Dare to Love

by Carly Phillips

  Mine, while possessive and arousing, wasn’t the same thing. She needed the words. In her mind, saying them was the ultimate vulnerability. For as much as he’d given her, as much as he was learning to compromise—and laugh—as much as she believed in his feelings for her, him saying those three little words would be the ultimate gift. The final breakdown in that wall they’d each erected to protect their hearts.

  Once in her office, she settled in to work, and the morning passed quickly.

  Her phone rang, and she assumed it was either Dylan or Ian, ready to go out for lunch, and she answered on the first ring. “Riley Taylor.”

  “You’re not a big shot to me,” a familiar voice from her past said.

  Her blood ran cold, and she sat up straighter in her seat. “What do you want?” she asked the man she’d hoped to never hear from again.

  “To tell you that you don’t impress me. You’re just playing dress up, little girl. I know you’re not worth a damn. You never have been. And now that you’re with that hotshot, I have leverage.”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” she said, gripping the phone so hard her fingers ached.

  “I mean, I don’t have to worry about your football player and his threats anymore. Even if he manages to find me, I can do plenty of damage to your new boyfriend’s reputation before he does.”

  So Alex was right when he’d worried about those photographs with Ian. Nausea filled her, and she fought the swirling sensation in her stomach.

  “Leave him alone. In fact, go back into whatever hole you crawled out of.”

  “Then do something for me.”

  She began to shake. “What do you want?”

  “Money. Thanks to you, I lost my wife, my house, I have nothing left, and I’ve just been waiting for the right time to collect.”

  “I don’t have any money,” she said, her throat dry.

  Her father let out a mean laugh she remembered from her childhood, from the times she’d curl in a ball while he used it on her mother. Before he slapped her around.

  “The whole city knows how much money your boyfriend’s got. You make sure I get my share, and I won’t show up everywhere he goes and make a scene.”

  “Ian won’t care,” she whispered, hoping she was right.

  “But you do. You never liked to be the center of attention. Never liked it when people looked at you. Because you’re trash, and everyone knew it.”

  “Because I had an alcoholic father who beat the crap out of my mother,” she shouted at him.

  “Don’t blame me for your failings. I’ll be in touch by the end of the day. Get me money, or I’ll call the news and create enough scandal for Ian Dare to drop you like the trash you always were.”

  Tears leaked from her eyes. “What did I ever do to make you hate me so much?” she asked, but he’d already hung up.

  She slammed the phone down, missing the cradle. So she banged it again and again, sobs wracking her body. By the time she pulled herself together, her head pounded, and she was sure she looked like roadkill. She grabbed her compact mirror and fixed herself as best she could, not wanting to alert anyone at work to her personal problems.

  Her father wanted money, she thought. The one thing she didn’t have. The two men in her life both did, but she discounted going to each, for very different reasons.

  Alex was out for two reasons. The first being she’d promised Ian she’d always go to him first, and she meant to keep that promise. The second being that Alex would find her father and beat him within an inch of his life. As appealing as that thought was—and Riley refused to dwell on what kind of person that made her—she couldn’t allow him to ruin his career and his life over her. He’d done enough for her over the years, and she wouldn’t repay his friendship and love by knowingly destroying him.

  Which left Ian. Without a doubt, she knew he’d react the same way as Alex, and she wouldn’t put him in that position either. Both men had too much at stake professionally, both were public figures, and both deserved more than to lose everything because her father had tripped their anger.

  In her heart, she didn’t believe Ian would care if her father did his best to humiliate him in public, but Riley would. She also couldn’t subject his family—his mother and sisters especially—to her father’s hostility and venom. They didn’t deserve the fallout sure to come from Ian being associated with Riley.

  God, she hated the man. He was forcing her to lie to Ian, the one thing she didn’t want to do. She mentally replayed her conversation with Ian. “You either trust me or you don’t. You either instinctively come to me first or there is no us. On that, I can’t compromise.”

  She honed in on the word ‘first.’ She promised would come to him first, which implied she’d go to him over Alex. She was parsing, she knew. Playing word games to justify not telling him about her father’s call and threats. Word games were all she had.

  She couldn’t go to him about this, not because she didn’t trust him, but because she did. She trusted him to take care of things, to either kill her father or agree to pay him off. She couldn’t allow the former, and the latter? She shook her head. She might be learning to accept things from him, but this was out of the question. Her father would only keep coming back for more, over and over again. He’d never be out of their lives. She shuddered at that.

  Somehow, Riley needed to handle her father herself. No matter how scared she was, and her stomach cramped with pain at the thought, she needed to handle him alone.

  She played with the necklace dangling against her chest, finding small comfort as she touched the pendant, and thought about how to proceed.

  What to do.

  The idea, when it came to her, was simple. It also devastated her. But most important, it would buy her time and protect Ian and his family from her father until she could figure out a more permanent solution.

  FOURTEEN

  Ian’s stomach grumbled.

  He glanced at his computer screen, his gaze on Riley’s instant message window that he kept up and available to him at a moment’s notice. He thought of the day he’d taken her in his office, and his cock hardened immediately. Sex or food, he thought wryly.

