heard him ask about Metwater.”
“Yes. He wanted to meet him. Maybe he was simply a fan.” Yes, that was probably it. The Prophet attracted many followers wherever he went.
Simon turned away from her to prowl the room like a restless predator. “Metwater must be doing pretty well siphoning money off his followers,” he said. “If he can afford to hide you away here.”
There was the cynicism she had been expecting. “I’m not hiding,” she said. “And the Prophet has money of his own. He inherited it from his father.”
Simon paused in his circuit of the room and looked back at her. “Then why does he need your money?”
Andi didn’t answer.
“You signed the agreement, didn’t you?” Simon asked. “The one that gives Daniel Metwater all your assets—now and in the future, as long as you remain with him.”
“The money goes to the Family,” she said. “We pool our resources so that no one has more than anyone else.”
“The money goes into Daniel Metwater’s personal bank account. I have the records, if you don’t believe me.”
The Rangers had no business looking into the private affairs of the Prophet, though of course, they thought their badges gave them the right. “He decides the best use of the funds for the Family,” she said.
“I guess this week, stashing you in a suite in the Brown Palace was the best use of the funds.”
Again, she said nothing. He had obviously made up his mind. And what business was it of his how the Family spent their money? She opened her mouth to ask him, but he cut her off.
“Whose idea was it to come here?” he asked her.
“The Prophet’s.”
“He wanted you here so that you couldn’t tell us anything we could use against him,” Simon said. “But it’s too late for that now. We already have everything we need to put him away.”
“Are you saying you arrested him?” She tried to keep the alarm out of her voice, but failed. For months, the Rangers had been harassing Daniel Metwater and his followers. The Family, as they called themselves, got the blame for every crime that occurred on the public lands the Ranger Brigade patrolled.
“When was the last time you heard from him?” Simon asked.
“I haven’t heard anything from him since he brought me here three days ago,” she said. “Why? Where is he? What have you done to him?”
“We haven’t done anything. We don’t know where he is.” Simon’s eyes met hers, black and hard as coal. “I was hoping you did.”
She shook her head and sank onto the sofa, fearful her legs would no longer support her. “What’s happened? Why are you looking for him?”
“We found your friend Starfall’s baby.”
“Hunter!” Fear clogged her throat. Her tentmate’s child had disappeared from camp two days before Metwater drove Andi to Denver. Starfall had accused the Prophet of taking her child, but Andi knew that couldn’t be true. “Is he okay? Where was he?”
“He’s fine. He was with a couple of guys named Smith. Two brothers. Sound familiar?”
She shook her head, relief flooding her. “Then you know Daniel didn’t take Hunter,” she said. “Why are you still looking for him when you know he’s innocent?”
“The Smith brothers told us Daniel Metwater paid them to take Starfall’s baby,” Simon said. “Metwater said he wanted to teach her a lesson.”
Andi shook her head. “No. He wouldn’t do something like that.”
“Then why did he kidnap Starfall and try to kill her? He tried to kill Ethan Reynolds, the Ranger who was trying to help her, too.”
“You’re lying. The Prophet would never do anything like that. He promotes peace.”
Simon stood over her, his shadow falling across her face, his bulk making her feel even smaller. “Why are you defending him?” he demanded. “What has he done for you but take your money and sleep with other women?”
She cringed at the words. “He’s trying to teach me not to be possessive.” Wanting the Prophet of their people all to herself was her personal failing, one she struggled with.
“A truly good man wouldn’t treat you this way,” Simon said, his voice gentler. “He would cherish you and protect you, not lie to you and use you.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
His expression hardened. “Maybe not. But I know you’re in danger if you don’t get away from him.”
“Danger?” The word shocked her out of her despair. She sat up straighter. “What kind of danger?”
“Daniel Metwater is running for his life right now. Every law enforcement agency in the country is hunting for him,” Simon said. “He knows sooner or later we’re going to catch him. When we do, he doesn’t want you around to testify against him.”
“I would never testify against him,” she said, horrified at the idea.
“You’re not married to him. You can be compelled to tell what you know.”
“But I don’t know anything.”
“I think you do,” Simon said. “You’re closer to Daniel Metwater than anyone. You may not realize the significance of the information, but it’s something big enough that he took care to hide you away here, under an assumed name.”
“If that’s true and he’s so terrible, why didn’t he just kill me?” she asked. “That’s apparently the kind of man you think he is.”
Simon’s expression didn’t change. “He has to keep you alive until your twenty-fifth birthday, when your trust comes under your control. If you die after that, the money all goes to Daniel Metwater—am I right?”
He was, though she had no intention of confirming this. “The Prophet would never harm me,” she said.
“I’ll bet Starfall thought the same thing, until he beat her and stole her baby.”
Andi pressed her hands against her belly, feeling the child shift inside her. “You need to leave,” she said.
“I’ll go for now,” he said. “But I won’t be far away.” He headed toward the door. “I have a feeling Metwater is going to come back for you, and when he does, he’ll find me waiting.”
He left, closing the door firmly behind him. She stared after him, rage and fear and sickness swirling through her. Simon Woolridge was a horrible man. How could he make such terrible accusations against a man who spoke words of peace and caring? Daniel Metwater had saved her, and so many others.
Simon
