Cruz nodded at him, as if telling him to start. Garth was unprepared, not sure what he should say. Which annoyed him. He would tell the truth. If people were hurt by that, it wasn’t his problem.
“I’ve been following several leads on the explosion,” he began. “The last few pieces came together yesterday morning. Dana and I flew to Mexico and picked up some information. I gave Cruz copies of it.”
“Nick and I went over it,” Cruz continued. “It’s pretty damning.”
Lexi wrapped her arms protectively over her belly. “What does it say? What do you know?”
Nick reached for Izzy’s hand. Mitch put his hand on Skye’s shoulder. Cruz hesitated.
“It was Jed,” Garth said, figuring they all hated him anyway. They might as well stay on that road. “He arranged for the bomb to be put on the oil rig. He paid the money and he set the date.”
The sisters looked at each other. Garth could read the shock in their eyes, the pain. Izzy went pale.
“My father did this to me?” she asked, sounding breathless and stunned. “He knew I was going to be there and he…”
Cruz held Lexi’s hand. “He wanted to set up Garth to take the fall for the explosion. Maybe he didn’t know you’d gone back to work…”
“He knew,” Lexi said fiercely. “He knew and he didn’t care.” She crossed to Izzy and embraced her. “I’m so sorry.”
Skye joined them. They held on to each other, whispering things Garth couldn’t hear, which was fine with him. This wasn’t his thing. He wanted out.
But there was more. Nick got out a small tape recorder and played the recording Garth had made of Jed’s visit to his office a few months before. The one where he offered Garth control of Titan World, with no strings. He could run everything on two conditions. That Jed got to remain CEO and that the Titan sisters never got a penny.
The ugly words sounded especially loud in the quiet room. Cruz, Mitch and Nick walked over to the sisters and separated them, then pulled each of them close. They clung to each other—their love obvious. Garth shifted uncomfortably, wanting to be anywhere but here. He should have brought Dana.
“Are we taking this to the police?” Skye asked. “They have to do something.”
“We can’t,” Lexi said, wiping her eyes. “Garth didn’t obtain any of it legally.”
“At least we know,” Izzy said, sounding surprisingly strong. “We know our real enemy is Jed.”
The sisters all turned to Garth.
“Are you done?” Skye asked, her green eyes filled with tears. “Is the fight with us over? Or do we have to deal with you disappointing us, too?”
He hadn’t come here with a plan. His goal had always been to take down Jed Titan. Messing with the sisters had just been for sport. But somewhere along the way it had all gotten out of hand. He’d lost his best friend because of it. He’d also given Jed a chance to hurt Izzy.
“He’s done,” Izzy said with a sniff. “He won’t hurt us.”
“While that sounds really nice,” Lexi said, “I want to hear it from him.”
Garth had faced greater odds before and stronger adversaries. But he’d never felt so overwhelmed. Not by numbers, but by the damage he could do. Looking at them, he realized it was a power he didn’t want, and he usually wanted it all.
“I won’t hurt you,” he said awkwardly. “I want Jed to crawl, but the rest of you…” He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry about what happened before.”
“See,” Izzy said. “I told you.”
“That wasn’t the most eloquent apology,” Lexi said.
“Maybe not,” Skye told her. “But I think it came from the heart. Nick? Can we believe him?”
They all turned to Nick.
“What do you think?” Skye asked.
Garth stood in the center of the living room while the man he’d wronged carried his fate in his scarred hands.
Nick stared at him. “He’s broken our trust. He’ll have to earn that back. For what it’s worth, I’d give him the chance.”
CHAPTER SIX
DANA ARRIVED AT CRUZ’S house late in the afternoon. Her three friends sat together, looking shell-shocked. There was evidence of tears and despair, which made Dana uncomfortable. It wasn’t that she didn’t care about her friends’ suffering, it was that she didn’t know how to fix it.
The normally perfectly groomed Lexi looked rumpled. Mascara blackened the skin under her eyes. Izzy looked smaller somehow, as if the pain had caused her to shrink. Skye’s red hair was an even bigger contrast against her especially pale skin. All the color had faded from her face, leaving her looking defeated.
“I’m sorry,” Dana said lamely as she walked into the living room.
“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” Lexi told her. She stood and walked toward Dana. “You did everything we asked and now we know the truth.”
The two women embraced, hanging on to each other, as much as they could with Lexi’s large belly between them.
Izzy and Skye joined them before they all sat on two couches and faced each other.
“Where are the guys?” Dana asked.
“We sent them away,” Skye told her. “This is our problem and we have to figure out a solution together.”
“Then why did you call me?”
Lexi was next to Dana. She smiled and put her hand on Dana’s arm. “Because you’re practically a Titan. Like it or not, you’re stuck with us.”
“I can live with that.” Dana drew in a breath. “I’m sorry about all this. I never thought…”
“Us, either,” Izzy said.
“Are you okay?” Dana asked.
“No, but I will be. I wanted to be right about Garth, but not like this. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised to learn Jed doesn’t care if I live or die, but I am.”
Skye put her arm around Izzy. “Don’t go there. It only makes it worse. You have us and Nick and we all love you. We’ll always be here for you.”
