“Lace? You know Mr. Worthington-Deane?” Mel asked.
“You might say that,” Lacy said. Jillian snickered beside her, and even Ari, who was sipping water to try to calm herself, giggled. “Travis is that particularly annoying neighbor I was telling you about the other day.”
“The one who wanted to steal your ranch,” Brynna added, staring at Travis. “He looks like Chance. I remember him from when we were kids.”
He did. She’d noticed before how much he and his brother Marcus favored their cousins.
“I’m the better-looking cousin, sweetie. I see you’re still orange. Pretty as ever, too. Which one of you Demon Redheads is the biter again? I need to stay clear. And it’s not steal, rent. We’ve come to a mutually beneficial agreement, Dr. McGareth and I.”
“Ah, isn’t that nice?” Mel said. Lacy heard the snark in Jillian’s sister’s tone. “One big happy family, aren’t we?”
“Best not aggravate your neighbors, Trav. Bad things can happen,” Chance said. “Especially with the triple threat there. They are notoriously difficult. Unlike the rest of us. Jillian is the biter. I still have the scar where Jillian the Villy-un bit me. I’d forgotten you’d given her that nickname.”
“I was five, Chance. And you’d just dumped pancake batter on my sister’s head. Will you just let it go?” Jillian asked.
Travis just smirked at her as Jillian and Chance bickered lightly. The nerves in Lacy’s stomach shifted into something else. He was planning something, wasn’t he?
44
Travis took a quiet moment as the family dinner progressed to study the people around him. He remembered the Becks, now. The older man at the opposite end of the table from Houghton Barratt had been one of his uncle’s closest friends. The guy had had a million redheaded daughters. Apparently Lacy’s little redheaded friend was one of them.
He liked watching Lacy with her people. She was different here, with this family, than she was with anyone else. She threw quips at his cousin Chance, comforted the brunette—who looked positively terrified for some reason, and was just as much at the center of the Becks as any redhead was.
He looked at the men surrounding them. Elliot and Chance had their wives—beautiful, sexy, gorgeous wives. Barratt, too. There was a dark-haired man next to a teenage girl who had to be Barratt’s sister-in-law, she looked just like his wife and the rest of the redheads. The remaining single men were his brothers, the mayor, some of Houghton Barratt’s other cousins, and Travis himself.
There were quite a few of the Barratts eying his Lacy and her little pals with intent. Interest. Like vultures. Travis shot the mayor a look of challenge when the guy kept drawing Lacy’s attention his way. There would be none of that. Those Barratts were dangerous.
He looked up and saw the glance that passed between Rafe and the redhead.
It was a surprise the girl hadn’t burst into flames from the heat of Rafe’s glare. Travis winced inwardly—he’d been on the end of that glare more than a time or two before. His brother was such a misanthrope at times.
Jillian squirmed, but she didn’t say a word to his brother. Or even meet his gaze head on. It was like Rafe didn’t exist in her world.
Rafe was difficult to deal with at the best of times. The meal ended and Barratt’s wife stood again. She wobbled a bit, but her husband put her back up straight. Guy seemed to have his hands on her at all times.
Hell, Travis understood. If he was sitting next to Lacy instead of across the table, he’d have his hands on her somehow, too.
“Well. Now that we have all of your attention...It’s time to get this evening started. While this is a family dinner, tonight isn’t. It’s an event with a greater purpose. Unfortunately, it’s one that many of us here are too intimately familiar. Violence. Being a victim.”
“We get the speech, Mel. Let’s just get on with it,” Chance said. Travis echoed the sentiment silently. “We all know why we’re here. At least most of us. My cousins might not. But they’re mostly intelligent; they’ll catch up with the videos.”
“Ok. So Chance has spoken,” Barratt’s wife Mel said. Travis had to admit, he remembered her more than he did her sisters. Except for the orange-haired one. She stood out. “So let’s get on with it. We have six videos to share. We want to make sure everyone involved is ok with them. I... know these are actors, but...it brings things back a little too clearly. We need to know before we show them to the world if they are too much. For any of you. Us. If the three of you can do this.”
