at the end of the small valley with the mountain rising around it on three sides, several barns and pristine outbuildings scattered in the general area, the ranch had the appearance, almost, of a small town.
Glancing over at her, Archer caught her expression before she turned her head to stare over at the waterfall that fell from a steep cliff behind the house. It cascaded gently to the fast-running stream that ran through the valley.
Corbin County was one of the wildest and most beautiful areas in the state, he often swore. h.e.l.l, the world as far as he was concerned. And the four ranches that had once dominated it held the majority of that beauty.
Pulling into the graveled drive in front of the ranch house, Archer gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
"I should have known before it ever came to this." Her voice suddenly filled with dread as she stared at the house. "If they had wanted to explain anything, Archer, they would have come to the house yesterday. They would have sought me out."
"This is your call, Anna," he stated, the gentleness in his voice tightening her chest further as she fought against the fears rising inside her. "We can leave."
She was a grown woman, yet she felt nine again, realizing her family really wasn"t going to let her come home.
"He told you that night at the house that once you learned the ident.i.ty of the Slasher, then they would tell you everything," she said, lifting her gaze to him as she fought against the fear that they would throw her out before she had the chance to ask the first question.
"You won"t know until you try, Anna." Lifting his hand, he ran the backs of his fingers over her cheek, warming her chilled flesh. "We can turn around and leave now, or we can go to that door and demand the answers you deserve. The worst they can do is not answer the door."
She nodded slowly. He was right. That was the worst they could do, and Crowe had faced so much worse over the years.
She had been the treasured, coddled princess until she refused to obey the demands a madman had forced them to make. She deserved to know why they hadn"t trusted her with the truth, and with the knowledge of who she was. "Thank you, Archer." She blinked back her tears.
"Anytime, sweet pea," he promised, his voice stroking her senses with the tenderness his eyes reflected. "Anytime."
And nothing more.
Dropping his hand, he exited the vehicle before moving to the pa.s.senger side and helping her out as Anna fought to restrain the disappointment tearing through her.
After his desperation and determination to hold her to him since Amory had taken her, Anna was certain he would eventually tell her he loved her. That he surely would have done it by now.
"You do know I"m capable of getting out on my own," she reminded him.
"My momma was alive long enough to teach me some manners." He snorted as he closed her door, twined his fingers with hers once again, and led her to the house.
Anna could feel her heart racing as she stepped up to the porch, remembering those years as a child when she had played on the rough, natural stone, the evenings she had sat in the large swing with her father as he sang to her.
Straightening her shoulders, Anna stepped across the porch, lifted her hand, and pressed the doorbell twice.
She didn"t have to wait long, but she was rather surprised when her grandfather answered the door rather than the butler who had been with their family for years. "What"s going on, Archer?" As her grandfather"s gaze flickered to her, she saw the soul-deep pain that filled them and felt her throat tightening in agony "d.a.m.n, Grandfather, you can"t even acknowledge my presence?" Aching, so hungry for this man"s notice that she was ready to beg for it, Anna used mockery to shield it.
Acknowledging that hunger was one thing, showing it was another.
Her grandfather"s jaw clenched as a spasm of such agony crossed his face that Anna couldn"t hold back a slight sob.
"John, we"ve identified your problem," Archer told him quietly. "But Anna"s known what"s going on since the night you were in my study with your friends. She heard it all as she stood outside the door."
Her grandfather gripped the door frame quickly, paling as his gaze shot to hers.
"Tell me, Grandfather," she said painfully. "Would my mother understand what you"ve done to her daughter?"
"What?" He swallowed tightly, shaking his head as he turned back to Archer and Anna felt her heart breaking, for her as well as this man who had helped raise her for so many years. "What happened?"
"You haven"t heard about Anna"s abduction by the Slasher last night?" Archer asked then.
If John could have paled further, then he would have. For a second he seemed to sway on his feet, his fists clenching spasmodically at his sides as he seemed to fight to get control of himself.
