Page 40 of River Legacy (Powder River #5)

He gritted his teeth at how quickly she’d fallen for the rancher.

What did Ryder have that he didn’t? He hated to think.

Right now he didn’t seem to have much of a future.

But that million dollars Wen would be putting in his offshore account would help him figure it out.

Maybe he’d catch a slow boat to a tropical island to think about it.

Glancing over at Victoria, he wondered what she would do. The cowboy’s ranch was gone. He figured she’d be gone as well. Love was one thing, but money was another. No one wanted to marry a homeless saddle tramp, especially the likes of Victoria Forester. She was her daddy’s daughter.

Well, he thought, it wouldn’t be the ending he’d thought he’d have when he flew to Montana to make Victoria his fiancée.

But it would have to do. Between Wen and him, they’d done plenty of damage.

His boss and his daughter would probably walk away, and their lives would go on just fine.

If Wen had cut off her finances, Claude was sure he’d remedy that after this.

Not that he planned to worry about her, he thought with a silent chuckle.

The woman could take care of herself. Ryder Stafford?

Who knew about him. But something told Claude that the cowboy would come out smelling like roses, as his grandmother used to say.

The bad stuff didn’t stick to some people, as if they were Teflon, he thought as he pulled up to the gate in the area reserved for private carriers.

Claude could see that the steps were down and the door open on the Gulfstream G550. JJ would be doing his preflight check. What Claude didn’t see was Wen as the guard at the gate nodded and let him drive through. Only a man as rich and powerful as Wendell Forester got this kind of service.

“We wait here for your father,” Claude said as he parked, surprised the cops weren’t here. But of course Wen wouldn’t call them. His boss liked to handle problems himself.

Victoria, he saw, had perked up considerably since getting the call from the cowboy. Maybe she really did have feelings for him.

“You should just let me out and you can make a run for it,” Victoria said. “Seriously, just take off and don’t look back.”

He shook his head. “You and your father would both like that, wouldn’t you? You use people and then walk away. Wasn’t that what you were planning to do with Ryder when you tired of him?”

“Isn’t it possible that I’m serious about him?”

Claude laughed and shook his head. “You’re kidding yourself. I’m surprised you’re not bored with him yet—not to mention he no longer has a ranch.”

“We’ll get another one,” she said.

“Seriously?” he said. “With what? I thought your father cut you off?”

“He did. But I have the money my grandmother left me. It’s more than enough to buy a small place, and Ryder isn’t broke either.”

He shook his head. “Of course, the two of you have money. I forget who I’m dealing with. So why did you buy that old pickup?”

“I’ve never touched my inheritance. Maybe I was waiting for the day I needed it for something important.”

He sat fuming, hating his life, jealous of people who had options he’d never been provided, but mostly feeling sorry for himself. He finally couldn’t help himself. “What was wrong with me?” he asked. “I could have made you a good husband if you had been just a little nice to me.”

“You weren’t in love with me. Also, you work for my father, and I wasn’t in love with you,” she said.

“It would have never worked. I never planned to ever marry, if you want to know the truth. After meeting Ryder, I’ve changed my mind.

But I would never have let my father force me into marriage with anyone I didn’t love, with you or anyone else. ”

“Maybe if you’d given me a chance, you might have fallen in love with me,” he said, hating how pathetic he sounded.

She smiled over at him. “It wouldn’t have worked. You didn’t want me. You wanted a little of my father’s life.” She shook her head. “Trust me, it wouldn’t have made you happy. Look at my father. Does he seem happy to you?”

Claude had never thought about it. He just assumed rich people lied about money not making them happy because they felt guilty.

They sat for a moment of silence, then Victoria looked around nervously. “Claude, this is your chance to make a clean getaway. It’s a mistake waiting for my father. He isn’t going to go with you. He’s going to stop you from getting on that plane.”

He studied her for a moment, thinking that she might be right.

Maybe taking her father at gunpoint wasn’t the best plan.

Leaving with Victoria in the jet to Dallas should show the man how serious he was.

If Wen didn’t send him proof that the million had been deposited in his account, Claude might just dump her out over the mountains.

He hadn’t bought any of her reasons for why she couldn’t have married him—let alone loved him.

“Let’s go,” he said and climbed out to go around to the passenger-side door.

“I’m going to untie you, but I have a gun.

I will shoot you if you give me any trouble.

We’re just going to board the plane. I’ll have the gun in your back the whole time.

I no longer have anything to lose, so keep that in mind. ”

He cut the zip ties and dragged her from the vehicle as she reached back in for her phone.