THE BADDEST BRIDE IN TEXAS Read online

  "It must have taken one hell of a lot of courage for her to tell you all of that, big brother," Elliot said. "A hell of a lot of courage."

  Especially since she had so accurately predicted his reaction, Adam thought.

  Something was different now. His emotional storm, the one he had just weathered, seemed to have cleansed him somehow. Seemed to have made his vision a little clearer, his head a little sharper. He knew now. It had been an accident, what had happened to his mother and father. They hadn't left of their own accord. It wasn't their fault, and it wasn't Kirsten's…

  And it wasn't mine.

  And that was the heart of all of this, wasn't it? That was the thing that had been eating at his gut since he was fifteen going on ninety-nine. That the deaths of his parents had somehow been his fault. That he had done something wrong and brought disaster raining down on the family. He was the smartest, the most logical minded, the thinker. And to him, it had seemed impossible that something so tragic could have happened without some reason. Some cause. And since he had known deep down that his brothers were too good, that his parents were flawless, that his baby sister was too innocent to have done anything so awful as to bring about this kind of divine retribution, it must have been him. He must have done something. It had to have been his fault.

  And he had been living with the guilt of that feeling ever since.

  Until now. Kirsten's confession had taken that burden from his shoulders… And it had given him another target for the blame. He had reacted violently but predictably, lashing out at her and, in the end, abandoning her the way he'd been abandoned by her, and because of her. And then finally, at long last, he had been free to give vent to his grief.

  But it wasn't Kirsten's fault, either. And because he knew the pain of living with the idea that something so awful was your fault, he had to get back to her. He had to tell her, to make her believe…

  Elliot spurred his horse, then leaned sideways in the saddle. Bending so low his head nearly dragged the ground, he scooped up Adam's dropped Stetson in one hand, clung to the pommel with the other and somehow managed to get himself upright again. Then he slowed until Adam caught up to him. Elliot reached up and dropped the hat onto Adam's head.

  "Thanks," Adam muttered.

  "You're more than welcome."

  "Not just for the hat," Adam said.

  "I know."

  "You've been takin' risks left and right, El."

  "I know that, too."

  "You seem to show up just when I need you."

  "I'm keeping my eye on you, big brother."

  Adam swallowed. "Is Wes mad about the horses?"

  "You know Wes. He's always mad about something. Taylor smoothed things over, though."

  "He can't stay mad when she's around, can he?"

  "No chance in hell. Could you?"

  Adam almost smiled. "Guess not."

  "Jessi and Lash are flying home. Chelsea told them what was going on up here, and Jessi's bound and determined to dive right into the middle of it."

  "Like you?"

  Elliot shrugged. "She's better at this kind of thing than I am. If Jessi were home, she'd have Kirsten cleared of all charges and the two of you walking down the aisle by now."

  Adam lowered his head. "I don't think that's going to happen. I broke every promise I ever made to her … twice now."

  "So you just go on back, beg her forgiveness and get busy keeping those promises."

  "I wish it were that simple."

  Elliot shrugged.

  "Then there's the matter of this murder charge," Adam went on.

  "Only a heartless slug of a man like Cowan could decide that as long as he was going to die, he might as well take his wife out with him."

  Adam lifted a brow. "So you buy that theory?"

  "It's the only thing that makes sense. Especially now."

  "Now?"

  Elliot glanced over at Adam. "That's right, you don't know. I was so damned mad at you for hurting Kirsten that I forgot to tell you what happened after you left."

  Adam's heart skipped a beat. "Is she okay?"

  "She's in shock, Adam. She made her way over to Stephen Hawkins' place. I was on my way there, too, luckily. Hawkins was supposed to take a copy of Cowan's will over to the rangers' station in El Paso last night. But he never showed. They called him this morning, got no answer, so they asked Garrett to send someone out there, and I volunteered."

  "And?"

  Elliot nodded. "I got there about the time Kirsten let out her first scream. She'd arrived first and found Hawkins hanging from a light fixture over his kitchen table. The suicide note was pinned to his shirt."

  Adam's throat went dry. He grimaced as he realized how horrible it must have been for Kirsten. He should have been there, should have been with her.

