Golden Lies (24 page)

"He said he'd be by later. How is Dad?"

"I don't know. The same, I guess."

They both glanced down at David, who seemed to be barely breathing. "He sleeps so deeply," Paige murmured. "You're worried, aren't you?"

"I'd feel better if he was awake." Victoria felt Paige's gaze on her face, but she didn't want to look into her daughter's eyes and see the questions there. "Now isn't the time," she muttered.

"I wasn't going to ask."

"Thank you for that."

"But you knew, didn't you?"

"I thought you weren't going to ask."

"I'm sorry. It's just so confusing. I believed our family was so solid, so secure."

"Our family is fine. A few bumps in the road along the way, but nothing more than that." Victoria looked at her daughter's worried face. "We are Hathaways, Paige. And we're survivors. Don't ever forget that."

"I hope Dad hasn't forgotten. What would we do without him?"

"Hopefully, we won't have to find out."

"You still love him a little, don't you?"

"Good heavens, why would you ask that?" "That's not an answer, Mother. Do you still love him?"

"We've been married for thirty-one years. Love isn't that easy to define at my age."

"I don't think it should be that difficult, either."

Some latent motherly instinct made her want to reassure Paige. "Your father and I are not going to split up. We'll never get a divorce, if that's what you're worried about."

"Because you love him, or because you want to be a Hathaway?"

"I am a Hathaway. I'm more a Hathaway than he is. I've worked hard to be one. I won't give it up. I don't care how many women and daughters come out of the woodwork."

"I guess I have my answer."

"No, you don't have your answer." Victoria took a deep breath. "I love him, and I hate him. I can't help it. I'm sure he feels much the same way. We've shared some of the best days of our lives and some of the worst. We understand each other, and yet we don't. We make each other laugh, and we make each other cry."

"I guess that's better than feeling nothing."

"Sometimes I'd rather feel nothing." Victoria stared down at the familiar lines of her husband's face and realized that what she felt was fear. She didn't want to lose David. She didn't want him to die.

"Damn you, David, wake up. Wake up and answer your daughter's questions." She smiled at Paige, and for the first time in a long while there was a connection between them. "I shouldn't be the only one on the hot seat. He has a lot more to answer for than I do."

"That's for sure." Paige put her hand on her father's arm. "Come on, Daddy. Open your eyes. We need you."

"Oh, my God," Victoria whispered as David's eyelids began to flicker. "I think he's trying to wake up." She leaned over in excitement. "David? Can you hear me?"

His eyelids moved. Another blink and she was staring into his brown eyes.

"Jasmine," he said, and then his eyes shut again.

"You bastard," Victoria hissed. "You lying, cheating bastard."

"He didn't know what he was saying," Paige said quickly, trying to defuse the situation.

"The hell he didn't."

"Mother, please." Paige pressed her lips against her father's cool cheek. "Daddy, try to wake up again."

"Bright," he murmured in a raspy voice.

"I'll turn off the light," Paige said, hurrying over to the light switch.

"Vicky? Is that you?" he asked, squinting as he tried to focus.

"Who did you think it was?"

"Mother," Paige warned. "He's coming out of a coma. Try to remember that."

Victoria drew in a long breath and slowly let it out as she gazed into his dazed eyes. "How do you feel, David? Do you have any pain?"

"Head hurts. Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital." She leaned over and pushed the button for the nurse while Paige took her father's hand.

"It's going to be okay, Dad. Just relax and don't try to do too much too soon."

A few moments later the nurse entered and proceeded to check David's vital signs.

"Welcome back, Mr. Hathaway," she said.

"What happened?" David murmured, continuing to blink in confusion.

"You were attacked," Victoria answered. "Don't you remember?"

David slowly shook his head, then winced at the pain the movement generated.

The doctor entered a moment later and conducted a brief examination. "You're doing well, Mr. Hathaway. I'd like to run some tests, but it looks like you're on the road to recovery. It's about time, too."

"What—what day is it?" David turned to Paige with desperation in his eyes. "Elizabeth's birthday. When is her birthday? I didn't miss it, did I?"

Page shook her head, tears filling her eyes. "Today is Friday. Her birthday is next Wednesday. You have plenty of time."

"Thank God."

"I'll be back," Victoria said, following the doctor out of the room and leaving Paige alone with her father.

"You had us worried, Daddy."

"What happened to me?"

"You were mugged in Chinatown."

"What? Why was I in Chinatown? God, I'm tired."

"Dad, before you go back to sleep, I have to ask you. Do you know what happened to the dragon?" He looked at her in confusion. "What dragon?"

"The dragon that belongs to Mrs. Delaney, the one you took out of the store when you went to Chinatown."

"Did I go to Chinatown to meet Mr. Yee for dim sum?"

"Mr. Yee? No, that was last month. I'm talking about this week."

His eyes drifted shut, and Paige realized he had fallen asleep. Why didn't he remember? Was there something wrong with his memory? She walked quickly from the room, finding her mother and the doctor in the hall. "He doesn't remember the dragon or going to Chinatown or anything that happened recently," she blurted out. "Something is wrong with his mind."

"Short-term memory loss is common in cases of trauma like this. It usually comes back," the doctor reassured her. "He just needs time. I'll check him in the morning, but I think you can both relax. He'll probably sleep for a while. His body is still recovering. But the worst is over."

"So you think his memory will return?" Paige asked.

"I'm fairly certain it will. Maybe not the actual event of the assault, but probably most of what occurred before that time."

