d.a.m.n, he was glad he had learned how to lie in the military.
"Poor kid." Wayne rose to his feet with a heavy sigh. "I"d better return to my own paperwork." He nodded to Archer"s files. "I"d like to meet with you and the deputies you have working the case tomorrow, though. We have to figure this Slasher thing out, Archer. And we don"t have a lot of time to do it in."
"Set it up with Madge," Archer told him. "And I"ll see you then." Unless he could get out of it.
Archer had no intentions of sharing any more information with anyone that he didn"t have to.
Archer had learned by watching his father, and listening to him discuss the case, to trust only the few proven to be trustworthy. It wasn"t that he didn"t trust the county attorney. h.e.l.l, Wayne had as many hours on this as anyone did, but still, the less said about some things, the better. Especially with a man Archer"s father had identified as a suspect years before.
Rising to his feet, he walked across the office to the set of wide, old-fashioned windows that looked out on the back lawn where the sheriff"s department and courthouse employees took their lunch.
Propping his hands on his hips he stared out at one of the shaded benches that sat next to an ornate cement fountain.
He had no doubt about the direction he was following in the investigation. He"d already begun a more extensive search into his deputy John Caine"s background, but he was coming up with several dead ends. For a period of five years the man hadn"t existed. Not surprisingly, that period coincided with the summer the Slasher had first struck, twelve years before.
Striding back to his desk and taking his seat, Archer pulled his cell phone from the side of the desk and made a call. He hadn"t wanted to make this call, but he was out of options.
"h.e.l.lo," Ryan Calvert answered. The child Eileen Callahan had sold to save her husband and her ranch was a man now. A man with a cause, and that cause was centered in Corbin County.
"Are you ready?" Archer asked.
"As I"ve ever been." His voice was slow and easy. "We meeting at your place?"
"The study," Archer agreed.
"Give me three," Ryan replied. "And I"ll be bringing a friend. The boys have been working on this for several years now, so don"t worry. Once you meet him, you"ll understand why I trust him."
Ryan knew Archer"s secrecy issues well, just as Archer knew Ryan"s. He"d meet the other man, but that was all he was promising.
"If I"m not in the study, I"ll know you"re there," Archer promised. "It might take a minute to get there."
"Let"s rock and roll, then," Ryan said.
"As long as we"re the rock." Archer sighed, hoping-praying-he had this figured out. "As long as we"re the rock."
The newly renovated building that now housed the main offices of Brute Force Security no doubt had the cla.s.siest interior of any office in the County.
Anna felt a sense of pride that morning as she stepped inside the tastefully furnished reception area with the sleek, curved receptionist"s post that drew the eye rather than the security guard"s matching post in a far corner of the room.
The computerized wonderland that each sleek electronic top held, hidden behind the raised front panel that greeted guests, was a technological marvel as far as Anna was concerned. And it was completely unlike anything she"d seen in some of the more high-tech offices in New York and California.
The fact that her cousins-well, only Crowe was actually her cousin, but she liked to claim all three of them-were part owners of the business was the source of that pride.
They"d been disowned, fought a legal battle for more than a decade for what was rightfully theirs, and they were now using that inheritance to create something, rather than simply living from it.
Not that any of them would accept it if they knew that was what she felt.
Moving along the plushly carpeted hall of the upper-floor offices, Anna carried the electronic pad used to transfer doc.u.ments and record signatures between offices. Until the new interoffice network and encrypted e-mail system was online and tested, Crowe and his partner, Ivan Resnova, had ordered that the electronic pads be used instead.
Anna loved them.
Stopping at the heavy, dark oak door to the large meeting room, she wiped first one hand, then the other, down the side of her skirt before knocking firmly.
"Enter," Crowe called out, his dark, brooding voice bringing to mind the boogie man naughty children were frightened of.
She almost grinned at the image before opening the door and stepping inside.
And there was Archer. As well as the two Callahan cousins she"d believed had left earlier, the Resnovas and Archer.
Anna almost paused before closing the door. She tried to ignore Archer as she stepped to the long, oval, dark walnut table where Crowe, Ivan Resnova, and Mikhail Resnova, as well as four of the security agents employed by Brute Force, sat.