  "My God," he managed.

  "Yeah. And I didn't have time to look around a whole lot, but I have a feeling that will is long gone. Garrett's over there now, searching the place for it."

  "Then … you think this is all tied up somehow with Cowan's murder?"

  Elliot nodded. "I sure as hell do."

  Adam's blood seemed to chill and thicken up in his veins. "And Kirsten's all alone," he muttered. Then he kicked the mare's sides, and she lunged into a powerful gallop.

  They rode at a dead run the rest of the way back to town, through the streets, across the lawn and right up to Jessi's little cottage. Dismounting, Adam tied his horse, then glanced up and down the road, but he saw no prying eyes, no killers lurking. He moved quickly to the door at the front of the house.

  And then his blood ran cold.

  The door stood open. Shards of broken glass spiked from its window. Hinges creaked in whispers as the breeze moved the door slightly back and forth.

  "Oh, no…"

  He pushed the door open cautiously, peered inside. "Kirsten?"

  But there was no answer. And he no longer needed one. Jessi's house looked as if a wrestling match had gone on inside.

  Kirsten was gone. But it was pretty obvious that she hadn't gone willingly. Someone had come here, while Elliot was away, and they'd taken her. And it looked as if she had put up one hell of a fight.

  Adam closed his eyes and cursed himself for having left her this morning. God, if anything happened to her, he would never forgive himself.

  * * *

  Chapter 12

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  He'd been searching Jessi's house—seeking some kind of clue as to who had been here and where they'd taken Kirsten—for only a few minutes when a hand fell heavily on Adam's shoulder from behind. He whirled, adrenaline surging, fist coming up automatically, ready to nail whoever dared mess with him at a time like this and immediately thinking of the killer.

  Garrett stood there, eyed the fist that had frozen halfway to his face and shook his head slowly. "I let you get away with that once, Adam. But I wouldn't be pushing my luck if I were you. I don't have much patience for kid brothers with violent tendencies."

  Adam lowered his hand and his head, his breath rushing out of him all at once. "I'm sorry. God, I'm sorry, Garrett. About hitting you before. I had to get Kirsten the hell out of there. I couldn't let her go to jail any more than you could stand by and let someone lock Chelsea up in a cell when you knew damned good and well she was innocent."

  "Or even if I thought she might not be," Garrett said. Then he eyed Adam with a frown. "You felt that strongly about it, huh?" he asked, searching his brother's face.

  "Yeah. I did."

  "So that's it. I kinda figured."

  Adam shook his head. "I never should have hit you like that—"

  "Yeah, and I never should have gone down so easy. Just figured it was for the best. I sure as hell didn't want to hit you back, and if I'd gotten up again, you would have forced me to."

  Adam lowered his head. "So Elliot was right. You took the fall and let us go."

  "Hey, don't look so disappointed. You pack a mean punch. Just not quite as mean as my jawb
one." Garrett rubbed the spot. "Besides, it did leave a bruise." Then he stopped kidding and looked around the room. "What happened here?"

  "Elliot didn't tell you on the phone when he called to tell you to get over here?"

  Elliot appeared from another room. He and Adam had been searching the house for clues, but so far, they'd found nothing. "Hell, no, I didn't tell him on the phone," he said. "I didn't know who might be with him. God knows half the El Paso rangers were over at Hawkins' place with him earlier. I sure didn't want them all showing up here!" He shook his head.

  "Well, I'm here, and I'm alone, so you can tell me now. What the hell happened?"

  "Someone broke in and took Kirsten," Elliot announced. "And we're afraid it's the same guy who murdered Joseph Cowan."

  "Garrett, we have to find her," Adam said, and he could hear the desperation in his own voice … but he didn't care. "The son of a bitch took a shot at the border patrol last night and damn near started a war. She could have been killed, Garrett, and I think that's exactly what this guy wants. He wants her dead." Adam paced away, pushing a hand through his hair. "I know we didn't part on the best of terms, but I need your help. Kirsten needs your help. And it wasn't her fault, what I did—"

  "Can it, Adam. You're my brother. You know I'll do whatever I can."

