A Billionaire's Redemption(33)

Lord knew Willa had suppressed a whole lot of anger and resentment of her own toward her father over the years. But she’d always thought of Minnie as her silent ally in the suffering and self-effacement. Had Minnie seen her as the enemy all along?

Why, look,” Minnie said with saccharine viciousness. “She’s already perusing Merris Oil’s financials. Calculating how much you can take your father’s company for while you’re bankrupting me?”

Willa was vaguely aware of all the women but one staring fixedly at various paintings and floor tiles as they tried not to witness this family’s dirty laundry.

But Roseanne Ward was paying avid attention to the exchange. She piped up now. “I told you she’d come after you, too, Minnie. She turned on my James and now she’s doing the same to you. You’ve been harboring a viper to your breast, you poor thing.”

Willa stared at the woman in sudden comprehension. So, Roseanne was the source of the poison in Minnie’s fuddled mind.

And the woman wasn’t done spewing venom, yet. “Why, she’s driven my poor boy nearly to distraction. He can’t sleep or eat, he’s having terrible headaches and anxiety attacks. And there she stands, as cool as a cucumber, not giving so much as a never mind about the suffering she’s causing him. Not to mention the grief and pain she’s causing her own mother.”

Let me guess,” Willa said pleasantly. “Tonight’s little outing was your idea.”

Roseanne’s back went rigid. “Indeed, it was. You’re far too busy running around like some cheap whore with your father’s enemies to pay any attention to your poor grieving mother. Some daughter you are.”

The barb hurt. Particularly because Willa had to admit there might be a little truth to it. She’d been so overwhelmed since her father’s death that she probably hadn’t been spending enough time with Minnie. But after days and days of sitting beside her mother’s bed while the woman slept off her tranquilizers and antidepressants, there hadn’t seemed to be much point. And then the avalanche of details involved in planning a funeral, dealing with her father’s will, answering the hundreds of sympathy notes...and then Gabe...

She turned to Minnie. “Roseanne’s absolutely right. I haven’t been spending enough time with you. I’m so sorry. Tomorrow—”

No more lies!” Minnie screeched. “Get out of my house! This is my house. Not yours!”

The outburst brought Louise hurrying out of the kitchen in alarm. A pair of the bodyguards peered over the housekeeper’s shoulder, also alarmed.

Willa stared at her mother in dismay. Minnie was kicking her out? Really?

Go!” Minnie screamed.

Everyone froze. The other ladies, Louise and the two bodyguards stared back and forth between Minnie and Willa in appalled shock.

It took every ounce of the training John Merris had pounded into her never to show weakness and never to give in to emotion to say calmly, “If that’s what you want, Mother. Of course I’ll return to my own home. Right away.”

She walked across the foyer, her back feeling like an icicle, rigid, heavy and on the verge of shattering. She vaguely heard the bodyguards politely shoving through the crowd of buzzing women behind her. Without stopping to wait for them, she made her way to her little car parked at the edge of the driveway, grateful that it wasn’t blocked in by the big Cadillacs her mother’s posse had been driving.

Willa started the car, her fingers so numb they didn’t even feel the keys, and headed down the driveway. There was some sort of commotion behind her—shouting and lots of movement. The bodyguards were waving their arms frantically in her direction, but she ignored them. The tears were starting to come now, and she really didn’t need a couple of guys hovering over her while she cried them out. It looked like the guards’ SUVs were blocked in by the line of Cadillacs. All the better. She needed to be alone. To lick her wounds and try to figure out what she’d done to make her mother hate her so much.

In that moment, she felt more alone than she had in her entire life. Apparently, when John Merris was shot, she’d lost not only her father, but also her mother. A sob escaped her. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks now and she dashed at them trying to see the road.

Darkness had fallen, and lightning flickered faintly on the horizon. She judged that it would be a few hours before the storms came, and frankly, she didn’t want to go home right now. Her bodyguards would head there first in search of her. Lover’s Point was the peak of a giant bluff west of town that kids parked on and made out in their cars. It looked over the western part of the county, and she’d always found it a peaceful place. She guided her car up the winding tar and gravel road. Trees closed in around her car and then started to give way to limestone outcroppings jutting up out of the rolling hills.

