Expecting His Secret Heir(4)

Glancing around to remind herself that she was alone, Sadie clicked on  the computer folder she'd closed when Zachary had knocked. Instantly the  screen filled with images of him. There were pictures from all  different angles, taken while he wasn't looking. Not for Victor's  benefit. Not because she had to. Because she wanted to.

Because the single photo she had of him from her last visit wasn't nearly enough to last her a lifetime.

She hadn't dared take home any more, certain that her employer, Victor  and Zach's father, would discover them and realize she was lying about  how much she'd found out about Zach.

She studied the haunting image she'd gotten of Zach silhouetted against  the smoking building from yesterday. The contrast of his strength with  the ruins of the mill reminded her of his conscientious care for his  family, his quiet way of watching those around him until he saw a need  that he could fill. If only he could fulfill her needs, free her from  this mess of a life so she could be with him once more.
                       
       
           



       
No, she couldn't think like that. This was her problem to solve, as  always. If Zachary knew what she was involved in, he'd lead the mob  running her out of town. The town didn't know her, either. They'd  protect their own.

At least, that was the perception she had from watching him at the mill.  But did she really know? What could the town tell her about Zach that  he wouldn't tell her himself?

She studied the picture once more. She needed to find out, and she had an idea how she might make that happen.

I need more information.

And she wasn't going to get it moping in her room. Grabbing a light  jacket against the autumn chill, Sadie threw a quick glance at the  computer to make sure it was off, then headed out the door.

She shouldn't worry about her laptop. But Victor had taught her that  people did all kinds of things that served their own ends-and invaded  other's privacy. She never wanted to be caught off guard again.

Not that she had many secrets, but Victor had managed to find a doozy.

She paused on the stairs. Zach had said he owned a security firm now. Would he have checked her out?

Even now, had he figured out who she was? How long after that would he find out who her employer was, and what he meant to Zach?

Once that happened, her mission would be over before it even began. The ticking time bomb had been set.

Luckily, the overly friendly proprietress of the bed-and-breakfast was  at the front desk when Sadie reached the office. The woman's husband was  as reticent as she was open, so he wouldn't have been nearly as  helpful. For now, luck was with Sadie.

The woman even started the conversation in the direction Sadie wanted it to go.

"Wow! New to town and already getting visits from the local hero."

Technically it was a statement, but Sadie could hear the question  beneath the words. And Gladys wasn't finished. "Of course, not everyone  feels that way..."

Interesting.

"Why is that?" Sadie didn't feel the need to beat around the bush. Subtlety wasn't Gladys's forte.

"Oh, there was a big to-do when he came home. He graduated to officer in  the military, survived combat. Then came home to take care of his  family after his mama's heart attack."

Sadie murmured a few encouraging words, even though Gladys didn't need them.

"But then all those plants got poisoned earlier this year-"

That made Sadie's ears perk up. "What plants?"

"Cotton fields." The older woman leaned toward Sadie over the high desk  in what Sadie had learned was Gladys's favorite position. "One of the  things Zach did to earn money was crop dust. Early this spring he dusted  nigh on half the county in a day. By morning, the plants were dead.  Boy, did that cause an uproar."

"I bet." Probably more like a riot. Killing the cash crop of choice for the area... "Did the police get involved?"

"You bet. Quite a spectacle it was, though I wasn't there. Handcuffs and all. But they released him the same day."

Gladys lowered her voice, though they were the only two around. "Them  Blackstone brothers got involved. And they obviously believe in him,  because he's the biggest news story around here...besides the bomb, of  course."

"You mean his new job?"

The woman nodded, her tight gray curls bouncing. "He don't have to work  three jobs now, that's for sure. I hear his business is taking off like  hot cakes."

See, he doesn't need the money.

Sadie pushed away the seductive thought. She wouldn't sugarcoat what she  was doing. Regardless of his current circumstances, Zach deserved the  inheritance her late boss had wanted to give him. The one she had denied  him because she had lied and told Victor's father that Zach wasn't, in  fact, the son he sought. She'd been afraid he would corrupt Zach the  same way he had everything else around him.

Still believing his firstborn was out there somewhere, Beddingfield  Senior had willed him his inheritance. The only way for Victor to get it  was to ruin Zach. Because he knew the truth...the truth behind the lies  she'd told.

Desperate times called for desperate measures.

Gladys had just given her a place to start looking for Zach's dirty  laundry. And if Sadie succeeded in her mission, she'd steal away every  last dime.

From Zach.





Three

"I heard there was an incident at the mill yesterday."

Of course she had. Zach glanced over at his sister. Despite her  engagement to the richest man in town, KC had kept her bartending job,  and she heard everything. "You mean besides the fire?"

"Well, this was a bit more interesting than a bomb, in my opinion. It was about you...and a woman."                       
       
           



       

Only KC would find that more interesting. But since there was never any  gossip connecting him to any women in town, he could see her point of  view.

Zachary hated that he paused before answering, practically admitting his  guilt. "You heard about that?" His sister was too smart for him to  bother pretending he didn't know what she was talking about.

Her sassy attitude was displayed in a raised brow and hand on her hip.  "Seriously? This is a bar. In a small town. People in here have nothing  to do but talk all day..." She studied him in a way that made him want  to squirm. "Did you really throw her off the property?"

"You make it sound so much worse than it was."

KC's eyes widened. "Zach! Why would you do that?"

He wanted to use his lame security excuse again, but he seriously needed  better lines. Instead, he focused on pulling a beer. "Let's talk about  it later-we're kinda busy right now."

"That we are," KC said, filling her tray with drinks for a rowdy table  of off-the-clock firefighters. The dinner hour was just approaching, and  Lola's bar was already filled to capacity. "But you're not off the  hook," she warned him.

He wanted to let his rare bad temper loose and tell her to mind her own  business, but knew his sister's fiancé, Jacob Blackstone, wouldn't pull  any punches putting him in his place if Zach made his own sister cry.  Besides, it wasn't KC's fault.

It was Sadie's.

He hadn't been able to stop thinking about her, to the point that he  wished his brain had an off switch. Even sleeping hadn't given him any  relief. Ever since seeing her two days ago, he'd dreamed of the single  night they'd been together, and the glorious sensuality of her body.

The images in his brain were not calming him right now. Any part of him...

He distracted himself by checking on his orders in the kitchen, along  with the two new hires he'd put in place a month ago. One was a veteran  chef from the military who'd put in ten years of duty before losing a  leg in Afghanistan. The other was a hardworking kid who reminded Zach a  lot of himself at his age, with a single mom and baby sister at home to  support. Only Miguel's dad had been killed in a car accident. Zach's had  simply walked away when supporting a wife and child got too boring for  him to handle.

Despite the rush, he found everything moving along smoothly in the  kitchen. There was no need for Zach to be working at Lola's. In fact, he  refused to let his mother pay him anymore. The last thing he needed  these days was money-a concept he couldn't quite absorb. But he couldn't  stay away.

Taking care of his grandmother, mother and sister was a way of life for  him. He'd only been away from them while he was in the military. No  matter what his job was now, his day still wasn't complete until he'd  touched base with them. And he wasn't the kind of man to sit around  while the women worked. He wasn't like his father-uncaring enough to  walk away from the people who needed him. Nor KC's father, who'd done  the same when the going got tough. Zach had never let down the women in  his life, and his new millionaire status wasn't an excuse to start now.