  "I'm running outside the law here, Garrett," Adam said, a warning tone to his voice.

  "The hell with the law. This is blood."

  Adam met Garrett's eyes, saw the bond they shared reflected there, and nodded once.

  Garrett turned to Elliot. "Did you find anything here?"

  "Nothing."

  Shaking his head, Garrett looked around. "You say you think this clown wants her dead. But if that's the case, Adam, why didn't he just kill her right here? Why drag her off someplace else?"

  Adam blew air through clenched teeth. "I don't know. Hell, maybe he wants to make it look like an accident or a sui—" There he stopped, his head coming up slowly. "Or a suicide."

  "Just like Stephen Hawkins, maybe," Elliot interjected. When both men swung their stunned gazes his way, he went on. "Hell, boys, I don't know about you, but it sure seems strange to me that old boy got a hankering to hang himself right in the middle of all of this."

  "But he left a note," Adam said, recalling Elliot's earlier reporting of the event. "You said he left a note." Elliot nodded, looking at Garrett.

  Garrett nodded. "Yeah, there was a note, all right. A very brief note. 'A gentleman knows not to linger too long at the dance' was all it said. It was in his handwriting. But sloppy as hell. Like he was good and drunk when he wrote it … or something."

  "I'd bet on the 'or something,'" Elliot muttered. "Hawkins didn't drink."

  "When will we get some autopsy results to tell us for sure?" Adam asked.

  "Not as soon as we need 'em. But I might be able to get a blood alcohol on him by now. The pathologist is an old friend. He's had Hawkins for over an hour now, and I asked him to run a few tests of his own, so we won't have to wait for the results on the samples sent to the state crime lab. Won't be admissible in court, but at least we'll know." Garrett headed for Jessi's telephone, then seemed to think better of it and went outside instead. Adam and Elliot followed.

  Sliding into the front seat of his pickup, leaving the door open, Garrett yanked up his mobile phone and tapped in a number. A second later he was speaking. "Sheriff Brand here. Get me Doc Leighy." There was a pause, then, "John, it's Garrett. Got anything for me?" He nodded at the phone, waited a moment, then lifted his brows. "Just what is that, John? Sleeping pills?" Pause. "Um-hmm. I see. Okay." Another pause. "My brother?" And his eyes met Adam's. "Nope, no sign of him. He takes off like this when he gets upset, sometimes. Tell your friend the ranger I said he'll turn up soon enough. And that no, I have no reason to suspect he's anywhere near Kirsten Armstrong. They hate each other's guts, you know."

  Garrett replaced the receiver, sent Adam a level, serious look.

  "Thanks," Adam said.

  "De nada. They didn't find alcohol in Hawkins' blood, but they did find large amounts of a tranquilizer commonly used in over-the-counter sleeping pills."

  Adam blinked. "Sleeping pills? Does that make Hawkins' death a murder, as well?"

  Garrett shook his head. "Not necessarily. Pretty common for a suicide to take piles of sleeping pills and either vomit them up or decide they aren't working fast enough and then move on to another method. The rangers are working on that assumption."

  "You agree with them?"

  "No."

  "Neither do I," Elliot said softly. He looked at Garrett. "Did you find Joe Cowan's will in any of Stephen Hawkins' files?"

  Garrett shook his head. "No. We turned the place upside down, but there was no sign of it."

  "I didn't think there would be," Elliot said. "And isn't it odd how reluctant Hawkins seemed to be to turn it over? First he tells the rangers he doesn't remember what was in it, then he says he'll pull the file and send it over, then he stalls and delays, and finally he kills himself, and the will is still nowhere to be found."

  "You think the killer took it?" Adam asked.

  "Either that, or Hawkins hid it himself. The question is, why would he do that?"

  Adam racked his brain, but found no answer there. He glanced at Garrett. "What do you think?"

  "Well, I don't think Hawkins' death was a suicide, boys. And if that proves to be the case, then it makes sense to assume that anything missing from his home was taken by whoever killed him."

  Adam nodded toward Jessi's trashed house. "I noticed you didn't tell the rangers about the break-in and Kirsten being abducted."