  Ian: Hungry?

  She didn’t answer immediately, so he gave her some time to return to her desk.

  He called the private investigator he’d put on Riley’s father and left the man another voice mail. Ian understood it took time to compile information, but dammit, he wanted answers now.

  A few minutes later, with no word from Riley, he decided to go find her. He’d had lunch with her all week, and though they hadn’t explicitly discussed today, she’d have let him know if she had a meeting.

  He walked through the offices, which were mostly empty, as it was lunchtime, and stepped into her private domain. She wasn’t around. He figured he’d leave her a note and go grab something in the cafeteria. Maybe she’d come find him and they could share a quickie for dessert. At her desk, he looked around for a piece of paper, his gaze immediately coming to rest on a notepad.

  Cash-In Pawn Shop was scrawled in her handwriting.

  Ian narrowed his gaze. What the hell would she need to hock and why?

  Her father.

  Ian didn’t know what was going on, but he’d bet his life it had something to do with that bastard.

  He pulled out his phone and saw missed calls from earlier that morning. His half brother had called twice. No message.

  Shit.

  He hit redial, and Alex answered on the first ring.

  “You’re a hard man to get a hold of,” Alex said.

  Ian scowled. He’d have to get his phone checked. “What do you want?”

  “I have the report on Riley’s father. I thought I’d share.”

  Ian narrowed his gaze at his half sibling’s unexpected overture. “Go ahead.”

  “Douglas Taylor has been living on the streets for the last two years. He lost his job and then his house to the bank when the market crashed a few yea
rs back. He’s flat broke and an alcoholic, to boot. Occasionally he sobers up and gets a job washing dishes, but then he has money for booze, so the cycle starts up all over again.”

  The words flat broke reverberated in Ian’s brain. “Riley left the name of a pawnshop downtown scrawled on her desk.”

  “Son of a bitch,” Alex said.

  “That bastard’s been in touch again. He probably wants money,” Ian said.

  “But she doesn’t have anything of value to sell,” Alex said.

  Ian thought of the necklace he’d bought her, and the pain of betrayal nearly gutted him. “Yeah. She does.”

  And she’d chosen that route instead of trusting him. He shook his head, unable to believe it.

  “What’s the address of the pawnshop? I’ll meet you there,” Alex said, breaking into Ian’s thoughts.

  He shared the address on the paper and disconnected the call.

  * * *

  Riley pulled up to the pawnshop in a really horrible part of town. Luckily, she got a parking spot out front. She shouldn’t be here long, which was a relief, considering the neighborhood gave her the creeps. A man with a cup sat on the ground beside the shop with a sign asking for money. And a gang of kids wearing matching colors hung out across the street.

  She shivered and quickly walked inside. The shop was dimly lit, the linoleum on the floor filthy and cracked. There were other people in the store, lingering at the counter and haggling with an older woman near the back.

  A middle-aged man greeted her. “What can I do for you?” he asked.

  She still wore the necklace, unwilling to take it off until the last possible second. She reached for it, as she’d been doing since she’d made the decision to sell it to pay off her father.

  The weight of it gave her comfort, making her feel like she had Ian beside her. From it, she drew strength. “I umm…”

  “I ain’t got all day, lady. You selling that piece or not?”

  “I need a minute,” she snapped and turned away from the counter.

  He mumbled about indecisive women and turned to help another customer.

  She ran her hand over the cool diamond, memories of Ian bombarding her. The vulnerability in his face when he’d asked her to accept the gift, the relief when she had. His placing the pendant around her neck and his huskily spoken words, It’s perfect. Just like you.

  She clasped the beloved piece tighter, knowing she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t part with something Ian had given her, and she wouldn’t cave in to her father. He’d bullied her throughout her childhood, and she was finished.

  Done.

  It had taken her coming here to see what a foolish mistake she might have made. Ian would know the necklace was missing, and she couldn’t lie to him. She’d promised him she would come to him first and always, and that’s what she would do.

  “Thanks anyway,” she called out to the man, walking at a fast pace out the front door. She reached the sidewalk and breathed in the stuffy, humid air, wanting nothing more than to get into her air-conditioned car.

  “Riley.”

  She turned to see her father climb out of the passenger seat of a beat-up car that sat behind hers.

  “Long time no see.”

  Her skin crawled at the sound of the voice that had haunted her nightmares for years. He didn’t look well. His skin was sallow, his body so thin and gaunt his clothes hung on his narrow frame. Dark circles were heavy beneath his eyes, and red splotches stained his cheeks.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “I’ve been keeping an eye on you. Imagine my surprise when you left your cushy job and drove here. I guess I can still get you to do what I say.” He gestured toward the pawnshop behind her.

  “You’re following me?” Revulsion filled her. “But you can’t get into the stadium without permission.”

  “Don’t be an idiot. I waited until you pulled out of the lot.”

  She folded her arms across her chest. “Well, I don’t have anything for you right now,” she said and started for her car.