"The employment agreements you requested, Mr. Callahan," she stated, placing the electronic pad on the table beside him.
"Thank you, Ms. Corbin." He accepted the pad but didn"t glance at it. "Would you have a seat now?"
"Excuse me?" The soft command made her pause.
"The chair beside Archer." He indicated the empty chair.
Anna narrowed her gaze at the top of Crowe"s head. He didn"t even bother to look up at her.
"Why?"
She was pretty certain it was Archer snickering, but she didn"t give him the benefit of so much as a glance.
Crowe did turn his head and glance up at her then.
Slowly, he pushed his chair back and moved to rise.
"Don"t make a mistake I"ll help you regret, Crowe," Archer warned him, his tone suddenly dark.
Crowe slid his gaze to Archer as he planted his hands on the table before his eyes zoomed back to her. Like the wolf it was rumored he lived with, even more predatory, more intent than Archer"s, his eyes sliced into her.
"Because, cousin, I thought you might like to have an opinion where your protection"s concerned in the coming weeks. I have a feeling Archer"s wrong about your ability to handle the truth. Perhaps I should have just put bodyguards on you and left you in the dark where they were concerned. I have no doubt they"re good enough that you would never know they were there."
Her protection?
She glanced at Archer, inhaling sharply rather than blasting him with a scathing retort, before she turned back to Crowe.
"You can shove your protection, cousin." She didn"t have to hold back with Crowe. "I"ve lived for twenty-four years without your help, and I can live without it just fine for the rest of my life, thank you very much."
But she knew that look on his face. She could protest until h.e.l.l froze over and he would still do whatever the h.e.l.l he pleased.
"Anna, please sit down." Archer"s request was a careful, thinly cloaked warning in an order that pretended to be a request.
She might hate men.
Anna sat down slowly, watching as Crowe took his seat once again.
"You may remember seeing Thaddock, Stryker, and Brolen around town," he introduced three of the men she had seen. "The fourth is new to Brute Force, but he comes from an exceptional family with excellent references." He nodded to a handsome younger man. "This is Rory Malone, from Texas. He"ll be the one ensuring the other three aren"t glimpsed. He has no security background, but he"s from a well-respected security family."
Anna stared at him thoughtfully for a moment before smiling. "You"re Sabella Malone"s brother-in-law. You came to Edgemoore Girls" School with her when she gave her cla.s.s on basic auto mechanics."
It hadn"t been nearly as informational as Anna had hoped at the time. How to change a tire, who to call in case of a roadside emergency. How to check the oil and refill the wiper fluid. Anna had known that much by following her grandfather around on the farm before being shipped off to school.
His head tipped to the side.
The youthfulness that had once filled his face was no longer there.
"I remember you, Miss Corbin." He nodded. "It"s been a while."
It had been well over ten years.
"How"s Sabella doing?" she asked.
Rory"s sister-in-law had been struggling with a failing business, but she had still taken time out to come to the exclusive school.
"Are you finished with the pleasantries now?" Crowe asked mockingly. "Or would the two of you like us to return?"
"Not really." Anna smiled back at him tightly. "I don"t get to town much, cousin. Remember? And polite conversation is just so hard to come by."
The other three security agents were the ones snickering now. At least until Crowe and Archer sent a warning look their way.
"As I was attempting to point out, I"m not in the mood to see another of those helpless, obviously tortured bodies of a young woman who dared to have contact with me, Rafer, or Logan. Especially not the only cousin who had the good grace and generous heart to reach out to us every d.a.m.ned time she saw us," Crowe snapped. "So you can pretend they"re not there and accept it."
Anna stared at him silently for long moments before replying. "Thanks for speaking back all those times." She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her b.r.e.a.s.t.s defensively.
"And thank you for not attracting the Slasher"s eye and getting yourself killed," he grunted. "Now, if we have the pleasantries out of the way, can we continue this meeting?"
"Crowe, the two of you will never stop sniping long enough to get anything out of the way." Ivan laughed from his position at the side of the table, across from Anna. "Shall I handle this for you, my friend?" he asked, his Russian accent filled with amus.e.m.e.nt.
He was a handsome man. Not as handsome as Archer, definitely dangerous, and not one to suffer fools easily, she had found.
