Hot on Her Heels

CHAPTER TWO

“SAVE HIM?” LEXI SHRIEKED, coming to her feet and glaring at Izzy. “Are you insane? Are you still on some kind of medication from your eye surgery, because you’re talking crazy. We’re not saving him. He tried to kill you. You were nearly left blind. That’s not okay. That can never be okay. And he’s still bent on ruining all of us. Save Garth? From what? For what?”

“You need to stay calm and sit down,” Izzy told her sister. “Think of the baby.”

“You leave my baby out of this. If you were so concerned about my baby, you wouldn’t be worried about a man who is doing everything he can to make our lives hell.” Lexi pushed her blond hair off her face. “Dammit, Izzy, I expect better of you.”

Dana moved toward the sofa. If necessary, she would get between the sisters to make sure things didn’t get too ugly.

Izzy stiffened. “You can expect all you want. What matters is I talked to Garth. He’s family, Lexi. He’s as biologically related to us as we are to each other. He’s been hurt. Dad screwed him and you know it.”

“Fine. Jed was horrible to both Garth and his mother. But that doesn’t give him the right to come after us. We had nothing to do with it.”

“He’s not responsible for the oil rig exploding. I believe him and Nick believes him. Look, think of him like Darth Vader. He needs to be saved from himself.”

“You really think that using movie examples will help your case?” Lexi asked.

Dana glanced at Skye who was listening intently, but not saying anything. Izzy’s strategy was flawed. Skye was the more emotional of the sisters. If Izzy wanted the three of them to cooperate, she should have convinced Skye first. Then the two of them could have worked on Lexi.

“He’s our brother,” Izzy repeated stubbornly. “I saw something inside of him.”

“The ravages of a black and empty heart,” Lexi muttered.

“I saw who he was supposed to be.” Izzy leaned forward. “I saw flashes of the fourteen-year-old boy who begged his own father, a man who had never acknowledged him, for the money to save his mother from a brain tumor. Jed turned him away. Jed threw him into the street. Jed is the reason he wants revenge.”

“We all know this,” Skye said quietly.

“But the person he should have been is still there. Imagine what Garth would be like if his mother had never gotten sick. Imagine if we’d met him when we were ten or fifteen. If we’d grown up together. We would have been a family.”

“It’s too late to go back,” Lexi said flatly.

“But it’s not too late to go forward. If you exclude the explosion, then he hasn’t really hurt us.”

“Not for lack of trying.”

“He wanted me to get together with Nick,” Izzy said.

“He’s the reason you broke up in the first place,” Lexi reminded her.

“Agreed, but he realized he was wrong. He came to me and pleaded Nick’s case. Nick didn’t know he was doing that. Garth had no reason to help us, but he did. He’s not all bad.”

Lexi and Skye looked at each other. Izzy saw the exchange and pounced.

“Why would he do that and lie about the explosion? He admitted to everything else.” Izzy glanced at Dana. “Not in a way that can be used in court.”

“I figured that.”

Lexi sighed and turned to Dana. “You didn’t try to talk her out of it?”

“I tried,” Dana told her. “But she’s very much her own person. Which is mostly your fault. She’s your baby sister. You should have repressed her more as a child. But no. You had to nurture her. This is what you get as a thank-you.”

“Very funny,” Lexi said. “Do you have anything serious to add?”

Dana glanced at all of them. “Izzy’s not an idiot and she has good instincts about people. Do I think she’s right? I don’t know. Am I willing to say she’s totally and completely wrong?” She hesitated. “No.”

Izzy grinned. “See. Dana believes me.”

“That’s not what I said,” Dana told her.

“Close enough.” Izzy smiled at her sisters. “We’ve got big-time pressure here. I want Garth in the family fold by Christmas. Then we can all celebrate together.”

“I’m sorry I’m going to miss that,” Dana said, almost meaning it. Talk about an uncomfortable day.

“You won’t,” Izzy told her, grinning.

“You’re the one he tried to kill,” Skye said, speaking for the first time. “You’re totally sure he wasn’t responsible?”

Izzy’s smile faded. She leaned forward and stared into Skye’s eyes. “I swear. I believe him. He’s not innocent in this. But he had his reasons for acting against us and he’s our brother. I know down to my soul that bringing him into the family is the only way to stop all this. To make it better.”

“Jed will never accept him,” Skye said.

“This isn’t about Jed, it’s about us. Jed has proven again and again that none of us matter to him. But that’s okay because we have each other. And now we have Garth.”

Skye was quiet for a moment, then nodded slowly. “Okay.”

Izzy jumped to her feet. “I knew you’d understand.”

