Hot on Her Heels (7 page)

“There's something wrong with you,” she told him.

“You're not the first person to mention that. Now be quiet. I'll be doing the talking.”

For once she didn't argue. She had no idea what they were facing and would prefer to spend her energy on staying alive. Garth could talk all he wanted.

They entered the small structure.

It was dark and at first she couldn't see anything.
After a few seconds, she made out a battered table and several chairs. Other than that, the room was empty.

She quickly figured out the best defensive position and stood there. She could see out the front door and two of the three windows. Which left them only one blind side. Garth shifted so he could see anyone coming from that direction, then nodded at her.

“Now we wait,” he said.

This was very different from the low-key stakeouts she was used to. No talk radio, no relaxing time with her own thoughts. Adrenaline pumped through her, as her back prickled with sweat. The building smelled musty and unused. Something rustled in the leaves on the floor, but she refused to react until she saw what it was. Seconds later, a small lizard scurried through the front door.

“Three men,” Garth said quietly. “They're armed. Stay relaxed. We're here to do business.”

This was so not her world, she thought as her heart rate doubled. She stayed where she was, her gun in her hand, not prepared to start anything but more than ready to finish it.

Two of the men walked into the building. They glanced around, taking in her and the room, but not acknowledging her. She moved between them and the door. The meaning was clear—if anything went wrong, they would have to get through her to get out.

“Duncan,” the first man said. He was of average height, muscular and tanned.

Cuban rather than Mexican, Dana thought, remembering the report Garth had showed her. His source of damning information.

Here was the bastard who had set up the explosion that had nearly killed Izzy. He'd been paid for that job and was being paid again for sharing the details. Asshole, she thought angrily, wishing she could shoot him.

Something must have shown on her face or in her body language, because Garth gave her a warning glance. Which only made her want to shoot him, too.

“Ramon.” Garth nodded.

They spoke in Spanish. Dana caught a few words. From what she could tell, they were asking about each other's family and how business was going.

Garth set his package on the rickety table. Ramon did the same with a box the size of a business file.

“Always good doing business with you,” the man said as he picked up what Garth had left. “Have a good flight home.”

Garth nodded.

The men turned to leave. Dana kept her gun trained on them. Ramon walked past her without acknowledging her, but the second man hesitated before hurrying out the door.

Dana stayed where she was until Garth said, “They're disappearing into the trees. Come on.”

He picked up the box and started for the plane.

Less than two minutes later, they were on the jet.
Even as Garth pulled the door shut, the engines started. They taxied to the end of the runway and took off.

“You okay?” Garth asked, unbuttoning his shirt and tossing it onto the leather seat.

For a second, she thought he was getting naked for her. But before she could tell him off, he was unfastening his bulletproof vest.

Right. Because he didn't need it anymore. They were done.

She ducked into the bathroom at the back of the plane and leaned against the closed door. She shut her eyes and deliberately slowed her breathing. It was finished. They were safely on the plane. She could relax. In and out.

It took a few minutes for her heart to slow. Her hands stayed steady, which was a point of pride. She pulled up her sweatshirt, then shrugged out of the vest. She slipped the sweatshirt back on, then splashed water on her face.

Garth was waiting for her by the leather chairs. As she approached, he handed her a glass of something clear over ice.

“I'm not thirsty,” she told him.

“It's not water. Straight vodka. It'll be the easiest to get down. I have Scotch if you prefer.”

It wasn't even noon, but she felt as if she'd lived through three days already. After taking the glass, she downed the contents in two gulps, then gasped as the alcohol burned the back of her throat.

She moved to her seat and saw the package sitting on the small table.

“Go ahead,” he said. “I already know what's in it.”

“Ramon told you?”

“I guessed.”

She unwrapped the package, then opened the box.

There were receipts, some original, some copies. Photos, notes, checks and lists of materials. There was also a timeline that went back several months.

Dana looked through everything. With each new piece of paper, the knot in her stomach grew. She recognized Jed's handwriting on a few pages, a call log with a Dallas area code listed and a diagram of an explosive device.

Individually there wasn't all that much, but together, it was enough to convince her of what she'd been desperately trying to avoid accepting.

“Jed arranged for the oil rig explosion,” she said, barely able to form the words. “It wasn't you.”

Garth sat in the seat across from hers and watched her. “It wasn't me.”

“He knew everyone would think it was you. That must have been part of his plan.”

“Escalation.”

“Izzy could have been killed.” She couldn't wrap her mind around that fact. Jed could have killed his own daughter. How was that possible?

“She was lucky, as was everyone else on the rig. There weren't any fatalities.”

Dana felt sick inside. “There's no way to make this right. There's no way to explain it. How am I going to tell them?”

“You're not,” he said. “I am. I'm meeting with Cruz later.”