"Thank you, Dr. Crawley," Victoria said.

"No problem. Now, both of you go home and get some rest. That's an order." He smiled and tipped his head as he walked away.

"Well, it looks like your father will make it," Victoria said with relief.

"Yes, it appears that way."

"What's wrong now, Paige?"

"I wish he could have told me what happened to him."

"He will. He needs time. You heard the doctor. Why don't you go home? The nurse will stay with your father through the night. If he wakes, she'll make sure he has whatever he needs."

"I'm wondering if we shouldn't have more than a nurse."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about a security guard. What if whoever tried to hurt Dad finds out he's awake? He might be afraid that Dad can identify him. He might come back."

Victoria's gaze narrowed suspiciously. "What else aren't you telling me?"

Paige hesitated. "There may not be any connection, but Mrs. Delaney's house was broken into this morning."

"Mrs. Delaney, the owner of the dragon?"

"Yes, and I've been doing some research. It's possible that her dragon is part of a set. It's Riley's theory that—"

"Riley McAllister? The grandson?"

"Yes, he's a security expert, and he thinks that someone might have broken into his grandmother's house to see if she had another dragon."

Victoria let out a long, weary sigh. "Fine. I'll call our security company and have them send someone over here right away. Will that ease your mind?"

"Yes, thank you." Paige paused, watching her mother's gaze drift back to her dad's hospital room. "Are you going to stay?"

"For a while."

"What Dad said when he first woke up—"

"I didn't hear a thing."

"I didn't, either," she lied.

"Go home, Paige, and for God's sake, run a comb through your hair. It looks like a bird made a nest in it. And put on some lipstick. There could be press snapping your picture on your way out of the hospital. You have to think about these things, you know. Appearance and image are very important, especially when we're under such close scrutiny. Speaking of which, I think you should distance yourself from Mr. McAllister. We need to keep our business private."

"Our family business went public when Dad lost Riley's grandmother's dragon. Riley is determined to find out what happened, and I can't blame him. I feel bad for his grandmother. One minute she's sitting on a possible fortune, and the next minute it's gone."

"There's no room for sentiment in business, Paige," her mother replied. "Mr. McAllister is a customer, not a friend. Try to remember that."

She would try, but her mother had no idea how difficult that would be, because Paige wasn't thinking of Riley as a potential friend but as a lover.

* * *

"So you decided to actually come to work," Carey said, dumping a pile of pink message slips on Riley's desk late Friday afternoon. "Where have you been all day?"

"I've been trying to track down my grandmother's dragon," he replied. "I knew I could count on you to keep things going."

"You can—for most things," she said somewhat ominously.

Riley sat back in his chair. "What does that mean?"

"The three musketeers want another assignment."

"Bud, Charlie, and Gilbert?" he asked, referring to the three older men who'd been with the company since his grandfather had started it forty years ago. They were now in their early to mid-seventies and insisted on continuing to work. His grandfather had made him promise when he first came back to help out that he would not terminate their contracts for any reason except gross negligence, certainly not for age or any other discriminatory reason. "Actually, I have a job for them," he said. "I want them to take turns monitoring my grandmother's house. I'm not expecting any trouble, but another pair of eyes wouldn't hurt."

"I'll let them know. They'll be thrilled."

Riley smiled. "Maybe we should look into getting them into some computer classes. If they're going to work for me, I need to find something worthwhile for them to do."

"And you're too soft to fire them."

"Hey, they're cheap, loyal labor. I'm looking out for my own interests."

"Yeah, yeah, tell it to someone who doesn't know you."

"What else is going on?"

"Tom picked up a new Internet client. Richie called in and said the film company shooting in Marin needs security guards for three more days. That's about it. Oh, and Josh called and said he got an A on his chemistry test, so can he please come back to work?"

Riley smiled at that. "Good for him."

"Good for you for making him care about his grades. You're pretty smart when it comes to teenagers and old guys. Women—now that's another story. And speaking of women, or woman in particular, are you going to be tagging along with Paige Hathaway all night, too? Just so I know where to reach you in case of emergency."

He ignored her amused smile. "You can always reach me on my cell phone. You don't have to know where I am."

"That's no fun. Seriously, Riley. Is this thing with Paige Hathaway business or funny business?"

"It's none of
your
business," he said pointedly.

"Just be careful," Carey warned. "Don't fall in love. Girls like Paige can break your heart."

"That's never going to happen."

Carey walked out of his office with a disbelieving laugh. But she was wrong. He had no intention of falling in love. Long-term commitments were not for him, and not even a beautiful, brown-eyed blonde was going to change that. Besides, he had more important things on his mind right now. He had a dragon to find.

* * *

When Jasmine opened her door, she was shocked to see her mother, An-Mei, on the doorstep. She couldn't remember the last time her mother had come to visit. They lived only a few blocks from each other, but the distance between them was as big as a continent.

"Ma," she stuttered. "Is everything all right?"

"No, all wrong," An-Mei said shortly, brushing past her into the apartment.

Jasmine closed the door and waited for An-Mei to state the purpose of her visit. A flicker of nervousness ran down her spine as she watched her mother critically peruse the contents of her apartment. Her mother would find some fault with the way the furniture was arranged or the color of the painted walls. There would be something to criticize. She waited quietly, patiently, feeling as if she deserved whatever criticism was coming. Because she was bad; she'd always been bad. Her mother had told her so over and over again.