MITCH WAITED THREE days before trying to see Skye. He knew she was feeling hurt and betrayed, but as much he wanted to make things right with her, he knew first he had to give her time. There was no excuse for what he’d done but there was an explanation. One he would have to tell her-not that he could make her listen.
Even though Garth had come to see him and had asked Mitch to spy on the family, he hadn’t fully understood how serious the other man was about his campaign. Garth would do anything to bring down the Titans. Hurt anyone. Even Skye and Erin. Mitch had to make sure that didn’t happen.
He waited until he knew the school bus had been by. He still had to come to terms with Erin, but dealing with her would be a whole lot easier after he’d talked to Skye. At least that was the theory.
He drove over to Glory’s Gate and was relieved to see her car by the back door. He got out of his truck and started toward the house. The back door banged open and Skye appeared at the top of the stairs, a shotgun in her arms.
“Don’t even think about it,” she called as she walked down the two stairs and approached him. “You’re not welcome here.”
She looked amazing, her long red hair blowing in the breeze. She’d dressed for work in a skirt and fancy blouse. He assumed there was a suit jacket somewhere but she hadn’t put it on yet. Still, the combination of conservative clothes and the shotgun was more of a turn-on than he would have expected.
“We have to talk,” he told her.
“We don’t have to do anything. You’re not welcome here.”
“Skye, I know you’re pissed.”
She shifted the gun and raised it to her shoulder, then sighted down the barrel. “Pissed doesn’t come close, Mitch. I trusted you. I came to you as a friend and you were working for Garth the whole time.”
“It was more like fifteen minutes. I didn’t tell him anything.”
“And that makes it okay? The fact that you didn’t do actual damage? I don’t think so.”
He could feel her fury and see the fire in her eyes. She was incredibly beautiful-that hadn’t changed but every now and then he got a reminder.
“Get your butt off my land,” she said forcefully.
“This isn’t 1840 and I’m not here to rustle cattle.”
“That doesn’t make you any less a criminal.”
He looked at her. “I’m sorry. I was wrong. Garth showed up right after I found out about Erin. I was angry and I wanted you punished.”
“For not keeping a child who wasn’t yours from you?”
“Yeah, I know. When you put it like that, it doesn’t make sense.”
“It never made sense.” She set down the rifle. “Dammit, Mitch, I wouldn’t have kept your kid from you. You should know that and me. You should have trusted me.”
She was softening. “I needed an attitude adjustment.”
“You needed a lot more than that.”
He moved a little closer. She raised her hand.
“Stay back,” she said.
“I was confused,” he told her, knowing it was the truth. “I’d just lost my leg, I was angry and I needed…”
“Someone to punish.”
He nodded. “I’m not proud of what I did. It’s not who I am. You know that, Skye.”
She swallowed. “Why didn’t you know I wouldn’t keep Erin from you?”
“Because it wasn’t about that. I wanted her to be mine because I wanted something good in my life.”
“You have the ranch and Fidela and Arturo.”
“It didn’t seem like enough. If she was mine, then I had something to live for.”
He walked toward her. He kept moving until her hand was pressed against his chest.
“You’re going to have to shoot me,” he told her. “I’m not leaving.”
He looked into her eyes. “Please let me in, Skye.”
She turned and went into the house. He followed her.
“I’m sorry about Garth,” he said as she sat at the round table and picked up a cup of coffee. “I didn’t know he was that serious. I saw the article in the paper.”
“Jed could be charged with treason. This is serious. Not that I have any idea if my father has figured that out yet. He won’t talk to any of us about it. He’s never here. I’m not sure he’s even sleeping here. Maybe he has a place in Dallas. Or a girlfriend.”
Mitch poured himself a cup of coffee and settled across from her. “Garth is playing hardball. I’m sorry about the party. I didn’t know he was going to pull something like that.”
She sighed. “Honestly, in comparison to finding out you were working with him the fallout from the party was nearly manageable. I’ve spoken with some press people. I can’t tell them the truth, so we’re saying it was a frat stunt. The police are investigating, but because I told them it was Garth and he’s such a powerhouse in the community, they now think I’m hysterical. Or that I want him punished because he wouldn’t go out with me or something. Dana’s trying to find out something on her own, but Garth is good. I doubt he left anything for her to find.”
“I could ask around.”
“Uh-huh. Because I’d believe you.”
“I’m not working for Garth.”
“You were.”
“I didn’t do anything.” He leaned toward her. “You have to accept my apology.”
“Number one, I don’t. Number two, you haven’t apologized.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Great.”
“You’re not going to forgive me?”
“Not anytime soon.”
This tough Skye was more like the woman he knew. “Want to punch me in the arm?”
“Can I use a hammer?”
“No.”
“Then I’m not that interested. Maybe later.”
“Can I do anything to help?”
She hesitated. He could see she wanted to say yes, and for now, that was enough.
“I’ll ask again later,” he told her.
Her mouth twisted. “Don’t be nice, Mitch. It’s more than I can deal with right now.”
“You’d rather I was mean and surly?”
“It’s easier to handle.”
Easier to keep her distance? Mitch wasn’t sure why he wanted her closer, but he did.
“Can you at least tell your kid I’m not a total jerk?”
She frowned. “What happened with Erin?”
