by Lori Foster
He waved her logic away. “I knew him before that. I’ve known him for years.” He turned to face her, still naked, his powerful shoulders gleaming in the lamplight, his dusty brown hair rumpled. His gaze never wavered from hers but tension emanated off him, pelting her with his resolution. “Dalton Jones has been like a father to me.”
Feeling unsteady and sick, she moved away from him. She needed distance; she needed to be off the bed where they’d just made love. Backing up until she bumped into the dresser, she watched him. Harry never so much as flinched. “I don’t understand.”
“Dalton has looked for you for years, honey. He’s suffered more than any one man ever should.”
“You know him?” That one fact wouldn’t quite penetrate.
Harry stood, too, but when she clutched her sheet tighter, he went still, making no move toward her. “My father was a cold, distant man who barely knew I existed. Dalton stepped in and did all the things for me that a father should do. He supported me in my decisions, and helped me get through my divorce from hell. He encouraged me and—”
“And did all the things for you that he didn’t do for me.” She felt lost, wounded to her soul.
“Not because he didn’t care! He’s spent a small fortune trying to locate you and Jill.”
Not for anything would Charlie let him see how he’d hurt her, how her heart felt ready to break into pieces. She clutched at the sheet and tried to order her thoughts into some decipherable rationale. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Locking his jaw, Harry paced away, giving her a distracting view of his muscled backside. It angered her that even now she was drawn to him, finding him irresistible.
He turned to face her and propped his hands on his hips. “I didn’t know what the hell to do when you asked me to find your father. At the time, I felt my loyalty was to Dalton. It was his responsibility, his pleasure, to get to explain that he hadn’t abandoned you. But you were so hostile about the whole thing, so… detached. You’d sent him that damn letter—”
“You knew about the letter?”
He gave a small nod. “I knew. Dalton told me that very night at the hospital. And he asked me not to tell you the truth yet, because he wanted a chance with you. He thought if I pretended to investigate him, I could give you a few facts that might soften you toward him.”
That word pretend felt like a slap, bringing home just how much of her relationship with Harry was based on lies and manipulations. “So you played along?”
“Honey, I didn’t know what else to do. I tried to talk him out of it, but he was afraid of losing you again.”
“And of course, what he wanted is the only thing that mattered. I mean, you hardly know me really. I’m just… ” She stopped in midsentence because she had no idea what she meant to Harry. Obviously not much or he couldn’t have deceived her so easily. Needing something to do before she fell apart, she went to the closet and pulled out a T-shirt.
The bed creaked when Harry sat back down. “I’m so sorry, Charlie. I swear I never meant to hurt you.”
She pulled clean jeans from the dresser, fighting off the tears the best she could. “I understand. I don’t like it, of course.” The laugh, sounding close to hysteria, took her by surprise and she quickly suppressed it. “I feel pretty damn foolish, too. I can just imagine how the two of you must have been snickering. Especially after my stupid display tonight.”
“No.”
He started to get up, to come to her, but she warned him off with a bleak look. If he touched her, she’d sit down and cry like a baby, and that was something she hadn’t done in too many years to count. “Don’t even think it, Harry. The pretense is over.”
Eyeing her rigid stance, he said carefully, “It wasn’t all a pretense.”
“No? Well, some day you’ll have to tell me which parts came close to the truth. Right now, I’m just not interested. I’d like you to leave.”
He swallowed hard, still watching her. “No.”
“I need to get dressed!” The panic was real, making her voice too loud, too high. She needed to be alone. Already her hands were shaking and her legs were following suit.
“Charlie.” Despite her warnings, he started toward her. She shook her head, but he looked more determined now than ever. “We have to talk about this.”
“About how you used me? How you played along so Dalton wouldn’t be disappointed?” His hands reached for her and her temper snapped. Without really thinking it through, she slapped him. Hard. The loud crack of her palm striking his handsome face sounded obscene. For an instant, they both froze. Then she covered her mouth, appalled.
