Love and Fury: The Coltrane Saga, Book 4 Read Online Free Page B

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    Things were so bad that Gavin approached Alaina and asked why she didn’t request more money from Dani’s father. Coltrane was quite wealthy, the owner of one of the largest and most productive silver mines in Nevada.
    Alaina heard him out, then shook her head, explaining that Travis would never agree. After all, he hadn’t heard from his daughter in fourteen years.
    Gavin found that incredible. “Is Dani crazy? He’s one of the richest men in America, and she won’t have anything to do with him? How can she be so stupid?”
    Alaina regarded his outburst coolly, then confided to him that Dani actually thought it was the other way around, that her father did not want to be in touch with her. “You see,” she smiled at him, “Dani has written to him over the years, many letters that I destroyed. Since she never had an answer to any of her letters, she thinks he wants nothing to do with her. She believes he’s angry because she wanted to live with me.” She shrugged, smiling again.
    Gavin exploded, calling her a bitter old fool. Thanks to her stupidity, they were practically penniless. In defense, she sputtered that there’d been no way of knowing the Count was gambling away all their money. She’d thought they were secure.
    So Gavin was in a quandary. What could he do? He liked being rich, and he wanted to continue being rich.
    He reached for his shirt, hand-sewn of the finest silk in a rich ivory shade. It complemented beautifully the royal-blue suit he chose from the hundreds of suits in his dressing room. Thank goodness the casino refused to take clothes in payment of debts, he reflected bitterly, or the Count would have left him naked.
    A slow smile spread across his face as he met his own gaze in the mirror. Thanks to fate, a wonderful plan had begun to form in Gavin’s mind. When Alaina had come running into his room earlier that day, waving a letter and babbling, something had occurred to Gavin, something that took root in his imagination and was already growing.
    He grinned as he recalled reading the letter, and Alaina’s staring at him, wide-eyed, when he burst into laughter.
    “Don’t you see what this means?” he’d asked her.
    She nodded slowly. “Travis is living in Paris with Kitty. He wants to see Dani, get to know her again.”
    Gavin dismissed that with a wave. “Not that, the rest of it. He says he’s planning to remain in Paris indefinitely…” His eyes scanned the letter hungrily. “Here. He says he’s put the silver mine and the ranch in Nevada in her and her brother’s name, equal shares for both.”
    He had waved the letter at Alaina in exultation. “This is it! Dani can sell her share to her brother, or to whomever she wants, and we’ll be rich again.”
    Alaina reminded him that Dani would, no doubt, have her own ideas about what to do with her property. “She might even want to go back to America and live there,” she added cautiously.
    “Well, she’ll quickly get that notion out of her head,” Gavin snapped. “Leave everything to me. And not one word to Dani about this letter, understand?” he warned. Alaina, knowing his temper, nodded. She assured him that, as with all the letters from Travis through the years, she would pretend it had never arrived.
    Gavin finished dressing, elation growing as he developed his plan. Not only was he going to be wealthy again, he was also going to hurt Travis Coltrane.
    Gavin laughed aloud as he left his room, beautifully attired and charged with new hope.
    Making his way through the house, he whistled softly as he glanced about admiringly at the furnishings. Expensive bric-a-brac, valuable paintings, the very best chairs, tables, and rugs. The château was opulent, but Gavin thought of it as a mausoleum. He preferred simplicity, a feeling of space and light, not this musty gloom. No matter. Soon he would have everything his way. He would have money. Coltrane’s money! Ah, revenge was sweet!
    Dani’s room was at the end of