Hot on Her Heels. Susan Mallery

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      “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.”

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