“Maybe she does, but I don’t,” Lexi said. “Even if I accept he didn’t try to kill you, which I don’t, big deal. What about everything else? He still has a lot to answer for.”

Skye nodded. “Lexi’s right. We have to be sure. We all have to be sure this isn’t a trick. That he hasn’t come up with a new strategy. Maybe he wasn’t responsible for the explosion. Maybe that was just bad timing or something. But there are other questions that still have to be answered.”

Dana cleared her throat. “Technically this isn’t Garth’s strategy. It’s Izzy’s. I don’t think he wants to be drawn into the family.”

“Which will make the process even more unpleasant,” Lexi murmured.

“We have to do this,” Izzy said stubbornly. “We have to save him.”

“If he’s worth saving,” Skye said. “How do we know for sure?”

There was a moment of silence as the women looked at each other. Suddenly Izzy grinned.

“Piss him off,” she announced happily. “If I’m right and there’s a nice guy just waiting to get out, he may be annoyed but he won’t act out. If he’s as horrible as you three think, he’ll show his true colors. Stress brings out a person’s real character.”

“She’s right,” Skye said slowly. “If we can get in his face, we’ll figure him out pretty quickly.”

“We need to provoke him in an obvious way,” Dana said, moving toward them, liking the idea of annoying Garth.

Skye smiled. “What about if one of us shadows him? Two birds with one stone—either we catch him being evil to someone else or he reacts to our personal surveillance.”

Lexi nodded. “If he’s everything Izzy claims, he’ll understand. If not, maybe he’ll get mad and show us what’s underneath that tough facade. It’s a win-win. I like it.”

“I don’t,” Izzy said, “but I see the point of it. So which one of us should it be?”

Dana thought about everything that had happened in the past few months, how scared her friends had been and about Garth’s ruthless actions. She thought about how Jed had ignored his own daughters, virtually leaving them on their own to handle a situation he’d created. She thought of how much each of the Titan sisters meant to her.

“I’ll do it,” she said, looking at them. “I’ll take a leave of absence and stay on Garth full-time.”

“You can’t,” Skye said.

“Sure I can. I won’t have a problem getting the time. You need an objective third party, but also someone who knows what to look for. That’s me.”

“You have to let us pay you,” Lexi said. “You won’t have a paycheck.”

“Not on your life.”

Skye stood and faced her. She was a green-eyed redhead with a temper. It took her a while to get riled, but when it happened, it was impressive.

“Friends don’t let friends work for free,” Skye told her. “Either we pay you or we find someone else.”

“It’s not like they’ll miss the money,” Izzy pointed out. “They’re rich.”

“When you get your trust fund, you’re kicking in your share,” Skye told her.

Dana didn’t want to take their money, but she also didn’t want to trust anyone else with the investigation. There was too much on the line.

“Okay. But no more than my usual pay at the sheriff’s office.”

“Done,” Lexi said, leveraging herself into a standing position. “You’ll stay on Garth and find out everything you can. If he’s becoming one of the good guys, then we’ll all hold hands and sing ‘Kumbaya.’ If not, you get the pleasure of throwing his ass in jail.”

Dana smiled. “I’d like that.”

Izzy put her hands on her hips. “You be nice to him.”

“I won’t leave any scars,” she promised instead.

“No bruises, either.”

Dana sighed. “No one lets me have any fun.”

GARTH’S PHONE BUZZED.

“There are two ladies here to see you,” his assistant said through the speakerphone. “They don’t have appointments, but said that you, and I quote, ‘wouldn’t mind taking time from your busy schedule to be with loved ones.’”

He only knew one person who talked like that. “Izzy and one of her sisters?”

“Ms. Skye Titan, sir.”

“Send them in.”

He rose and walked around his desk. Why would Skye and Izzy come to see him? Not to gloat. His time with the Dallas Police Department had hardly been a victory.

Seconds later Izzy breezed into his office. Her long, dark curly hair tumbled past her shoulders. She smiled as if they shared a delicious secret. Skye trailed behind her, looking less convinced this was where she wanted to be.

“An unexpected pleasure,” he said, motioning to the sofas by the window. “Can I get you ladies anything?”

“No, thanks. We’re here to talk,” Izzy said as she plopped down on a sofa cushion. “Lexi had other obligations. That’s what I’m supposed to say. Reality is, she’s still not sure about you. I said you were fine, but only Skye really believes me.”

He turned his attention to the curvy redhead in a tailored suit and pearls who had taken a seat near her sister. “You’re sure about me?”

Cool, green eyes stared into his. “I said I was willing to consider you weren’t completely evil. There’s a difference.”

