Hot on Her Heels

by Susan Mallery

  Dana could see into the main floor of the huge house. Three or four hundred people milled around inside. Light glittered from a dozen crystal chandeliers. Servers in black pants and white shirts circulated with trays of expensive food while the sound of champagne corks competed with the chamber orchestra.

  Nothing about this was her, she thought, knowing it was too late to turn back now.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  She reached for Garth’s hand and squeezed it. “I’m fine.”

  “You’re lying.”

  “Go with it.”

  They walked into the party. Dana knew she was probably cutting off the circulation in Garth’s hand, but she couldn’t loosen her grip. Not when there were so many well-dressed strangers everywhere she looked. Senators, oil tycoons, movie stars. Not a crowd designed to make her feel at home.

  “Garth, good to see you,” an older man said. “You remember my wife?”

  His wife was a blue-eyed blonde with a face that didn’t move. Dana wasn’t sure if she was twenty-five or fifty.

  “Of course,” Garth said easily. “Amanda, you look lovely. Jason doesn’t begin to deserve you.”

  “So I tell him every day.”

  Garth chuckled. “This is my friend, Dana. Dana, Jason and Amanda Barkley. Jason is the ambassador to Costa Rica.”

  Dana smiled and shook hands with the couple. They chatted for a few more minutes, then moved on.

  “Want to head to the bar?” Garth asked.

  “Do I look like I need a drink?”

  “No, but I do. Liquor makes the party easier to tolerate.”

  “Then I’m glad we came in a limo,” she whispered, as he nodded at more people he knew.

  When they’d reached the bar, Dana accepted a pale green “drink of the night” with no idea what it was. Garth asked for Scotch.

  They moved through the crowd. The downstairs of Glory’s Gate had been designed for entertaining. Seemingly solid walls could be moved out of the way, creating an open space that could accommodate nearly a thousand people. There would be less tonight because there was a sit-down dinner. Dana had seen Skye plan for a big event before, but she’d never appreciated the sheer size of the major fund-raisers. Everything she’d ever been dragged to before had been tiny by comparison.

  “How does this work?” she asked. “Do people pay to come?”

  He nodded. “It’s five thousand a plate.”

  She nearly choked. “Five thousand dollars? You paid ten thousand dollars? for us to be here?”

  “That’s nothing. Ask me about the three million she made me pay the other day.”

  Dana had no idea what he was talking about but she couldn’t wrap her mind around the idea of that much money.

  “Later there’s an auction. She should walk away with a couple of million easily.”

  It boggled the mind, Dana thought, taking a sip of her drink.

  Nick came up and joined them. “Izzy found someone who’s actually been cave diving. She’s badgering the poor guy for details. I couldn’t listen.”

  Dana didn’t want to think about underwater cave diving, either. “Do you think she’ll really try it?”

  Nick shook his head. “We’re talking about Izzy. You want to take bets?”

  “No.” Izzy had always been wild, although falling for Nick had calmed her down a lot. She was going back to college in a couple of months. “Maybe she’ll be too busy with homework.”

  “We can only hope.”

  The orchestra started another song.

  Nick took her drink and put it on a small table by a pillar. “Come on, Dana. Distract me with a dance.”

  The line was smooth enough and Garth gave her an encouraging push toward his friend, but everything about the moment felt strange. Rehearsed, almost. She turned to say something to Garth, only to find him walking away.

  “So this was a plan,” she said, following Nick a few steps, then coming to a stop. “Want to tell me what’s going on?”

  “No.”

  “What is he up to?”

  Nick sighed. “It’s not what you think.”

  “I don’t know what to think.”

  “It’s not another woman.”

  “I never thought it was.” Which was true. So why would Garth want to go off on his own? A business deal?

  She dismissed that. Not here. Not at Skye’s party.

  “Is it Jed? Is he here?” she asked.

  “Apparently he bought a ticket.”

