Hot on Her Heels (23 page)

Jed's face went white. He sprang to his feet, knocking over the box of cigars. “You goddamn sonofabitch,” he yelled. “What the hell have you done?”

“Won,” Garth said simply. He put another piece of paper on the table. “I'm calling the note on Glory's Gate. You have seventy-two hours to come up with the cash or the entire property is mine.”

“Fucking bastard.” Jed's face twisted with rage. “I'll kill you. I swear, I'll kill you.”

“Hard to do from prison,” Garth said as he stood. “You should have paid for her surgery, Jed. The money wouldn't have mattered that much to you, but it would have saved her. I would have watched your back for the rest of my life.”

“You think I care about that? You were some kid. You didn't matter to me.”

“I do now,” he said and then he left.

D
ANA DROVE FROM
L
EXI'S
office to her own empty apartment. It was the only place she could think to go where no one would bother to look for her. It was a place to be alone. A thousand thoughts swirled through her brain, but the only one that mattered was that the pain wasn't as bad as she thought it would be.

She'd thought she wouldn't be able to breathe, that her entire body would ache, that she would want to cry but couldn't. There was almost nothing. As if every part of her was numb. Maybe it was.

She walked into her apartment and checked each of the rooms. Everything was as it should be, if a little colder. She'd turned down the heat before moving in with Garth. Now she checked the small bathroom and the kitchen, all the windows, then ran out of things to do. Standing alone in the middle of her kitchen, she accepted the truth. Life was nothing, if not consistent. Lead with your heart and you'll get hit over and over again.

Later, she would go back to the condo and see Garth. She would pretend that nothing was wrong and he
would let her. Or maybe he wouldn't know the difference. He didn't know what she'd heard. He didn't know that she loved him. She'd spent her whole life protecting herself only to fall for someone who would never love her back. Talk about irony. Jed would be delighted.

Dana leaned against the counter and kept her breathing steady. If she focused on her breathing, she wouldn't feel the growing emptiness in her heart. She wouldn't notice the hollow place in her chest or the ache in her soul. If she worried about standing and not collapsing or screaming, she would be too busy to admit how much she'd lost.

It wasn't like with her father, she told herself. That was something. Garth would never hurt her on purpose. He didn't know she'd been standing there to hear his damning words. He'd been good to her, someone she could trust with just about everything but her heart. What made it so hard was how long it would take to heal.

She told herself that eventually she would appreciate that at least she'd put herself out there. She'd given it her all. That hadn't been enough, but at least she hadn't held back. She'd gone kicking and screaming into the relationship, but eventually she'd made it. She'd fallen in love with Garth and lived to talk about it.

She'd also learned a lot. She'd learned that love wasn't easy or fair. That she didn't get to pick who
would be the one. Garth was an amazing man. She was grateful for the time they'd spent together and would enjoy whatever was left. And then she would leave.

She wasn't the type to make a scene, or worse, beg. He didn't know what she'd heard and she wouldn't tell him. As far as he was concerned, nothing had changed. They'd established the rules together—she'd been the one to break them.

Oh, but it hurt. The sense of loss devastated her. Hopes and dreams she hadn't known she had crowded around her, making her ache for what could have been. For Garth and the life they could have had together.

Her eyes burned and it took a second for her to figure out what that meant. Tears. Foolish tears.

“I'll save them for later,” she said aloud. For when it was really over. Then she would cry and eventually tell her friends what had happened. She would figure out a way to move on with her life. She would heal and be better for the experience.

All words that sounded so great. If only she had a clue as to how to make it happen.

But whatever the outcome, she'd learned a lot in the past few months and she had changed. Eventually, when she healed, she would start over. No more safe guys. No more boring men who didn't challenge her. She would find someone who could be important to her, not just someone who was convenient. Assuming she ever wanted to risk her heart again. Right now, that didn't seem possible.

She left her apartment and drove back to the condo. It was nearly dark. The ride up in the elevator seemed to go by too fast. As if time had started to speed up. She wanted to slow everything down, to make the minutes she had left crawl. She wanted to savor every second with Garth.

He was already home. She knew it the minute she put the key in the lock and pushed open the door. Lights were on. Soft music played. Garth stood in the center of the room, looking both pleased and a little uncomfortable. For a second she thought he knew she'd been outside the room when he'd told Lexi he would never love her, but then he held open his arms.

She walked into his embrace and hugged him. As she held on to him, she breathed in the scent of him. She needed to remember as much as she could so that when this was over, she would have the memories forever. Maybe that was a sign of weakness, but she didn't care. She loved Garth—she didn't want to forget anything about being with him. She might not get him forever, but at least she had him for now. There was still time.

He stepped back and touched her cheek. “You all right?” he asked.

“Sure. Why?”

He studied her. “I'm not sure. There's something.”

She forced a smile. “I'm fine. What about you?”

“I just had a meeting with Jed.”

“Did I know about that?”

“No. I've been working on a few things.” His dark eyes crinkled slightly. “Some I haven't mentioned because you wouldn't approve.”

So typical, she thought fondly. “We discussed you not breaking the law.”

“I'm not, but there's gray area and you don't need to know the details.”

Because he would look out for her. Because despite not loving her, he cared about her.

“It's a long story, but the bottom line is he has seventy-two hours to come up with a lot of money. If he doesn't, and he won't, I'll own it all. The company and Glory's Gate.”

So fast? But she'd thought they would have more time. Seventy-two hours? And then what? If he was already confronting Jed, then it was nearly over.

“He can't have been happy,” she murmured, hoping he couldn't read the shock in her eyes.

“He wasn't. Things are going to get ugly. Everyone has to be careful, especially you. He came after you before.”

“I'll be fine.”

“No crazy stunts.”