  "No, I didn't," Garrett said. "I suppose there's a chance they could help us track Kirsten down, but they'd haul her off to jail the second they found her. I'm thinking we can do just as well on our own. Maybe better. As soon as you took off with Kirsten, Adam, I realized that this … this was a family thing."

  "Family," Adam repeated, not sure he understood what his brother was getting at.

  "You love her, don't you?"

  Adam lowered his head quickly, avoiding Garrett's eyes, but doubting that it did much good.

  "He loves her," Elliot said.

  "He'd damn well better love her," Garrett went on. "I'd hate to think he coldcocked his favorite brother for anything less."

  Adam sighed, shaking his head. He didn't know what he felt for Kirsten right now. He just knew he wanted her back, alive, safe … so he could find out.

  "So in my book," Garrett went on, "that makes her family." Garrett slapped Adam's shoulder. "So the family's involved now."

  Adam blinked, looking from Elliot to Garrett and back again. The two exchanged knowing looks. "What do you mean, the family's involved?"

  Garrett shrugged. "You know how it goes with this crew. So damned close knit that when one Brand gets kicked, another one yips. And it's sheer hell to keep a secret in this family."

  Elliot nodded. "Jessi and Lash will be arriving any time now. They cut their trip short the second Chelsea called to tell them what was going on. The minute they get here, we'll have Jessi take a look around. Well, once she gets done screaming about the mess in her house, that is. If there's a sign which way that son of a bitch took Kirsten and by what means, you know Jessi will spot it."

  Garrett picked up there. "Wes is already canvassing town, and if anybody knows a thing, you know they're gonna tell him. Wes scares people. If that isn't enough to make 'em talk, then Taylor will charm the information out of them."

  "Ben and Penny are over at Stephen Hawkins' place," Elliot said. That earned him a glare from Garrett, but he only shrugged sheepishly. "I know, it's a crime scene. But we couldn't wait. Not when Penny and I already came to the conclusion that the lawyer's death has to be involved in all this somehow. And Cowan's missing will seemed fishy to her, too, right from the start. So Penny and Ben are searching Hawkins' house, office and even his car for any files he has on Cowan."

  "Waste of time," Gar
rett said. "I told you, Elliot, the rangers and I went through that place with a fine-tooth comb. For God's sake, they only cleared out of there within the last half hour."

  "Yeah, well, Nancy Drew they ain't," Elliot drawled.

  "Neither is Penny," Garrett retorted.

  "Don't let her hear you say that," Elliot said, grinning.

  Garrett rolled his eyes. "Great. I wonder who's gonna be sheriff when I get run out of town on a rail?" But then he lifted his head and continued. "Out at the ranch, Chelsea's got a list of Cowan's household employees, and she's tracking them down by phone. Said she couldn't sit still and do nothing. Sara's out there helping her. She came up from El Paso as soon as she heard what was going on. Marcus and Casey stayed there. They're working through that computer network Marcus's old friend Graham uses. Checking out business contacts of Cowan's and so on."

  "Hell. Sounds like we've got every Brand in Texas working on this thing," Adam said slowly. He was touched. Not surprised, but moved beyond words. No wonder he'd been so miserable in New York. He'd been away from this damned bunch of meddling pains in the backside. Too far away. And he'd missed them.

  "You got that right," Elliot interjected. "And if that isn't enough, we can always call in the Oklahoma branch of the family. Though I hesitate to get that rowdy bunch involved in anything this volatile." He sent Adam a wink.

  Adam wished he could feel as upbeat as Elliot sounded. But he didn't. He was scared, damned scared. "None of that's gonna do a bit of good if this guy—whoever he is—has already killed her," he said slowly. He paced away from the pickup, stared off down the road. "I never should have stormed out on her the way I did. I just… When she told me what she'd done, I just…"

  Garrett looked at him. "I guess I'm missing something here."

  Adam and Elliot exchanged glances. Elliot put a hand on Garrett's arm. "It's not the time for that now, Garrett. But we do have to talk. All of us, the whole clan. But later. After Kirsten is safe and sound."

  Garrett eyed him, then Adam.

  "No," Adam said. "If he's going to be risking his badge to help her, he has to know about this first. It's only right, Elliot."