  She didn’t like the sound of that. “Garth shouldn’t be alone with him. Something could happen.”

  “Don’t worry. Garth can take care of himself.”

  “That’s what I’m worried about. Jed will do anything to win, including trap Garth.” She turned to walk away.

  Nick grabbed her arm. “Dana, leave him be.”

  She shrugged free. “Are you really going to stop me?”

  Nick stared into her eyes. “No. But tell him I tried, okay?”

  “Sure.”

  She went in the same direction as Garth, hoping she could find him before something bad happened. Unfortunately the tiny evening bag Lexi had loaned her hadn’t been big enough to conceal any of her handguns, so she wasn’t armed. Fashion was a big pain in the ass.

  She reached the edge of the main room and hesitated. Glory’s Gate was a really big house. There were a dozen places the men could be. But only one Jed would consider his own, Dana thought, and opened a door leading to a long hallway.

  She walked the familiar route to Jed’s study. The door was partially closed. Dana debated simply pushing her way inside, but then what? Better to find out what was going on.

  She shifted so she could see into the room, but there wasn’t anything in her view. Slowly, carefully, she pushed the door open a little more, then nearly gave herself away by gasping. Garth stood behind Jed, his arm around the older man’s throat. He held a lethal-looking knife at Jed’s chin.

  “She bleeds, you bleed,” Garth said, his voice low and threatening.

  “All this for a woman,” Jed said, obviously trying to sound relaxed, but the fear in his eyes and the lack of color in his face gave him away. “I didn’t think you’d have that much trouble getting laid.”

  Garth tightened his grip. “Is there any part of you that doubts me, old man? You will leave her alone.”

  Dana hesitated. While she wanted to bargain and stop the man games, she was more curious about Garth’s plan. Still, she didn’t want him putting Jed in the hospital and himself in jail. Just when she was about to step inside, Jed nodded once.

  “I’ll leave her alone.”

  Garth released him.

  Dana stepped back, then turned and walked toward the party. Her mind jumped from image to image. She could still hear the anger in Garth’s voice.

  No one had ever tried to protect her before, she thought, confused by what he’d done. No one had ever flirted with an assault charge to make a point on her behalf. She knew Garth was more than capable of making good on his threat. He had the physical scars on his body as proof of his strength. Strength he could use against anyone at any time. But to risk it all to protect her?

  She slipped back into the party, then headed away from where she’d left Nick. She walked around the perimeter of the crowd, not ready to talk to anyone. She felt uncomfortable, but couldn’t say why.

  A few minutes later, she walked by one of the many bars and ordered the drink of the night. She’d barely taken a sip when the hairs on the back of her neck stood up.

  “No one is fooled,” Jed said, standing right behind her. “No one thinks you belong here.”

  She turned to face him. He was still a little white around his mouth, although she doubted anyone else would notice. Were words all he had left?

  “Do you hear that ticking?” she asked coolly. “There’s a big clock counting down to your destruction. Your own family wants you in jail. That says something. What I can’t figure out is why you did it. All those years
ago when Garth showed up, you could have easily paid for the surgery. That’s all he wanted. Then none of this would have happened.”

  Jed’s lip curled. “You’re going to lecture me?”

  “No. I’m just curious. You should never have gone after Izzy. Lexi and Skye could have forgiven nearly anything else.”

  “Collateral damage. The price of war. I didn’t plan on her getting hurt.”

  “You arranged for a bomb to blow up an oil rig. What did you think would happen?”

  He shrugged. “That she’d be scared. The purpose of the explosion had nothing to do with Izzy. The Duncans needed to learn a lesson.”

  Oh, God. Because he’d been setting up Garth, she thought. Then she replayed his words in her head. “The Duncans? Not just Garth? Kathy has a part in this?”

  How could he have anything against Kathy? “Is this about the past?” she asked. “About what happened between you and Kathy all those years ago?” She tried to read his expression and couldn’t.

  “This is about making sure Garth doesn’t win.”