Travis caught the rise in tension immediately. Lacy and her friends clasped hands without even looking at each other.
“Jilly?” Kevin Beck said. “You ready for this?”
Jillian sighed, then straightened her shoulders. “I’m not comfortable with it, by any means. It’s our life. And some of the worst parts of it. But if it makes a difference, I’ll learn to deal, won’t I?”
“I’m proud of you. All of you. None of you have to do this,” her father said.
“If we don’t...who can we help that way, Dad?” Jillian asked. She stood and put a hand on Lacy’s shoulder, then the brunette’s. “We were victims. If we don’t do something, we will always be. I still have the nightmares about this. I probably always will, but I’m starting to accept that.”
Her right hand went to the scar on her neck. She tilted her head to the side so it was far more visible. How close she’d come to dying was hard for any of them to miss. “I watched him point a gun at Lacy and Ari and pull the trigger. And I knew...chances were high one of them would be dead when the bullets stopped. Maybe both. Instead, we were lucky. I bit him and he dropped the gun before he could shoot at them again…if he had…he would have killed them both right there in front of me. Lucky that all of us survived. If Lacy hadn’t jumped when she did, Ari would have been killed. If Ari hadn’t arrived when she did, Lacy might have been. Then it was Mel—or Marcus. Houghton. It was all a crap-shoot of who was the luckiest and we all know that. What happened to me--it was nothing compared to what happened to Bryn. Or Gabby. If they are ok with it, how can I not be? Yes, he was going to kill me. And the things he said, did…He was going to hurt me, rape me first. Over and over. Just because he could, and to hurt the people I love. I knew that without a doubt. But he didn’t. And I am healing. Every day I am healing. As are the rest of us. If something positive can come from what happened to us, then hell yes. Show the videos. Show them over and over and over again. I’ll be the first one to hit play.”
She took her chair, Lacy and Ari hugged her, whispering furiously.
Travis felt sick at the woman’s words. He looked at his brothers quickly, seeing shock on Rafe’s face. Compassion on Marc’s.
It was the pregnant one who spoke next. His cousin’s orange-haired wife. Travis would figure all the different redheads out eventually. “I’m ok with it. It’s the past now. We can keep living.”
45
There were a group of people already in the ballroom when Logan walked in, his date for the evening on his arm. Allen walked next to the other sister. Their older brother, Banks, brought up the rear.
Logan and Allen had often accompanied the Claireson sisters to charity events just like this one. The women were plain little sticks, with no personality to split between them. They were rude, petulant, and demanding, as well. It was no wonder they had both hit the age of thirty without a single marriage proposal, despite their father’s wealth.
The first woman he recognized inside was that sister of Jillian Beck’s. The one married to the billionaire.
No surprise. Tonight’s event was being held at Barratt’s mansion.
Some charity or something needed funded. Some pet project of the wife’s.
Banks’ youngest sister sighed petulantly. “There she is. That girl.”
Logan looked down at her. “Excuse me?”
“That former cop that Houghton Barratt went crazy over. I don’t think she’s all that beautiful.”
“I do,” Banks said
, looking at the woman. Logan had to agree—she was a beautiful woman. All of the Beck sisters were.
But it was the woman in red that had captured his attention.
She was with the rest of them, laughing at something Jillian had said.
Logan caught the fleeting expression in Allen’s eyes. He knew how the other man felt about Lacy’s best friend. If Allen had ever loved a woman, it was that little redhead.
“There are certainly a lot of them over there,” Banks’ other sister said. “How do you know which is which? And who are the other women? They look familiar.”
“That’s the wife of the Finley Creek police chief. He’s the governor’s cousin,” Banks said. “I’ve met him many times. The gorgeous brunette is the sister of Davis Lucas. She’d be a good connection for you girls to make. I’d like to make a connection with her brother soon myself. He’s moving several companies to Texas. As for the blonde in red, I’m not certain. But she is quite stunning.”