  He lunged, grabbing her and dragging her into an alley beside the store.

  He backed her into the wall, giving her nowhere to go. The overwhelming stench of alcohol and body odor hit her hard.

  “Let’s start over.” He grabbed her arm so hard she knew she’d have bruises. “We agreed you’d get me money.”

  “We didn’t agree on when,” she gritted out.

  He shook her hard. His fingers bit into her skin, his frail appearance belying his strength. “Where’s the cash?”

  “There isn’t any. Go ask the guy in the shop if you don’t believe me.”

  He snatched her purse from her shoulder, nearly wrenching her arm from its socket. Opening it, he began tossing her things onto the ground in a mad search for cash. When he came to her wallet, he shoved her bag at her, and she held it tightly while he looked through her wallet. Good luck, she thought. If she had twenty dollars in there, it was a lot.

  He pocketed the small amount of money he found and threw her wallet to the ground. “Where is it? In your pockets?”

  “I said didn’t sell anything,” she said coldly.

  “Bitch.” He slapped her hard across the face, her head smacking the wall with the force of the hit.

  She saw stars, the pain overwhelming and intense.

  “Why are you here? What were you planning to sell?” he asked at the same time his gaze focused on her chest. “This is it, right?” He put his hands on her beloved necklace. “Your boyfriend buy this for you?”

  She closed her eyes, unable to stand being this close to him and unable to believe she’d ever considered selling something so precious to her.

  That’s when her fight instinct kicked in, and she kneed him in the groin hard. She didn’t have enough leverage to take him down, but the element of surprise along with the initial pain had him rearing back in shock.

  “You stupid bitch.”

  She expected him to slap her again and braced, ready to duck, but he grabbed for the necklace instead and yanked hard, breaking the chain.

  He held up his prize. “This oughta net me a nice sum. Don’t think I’m done with you either.” He turned and headed out of the alley and back onto the street.

  “Oh hell no,” she muttered, having had enough. Not just for today but for a lifetime.

  She started after him and slammed into him with the full force of her body, taking him down. He rolled, flipping over, and she ended up on top of him, her hands around his throat, and she began to squeeze…

  Her mother’s face flashed in front of her eyes, and she tightened her grip. “I hate you,” she screamed at him as his body bucked and he clawed at her in an attempt to dislodge her.

  “Riley!”

  She heard her name at the same time sirens sounded. Hands gripped her by the shoulders, pulling her off him, but she was too hysterical to focus on who’d come to her rescue or what had happened to the man who’d never been a real father.

  * * *

  Ian pulled up to the pawnshop just after Alex. It took mere seconds for him to process the scene. Riley’s hands around a man’s throat, Alex pulling at her shoulders. Her father began to rise, coughing and sputtering but clearly intending to run. Ian slammed the man back to the ground just as a police car screeched to a halt, and the cop approached the scene.

  “She attacked me,” her father sputtered at the uniformed cop.

  The coward, Ian thought.

  “Shut the hell up.” Ian shoved his foot on her father’s chest so he couldn’t move until a cop showed up and took over.

  The officer pulled the older man to his feet. Before he could ask questions, a middle-aged man walked out of the pawnshop and headed for the cop.

  “He attacked her in the street,” the shop owner said, gesturing to Riley’s father.

  “You’re the one who called it in?” the cop asked.

  The other man nodded.

  With a grim expression, the
cop pulled her father’s hands behind his back and cuffed him while reading him his rights. Then he turned to the guy from the store. “Wait here. We’ll need to take your statement.”

  With her father subdued, Ian turned to focus on Riley. He saw her on the ground, Alex holding her in his arms.

  He gritted his teeth and walked over to them. “She okay?” he asked.

  Alex met his gaze, a warning look in the other man’s eyes.

  Right. Like Ian was going to start a fight with her now. Thanks for the faith, he thought with disgust.

  One of the cops came up beside Ian.

  “Ri?” Alex eased her away from him. “The police are here.”

  “Does this belong to you?” The cop held out the necklace Ian had given her. “He had it clutched in his hand.”

  She nodded then groaned and grabbed her head. “Yes,” she said, not meeting Ian’s gaze.

  “It’s evidence for now, but you’ll get it back when the case is over. Did you hit your head?” the officer asked.

  “He slapped me, and I slammed into the wall in the alley,” Riley said, her voice hoarse from screaming.

  Ian winced and wished he’d done more than restrained the son of a bitch for the police.

  “An ambulance is on its way. You’re going to need to be checked for a concussion.”

  “But—”

  “No arguing,” Alex said, helping her rise to her feet.

  She raised her tear-stained face to Ian’s for the first time. “Stay with me?” she asked him.

  He couldn’t say no.

  Didn’t want to.

  But the pain over her putting herself through this when she could have turned to him devastated him. He’d asked her for one thing if they were going to go forward, and at the most crucial moment, she hadn’t kept her promise.

  An hour later, he and Alex sat in the hospital waiting room while Riley was taken in for tests.

  “You’ll take her home from here?” Alex asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.