Izzy nodded, but didn’t look convinced.
“You went over the material?” Dana asked.
Lexi nodded. “Garth played us the recording of Jed offering him everything. So we’re totally convinced.”
Dana winced. It was probably better that they knew everything their father had done, but she hated having them hurt. She fought guilt, telling herself she didn’t have any part in this.
“It shouldn’t be a surprise,” Skye murmured, pulling Izzy close and stroking her hair. “We all knew what Jed was, but I don’t think any of us wanted to believe it. Now we have proof, which makes denial more difficult.”
“I could probably swing it, but I don’t want to,” Izzy said, blinking back tears. “We have to remember this. It changes everything.”
“She’s right,” Lexi told Dana. “Garth is determined to bring Jed down. It appears our father is a lost cause. We’ve been talking about it and our larger concern now is Garth.”
“We don’t want him to end up like Jed,” Skye said.
“How are you going to make sure that doesn’t happen?” Dana asked. Garth was a determined and powerful man. “You’re not going to get him to change his mind. He’s been focused on this for years.”
“It will take time,” Lexi said. “Part of our plan is that we’ll work with him to stop Jed. Hopefully he’ll see that being a part of something is better than going it alone.”
“Have you met Garth?” Dana asked. “He’s not likely to be swayed by hot chocolate and pictures of the family tree.”
“That’s where you come in,” Skye said. “We want you to keep working with him. Be our emissary, so to speak.”
Dana nodded because the alternative was to admit that Garth scared her. Not just with his ruthless ability to get everything he wanted, but because of how she reacted when she was around him. He made her feel things she didn’t want to feel. And she knew better than most the danger of letting a person have emotional power. Better to be alone and strong, than weak with someone else.
“You�
�re also going to help him get Jed,” Izzy said quietly.
Dana stared at the youngest Titan sister. Izzy’s normally bright eyes were dull and swollen. There were red blotches on her skin, probably from crying.
“Izzy, you’re upset,” she began.
Skye shook her head. “We’ve talked about it, Dana. Jed has gone too far.”
“He’s your father. You don’t want to do this. Once you start down this path, there’s no going back. Jed is already in trouble and facing charges. Do you really want to pile it on? Can you handle being the reason he goes to jail for the rest of his life?”
The sisters looked at each other, then at her.
“It isn’t us,” Lexi told her. “Jed did this himself. He claimed his destiny when he refused to help Kathy and Garth all those years ago. Maybe it wasn’t his responsibility, but the money would have meant nothing to him. When Garth first came after all of us, Jed could have told us what was going on. We could have worked together. Instead he lied about some things and misrepresented others. Then he arranged for the oil rig explosion. He could have killed his own daughter, not to mention everyone else on the rig. Jed deserves what he gets.”
The words all made sense, but Dana wasn’t willing to let it go. “He’s your father. I don’t want you to have regrets.”
“We want you to help Garth bring him down,” Izzy said quietly. “Legally. We won’t create the problem. Jed can do that all on his own. We want to find the paper trail legitimately and take it to the police.”
“Unless you don’t want to get involved,” Lexi added. “We’ll understand if you’re uncomfortable.”
Dana looked at all of them. “You’re my family. I love all of you. Of course I want to help.”
UNSURE OF THE NEXT step, Dana drove back to her condo to figure it out. Instead of tailing Garth and hoping to catch him doing something wrong, she was supposed to work with him now. Talk about changing the rules. She wondered how he would react to the news that the sisters now considered him one of the good guys.
She pulled into her covered parking space, then walked to her apartment. As she approached the door, she saw someone standing there. He moved into the light. It was Garth, and for reasons she couldn’t explain, she was almost not surprised.
“You spoke to them?” he asked.
“Yes. I was just there.”
“Are they all right?”
She unlocked the door and stepped inside. He followed her.
“Be careful,” she told him. “Someone could interpret that to mean you care what happens to them.”
“Maybe I do.”
He wore a suit—no surprise there. As they stood in her small living room, he shrugged out of the jacket and draped it over the club chair she’d bought on sale at a furniture liquidator with a storefront by the freeway. Her sofa had seen better days and the entire square footage of her apartment could probably fit into Garth’s penthouse bathroom.
The small space made her want to back away from him, but there was nowhere to go. Besides, she didn’t back away from a challenge. She faced it head-on.
She motioned to the sofa. After he’d taken a seat, she slid out of her leather coat, then hung it on a chair in the dinette. She took the club chair because she didn’t want to sit next to him. Caution, she reminded herself.
“You’re actually interested in the welfare of your sisters?” she asked. “The same women you have been going after for months? Color me surprised.”
His dark gaze settled on her face. “You don’t believe me?”
“I’m not sure. Why the change?”
He stood and crossed to the window that looked out on the courtyard. “I didn’t like what I saw earlier today. Them. When they found out about Jed it was like…” He cleared his throat. “I didn’t like it.”
It was like they were broken. At least that would be her interpretation of what had happened. She knew that Garth had a heart—she just wasn’t sure she believed it was so easily touched.
