Free Amaryllis by Jayne Castle Page B

his clothing. “Miranda and I are close friends. We were just having a quiet conversation here when this odd woman interrupted us.”
    Amaryllis glared at him as she got to her feet.
    “I know who you are, Beech, and I know what you are,” Lucas said. “I’ll deal with you later. Get out of my sight.”
    Beech bridled. “Don’t give me orders. You can’t prove I did anything illegal, and even if you could, you wouldn’t press charges. We’re all adults here. We know the facts of corporate life.”
    “I said, I will deal with you later, Beech.”
    At that moment Amaryllis could have sworn that she felt a cold wind move through the hall, but the scarves of her gown did not move. She shivered and automatically glanced around to see if there was an open window in the vicinity. She did not see one.
    Beech’s eyes widened and then narrowed quickly. His face turned an unpleasant shade of red. “You can’t intimidate me.”
    Lucas just looked at him. He said nothing.
    “Bastard,” Beech snarled. “I’ll go to the police.”
    Amaryllis was outraged. “Really, Mr. Beech, you have no call to act as if you are the offended party here. I think it’s obvious to everyone present that you have been involved in some sort of unethical and very probably illegal activity. You should be ashamed of yourself. My personal opinion is that Mr. Trent should prosecute.”
    “Oh, shut up,” Beech muttered. “There isn’t a damn thing Trent can do to me.”
    “What about your own conscience, Mr. Beech?” Amaryllis demanded. “How will you justify your activities to yourself?”
    Icy amusement glittered in Lucas’s eyes. “Yeah, Beech. What about your conscience? Maybe it needs a little prodding.”
    Beech sputtered in helpless fury. “Don’t threaten me.”
    “I’m not threatening you. I’m going to give you some advice. It’s time for a lateral career move, Beech. Get out of New Seattle and stay out.”
    “You can’t do this to me.” Beech started to edge his way along the corridor wall. “You know you can’t.”
    Lucas gazed at him thoughtfully. Another whisper of cold wind wafted through the hall. Amaryllis’s dress did not flutter, but she realized she had goose bumps on her arms.
    Beech’s mouth worked. Then, with an inarticulate exclamation, he turned and fled.
    Amaryllis exhaled deeply, releasing the breath she had not been aware of holding.
    Miranda lifted her chin and stared at Lucas with seething, defiant eyes. “He didn’t have to pay for the information, Lucas. I gave it to him for free.”
    Lucas studied her with an unreadable expression. “Mind telling me why?”
    “You fool. You really don’t know, do you? In three long years, you’ve never once figured it out.”
    “Enlighten me.”
    Miranda raised her head with fierce pride. “I did it to avenge Jackson.”
    “Jackson?” Lucas stared at her.
    “He was your partner and you killed him, you murdering bastard. I knew I’d never be able to prove it, so I found another way to get revenge.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    Miranda shoved a wing of pale hair back out of her eyes. Tears shimmered on her cheeks. “You know damn well what I’m talking about. You wanted to get rid of Jackson because you had no further use for him.”
    “Miranda—” Lucas broke off abruptly, as if he had no more words.
    “You used him to set up your business contacts here in the city because his family had the connections you needed. Then you got rid of him.”
    Shocked, Amaryllis took a step toward Miranda, her hand outstretched. “That’s not true. It can’t be true.”
    “What would you know about it?” Miranda pulled quickly back out of Amaryllis’s reach. “You weren’t there. Lucas set him up to be killed by those pirates. I know he did. It’s the only explanation. There’s no other reason why it happened the way it did. No reason why Jackson would have been at that cabin with her that day.”
    “Miss Locking, listen to me.” Amaryllis