Harry fingered his cheek, his brows up in surprise. “I didn’t see that coming. Knowing you as I do, I was watching for a fist, or maybe a kick. Not a feminine slap.”
“Don’t you dare tease me now.”
“I’m sorry. But Charlie, there’s more I have to tell you.”
“Oh?” Her stomach clenched, but she forced herself to be flippant. “Did you maybe just fake what we did in bed?”
Incredulous, he stared at her a moment, then laughed. “Honey, men can’t fake a thing like that.”
Her teeth ground together. “You know what I mean. And don’t call me honey.”
He hesitated for the briefest moment. “No, I didn’t fake it.” His gaze softened, turned intimate, and he whispered, “I love you.”
Her chest hurt so much she gasped. She felt raw and exposed, and she almost hated him. Almost “Did Dalton tell you to say that? To do whatever was necessary to appease me?”
“No.”
In a burst of temper, she snapped, “Will you at least put some damn clothes on!”
His expression didn’t change. “Dalton had a heart attack the day you sent the letter.” He caught her before she dropped to the floor, then led her to the bed. He spoke quickly now, rushing his words together. “I was so worried about him, it’s part of the reason I let him talk me into this harebrained plan, because I didn’t want to see him disappointed again. You’ve been so hurt, I couldn’t guess how you might react to the truth, if you’d even give Dalton a chance. And if you didn’t, with his health in danger—”
She was back off the bed in a flash, no longer worried about her sheet or keeping her body covered. She jerked on her jeans and pulled the T-shirt over her head, then stepped into a pair of sneakers.
“Charlie—”
She rounded on him. “You bastard!” Stepping close so she could shake a fist in his face, she yelled, “My father could have died, and you didn’t tell me?”
He caught and held her fists. “He’s fine now, Charlie. He only needs to be more cautious.”
She shoved him away then turned for the door. Harry grabbed her shoulder. “Where are you going?”
“To see him. I want you out of my place.” She picked up a key off the dresser and flung it at him. “Let yourself out.”
“Wait!” He started rushing into his own clothes. “I’ll go with you.”
“Ha!”
“It’s not safe, Charlie! Damn it, you don’t know what’s going on!”
But she was already hurrying down the hall. Harry tried to follow after her, and she barely slipped through the door in time. She heard his fist hit it with incredible force, and he yelled her name again. She ignored him. She knew by the time he got the key and unlocked the door, she’d be gone. And if she never saw him again, it was only what she deserved.
Charlie checked first at Maria’s, the restaurant where they’d planned to eat, but Dalton and her sister weren’t there. She assumed they had gone on to Dalton’s jewelry store, so she headed in that direction. At the moment, she had no idea what she planned to say to her father, but she needed to reassure herself that he was okay. Whether he cared about her or not, he was her father, and that mattered. It mattered more than she’d ever thought possible, and she now regretted all her plans for revenge. It made her almost sick to think she might have played a part in his ill health with her hurtful
letter.
All her concentration was centered on the problem with her father. She couldn’t think about Harry. If she did, she might start bawling like a baby. She loved the arrogant, obnoxious jerk, and yet he’d used her. The really sad part was, she could understand his reasons for the deception. In his position, she might have done the same. And if she hadn’t pushed so hard, their relationship probably wouldn’t have become intimate. She had only herself to blame. She’d been a complete fool—and she’d behaved like her mother. The truth hurt so bad she didn’t think she could stand it.
She trudged up the sidewalk to the jewelry store, lost in thought. At first she didn’t notice when a car pulled up beside her. Absently, she turned to look, and was stunned to see Floyd in the passenger seat, grinning at her with evil intent. The car stopped and she broke into a dead run, but she’d only gotten a few feet before he caught her arm and jerked her back. She stumbled, going down hard on one knee. She groaned at the jarring pain.
The car pulled alongside and Ralph got out. “Get her in the back seat.”
Hearing that cleared the pain from her knee enough to allow her to fight. She started kicking and shouting, doing anything she could to fend them off. Somehow she knew if they got her in the car, she might never get out again.