Of course, she’d never been up here in a car with a boy in high school. She hadn’t ever been one of the cool girls who got invited to have awkward sex in the backs of cars. And fear of her father had kept the mean boys from trying to get into her pants for the sake of winning some stupid bet.

In retrospect, she probably hadn’t been missing out on nearly as much as she’d thought she had in high school. Gabe had been well worth the wait.... Gabe. She desperately needed to hear his voice all of a sudden. To be reassured that her mother loved her and wasn’t in her right mind at the moment. She just needed to know that someone, anyone, gave a damn about her.

She picked up her cell phone and dialed his number. It rang a half-dozen times and then kicked over to his voice mail.

A pair of headlights came up behind her on the twisty road, moving fast. That had better not be her bodyguards. She really wanted to be alone. Gabe’s recorded voice urged her to leave a message, and the ubiquitous beep sounded.

Hey, Gabe. It’s me. Thanks for last night. It turned out to be a good thing that you left the apartment when you did. Our favorite reporter was waiting in the lobby for me this morning. I swear, that woman has it in for me.”

The headlights pulled closer and Willa noticed in relief that the vehicle was not a big, black, sleek SUV, but rather a white van. Probably some kids heading up to the point to have sex in their shaggin’ wagon.

At any rate,” she continued, “my mom was on a tear tonight and threw me out of her house. I think Roseanne Ward is the one putting ideas in Mom’s head that I’m trying to steal her money and ruin her. Call me. I miss you.”

She put the phone down on the seat beside her and concentrated on the progressively narrower and more treacherous road. Near the summit now, it switched back hard next to a massive drop-off. A wide valley stretched away into the distance hundreds of feet below her. It was Willa’s least favorite part of the drive. She clutched the wheel tightly and slowed cautiously as she approached the turn.

A tremendous impact made her scream aloud as the van behind her slammed into her. Willa fought her fishtailing car back under control, tires squealing as she hit the brakes. Another bone-jarring impact shoved her car partially off the pavement. She stood on her brake pedal for all she was worth, locking up the tires completely. But the van revved behind her, using its superior weight and horsepower to shove her closer to that ominous expanse of blackness.

What the heck was wrong with that driver? Willa shouted at him to stop regardless of the fact that the driver couldn’t hear her.

Her remaining tires hit the gravel shoulder and she abruptly lost all traction. Her little car lurched forward and the hood pitched down and out of sight. Her seat tilted forward violently as the car went over the edge.

Willa only had time to scream, “Nooooooo!”





Chapter 15

Gabe got out of a mind-numbingly long staff meeting that had turned into a dinner meeting, it had run so long. He’d been neglecting his company badly the past few days, and several major decisions had stacked up waiting for him.

He listened in shock to his voice mail as Willa praised him for abandoning her last night. How in the hell had she turned the most despicable thing he’d ever done into some sort of favor to her? Guilt tangled in his gut as she called him smart and thoughtful, when, in fact, he’d been a selfish jackass. He never should have made love to her last night. And once he had, he shouldn’t have left her like some coward. He should have faced the music this morning and broken things off with her face-to-face. Like a man.

He headed wearily back toward Vengeance. Normally, he’d spend the night in Dallas close to his corporate offices, but the memory of Willa in his bed and in his arms was too fresh. Too painful. He’d never wanted a woman so bad in his life. The hell of it was that she was eager and willing to have him, too.

He so shouldn’t have taken her. She was twelve years younger than he, the daughter of his archenemy, and everyone was already giving her hell for spending time with him. If word got out that the two of them were having a torrid affair, Willa’s friends and neighbors would crucify her outright. He couldn’t take them all away from her. She’d lived in Vengeance her entire life. Everyone she knew and loved was there. The good people of Vengeance would shun her completely if she got involved with him. For her happiness, he owed it to her to suck up his own desires and stay the hell away from her.