His gaze turned to Anna.
"I didn"t know," he wheezed. "Oh G.o.d, Anna, I didn"t know." Then fear seemed to flash in his eyes as he turned back to Archer again. "You know the ident.i.ty of the Slasher then?"
Archer breathed in roughly. "It was Wayne Sorenson, John," he told him quietly. "He was your blackmailer as well as Amory"s partner."
"No." Her grandfather gave his head a quick shake. "He"s Robert"s best friend." He turned to Anna. "Amelia"s father. He helped-" He broke off quickly, as though what he had been about to say was something she couldn"t hear.
Oh G.o.d, what secrets was her family hiding? What had happened that could be worse than what she already knew?"
"Helped with what, Grandfather?" she asked. "What did he help do? Hide the proof that my parents were murdered? Or hide the proof that the daughter David and Kimberly Callahan had had three weeks before their death hadn"t died with them after all?"
CHAPTER 24.
John gave his head a hard shake, as though unable to believe the words had come from her lips.
Her grandfather"s gaze was tortured as it met hers, years of pain, fear, and decisions that broke all their hearts filling his eyes.
"You better come in." Her grandfather stood back then, his hand shaking as he shoved it into the pocket of his slacks and hung onto the door with the other. "We were all on the back patio."
"No one told you Anna had been abducted last night?" Archer questioned him again as they followed him through the house.
"No one," he answered, his voice hollow. "But then, we were out of the house most of the night and into this morning. Some of the fences went down near the interstate, and we had cattle trying to play speed b.u.mps for the cars. It was a h.e.l.l of a mess. We were all out until dawn."
That explained why they hadn"t at least called to see if she was okay, Anna tried to tell herself.
Stepping onto the patio, she stood still, silent as her parents and gran"ma stood from their seats around the ceramic top table and stared back at her, their eyes holding an edge of desperation.
Archer"s hand settled at the small of her back, his fingers subtly caressing as she drew in a long, slow breath. "Last night, Amory Wyatt and Wayne Sorenson had me abducted from Archer"s house," she stated.
"Oh G.o.d. No," her mother said, her hands covering her face as Anna found herself battling her tears once again.
"I listened as someone other than those I loved told me how another couple gave birth to me. Wayne was quite triumphant that he had ensured I was no part of my family, not part of any family really, since I was nine, and that by abducting me he would ensure I would leave and be out of the county when I turned twenty-five." A tear slipped down her face. "Why didn"t you just tell me?" Her gaze centered on her mother. "I haven"t always been a child, but I"ve always begged to come home, to be a part of this family. Why couldn"t you just tell me the truth and at least allow me the knowledge that you loved me? That you weren"t ashamed of me or just indifferent? Why?"
"Anna." Her mother came to her feet, her face lined with sorrow and with guilt. "There"s so much you don"t understand, so much that would be impossible to explain."
Her father rose from his chair more slowly, his expression heavy.
Everyone now seemed frozen, as though they didn"t know what to say, or what to do.
Archer stepped closer to her.
"My deputies have found irrefutable proof that Wayne"s has been blackmailing the Corbin, Rafferty, and Ramsey families for the murders of JR and Eileen Callahan, also their sons and daughters-in-law"s, Benjamin and Ann Callahan, Samuel and Mina Callahan, and David and Kimberly Callahan, that he committed."
Everyone seemed to be waiting.
"There was also proof of Clyde Ramsey"s murder and a cowboy, Dale Layden. It seemed Clyde and my father were working together for a number of years to find proof that Wayne had committed the murders. Dale was JR and Eileen Callahan"s workhand just before they were killed. He saw Wayne loading their bodies into JR"s ranch truck and driving off with them just before the blizzard. He followed on horseback and witnessed him sending the truck over that cliff. Unfortunately, Wayne saw him as well. Knowing Wayne"s father was a judge in the County, rather than telling anyone what he saw, Dale ran. Clyde tracked him down but somehow Wayne learned of the meeting and followed him. After Clyde left, Wayne killed him. He then came out to the Ramsey Ranch and killed Clyde out in the field before rigging the tractor accident."