“I agree.” He turned his attention back to Izzy. “What are we talking about?”

“You. Saving you from yourself.” She frowned. “You don’t remember? We discussed this before.”

Izzy had said some sentimental things about him being her brother and the sisters being his family—a fact that didn’t change anything. He’d dismissed her comments as the babblings of a broken heart.

“You were upset about Nick,” he said.

“Oh, please. That didn’t affect my brain.” She settled into a more comfortable position and patted the cushion next to hers. “Come on. Join the party. As I said the other day, you’re family. This path of destruction you’re on is just plain stupid. So we’re going to save you.”

“Against my will?”

“If necessary.” She smiled. “We can be very persuasive.”

“Izzy wants you to join the family,” Skye said.

“By Christmas,” Izzy added.

He remembered her saying something like that before. “Thanks, but no.”

“You don’t get a choice.”

“Part of saving me against my will?”

“Uh-huh. Come on, Garth. We’re your sisters. Didn’t you ever wish you had someone to braid your hair?”

“I’ll pass.”

“Ignore him,” Izzy told her sister. “He’ll come around.”

“And if he doesn’t want to come around?” Skye asked. “This is not a well-thought-out plan.”

“When has that stopped me before?”

Garth couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so uncomfortable in the presence of two women. Just as strange, he couldn’t define the cause of his unease.

He forced himself to walk closer and take a seat.

Skye turned to him. “While Izzy can be wild and impetuous, she’s actually a fairly good judge of character. She says you’re worth it.”

“I’m not,” he told her, knowing that the further the conversation went, the harder it would be to ruthlessly take over the Titan world.

Skye studied him, staring intently, as if she tried hard enough, she could read his mind.

“I understand why you went after Jed,” she said after a few seconds. “What he did was horrific. I’m ashamed of his behavior and I apologize on his behalf. Not that my apology has any validity.”

“None at all,” he said easily.

“Fair enough. But why us? What did we do to deserve your contempt?”

He didn’t like the word contempt. It implied emotion, not rationality. “You were easy targets,” he said. “If I hurt you, I hurt Jed.”

“By now you must be aware that Jed doesn’t give a damn about any of us. He’s not much of a father.”

She said the words easily, but he heard the tight pain in her voice. She might have accepted the truth about her father, but it still had the power to wound.

Garth shrugged. “If it distracts him, that’s enough for me.”

“No, it’s not,” Izzy said. “Come on. You didn’t mean for it to get this messy. That’s not your style.”

Her assessment annoyed him—probably because it was true. “You don’t know my style.”

“I can guess. You want a clean victory,” Izzy told him. “When you started this, you thought we were one happy family. Cut one and we all bleed. You thought you could weaken Jed by going after those he loved most. Which was quite the miscalculation, big brother. Feeling a little foolish now, are we?”

“No.” Foolish didn’t exactly explain what emotions he’d experienced.

The ruthless side of him said that he should tell them the truth. That their father had come to him, offering him the chance to run Titan World on the condition that all three of Jed’s daughters never get a penny.

But he didn’t say the words. There was no reason to hurt them further. Jed would do that well enough without any help.

“We’re not your enemy,” Skye said. “We don’t want anything from you.” She glanced at Izzy, who was shaking her head, then sighed. “Izzy wants you to be part of the family, but that’s different. We’re not after power or money. We just want to live our lives in peace. Is it that you can’t believe that, or you’re in too deep to back off now?”

Before he could answer, Izzy moved from her sofa to his and sat next to him. She angled toward him and touched his arm.

“We’re sorry about your mom. I don’t understand how Jed could be so callous and cruel—which I guess are the same thing. Or maybe I do understand and it scares me. He’s my father, too. Why does he have to be so bad?”

Garth didn’t want to think about his mother or what had happened to her. He drew back. “This isn’t going to work. I’ve made my decision. I know what I want and I’m going to get it.”

Izzy only smiled. “You can’t. We’re your family. Not Jed. He deserves what he’s going to get, but not us. You know we’re innocent. You know we don’t deserve what you’re doing to us. Every time you act against one of us, you’re becoming more and more like Jed, and that’s not who you are.”

He felt the truth of her statements but didn’t say anything.

“You’re pressuring him, Izzy,” Skye said. “You have to stop. Enough with the emotional blackmail. Let’s deal with facts. If you didn’t arrange the explosion on the oil rig, who did? Or was it an accident?”

Garth appreciated the change in topic. “The preliminary reports all suggest a man-made cause. Someone did it on purpose.”

“If not you, then who?” Skye asked.

“I’m working on that.”

“Why do you care?” Izzy asked.

“I’ll take responsibility for what I did, nothing else.”

