Wildstar by Nicole Jordan

Author:Nicole Jordan [Jordan, Nicole]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Historical, General
ISBN: 9780380766222
Google: nXW1AAAACAAJ
Amazon: B005SVX00I
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 1992-12-14T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Devlin stood staring at Jessica for a full thirty seconds, unable to fathom what had her so upset. He was the one whose honor had been impugned. He was the one who'd been accused of treachery and betrayal—when his only crime had been withholding the truth about his prosperity. He'd originally had good reasons for that, though. Reasons she knew nothing about. Now he would have to tell her what had brought him to Silver Plume and why he'd come in the guise of a gambler, instead of flashing his wealth and riding into town on his own private railroad car—

"I mean it!" Jess cried before he could decide where to begin. "I want you out of my house!"

Devlin strode angrily past her, but instead of obeying, he slammed the door shut and turned to face her, his expression tight. "I'm not leaving until we get this straightened out."

"There's nothing to straighten out!"

"Yes, there is! I owe you an explanation, and you're going to listen." He didn't give her a chance to argue, but launched in. "I didn't mean to lie to you, Jess. It was important that I retain some kind of anonymity if I hoped to find the outlaws who robbed my father's train."

At least that got her attention. "Your . . . father's train?"

"The Colorado Central. It was held up three times since the spring—the last one a month ago. The gang stole a silver bullion shipment and killed two people."

"Your father owns the Colorado Central Railroad?" she asked weakly.

"Not entirely. He's a major shareholder, though, and a member of the board of directors. He asked me to put a stop to the robberies if I could. I came here following a rumor. A man with a scar over his eye, riding a roan, was identified as one of the outlaws."

He let that sink in a minute. She watched him mutely, her breasts swiftly rising and falling with her ragged breaths.

"I was hunting down the rumor when I overheard you tell the sheriff about a man with a scar being seen up at the mine the day your father was shot. So I let you hire me as a guard. It seemed a good bargain at the time. You needed help, and I stood a lot better chance of finding the gang if I had a good reason for asking questions, if every move I made wasn't suspect. The man turned out to be Zeke McRoy, but my only lead dried up when I killed him. That's why I was so angry that night."

Jess heard his explanation, but only one crucial detail mattered. Devlin had used her to find McRoy. He had used her. It was almost worse than betrayal would have been. Not only was he filthy rich, not only had he lied to her from the beginning, but the only reason he had helped her was because he'd needed her for his own purposes.

"Get out," she said hoarsely. "Get out of here."

Devlin's temper started to soar again.

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