“Dr. Lacy McGareth,” Logan said, watching her laugh at something one of those damned Deanes said. “She’s Allen’s protégée.”
“She’s a wonderful surgeon. She’ll go far. And she has a wicked sense of humor. I didn’t realize she’d be here tonight. I suppose I should have,” Allen said.
“Of course, she will. Look at who she is connected to,” Brianna said, snidely. Logan knew she’d always done that with women more beautiful than she. Which were quite a lot. “That’s the governor behind her. And if I’m not mistaken, that’s his brother looking down her dress. The one who owns half of Finley Creek.”
“Travis Worthington-Deane. And Rafael Holden-Deane is the new Chief of Medicine. He’s the middle brother and Allen and Logan’s new boss. The big brute behind them all,” Banks said pointedly. “I’ll introduce you all, if you’d like. And can behave. I need to speak with Rafe and the governor tonight, if I can. They are very important connections that our company needs.”
“Please, does tonight have to be all about business?” Bethany asked. “Can’t it be about us having fun for once? Logan doesn’t want to speak with the Deanes, do you? Or some little nobody upstarts. I mean, I think they went to public schools!”
Allen laughed. “Oh, the horror. Don’t let your snobbery show, sweetie, someone might hear you. What do you say, Logan? Think Jillian and Lacy will save us a dance? I must say they cleaned up very nicely. No surprise. Banks, we’ll introduce you to the brunette, if you’d like. She’s just your type. Sweet and submissive.”
Banks looked over at the table where the Barratts and their friends were talking. “I may just take you up on the offer. The woman is breathtaking. All that pale skin and that hair.”
She was.
But nowhere near as beautiful as the woman in red.
As the night wore on, Logan couldn’t look away.
46
Travis kept his eyes on the screen that had already been set up in the hall next to the dining room. The place was decorated for the fundraiser already, but a stage had been placed prominently where he doubted there had been one before. When they were walking into that room he tried to get to his girl’s side, but she and her two minions had disappeared quickly.
He finally found her again after he and Rafe and Marc had been guided to their table.
She was near the stage, speaking with the musicians. He started to go over there to her, but Rafe’s hand on his arm stopped him. “You’re a bit too obvious, Travis.”
“But…”
“Leave the girl alone. If she wanted to be with you right now, she would be. I think she and her friends need to be with each other at the moment,” Marc said quietly. “Tonight is going to be difficult for them, I think.”
“What exactly happened, Marc?” Rafe asked. Travis echoed the question. “To Jillian?”
Marc leaned forward as the band began to warm up. “That damned Albright. He nearly killed her right in front of me. I couldn’t move, I was afraid he’d cut her throat if I did. And her sister Mel was there—he was going to shoot her just because he hated Kevin Beck and Handley Barratt. Those girls were all just pawns. Hell, even Uncle Elliot and the others were pawns. Because Handley Barratt was trying to turn Albright’s father into the TSP. And Albright was planning to kill me, to step into my position. He wanted to clean up everything from Uncle Elliot’s murder and came after Gabby and Brynna because of it.”
“And Lacy and Ariella?” Rafe asked.
“Collateral. Somewhere along the way, Albright met Jillian at the hospital and realized who she was. He became…obsessed. He was going to take her to Mexico, we think, as revenge against her father. He was dragging her out of the Barratt hotel from a fundraiser. Her friends noticed and followed them out. He shot at them, striking Ariella in the chest. Then he nearly killed Jillian and Houghton. Before Elliot and Chance shot him and his brother. That’s the short run-down. He also attacked Lacy in the hospital parking garage, and shot Dr. Lanning when he walked into the garage. Lanning saved Lacy’s life, no doubt. They worked her over and she was in the hospital for a day or two. And I was in the building when Albright had the TSP annex where Brynna and Gabby were working bombed. They all could have been killed so easily. That none of them were was a miracle.”
Travis bit back a curse of his own. He’d known it had been bad for his cousins back around Christmas, but that Lacy was involved pierced straight through him. No wonder she and her little pals stuck so close to each other. And no wonder she seemed so nervous of him sometimes.
