small penknife. Her eyes widened as he dumped it out onto her comforter. As she'd thought, the bastard had her birth certificate and ID, all the insurance papers, and her mom's small stash of jewelry. He also had put the deeds to the property in it. When she read the insurance policy he'd taken out on her the prior year for a hundred fifty thousand bucks, she cringed. She was worth far more to the son of a bitch dead.
A cry caught in her throat, and arms wrapped firmly around her from behind, dragging her back into a solid, warm body. "Hush...it's going to be all right. From what I can tell, there's nothing in that box that you didn't have a right to take. What did you do with his wallet and cards?"
Lily scrubbed her face hard with both palms before whispering huskily, "I buried them in the mud in a creek bottom about fifteen miles out of Austin. I weighted them down with a big rock. There's a big stand of oaks along the creek there. The one that is mostly dead is where the rock is."
Flint turned her in his arms and pressed her face to his shoulder, feeling her body shake with fear. He leaned his chin against the top of her head and closed his eyes, inhaling the scent of rich earth and clean woman. "Max told me to get photos of all your bruises. Just in case."
She pulled back from him a little and bit her lower lip. "You...want me to...strip?"
He nodded, then realized what she was thinking. "I'll have Dora take the pictures. As much as I'd love to get you naked, I'm not one to press. You can go hop into the shower and I'll send her up with my digital camera."
He stepped away from her, releasing her almost reluctantly. Her jerky nod was all he got before she grabbed clean underwear from her dresser and backed toward her bathroom, clutching the silk and lace scraps he'd bought her to her chest in shaking hands. His mouth went dry, and his thoughts went to hell in a handcart.
Sweet Lord . He watched until she was inside the bathroom and the door was firmly shut before he exhaled his pent up breath and whirled to find his camera and his housekeeper. No fucking way would he trust himself to just take pictures if he got her naked.
When Dora knocked on her door, Lily was wrapped in a damp towel, her cheeks hot with embarrassment. When the housekeeper started taking photos from different angles, she heard the woman curse impressively. "I'd like to get my hands on the bastard that did this to you, Miz Thomas. I'd skin him alive, I would!"
"Um...just call me Lily. There's a big bruise on my breast, but I don't think I want you to take pictures of that one. He sort of squeezed it real hard. Do you have to?"
"Every last one. And don't you go worryin' over who sees these. Flint is gonna upload them to his legal file and e-mail them soon as he can. Ain't no man on this ranch who'd get his jollies lookin' at what that sum bitch did to you. Lordy, but I'd love to take a cattle prod to the bastard's balls..."
Lily nodded jerkily and lowered the towel so that Dora could snap a couple of pictures. The boot mark in the middle of her spine was another cause for Dora to burst out in rage, and by the time all the bruises had been photographed, Dora was clamping her lips tight to keep from saying much more.
"I think we got them all. You get dressed, honey. Supper'll be on the table in an hour and a half. I'll take the camera down to Flint's office."
Less than an hour later, Flint hit the send key on his laptop, shooting the digital photos of all those livid bruises, the laid-out contents of the lock-box, and a lengthy e-mail to Max, praying that the lawyer would be able to come up with some kind of strategy to help Lily. He was closing his laptop when he sensed her close to him, and he lifted his head to meet that golden gaze, sparkling with unshed tears.
"Why are you being so nice to me? What's in this for you?" Her cheeks were white, but a rosy blush was beginning to rise from her collar. He rose slowly from his desk chair
A cry caught in her throat, and arms wrapped firmly around her from behind, dragging her back into a solid, warm body. "Hush...it's going to be all right. From what I can tell, there's nothing in that box that you didn't have a right to take. What did you do with his wallet and cards?"
Lily scrubbed her face hard with both palms before whispering huskily, "I buried them in the mud in a creek bottom about fifteen miles out of Austin. I weighted them down with a big rock. There's a big stand of oaks along the creek there. The one that is mostly dead is where the rock is."
Flint turned her in his arms and pressed her face to his shoulder, feeling her body shake with fear. He leaned his chin against the top of her head and closed his eyes, inhaling the scent of rich earth and clean woman. "Max told me to get photos of all your bruises. Just in case."
She pulled back from him a little and bit her lower lip. "You...want me to...strip?"
He nodded, then realized what she was thinking. "I'll have Dora take the pictures. As much as I'd love to get you naked, I'm not one to press. You can go hop into the shower and I'll send her up with my digital camera."
He stepped away from her, releasing her almost reluctantly. Her jerky nod was all he got before she grabbed clean underwear from her dresser and backed toward her bathroom, clutching the silk and lace scraps he'd bought her to her chest in shaking hands. His mouth went dry, and his thoughts went to hell in a handcart.
Sweet Lord . He watched until she was inside the bathroom and the door was firmly shut before he exhaled his pent up breath and whirled to find his camera and his housekeeper. No fucking way would he trust himself to just take pictures if he got her naked.
When Dora knocked on her door, Lily was wrapped in a damp towel, her cheeks hot with embarrassment. When the housekeeper started taking photos from different angles, she heard the woman curse impressively. "I'd like to get my hands on the bastard that did this to you, Miz Thomas. I'd skin him alive, I would!"
"Um...just call me Lily. There's a big bruise on my breast, but I don't think I want you to take pictures of that one. He sort of squeezed it real hard. Do you have to?"
"Every last one. And don't you go worryin' over who sees these. Flint is gonna upload them to his legal file and e-mail them soon as he can. Ain't no man on this ranch who'd get his jollies lookin' at what that sum bitch did to you. Lordy, but I'd love to take a cattle prod to the bastard's balls..."
Lily nodded jerkily and lowered the towel so that Dora could snap a couple of pictures. The boot mark in the middle of her spine was another cause for Dora to burst out in rage, and by the time all the bruises had been photographed, Dora was clamping her lips tight to keep from saying much more.
"I think we got them all. You get dressed, honey. Supper'll be on the table in an hour and a half. I'll take the camera down to Flint's office."
Less than an hour later, Flint hit the send key on his laptop, shooting the digital photos of all those livid bruises, the laid-out contents of the lock-box, and a lengthy e-mail to Max, praying that the lawyer would be able to come up with some kind of strategy to help Lily. He was closing his laptop when he sensed her close to him, and he lifted his head to meet that golden gaze, sparkling with unshed tears.
"Why are you being so nice to me? What's in this for you?" Her cheeks were white, but a rosy blush was beginning to rise from her collar. He rose slowly from his desk chair
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