Scarlet Nights p.20 Read online

  “Great. I’m historically dumb.”

  Mike’s eyes showed his amusement.

  “I take it they planned to do away with me after the marriage.”

  “We think so,” Mike said. It was too late to sugarcoat the truth. “And Stefan would inherit whatever you have that only he knows about. We certainly don’t.”

  Sara’s face lit up. “That’s why he made the people of Edilean hate him. He planned to use their dislike of him as an excuse to take me away from here so he could … so he could murder me.”

  “Yes,” Mike said softly, “that’s just what we think he aimed to do.”

  Sara was quiet for a moment, her hand at her throat. “So why did he want Merlin’s Farm?”

  “Good question,” Mike said. “But it could be as simple as Vandlo getting angry at Lang about something, then wanting revenge.”

  “Greg did kill the dogs, didn’t he?”

  “Probably. Sara, there’s more. I’ve spent the last hours doing a lot of planning. I talked with my captain and I also made some arrangements with your parents.”

  “My parents?” Again, she waved her hand. “Don’t let me interrupt you. Tell me what your plan is.”

  “I need to do whatever is necessary to take the Vandlos’ attention off of you and put it on me.”

  “What does that mean? You go in shooting?”

  “That was my first choice.” He was watching her intently. “But they have relatives, so if I shoot them, more Vandlos will come after you in their place. Sara,” he said slowly, then stopped.

  “You’re frightening me again. What horrible thing do you want me to do?”

  “Marry me,” he said simply.

  “What?”

  “If you marry me, then the Vandlos will have to kill me before they can get to you.”

  “Oh,” Sara said. “Oh.”

  Mike felt his ego deflate by half, but then he wondered what he’d expected, that she’d run to him and say she wanted to marry him? He got himself back under control.

  “I want you to marry me in secret. Now. Tonight. Tomorrow morning I have to return to Fort Lauderdale, and until Vandlo gets back I don’t want anyone here to know we’re married. I’ll return for the fair, then I plan to let everyone know that you’re no longer free to marry someone else.”

  When she said nothing, just sat there and stared at him, he continued. “Sara, don’t worry. You don’t have to stay married to me, and in the meantime, we can keep living separately just as we’ve done. We can arrange living any way you want, but I want it legal between us. If Vandlo gets whatever you have, he’ll have to take me out first.”

  “I …” She didn’t know what to say.

  “It’ll be all right, I promise. As for the marriage ceremony itself, it’s all been set up with your parents.”

  “My parents? I think I’m old enough—”

  “That’s not what I meant. Your mother is the mayor, and people owe her favors. Tonight she called them in and got a license for us on a Sunday night. Are you ready to go?”

  Sara couldn’t think of anything to say. There was too much in her mind for her to comprehend. Brian, sweet, dear Brian killed because of her. And Greg—The truth was that she wasn’t surprised to hear that he was a criminal. Over the months they’d known each other, she’d looked away from the many underhanded things he did.

  Silently, she followed Mike to the car. It was the early evening on an ordinary Sunday night and she couldn’t make herself realize that she was on the way to her wedding.

  When Mike got in beside her, she looked at him. She’d known him for only eight days, but it didn’t feel that way. She thought of when they’d hidden in a tree together, of baking for him, of watching him walk along the top of a pavilion. He’d walked across rafters like he was a circus performer and Sara’s heart had pounded in fear. She thought of his date with Ariel. When she’d seen Ariel in church, she’d wanted to throw spitballs into her glossy red hair, as she’d done when they were children.

  Mike pulled out of the driveway. “Sara, I’m sorry about this. I know you wanted your wedding to be in front of the whole town and—”

  “No, I didn’t. That was Greg’s idea. I wanted it to be in Edilean Manor with Luke and Rams, and Joce and Tess there. And my parents. I didn’t even want my sisters to come. It was Greg who wanted a big wedding and he insisted that all the shop clients be invited.”

  “And one of them probably would have been his mother,” Mike said.

  “I guess so …”

  Mike pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Call Luke, wake them up, and tell them we’re on our way to get married in their old house.”

  Sara couldn’t help the little wave of joy that ran through her. “Really?”

  He smiled at her. “I can’t give you everything you want—and deserve—but I can give you the wedding you’d like to have. Minus the correct groom, of course.”

  Sara didn’t reply to his last remark. There were too many other things on her mind. “Did you tell Tess?”

  “Yes.” He didn’t want to burden Sara with more than she’d had piled on her tonight, but Mike had spent twenty minutes calming Tess down. She was nearly hysterical with fear that both Mike and Sara were going to be killed.

  “What did Tess say?”

  “That if she were here, she’d have Rams draw up a contract saying that if you and I divorce, you get Merlin’s Farm.”

  Sara managed a smile. And she remembered the way Tess had protected her from Greg’s greed. How she missed her friend! But Sara’s mind was too full to feel much else. On top of the horror of finding out the truth about Brian and about the man she’d almost married, was how close she’d come to being murdered. And now she was at last getting married, not because of love, but to save her own life. Mike’s marriage proposal had talked of secrecy and living separately, and of not staying married. She’d never imagined words so cold.

  When they reached her parents’ house, Dr. Shaw was outside, waiting for them. He put his arm around his daughter’s shoulders and led her inside.

  Mike stood outside in the dark. “Okay, Newland,” he said aloud. “Straighten up and be strong. You’re about to get married.”

  Mike waited for the shudder to come, but it didn’t. The truth was, he wanted to get this done with before Sara came to her senses and told him to get lost.

  19

  BY THE TIME they got into the house, Sara’s sober mood began to leave her. By rights she knew she should be miserable. She’d just found out about Brian’s death and that Greg wanted to murder her. To further complicate things, she was marrying a man she’d known for only a few days and the marriage would probably end in divorce.

  All in all, she knew she should be sad, but she wasn’t. Instead, she looked at Mike and felt warmth spread through her. It didn’t make sense, but what she was doing felt right.

  “Where’s Mom?” Sara asked her father.

  “Already at Edilean Manor. After Mike’s call, she went into action—and you know what that means.”

  “Orders,” Sara said.

  “Exactly. She said you’re to put on Lissie’s dress here and I’m to drive you to Luke’s house.”

  When Sara and her father turned to look at Mike, he didn’t know what they wanted. “Oh. Right. I’ll meet you there. Sara—”

  She couldn’t bear hearing another apology. “Go! Get your suit on and meet me at the house. And remember …”

  “What?”

  “If you chicken out I’ll be obliged to marry Greg.”

  Mike smiled at her. “Yeah. Good. Okay.” He couldn’t seem to make a complete sentence. He went to his car, and minutes later he was outside Edilean Manor. The house was ablaze with light and he could hear voices inside.

  Luke threw open the front door, a glass of champagne in his hand. “I have a houseful of excited women. Well, really only two women, but they’re making enough noise that it sounds like New Year’s Eve.”

&n