12
Jeremy pressed Christy's front doorbell, then retreated to the bottom of the steps where he waited while the front lights came on. He saw her face peer through one of the sidelights, then the door opened. Slowly.
Christy stuck her head out, glanced at him with a worried expression, then looked around as if someone else might be hiding in the bushes.
Not likely. And not likely that he was coming within ten feet of her. Still plenty of light, easy for any nosy neighbor to see him standing out here in plain sight, not even in spitting distance.
"What are you doing here?" she said.
He looked up at her. "We need to talk."
"I have nothing to say to you."
"Yeah, you do. This bullsh—" He cut himself off. Some of the neighbors might be listening. He didn't want any calls going out to NYPD. Didn't want another run-in with them. "This craziness has got to stop. You just can't go around spreadin lies about me."
"Who says they're lies?"
"I do. And you know they are. You and me related—that's a laugh."
That was a whopper. Daddy had told him all about little Moonglow Garber when he was a kid.
Her mouth twisted in disgust. "It's anything but a laugh—it's a horror."
"There are laws against this kind of thing. I'd be suin you now for libel—"
"You mean 'slander.' Libel is in print."
"Whatever. You'd be hearin from my lawyer instead of me right now if you wasn't Dawn's mother. But this is the last time. This is your last free pass. Next time, we go to court."
She smiled. "Fine with me. The only way I can get hurt in court is if what I'm saying is untrue. And it's not, is it."
Bitch. How could Daddy have sired such a dumb cow?
Well, maybe not so dumb. She'd found out he was her half brother. No, wait. She didn't find out—her detective did. Jeremy had to get the name of this guy. Couldn't handle him like Gerhard—that, he admitted, had been stupid—but maybe he could get Vecca to pay him off.
"Who's feedin you all this crap?"
"A friend."
"The same guy who fed you that other line of bull?"
"Maybe."
"Tell me who he is. I need to have a heart-to-heart talk with him, straighten him out on a few matters."
Her mouth twisted. "Like you talked to Mike Gerhard?"
"I never heard of this Gerhard guy. Let me talk to your PI. Talk—nothin more. Just give me his name."
She laughed—laughed—then said, "You've got to be kidding."
Rage exploded in Jeremy—a white-hot burst of flame spreading from his chest into his limbs. He wanted nothing more than to run up these steps and wipe that smile—
She must have seen something in his face because her smile did disappear as she took a quick, small step back inside the door.
"You want to hit me, don't you."
The words struck like a bucket of ice water. Almost as if she'd read his mind. He looked down and saw his foot on the first step.
She stepped out again and gave him a contemptuous stare.
"Go ahead, brother. Do your worst."
Another explosion. Jeremy teetered on the edge of doing just that. This bitch had no idea what his worst could be. He started to raise his other foot to take the next step but stopped himself.
A voice in his head shouted, No!
That's exactly what she wants. She wants you to lose it and pound the shit out of her. Because then she'll have won. You can double-talk your way out of unsubstantiated accusations and lab reports, but take a few pokes at Dawn's momma here in public and you'll not only lose your freedom, but you'll lose Dawn as well. For good.
He backed off the step—damn near the hardest thing he'd ever done—and kept a calm expression as he looked up at her.
Maybe Daddy hadn't done such a bad job siring her. She'd done what she was supposed to: Birthed a baby girl and raised her and protected her. She was even ready to take a beating for her.
I take back the "cow" remark, Moonglow. You've grown into one hell of a woman.
And with that he felt something stir in his loins. He realized he wanted her—wanted to rip off those clothes and take her.
That too was off-limits. But it gave him an idea. A wonderful idea.
"This is getting us nowhere. Be warned. And be warned about somethin else. Dawn says she told you about the pregnancy. Well, if you ever hope to lay eyes on your grandson, even for a second, you'd better make the best of things as they are and leave us alone."
He took huge satisfaction in Moonglow's stricken expression as he turned away and sauntered toward his car.