He waited impatiently for her to reappear, but she didn’t.
Not until the band had been playing for close to an hour.
And Houghton Barratt’s pretty strawberry blonde wife took the podium. The attendees hushed.
Marc’s old college friend returned to his nearby table quickly, Elliot’s wife squealed quietly. She looked at Marc and Travis and grinned. “This is going to be the fun part of the evening. If Ari doesn’t toss her cookies, anyway. We have a bet that she will. That, or pass out.”
“What?” Rafe asked.
Elliot’s wife turned to him. She didn’t seem to even notice his crankiness. She was a happy, breezy, if slightly dizzying woman.
She suited his cousin to a tee. Travis liked her.
The lights dimmed. A guitar came to life.
Travis automatically looked toward the direction the sound came from.
To see Jillian Beck with an electric guitar.
“Seriously?” Rafe asked. “They sing, too?”
“Mel bullied them into performing,” Elliot said quietly from across the table. “Said it makes more of a statement for W4HAV.”
“Explain this charity to me.” Rafe said.
“It’s Ari’s pet project. After everything that happened to her before she moved to Finley Creek, after Mel was shot,” Gabby said. “The charity is designed to help women who have been the victims of extreme violence by…well…men. Major type cases. Like kidnappings…and well…explosions and other…things.”
Travis leaned forward. “And it’s this charity that needs office space?”
“Yes. Ari’s brother could provide the space, but they want to be close to the hospital. To be the first step in healing for the victims. It’ll be staffed twenty-four seven. We’re all going to volunteer, but it’ll be mostly Ari—and probably Jilly and Lacy. The three of them tend to do everything together.”
“Like you, Bryn, and Mel?” Elliot asked, drily. He looked at Travis. “But she’s right. The three of them have worked their asses off to get this started. We’re all extremely proud of them. You ought to donate the building. It’s definitely a worthy cause.”
As Lacy and her minions took the stage, Travis knew there wasn’t a question left in his mind; as the six videos of what the Becks and their friends—his cousins—had endured played, that decision just cemented itself in his mind. Lacy’s voice rang out over the hushed crowd, then Jillian’s blended in. After a few moments, the shy brunette’s joined in. Travis had to admit,
the three of them together with those damned videos playing behind them, illustrating utter hell, made a powerful statement.
It just increased during the last song when the rest of the Beck sisters and Elliot’s wife joined them on stage. They sang an old song about triumph that he hadn’t heard…since Elliot and Chance’s family’s quadruple funeral. It would always bring him back to that day.
But they sang it beautifully.
And he could hear her over the rest.
47
After she and her friends finished performing—to standing applause and hopefully lots of donations—Lacy didn’t get a chance to sit down again.
The first guy to grab her and pull out to the dance floor was none other than Houghton’s cousin, the mayor of Finley Creek.
Then it was Allen Jacobson. At least she knew him. She hadn’t known he or Dr. Lanning would be there. She was introduced to their dates—and found them extremely unimpressive because of their rude manners—and to the head of Claireson Pharm.
She’d met him before.
He didn’t remember. Even though he’d once tried to cop a feel in Houghton’s elevator.
Her, Ari, or Jillian.
He did have trouble keeping his eyes off Ari’s cleavage, though. Apparently she had caught his interest for tonight. Jerk.
Her friend tried to turn him down when he pushed for her to dance with him—he’d even claimed to know her brother, as if that made him more attractive—but only escaped when Marcus Deane distracted the man somehow.
Ari slipped away quickly when Jillian’s father stepped up and asked her to dance.
Leave it to Kevin to be there when they needed him.
She even danced with Lanning, though she would never repeat that experience again. The man’s hands had felt too insistent. Too possessive.
It was after him that she took a moment to find a quiet alcove and just breathe.
It was like a jungle in there. Worse than that first event they’d attended—before Albright’s attack—and the foreign investors who’d not left her and Jillian alone.
If the Dark Wins (Finley Creek Book 4) Page 12