Floyd managed to drag her as far as the curb, using her arm and her shirt collar for leverage. Even in her struggle, she saw the unfamiliar man in the front seat. She had the brief impression of a polished businessman before shouts sounded behind her. Her blood nearly froze when she recognized Dalton’s voice.
“No!” He couldn’t get into a skirmish because of her, not with his heart condition. If anything happened to him… She doubled her efforts, and caught Floyd low in the stomach with a fist. He grunted and loosened his hold. She tried to roll away, but Ralph reached for her.
“Let her go!” Dalton leaped onto Ralph’s back, knocking him down, all the while cursing so vividly Charlie couldn’t help but be impressed. The third man in the car got out and started toward them with a purposeful stride.
Suddenly other men were there, leaving their shops in a rush, leaping into the fray, crowding together on the sidewalk. It became a chaotic free-for-all with the elderly swinging canes and brooms and fists. Vile threats filled the air from both factions. Charlie was tossed aside and landed on her butt, but she was back up in a heartbeat when she saw the man from the car reach inside his jacket. Oh God, a gun!
Dalton threw himself in front of her, and no matter how she tried, she couldn’t get around him. The brawl ended, no one daring to move. Floyd and Ralph, with a lot of blustering, brushed themselves off and straightened their jackets. Six older men and two gray-haired women stood in a circle, their hands in fists, their faces red.
“What should we do with them all, Carlyle?”
Carlyle. Again, Charlie strained to see around Dalton’s shoulder, curious about the man Harry wanted so badly. After being kidnapped and harassed, she owed Carlyle much, and now with him threatening her father her rage grew.
She ducked under Dalton’s arm, but before she could take two steps Harry was there. In a flash, he was around the parked car, jerking Carlyle’s hand up so the gun fired in the air with a loud crack of sound, and wrapping one long muscled arm around his throat, squeezing tight enough to make Carlyle’s eyes bug. Sirens whined in the distance.
Ralph and Floyd started to back up, but they were quickly subdued by the older folk. Floyd screeched like a wet hen when his arm was twisted high, and Moses, with a look of disgust, muttered, “Sissy.”
Pops stepped forward and wagged a fist. “Shoot ‘em!”
Harry’s gaze met Charlie’s, and he smiled. “He’s as bloodthirsty as you are, brat.”
Carlyle lurched, trying to break free, and without a single hesitation, Harry punched him the jaw. The man went down like a lead balloon. Very slowly, Charlie applauded.
The police showed up in two patrol cars and a plain sedan. The detective in charge appeared to know Harry. With the men subdued in cuffs, the trunk of Carlyle’s car was opened and Charlie glimpsed a variety of weapons, rifles and guns and ammunition. There were so many of them, it looked like an arsenal.
One of the officers whistled low.
“They’re dealing in illegal and stolen weaponry.” Charlie noticed Harry didn’t mention the embezzlement, keeping to his promise not to involve the older proprietors. “I can give you an address of an abandoned warehouse where you’ll find more of the same, as well as evidence of other illegal activities.”
The detective clapped Harry on the shoulder and they spoke quietly for a few minutes. The officers were questioning everyone and to Charlie’s surprise, the seniors loved it. They fairly crowed in their excitement. Charlie used the moment to go to Dalton.
“Where’s my sister?”
He was still catching his breath, but he looked relieved. “Inside. My assistant is practically sitting on her. She wanted to rush out with me, but seeing you threatened was more than enough.” He touched her face and his hand trembled. Charlie took his arm and hustled him to a shop stoop to sit. Even as he did her bidding, he asked, “Are you okay?”
She smiled. At the same time big tears welled in her eyes. “That was my question to you.”
“Now that you’re safe, I’m fine. But I don’t mind telling you, seeing that bastard put his hands on you nearly stopped my—”
“Your heart?” She knelt down in front of him and took his hands. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
“You know?”