She managed a genuine smile. “Not my style.”

“I don't know. You can be pretty wild.” He touched her cheek again. “I've spoken with everyone. Skye's taking Erin to school and back rather than letting her ride the bus. Cruz won't let Lexi out of his sight. Izzy and Nick will cover each other. It's seventy-two hours and then we're done.”

Three days and then it was over. She would return to her life. Go back on duty. Pick up the pieces and try to forget what it had been like to be in Garth's world. To love him and have him with her, wanting her.

“I hope everything goes well,” she said.

“Me, too. Jed is cornered and he's going to lash out.”

“What about your mom? Kathy's protected, right?”

“Yes. There's a guard watching round the clock, and I've spoken to her caretakers. They're being extra careful. By this time next week, everything will go back to the way it was.”

“Lucky us,” Dana said softly, reminding herself to ignore the impending doom. She would cry later, when she was alone. When Garth had moved on and their relationship was in the past.

 

G
ARTH OPENED
D
ANA'S
car door, then closed it behind her. As they walked up to Cruz's house, he took her hand. While he knew in his head that everything was fine, he kept having a nagging sensation that something was wrong. It wasn't doom exactly—more like a low-grade worry. He was a man who always took care of details. After years of planning, he was finally going to take down Jed. It made sense that he would want everything to go well.

“Do you know what this is about?” he asked as he rang the bell.

“No. Izzy said we were all getting together for
dinner and that saying no wasn't an option.” She grinned. “That's Izzy. Always a gracious hostess.”

Nick opened the door. “You made it,” he said with a laugh. “Come on in.”

They walked into the house. Nick gave Dana a quick kiss on the cheek, then pulled Garth into a bear hug.

“It's good to see you,” Nick told him.

Garth returned the embrace. “You, too,” he said, appreciating that their friendship had been nearly restored. “You're in a good mood.”

“I know.”

Nick led the way into the kitchen where Cruz and Lexi and Mitch and Skye already waited. Izzy poked around in the refrigerator. She straightened as they approached.

“You made it,” she said happily. “We're all together. It's practically a greeting-card moment. I'm just digging out some cheese. Skye informed me appetizers are expected. I was excited that I remembered to get food for dinner, but apparently she has higher standards.”

He and Dana greeted everyone else. While Izzy put out cheese and crackers, the women gathered around to help. Nick and Garth joined Mitch and Cruz.

“It's been pretty quiet,” Cruz was saying. “I'm surprised. I thought Jed would come after all of us.”

“He's scrambling for money,” Garth told him. “I've heard that he's going everywhere, but no one is willing to take a risk on him. Everyone knows I'm buying up large blocks of shares. With his own daughters also
buying a piece of the pie, people know he's about to lose control. No one bets on a sinking ship.”

“As long as we stay safe,” Mitch said.

“Tell me about it.” Cruz grimaced. “At least Lexi isn't interested in taking any risks. As slow as she moves these days, she would be a prime target.”

Garth knew the conversation was important, but he found himself distracted by watching Dana from across the room. She laughed at something Izzy said. The sound carried to him, making him want to pull her close to him. Not to protect her but because being near her made him feel good.

She turned her head and the light caught the different colors of brown in her hair. She was so beautiful. He'd thought she was pretty and sexy as hell, but now, as he stared at the shape of her mouth and the curve of her cheekbones, he saw how stunning she was. Maybe because one was lit by what was inside of her and that took a while to be visible.

His gaze drifted to Lexi and Skye, then to Izzy. His family. How curious. He'd begun this journey with every intention of destruction. Instead he'd found a place to belong. They'd dragged him into their world. Or as Izzy had promised, they'd loved him into being a part of them. The irony was if he hadn't set out to ruin them all, they never would have found their way to each other.

Izzy and Nick exchanged a look, then Nick walked to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of champagne.

“We want to thank you all for coming,” Izzy said. “We would have had you out to the ranch, but it's a long drive and someone should be using Lexi's kitchen.”

“Hey,” her older sister said from her seat by the round table. “I cook. Sometimes. I think it's a personal choice. It's not like you know your way around anything more complicated than a toaster oven.”

“True,” Izzy said. She pointed at the champagne bottle. “Where are the glasses?”

“I'll get them,” Cruz said, walking to a cupboard and opening it. “What are we celebrating?”

Izzy looked at Nick, who said, “They're your family. You tell them.”

Izzy reached into her jeans front pocket and pulled out a diamond band, then slid it on her left ring finger. “Nick and I got married yesterday.”

The news was followed by silence, then a shriek from Skye and Lexi. Both descended on Izzy, as did Dana. There was a girl hug, while the guys all slapped Nick on the back and shook his hand.

Garth went last. Nick looked at him. “You always said you owed me for pulling you out of that damn jungle. Because of you, I met Izzy. We're even now.”

Garth nodded, mostly because his throat was a little tight. He must have allergies or be getting a cold, he thought, hugging his friend again. “Bringing you two together was my plan all along,” he joked.

“Right.” Nick grinned. “Who knew?”

Champagne was poured. There was a bottle of
sparkling cider for Lexi, who grumbled about missing out on the fun.

“We're not really big wedding people,” Izzy told them. “We'd talked about waiting, mostly so everyone would be focused on Skye and Mitch's wedding. But then we were talking and…”

“It's my fault,” Nick said. “I insisted.”

Izzy snuggled close to him. “He didn't have to insist. I love him and want to be with him. We're very happy. We saw a judge yesterday and now it's official.”

Nick kissed the top of her head.

Garth watched them. Their happiness was visible. He was delighted everything had worked out, not only because Nick was his friend but because he'd come to care for Izzy. She was wild and exactly what Nick needed. At the same time, she would be there for him. They were a good match.