"Why do you think I need protection?" She turned to Archer. "I know you"re behind this, so why don"t you explain it? He"s not handling it very well." Her nose wrinkled with charming disgust.
At least she wasn"t completely refusing to cooperate, Archer thought, amused. It would have been uncomfortable if she had made him appear a liar after he"d said she was entirely reasonable.
"I"m handling this fine," Crowe growled.
"Sure you are," she agreed mockingly, her expression filled with blatant disbelief. "But I think Archer can handle it better."
Crowe"s lips thinned.
A second later they twitched as his brown and gold gaze flickered with amus.e.m.e.nt. "You can tell we"re related."
Anna"s eyes rolled at the comment. "Really? The way you ignore me, I would have thought differently."
Crowe grunted at the comment. "Because of information that has recently come to light, it"s the decision of the owners of Brute Force to ensure your protection. You will have two agents shadowing you at all times. Shadowing you," he emphasized. "You won"t tell anyone they"re watching you, and they will ensure no one notices them watching you."
If she didn"t know better, by his posture, the tone of his voice, and his gaze, she would almost swear he might give a d.a.m.n if she lived or died, Anna thought.
She knew better, but she let him keep talking.
From the look on Archer"s face, as well as the Callahans", she knew arguing would do her no d.a.m.ned good at all. Besides, she didn"t have a death wish. She might not like having bodyguards, but it beat being forced to leave Corbin County again just to stay alive.
As he talked, and the others clarified or threw in their own ideas, Anna remained silent and just watched.
She mostly watched Archer and Crowe.
She knew why she was fascinated with Archer, especially now that he"d shown her the pleasure he could give her.
Crowe was just a cousin who had ignored her every time she"d attempted to speak to him. Crowe, Rafer, and Logan. They"d all but disowned her from the moment she"d been born.
Until it appeared she needed them?
She couldn"t understand the change in att.i.tude, and she wasn"t certain she wanted to understand it.
Crowe"s change in demeanor didn"t just extend to her, though. It had begun, as she understood it, just after the Slasher had attacked him, his cousin Logan, and Logan"s lover, Skye, at Crowe"s cabin.
Crowe had been rendered unconscious for several hours before a huge she-wolf burst through a window and chased the a.s.sailant off. That wolf had saved not just Crowe"s life, but also Logan"s, Skye"s, and that of Skye"s unborn child.
The story behind the animal? Anna wasn"t certain. She knew the rumors of it were spreading like wildfire.
Everyone who knew Crowe had commented on the change from hard, bitter, and icy to one of a more thoughtful, if often confrontational, demeanor.
He"d always been slightly mocking, but never too p.r.o.ne to call individuals on their switch between hating Callahans and supporting Callahans as he was known to do now.
After more than twenty years of deliberate cruelties that had been dealt to them, it seemed everyone loved them now that he and his cousins had secured their inheritances.
Especially after helping to establish two new businesses with the potential to be long-running, and rumors of turning the previous Callahan and Ramsey ranches into a resort. The respect was pouring from the fine citizens of Corbin County with such sickening sweetness it was pathetic.
"Is this all agreeable to you, cousin?" He emphasized the relationship once again.
"The next time you call me cousin, cousin, I suggest you do so without the tone." Leaning forward, she confronted him irately, knowing that even though she wasn"t being forced from the County again, her life wasn"t yet her own. "I"ve never treated you with anything but respect, and d.a.m.n you, Crowe Callahan, you won"t treat me any differently."
Tension filled the room for long seconds as his gaze locked with hers, and Anna felt pure determination burning inside her. She"d be d.a.m.ned if she would let him treat her as though she had.
His jaw clenched and his gaze flared with momentary anger before his lips tilted just slightly. A second later a glimmer of amus.e.m.e.nt sparked in the oddly colored depths of his eyes before he inclined his head in agreement.
"Very well, cousin Anna," he emphasized her name instead. "Are you willing to work within the parameters we"ve set up?"
"Do I have a choice?" she muttered, sitting back in her chair once again as she breathed out wearily. "Who knew wanting to come home could turn into such a life-or-death decision?"
"It could be worse," Crowe pointed out, bitter pain flashing in his eyes now. "You could be facing the death of every past lover you"ve had."
She slid a look in Archer"s direction.