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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.”