  “He’s already got you beat.”

  “Don’t be so sure, Dana. Garth has a lot to lose.”

  WHEN GARTH FINISHED with Jed, he had trouble locating Dana. She wasn’t with Nick, or with Skye. Eventually he found her with Lexi who was seated on a chair by the wall while Cruz hovered nearby.

  “I thought you weren’t coming,” he said to Lexi as he approached.

  She smiled. “I wanted to see Dana dazzle. We’re only here for a few minutes.” She put her hand on her belly. “Someone else wants to party.”

  He frowned, not sure what she meant. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him closer.

  “The baby’s kicking. You can feel it.”

  There were a whole lot of things he would rather be doing than touching her stomach, but he couldn’t figure out a polite way to refuse. Then his palm was against the surprisingly hard curve of her belly and he felt a jab right under his thumb.

  He looked at Dana. “Have you felt this?”

  She nodded, then looked away.

  He grinned at Lexi. “It’s really a baby.”

  “The alternative was that I was developing an unnatural affection for fast food.”

  An older couple joined them and started talking to Lexi and Cruz. Garth stepped back, then put his arm around Dana’s waist and led her away.

  He’d thought she might resist, but she went with him. When they were relatively secluded beside a large leafy tree in a massive pot, he released her.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “Nothing.”

  The right word, but she wouldn’t look at him. He stared at her.

  “You followed me.”

  She drew in a breath and finally looked him in the eye. “He could press charges.”

  “He won’t and that’s not the problem.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  He couldn’t figure out what bothered her. “You were shot at. I couldn’t let that go.”

  “If the person with the gun had wanted me dead, I’d be dead now. It was a warning.”

  “Just being a warning doesn’t make it okay.”

  “But it’s perfectly fine to hold a knife to someone’s throat?”

  “Is that what’s bothering you?”

  “It doesn’t make me happy.”

  “Jed isn’t someone who responds to quiet conversation. Dana, he can’t be allowed to think there aren’t consequences. Jed has never had to answer to anyone before. Now he has to answer to me.”

  “Vigilante justice is still illegal.”

  “I’m not interested in breaking the law.”

  “No. You just want to win at any cost. You’re more like him than you think.” She drew in a breath. “Has he had any contact with Kathy since the surgery?”

  “No, why?”

  “He said something.”

  “You spoke to him?”

  “Mostly he wanted to tell me I didn’t belong here, with you. Which isn’t important. He implied there was something he owed the Duncans. Not just you.”

  Garth swore. “As far as I know, he hasn’t spoken to her since I was born. Certainly not since the surgery. Her caretakers would have told me.”

  “You have someone watching her?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good.” She looked around. “I can’t be here right now. I’ll see you back at the condo.”

  She was leaving? Just like that?

  He wanted to tell her she couldn’t. Or that he would take her home. But something about the set of her body, the way she held her purse so tight that her knuckles were white, made him stay silent.

  “I won’t be late,” he said quietly.

  She nodded and then left.

  Garth watched her go, wondering how everything had gotten so screwed up and how, if he didn’t understand the problem, he couldn’t possibly fix it. First Jed threatened Dana, now his mother. In addition to adding security, he would talk to Kathy’s caretakers. Explain a little of what was going on. He could have a guard move into her house until this was wrapped up.

  DANA SAT CURLED UP on the sofa in Garth’s condo. The lights of Dallas seemed to twinkle in the light rain, but she wasn’t enjoying the view. Her stomach hurt and she had a strong sense of dread. Telling herself that she was safe, that nothing bad was going to happen, didn’t make her feel any better.

  Cruz and Lexi had driven her home, and because they were good friends, they hadn’t asked what was wrong. She’d changed into sweats and a T-shirt, washed off the makeup and slipped on thick socks. Now all she had to do was wait.

  Garth was going to want an explanation. The real question was did she tell him what was wrong, or did she come up with some half truth to put him off? Could she even talk about what she was feeling?