"My G.o.d." Her grandfather sat down in the large easy chair that had always been his favorite, his hands shaking. "But why?" He stared back at Archer, his gaze beseeching.
Taking a seat as well and watching as Robert and Lisa Corbin, the couple Anna believed were her parents for so long, take their seats, Archer began.
He had explained this part to her as they dressed, and she still had problems believing the story.
"Do you recognize the surname Mulrooney?" Archer asked.
Her grandfather frowned. "There was a story of a Mulrooney claiming the land when our ancestors bought it from the state," John said, confused.
"Same family." Archer nodded. "Wayne"s a direct descendant. He needed control of the Callahan property to find and claim the treasure those early Mulrooneys were rumored to have hidden on Callahan lands. He abducted Anna to force her to leave out of fear until he could make use of her when she turned twenty-five and could take possession of her part of the estate."
"There"s no treasure. It"s a rumor, nothing more." Her grandfather stared back at her, his eyes filled with a desperate pain. "It was just a rumor, Anna. There"s nothing anyone could gain from all this."
"It"s a rumor the Mulrooney family has always believed." Archer sighed. "We found generations of journals in Wayne"s home, detailing the search for that treasure and early efforts to drive the Callahans out of the area and make the other Barons pay for their supposed parts in the loss of the treasure. Investigators are still going through the journals but it appears there are generations of them."
The family sat still and silent. Her mother"s head was lowered, her hands covering her face, refusing to look at her.
Then the woman Anna had always called Mother lifted her face and Anna"s breath caught at the pain and tears that filled it.
"The night your mother died, my newborn daughter died," she told her tearfully. "Your grandfather flew out to California." Her breathing hitched with a ragged sob. "He flew out, gathered us all together, and told us what happened, and how he had to protect Kimberly"s child. He looked at me." She laid her hand on her heart, her lips trembling. "Lisa," he said. "That sweet baby girl we"ve all waited for you to have is gone." She sobbed. "But her death could save Sarah Ann"s life. You could save her, he said."
She could barely talk now the pain was so thick, the memories so ragged.
"I had you with me," her grandfather stated as Anna held onto Archer"s hand like a lifeline, her tears falling along with her mother"s-no, the woman she had called mother. "I begged her," he admitted. "Me and your gran"momma, we begged. Within hours we flew home. When we landed, Lisa carried you and I slipped her beautiful baby girl to the M.E."s office where the coroner and Archer"s father were waiting on me. We buried Lisa and Robert"s daughter with David and Kimberly. Their wills demanded they be buried together, and it was a d.a.m.ned good thing, because if Wayne was the Slasher all these years, then he was the one who demanded that David not be buried with the wife that loved him so much." He shook his head and focused on her once again. "They loved each other desperately, Anna, but they loved you and Crowe just as much. So much, they did everything in their power to protect the two of you and themselves. And she would have been very, very proud of both of you."
Anna stared at the couple who had been her parents for nearly all her life, aching so deep with such furious pain that she couldn"t force herself to say anything. She couldn"t rid herself of the aching hurt or the sense of desertion that had followed her for so long.
Her father-no, not her father.
No, no matter why, no matter the hurt- "Da," she whispered.
His face twisted with pain as her momma gripped his hand tighter.
"Why couldn"t you just trust me?" she asked the question that had been tearing her apart and laying waste to everything she believed in. "Why, Momma? Da? Why couldn"t you just tell me instead of allowing me to feel as though you had deserted me? As though I meant nothing to you, or to my family?"
It was Archer who kept her grounded. Keeping her hand in his, his warmth close to her, letting her handle her tears, her anger, and her pain without a.s.suring her everything was going to be fine.
Because it wouldn"t be fine for a long time.