The Barons Of Texas: Kit. Fayrene Preston
enter his expression. After all, Des had an international reputation as a lawyer, and she ran one third of Baron International, specifically the massive ranching division. But the man’s demeanor remained businesslike and aggressive.
“I’ll get right to the point. I understand you were the last person to see Cody Inman alive.”
“No. The person who murdered him was the last person to see him alive.”
“Of course.”
Des was standing so close to her that the warmth from his body filtered through her clothes to her skin. She supposed it was his way of supporting her, but she didn’t need his support, and she certainly didn’t want it—at least, not this kind.
The sheriff once again glanced at Des, then back at her. “Let me put it this way. It looks as if you were the last person to see Cody Inman before he was murdered. In fact, one of your hands—”
“That would be Tio.”
He checked his notes and nodded. “Tio Rodriguez. He indicated that you and Mr. Inman had had a problem this morning.”
She nodded. “In fact, I fired Cody right before I left for my morning ride.” Beside her, she felt Des stiffen.
The sheriff’s brows shot up so high they almost disappeared beneath his hat. “You fired him? Was that because of something work related?”
Slowly, as if it were a perfectly natural gesture, Des reached out, circled her wrist with his long fingers and lightly squeezed. She felt something lurch near her heart. The questioning didn’t bother her. Des, however, did. “No,” she said, impatient to get away from both men. “It was personal.”
“How so?”
“You don’t need to answer that, Kit.”
Des’s sharp tone tightened her nerves, making her response even quicker. “We went out last night and—”
“You and Mr. Inman? Just the two of you?”
“That’s right.”
“And what happened?”
“To put it as simply as possible, Sheriff, Cody wanted our relationship to go farther than I did.”
“Kit—”
“And did you and Mr. Inman fight over this?”
“Kit! Stop answering.”
She glanced at him again. His jaw had tensed, and his eyes had darkened. “I’ve got nothing to hide. Cody and I definitely fought. But did I kill him? No, I did not.”
“I see.”
The sheriff didn’t believe her, she realized with a small shock. On the Double B her word was law, and she wasn’t accustomed to being doubted. Slightly shaken, she scanned the faces of the men who had gathered around him. Several of them looked confused, even skeptical. Great. Just great.
The sheriff nodded toward her lip. “Did you get that injury in the fight?”
“He kissed me.”
“And the kiss split the lip?”
“That’s right. He wasn’t exactly gentle.”
“Uh-huh. Made you mad, did he?”
“He made me very mad.”
“That’s enough.” The authority in Des’s voice cut between the sheriff and her. “If you need any further information, Sheriff, make an appointment with Ms. Baron through me. Kit, I’ll see you back to your house.” His strong hand on her back quickly turned her and headed her back to the car.
“Wait a minute!” the Sheriff yelled. “Ms. Baron, I’ll need to ask you to come down to the office. We’ll need your fingerprints, and I’ll want to question you further.”
“She’ll come in later,” Des said, raising his voice, but not stopping until he had her in the truck and they were driving away.
Two
Kit slammed the front door shut in Des’s face.
Damn the woman. A muscle clenched in Des’s jaw as he opened the door and went in after her. He found her in the living room, lighting a fire.
“What were you thinking about, talking to the sheriff like that?”
She wheeled on him. Her green eyes flashed, vivid with anger, and her long red hair curled like flames against her shoulders. “Don’t ever do that again to me.”
“Do what? Save you from incriminating yourself?”
“Don’t ever again tell me what to say or not to say. And don’t ever give me an order in front of my men. You may own fifty percent of this ranch, but I run it.”
“Listen to me, Kit. You can’t tell the sheriff everything you did without expecting to be arrested. Not in this case. Why didn’t you do as I said?”
The logs began to burn behind her but she barely noticed. “Do as you said?”
All of his career, he had faced hostile clients, lawyers, judges and juries. Part of his success was that he was always able to remain cool under fire. Staying calm and above the fray was one of his trademarks. No one ever got to him.
Kit got to him.
He wanted to shake her. Worse, he suddenly realized, he wanted to kiss her. Lord help him, where had that come from?
“Whether you realize it or not, Kit, you’ve gotten yourself into a serious situation. And just because it was me who gave you the advice, doesn’t mean you had to go against it.”
“That’s not what happened.” She stripped off her coat and threw it across a chair.
“That’s exactly what you did. Admit it. You hate for anyone to try to tell you what to do, but this case is different, and you need to realize it. In this case, you don’t know what’s best. I do. And believe me when I say, you told him entirely too much.”
She threw up her hands. “For heaven’s sake, get over yourself. The women you go out with must not have any brains, but I do.”
“You’re not hearing what I’m saying. Dealing with men like that sheriff is what I do for a living, and I know what I’m talking about. Let me do my damn job.”
“This isn’t a job you need to concern yourself with. Whatever happened, happened in my realm. I’ll take care of it.”
He shook his head. “Trying to defend yourself is the worst thing you can do.”
“I’m not trying to defend myself.”
“Then tell me what you think you’re doing.”
“Telling the truth about what actually happened.”
He gave a sound of disgust. “Prisons are filled with people who told the truth. At this stage of the game, everything you say is important. Even how you say it. You have to be careful, and you weren’t.”
“What are you talking about? The sheriff didn’t indicate he suspected me.”
“If you believe that, you weren’t listening.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Cody’s body was just found. It’s way too early for the sheriff to suspect anyone.”
“Granted, it’s early, but have you ever heard of quick arrests?”
“Of course, but—”
“Ideally, authorities like to make an arrest within the first twenty-four hours of a crime. After that, witnesses can go foggy, crime scenes can be tampered with, or any number of other things can happen. Kit, face it. That’s exactly what may happen here, because, unfortunately, it looks as if everything so far points to you.”
“That’s