Cruz. Right. Cruz would know what to do. He would protect Lexi and Mitch would protect Skye and Izzy had Nick, now. They would be fine.

Dana pushed the box away and closed her eyes. It was Jed, not Garth. Jed, whom she'd known for years. She might not have liked him too much, but she'd trusted him. She believed he had a moral code.

“This has to stop,” she whispered.

“That's the plan.”

“You think you can defeat him? He's ruthless.”

Garth gave her a cold smile that made her shiver.

“He hasn't got a chance. I'll destroy him. When I'm finished, he won't have anything and there'll be no coming back.”

Dana swallowed. There was a promise in Garth's words, but that wasn't what made her uneasy. It was the knowledge that he would do anything to win. How far was this deadly game going to go?

 

“N
ICK'S HERE TO SEE YOU,
” Agnes said through the intercom.

Garth looked up from the report he'd been reviewing. He hadn't talked to Nick in weeks, not since Garth had sacrificed their years of friendship in the name of winning. He had nothing but regrets but didn't know if Nick would want to hear them.

“Send him in.”

Nick walked through the door and into the office. Garth stood. They met in the middle of the big room.

“Cruz sent me to pick up the information you have for him,” Nick said by way of greeting.

Information Cruz could have collected himself, Garth thought. Or sent an assistant.

Garth pointed to the large envelope on the corner of his desk. “It's copies of everything I picked up in Mexico. I have the originals in my safe. If anyone needs to see them, they can, but I want to keep them for now.”

“You're not turning them over to the police?”

“Papers I bought from a Cuban in a foreign country? No. I'm not turning them over to the police. If we're going to get Jed, we'll have to do it another way. Besides, this is insurance. If he gets out of hand, then I can threaten him.”

“He already tried to kill Izzy. I would say that's out of hand.”

“You can't change the past.”

Nick stared at him. “You got that right.”

At one time they'd been friends—even brothers. They'd nearly died together. Garth would have thought they would be there for each other no matter what. Until he'd played to win and lost one of the few relationships that mattered.

“You're still going after Jed.” It was a statement from Nick, not a question.

“With everything I have. It's what he deserves.”
Garth glanced at the envelope, then back at Nick. “There's a tape recording inside. Cruz might want to listen to it before playing it for Lexi and her sisters.”

Nick frowned. “What is it?”

“Jed offering me Titan World on the condition I cut out his daughters.”

“When did that happen?”

“A while back. Before Izzy had her surgery.”

“That bastard.”

Nick walked to the desk. Garth waited until he had the envelope before saying, “I'm sorry. I know it's too late, but I want you to know I'm sorry. For what I did, for what happened. I was wrong to assume you didn't care about Izzy. I was wrong to risk our friendship. You saved my life and I owed you. I should have remembered that.”

Nick's expression remained unreadable. They were both good at hiding their feelings.

“I came between you and Izzy. I could have destroyed what you had.”

Nick looked at the papers he held. “Maybe not. I'm not the kind of guy women let go of so easily.”

Humor? It was a good sign. “If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't.”

His former friend walked to the door. “I heard what you said, Garth. I'm going to need some time to figure out if I think you mean it.”

 

T
HAT AFTERNOON
Garth arrived for his meeting with Cruz. By the number of cars in the driveway, he could
tell it wasn't going to be just the two of them. Nick's SUV was parked behind a truck, making Garth think all three Titan sisters were waiting for him on the other side of the door.

Not only was he hesitant to see them, he wasn't excited to be the one to inform them that their father didn't give a rat's ass about them. He would rather that kind of news came from someone else.

Nick answered the door, but didn't speak to him. Garth followed him into a large living room where Garth's three sisters, Cruz and Mitch, Skye's fiancé, waited.

No one said anything. Garth could feel the anger in the room and had a bad feeling it was directed at him. A case could be made that he'd earned it. He'd hurt everyone standing in front of him.

He'd loaned Lexi a couple million dollars, only to call the note when she was most vulnerable. That had been the opening shot of his campaign. He'd messed with one of Cruz's drivers, had tried to turn Mitch against Skye, gone after Skye's foundation more than once and played Nick to hurt Izzy. It wasn't a body of work to be proud of.

“You need a hug,” Izzy said unexpectedly, coming up to him and wrapping her arms around him. “Don't let them mess with you.”

She hugged him fiercely, as if trying to give him strength. He wanted to tell her he didn't need it, that he would be fine on his own, but the warm embrace
was oddly comforting. Without meaning to, he found himself hugging her back.

When Izzy stepped away, Cruz motioned to the sofas. “We should sit down and discuss this.”

Garth noticed Cruz waited until a very pregnant Lexi had settled on a cushion before sitting next to her. Izzy curled up next to Nick and Mitch stood behind the club chair Skye had chosen. Only Garth was alone.

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…”