“I’m perplexed. Why did you follow her here?”
“I have business here, my good man. But yes, I did need to find her. She is my stepdaughter. I care for her welfare. And for yours. Before Almighty God, sir, I do swear to you that the girl put me in this chair!”
She had told him she needed to talk to him. Now he needed to talk to her. He couldn’t forget the look on her face, and he still couldn’t understand her terror and despair. Dillman was in a wheelchair. What kind of a threat could he be?
“My wife has shown no signs of delusion. Or of violence,” he added, even if it was a bit of lie. She’d only been violent when she’d been under attack.
Could Dillman possibly have been responsible for those attacks? How had he maneuvered renegades to his will?
“Then I’m glad for you, Lord Douglas. Yet still anxious to see my stepdaughter. You wouldn’t deny me the right to see her? Why, Lord Douglas, you are, in fact, my stepson-in-law!”
“Indeed,” Hawk murmured.
“I imagine that her sister is on her way here, attempting to be with her. Poor Sabrina! She is well aware of how dearly her sister needs help. We even believe she might be at risk of taking her own life. Still, I can’t let Sabrina cast away her life! No, the child is still under my guardianship, and I intend to do the very best I can for her, in memory of my dear, dear wife!”
Damn, Dillman was good. So convincing that he was as hypnotic as a rattler. He could almost be believed except that…
David Douglas had been no fool. Hawk realized with sudden clarity that his father had stumbled upon Skylar when she had been in a desperate situation. David had certainly been captivated by Skylar. She must have shown a tremendous strength under adversity.
He killed my father, she had said. Dillman told it a different way. The war—Skylar would have been young at the time. But still…
He didn’t know what had happened. He didn’t know the truth of the matter. But he was determined to discover it.
“Excuse me. Please do make yourself comfortable with your companions in my absence.”
He exited the house quickly, looking anxiously about the yard. He hurried toward the stables. He nearly collided with Willow, who had been hurrying toward the house.
“Where’s Skylar?” Hawk demanded quickly.
“She came out here, completely ignored me, bridled Nutmeg, and took off—hell-bent. I was coming for you, wondering if I should have been going straight after her instead.”
“I’ll go straight after her. She’s expecting her sister to have either arrived in Gold Town and will be heading here. She’s trying to reach her. Willow, I need you to go back to the house and give Senator Dillman my excuses. Tell him he’s welcome to stay as long as he wishes. In fact, have Meggie do her best to keep him there.”
“I’ll see to it, Hawk.”
In seconds, Hawk was mounted on Tor.
Seconds too late.
Skylar had scarcelyleft Douglas property when the attack came.
They’d been waiting for her.
Too late she realized her mistake. She damned herself, realizing that again she had underestimated Dillman.
They came from the copse of trees to the west of the property line. This time, there were eight riders. They were all dressed in war paint, though even as she lay against Nutmeg’s neck to turn her horse and urge her to speed back toward Mayfair, she saw that they weren’t all Indians. Dillman had called upon the dregs of the army, so it seemed. And probably prospectors, too. Men who had come for gold and hadn’t managed to strike it. Dillman promised them gold without digging. All they needed to do was kill one woman.
And make the murder look like an Indian attack.
Even as she rode back to Mayfair, she realized the men had stationed themselves behind her. As she tried to race back, she was circled.
She had so foolishly run. It had been time to meet Dillman face-to-face, with Hawk. He hadn’t denied her. He had merely been stunned. Because she had made no attempt to explain any of it before. Because she had never imagined that Dillman could break in upon her life here. She had felt…
Safe.
She was Hawk’s wife.
But she had run away from Hawk.