“What about Jed?” she asked.
He turned back to her. “He’s finished. I’ll make sure of that.”
“So you end up with three loving sisters and you still get to face your paternal demons. A win-win for you.”
He shoved his hands into his pockets and walked toward her. “The situation is a little more complicated than that, but you have the basics right.”
She stood so she wasn’t looking up at him. “They want me to help you bring down Jed. It’s a two-pronged attack. Your financial assault, along with a campaign to make sure he goes to jail for all he’s done.”
“I don’t have a problem with that.”
Jed going to jail or them working together? She decided to assume he meant both.
“There have to be some ground rules,” she told him.
He smiled. “Of course. You like rules.”
Was it her, or had he just moved closer? She’d always really liked her apartment, but right now it seemed tiny. They needed more space, or at least she did.
She cleared her throat. “Nothing illegal. We’ll find what we find through legal channels. If we’re building a case to send Jed to jail then it has to stand up in court.”
“Agreed.”
She looked at him. “I thought you’d want to keep up your little covert operations.”
“I wasn’t looking to play spy. My way is faster, but you’re right. If we want to be able to use it against Jed in court then we’ll do everything legally.”
“Okay. The sisters are off-limits.”
“I’ve already said I’m not going after them.”
“I’m just checking. You haven’t exactly been brother of the year through all this.”
He nodded. “I give you my word that I will do nothing to hurt any of my sisters. Now or in the future.”
Now came the hard part. She squared her shoulders and looked him in the eye. “This is strictly business. We’re helping people we care about, nothing more.”
One corner of his mouth turned up. “Meaning?”
“Nothing personal between us.”
The words just kind of hung there in the silence. She braced herself for his laughter because this was where he pointed out she was nothing he would ever want.
“Haven’t you figured out it’s all personal?” he asked right before he kissed her.
She was caught off guard, something she never allowed to happen. One second he was speaking, the next he had his hands on her upper arms and was drawing her close to him. At the same time his mouth claimed hers with an intensity that left her breathless.
This wasn’t an exploring, getting-to-know-you kind of contact. This was hot and demanding. He kissed her as if he didn’t have a choice.
Heat swept through her. It burned away any conflicted feelings, so that she could feel nothing but his hands on her arms and his mouth on hers. She couldn’t think, either. There was only the sensation of skin on skin and the fact that she needed so much more than this.
She shook off his touch so she could hang on to him. He wrapped both arms around her, drawing her nearer still. They touched everywhere and it wasn’t enough.
The intensity of the flaring passion frightened her, but it also intoxicated her so that resisting wasn’t possible. She tilted her head, then parted her lips before he even asked. He swept inside and she met him stroke for stroke. They kissed deeply, taking and giving, straining for more.
His hands moved up and down her back, then to her sides. She broke the kiss long enough to nip his lower lip. He dropped his head so he could nibble the length of her neck.
Everywhere he touched burned. Her breath came in gasps. She ran her fingers through his hair, in part to touch him, in part to hold him in place. His breath was hot on her skin, his mouth warm and teasing.
Without thinking, she reached for his shirt. She told herself to stop, that this was insanity, but there she was, unfastening the small white buttons. He pushed her back and grabbed the hem of her sweater. With a single, swi
ft movement, he pulled it up and over her head. Then they were in each other’s arms, mouths clinging, tongues teasing.
She felt fire on her skin and a quivering that began low in her belly. The wanting was beyond powerful. It was greater than her need to breathe. She knew she would die if they stopped—that her heart would cease beating.
He touched her bare arms, then her bare back. Every inch of contact was heaven. She wanted his hands everywhere.
Her bra was suddenly loose. She hadn’t felt him unfasten it, but was grateful that he had. She tossed the sensible white undergarment away and reached for his hands. She placed them on her breasts and moaned softly as he cupped her curves.
His thumbs and forefingers found her aching nipples. He squeezed them, sending ribbons of liquid need pouring through her. She was ready, so ready. She wanted to be taken until she was weak with surrender.
Surrender. The word was nearly enough to stop her. While she enjoyed sex, she never gave in completely. There was always a part of her that she kept to herself. A place no man went.
A problem for another time, she thought frantically, trying to tug off Garth’s shirt so she could touch him.
He drew back enough to shrug out of it. While they were separated, he kicked off his shoes. She pulled off her boots. His pants went flying, as did her jeans. Socks followed and soon his briefs and her panties were puddles on the floor.
She had a brief impression of toned muscles under scarred skin. He was already hard and thick. Just the sight of his arousal made her thighs tremble. The intensity of her desire made it difficult to catch her breath. They reached for each other again.
Even as they kissed deeply, he was urging her backward. She took several steps, then felt the sofa behind her. He pushed lightly on her shoulders, urging her to sit. Unsure of what he wanted, she hesitated, then he pressed a little harder and she sank down.
Before she could figure what was going on, he’d dropped to his knees on the carpet and leaned in to kiss her breasts. His mouth sucked deeply, pulling satisfaction from her. His hands explored her thighs before dipping between them. She knew she was already wet and swollen and waited breathlessly for his fingers to discover all her secrets.
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