“That you had a heart attack? Yes. Harry finally came clean.”
Dalton sighed heavily. “It wasn’t your fault, you know. Your letter didn’t distress me. It thrilled me and made me so proud I wanted to dance up and down the street.”
“It was a hateful letter.”
“It was a letter filled with guts and courage and pride. I knew the moment I read it you were an incredible young woman. I was right.”
The tears trickled down her cheeks and she impatiently swiped them away. “That was a dirty trick you played on me, having Harry lie about everything. But under the circumstances I suppose I understand.”
“Do you? I couldn’t take the chance you’d shut me out. I’d waited too long to get my girls back.” His own eyes teared up, breaking Charlie’s heart. “I’m so sorry I hurt you earlier today.”
She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter.”
“That’s not what Harry said. I’ve known him since he was a boy, back when his father and I were friends. We’ve always been as close as two men can be, and that’s the first time he ever raised hell with me.”
Once again, her temper rose. “Harry yelled at you?”
Scoffing, Dalton shook his head. “Harry never yells. He just gets glib and lectures. He told me what a wonderful woman you were, and he insisted there wasn’t a single thing about you that needed to be changed.”
Charlie was absorbing that when a voice from behind her said, “What I didn’t tell you is that I love her.”
She jerked around so fast, she landed on her rump.
Since that particular part of her anatomy was already sore from the skirmish, she scowled at Harry. He didn’t give her a chance to grumble, reaching down and grabbing her under her arms, then lifting her completely off her feet until she was eye level, dangling in the air.
Charlie gulped, eyeing Harry cautiously. His shirt was untucked and only half-buttoned, and he had on shoes but no socks. He’d obviously dressed in a rush.
Shaking her slightly, he shouted, “You scared the hell out of me, taking off like that!”
Charlie glanced over at Dalton, who sat there grinning, and she said, “I thought he never yelled.”
Dalton shrugged.
Harry shook her again, making her feet swing. “In the normal course of things, when not unduly provoked, I don’t yell! But you have a way of pushing me on everything.”
Despite her ignominious position, she lifted her chin. “Go
od. Because you push me, too.”
That vexed him for a moment, and he growled, “Damn right! And I’m going to continue to do so. I love you, damn it. Doesn’t that matter at all?”
Pops leaned in to say, “It should matter.”
Moses nodded. “Always used to matter in the good ole days.” The rest of the seniors offered mumbled agreements.
An elderly woman with gray hair escaping her bun patted Charlie on the arm. “You should listen to him, honey. Harry’s a good man, and he packs one helluva punch.”
They all nodded, even the officers. Moses stepped forward and he looked sheepish. “Harry convinced us we couldn’t handle those punks on our own. We should have trusted the cops. Even outnumberin’ ‘em two to one, they almost got away from us.”
Harry, still holding Charlie off the ground as if her weight were totally negligible, said to the hovering group, “I couldn’t have done it without your assistance.”
Charlie frowned. “It was a plan?”
“A very sound plan. I knew Carlyle would be with Ralph and Floyd today, and I knew they’d have the guns.”
Charlie gasped. “This is the news you refused to share with me! I suspected something was going on, but you wouldn’t tell me a damn thing, and you kept sneaking off without me—”
“Which wasn’t easy, I’ll have you know. You’re too nosy for your own good.”
Dalton blustered. “Charlie was involved in that?”
Harry didn’t answer, however his eyes glittered. “After picking up the money, they were going to make a deal—and the police would be ready.” He glared at Dalton. “Things would have gone as planned if people didn’t throw wrenches into the works, skipping dinner and coming here first.”
“I had no idea!” He frowned at Harry, then shrugged. “I needed a reservation, so we were going back in an hour.”
“And,” Harry added, drawing Charlie so close she could see the fiery specks in his light brown eyes, “if stubborn women would only listen when given a heartfelt declaration of love.”
“It really was heartfelt?”
“Haven’t you been listening?” He shook her again, then hugged her tight. “It was extremely heartfelt.”