  If he’d been one of the guys she usually dated, none of this would have been an issue. No one she knew would be willing to take on Jed Titan that way. In all her other relationships, she was the one in charge. Now she wasn’t so sure.

  She heard a key in the lock and straightened, braced for Garth’s temper.

  He walked into the condo and tossed his keys on the small table in the entryway. He closed the door, then locked it, shrugged out of his jacket and pulled off his already undone tie. Then he crossed to the living room and sat on the coffee table in front of her.

  “I’d never hit you.”

  She did her best not to wince. Talk about getting it right in a single guess.

  She drew in a breath. “When I was fourteen, Jed wanted to put Lexi into these after-school classes. They pretended they were something different, but it was basically a charm school for rich kids. She didn’t want to go, but Jed insisted. Finally she agreed, but only if I went with her.” Dana shook her head. “It wasn’t much of a win for me.”

  Garth watched her without speaking.

  “Some of the guys there were from our school, but a lot were from a prep school I’d never heard of. They wore blazers with patches on the chest pocket and gray flannel slacks. They were our age, but they seemed older and a lot more sophisticated.”

  She drew her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around her knees. “There was this one guy. He was really good-looking and funny and I liked him a lot. I guess he was my first crush. He would always dance with me. One day we snuck out of class and were hanging out behind the building. He kissed me, which was fine, but then he tried to take things further.”

  “What did you do?”

  “Kicked him in the balls. It was just a reaction. Apparently I nailed him really good because they ended up taking him to the hospital. I got thrown out, Lexi refused to go back without me and Jed…”

  She looked out the window, but instead of the view, she saw the familiar book-lined study and a younger Jed looking both stern and amused.

  “Jed told me that it was a man’s world and the sooner I figured that out, the easier things would be for me. I knew he was probably right, but I didn’t want eas
y. I wanted safe.”

  “Because of your dad.”

  She nodded, still not looking at him. “I never knew when,” she whispered. “I’d be sitting at the kitchen table, doing my homework and he would walk by. Sometimes nothing happened. Sometimes he jerked me to my feet and started hitting me. He hit hard. There’s a sound a fist makes. I’ll never forget it.”

  “I’d never hit you,” he repeated.

  She did finally look at him, at the familiar dark eyes, the full sensual mouth that knew secrets about her body even she hadn’t discovered.

  “I know, but sometimes knowing isn’t enough.”

  “You’re not that scared little girl anymore.”

  “I haven’t been for a long time,” she agreed. “But that doesn’t mean she can’t influence me. We can talk and talk, and you’ll never get it. You don’t understand the fear. I control it through training and my job. I’m in better shape than you, but if it was a fight to the death, you have sheer size and strength on your side.”

  He stood up suddenly. The coffee table went skidding back a few feet. “I’m not that guy,” he yelled. “There’s no fight to the death. Are you going to spend the rest of your life hiding because the alternative is to take a risk?”

  “I’m dealing with the aftermath of having my father beat the crap out of me for years. It will probably always be something I wrestle with. What you did tonight, with Jed…I get it. I know why you did it. I understand the motivation, the fury you feel. I totally get the desire to protect those around you.” She’d almost said “protect what’s yours,” but that was yet another place she wasn’t willing to go.

  “You did what you thought was right,” she continued, standing. “But there are consequences to every action.”

  “Meaning now you don’t trust me?”

  “Meaning I never saw you as physically dangerous before,” she admitted. “I have to figure out what I’m going to do with that information.”

  He walked to the end of the kitchen, then turned back. “Dammit, Dana. Don’t do this. Don’t go there. I’m not a violent man. I’ve seen violence. I’ve lived it.” He ripped open the front of his dress shirt, exposing the scars. “I still have nightmares. Not that often, but they come. And I wake up soaked in sweat, trying not to give in to the terror.” He hesitated. “I know what it’s like to live with fear and how hard it is to let it go.”