“With all you’ve been doing,” Skye said, “you’re a likely suspect.”

He nodded. “I know, but it wasn’t me. Explosions are too dangerous. There’s no way to control all the outcomes. I always know the end game.”

“I don’t suppose you’d take a lie detector test,” Skye said.

He chuckled. “No.” Although he would be open to intense questioning by Deputy Dana, he thought humorously. She intrigued him with her determination and irreverence.

“When you find out who was responsible, will you tell us?” Skye asked.

“Be careful what you ask for. You may not like the answer.”

She frowned. “Do you already know?”

“I suspect. There’s a difference.”

Skye looked stricken, as if she had thought of something impossible to believe. “Will you tell us?” she asked again softly.

“Yes.”

“Just like that?”

“I’ll tell you,” he said firmly.

She stood. “Then I guess we’ll wait to hear.”

He and Izzy rose.

Izzy looked at him. “About the family thing. I’m not kidding. You’re one of us now. Quit being mean.”

Then, before he could stop her, she wrapped both her arms around him, leaning against him. The embrace was uncomfortable and unfamiliar. He was used to having women in his arms, but this was different.

She released him, then stared into his eyes. Her mouth curved into a slight smile.

“Next time you’re going to hug me back,” she whispered. “You need us, Garth. And we need you.” Then she raised herself on her toes and kissed his cheek. “It’s going to be okay.”

As if she wanted to reassure him. But this was his game and he was winning. Didn’t they get that?

Skye eyed him. “I’m not comfortable with the whole embracing thing just yet.”

“Not a problem.”

“I hope Izzy’s right. I hope you are worth saving. We’re about to find out.” She smiled. “You may not like the process.”

The women left.

He stared after them, wanting to call them back and say he wasn’t worth saving. That they were ridiculous to waste their effort this way. At the same time, he had the strangest feeling that they had just won this round and that the unexpected victory had put him behind.

IT WAS NEARLY NINE that night when Garth rode the elevator from his condo building’s parking garage. He was tired, not surprising after a nearly fifteen-hour day, but his weariness seemed to be deeper than usual. He’d brought home a briefcase full of work he had no intention of looking at and he was oddly reluctant to spend the evening by himself.

If he had to define his mood—something he rarely bothered doing—he would say he was lonely.

It wasn’t as if he usually spent evenings playing poker with the guys, but lately the emptiness seemed more profound. Maybe it was because he’d lost his best friend. Or maybe all he needed was a drink and some TV time in front of a football game.

When the elevator stopped on the main floor, he got out and crossed to pick up his mail. On his way to the bank of locked boxes, he saw someone sitting in one of the overstuffed sofas. A familiar someone, watching him.

Dana Birch stood. “You’re keeping late hours.”

She wasn’t in uniform. Instead she wore jeans, a leather jacket and boots. Nothing stylish or upscale, yet the no-nonsense clothes suited her.

Garth swung his attention to George, the evening doorman for the building. The older man shifted uncomfortably.

“You, ah, have a visitor, Mr. Duncan.”

“So I see.”

Dana moved toward him. “Don’t blame George. His nephew is a new recruit in the Titanville sheriff’s office. I’ve helped him out a couple of times. George owes me.”

“Does he?”

Garth got his mail and tucked it under his arm. He had his briefcase in one hand and a bag of Chinese takeout in the other. “Why are you here?”

“Because you are.”

Not that he minded—Garth wasn’t intimidated by a powerful woman. In fact, he found the challenge appealing. There was something about Dana’s mouth, though. The fullness of the bottom lip, the slight curve at the corners. It spoke of sensuality and promise. Or maybe that was wishful thinking on his part.

“Starting a fan club?” he asked.

“Not exactly. I’ve taken a leave of absence from work so I can follow you. I’ll be on your ass until I figure out who and what you are.”

“You already know who I am.”

“Not really. Izzy thinks you’re brother material. Skye and Lexi aren’t so sure.”

An unexpected twist. “You’re the deciding vote?”

She smiled. “I’m here to test your character. Think of me as a trial by fire.”

He would give the Titan sisters points for creativity. “You don’t scare me, Dana.”

“Give it time.”

He chuckled and held up the bag of takeout. “You hungry? I have enough for two.”

“Lucky me.”

“Is that a yes?”

She paused for a second, before grabbing the bag. “Sure. Why not?”

They walked toward the elevator.

As they passed the main desk, George gave him a thumbs-up. Garth bit back a laugh. Given the fact that Dana was both prickly and determined to see the worst in him, the odds of him getting lucky that night seemed close to zero. But he was a man who enjoyed a good challenge.