“She told me that I’d made you cry and heroes didn’t do that.”
“She was listening in when I was talking to my sisters and Dana. I know she was upset, but I didn’t think she’d say anything to you.”
“She did.”
“I’ll talk to her.”
“Thanks.”
“I shouldn’t bother,” she told him.
But she would because of Erin. Because it was the right thing to do.
He stood and circled around the table. She rose and moved away before he could reach her.
“Don’t,” she whispered.
“I wasn’t going to do anything.”
“You were going to touch me. I can’t do that again, Mitch. I can’t…It’s not a game to me. I don’t know what it is, but it’s not nothing.”
“It’s not nothing to me, either.”
“Then we should avoid it and each other until we can figure out what it is.”
SKYE ESCAPED to the office where life made slightly more sense. It was easier to focus on the work to be done than worry about what was going on with Mitch.
She did believe he was sorry for dealing with Garth and that his offer to help her half brother had been born from pain and a need to lash out. But that didn’t erase the sense of betrayal she felt or ease the feeling of loss.
She’d barely turned on her computer when T.J. called.
“Hey, beautiful.”
“Hey, yourself.”
“I heard about Jed. How are you holding up?”
“I’m doing okay. I hope you don’t believe the stories. You should know it’s not anything Jed would do or condone.”
“I know. Jed’s his own man, but he’s also smart. He wouldn’t risk his company with something like illegal arms. Are you having any trouble with the press?”
“Not yet. We’ve had a few calls to the house, but they get the machine and give up after a couple of tries.”
“If you need anything, if I can help, let me know.”
She smiled. “I will. Thank you for that.”
“I’d like to see you again. You up for dinner?” T.J. was a nice man. Funny, charming, uncomplicated. She should be all quivery at the thought of spending the evening with him. She was…sort of.
T.J.’s biggest flaw was that he wasn’t Mitch. For all Mitch’s betrayals and complications, he still made her blood run hot and her insides melt just by looking at him. If he touched her, all bets were off.
“Skye? It wasn’t supposed to be that hard a question,” T.J. said.
“Sorry. It isn’t. Dinner would be great.”
“I’ll be by the house at six-thirty,” he said.
“Why don’t we meet at the restaurant,” Skye told him. “It would be easier. Erin’s only eight. I’m not sure she’s ready for me to date.”
There was also the issue of Izzy, but Skye wasn’t going to mention that. She wasn’t sure what her sister had going on with T.J. She just knew that Izzy was stubborn and would do almost anything to prove her point that she was the more desirable sister.
“The restaurant at seven, then,” T.J. said. “I’ll make reservations.”
“An excellent quality in a man.”
He chuckled. “I’ll see you then. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Me, too,” she said, and they hung up.
She ignored the flicker of guilt that whispered that T.J. would never get her attention the way Mitch did. T.J. was the better bet. At least on the surface.
Although she could hear Izzy’s voice in her head telling her she wasn’t fooling anyone. That she was only pretending to be interested in T.J. because of Jed and the same could be said for T.J. That the only Titan sister he really wanted was Izzy.
“She’s just playing a game,” Skye whispered to herself. Izzy had always been the wild one and men gravitated to her. Yes, Jed had pushed Skye on T.J. but she refused to believe his charm was all a game. No one was that good. Izzy was just being a bratty younger sister.
“Do you have a second?”
Skye looked up and saw Trisha, her CFO, standing in the open doorway. “Sure. What have you got?”
“Nothing good,” Trisha admitted as she walked in carrying a folder. “We’ve started the investigation. So far we’ve discovered there are two sets of books. They’re running on the same program with all the same entries. The only differences are the bonuses paid to senior staff and the checks made out to you. The computer guys are telling me they think they’ve found the access point. It’s remote, which means someone hacked in rather than uploading it from here.”
Skye sank into her chair. “We’re that vulnerable?”
“We’re not supposed to be,” Trisha said as she took the seat opposite. “I’ve been in touch with the security company responsible for protecting our system. At first they claimed it was impossible for anyone to hack in. But now that I’ve shown them it is, they’ll be working to find out how. And who.”
Skye already knew who.
“We’ll figure it out,” Trisha told her. “I believe that. But we have a bigger issue. This is the second problem with the foundation. People are starting to talk and ask questions.”
Skye didn’t want to hear that. “Donors or staff?”
“Both. People who work for nonprofits have a very specific drive to make a difference. They don’t want to work their butts off only to discover the money being raised is going to buy someone a Mercedes. Donors don’t want to be fooled, either.”
“You think that’s happening here? That the books showing the payouts are correct?”
Trisha gave her a small smile. “They can’t be. I found a check to myself. I never authorized that. I’m the one who signs the checks and I know I didn’t sign it and it sure never showed up in my bank account.”
“That’s a relief. But don’t you sign all the checks?”
“Yes, but I review only a percentage of them. Otherwise that would be a full-time job. Payroll is computerized, as are payments to the local food banks and shelters we fund.”
“So we don’t know if the other questionable checks got through or not.”
“I’m pulling all bank statements and reconciling them specifically with those checks. Unfortunately the rule of thumb is if a business is keeping two sets of books, that company also has multiple bank accounts. The money could come from anywhere.”
This was a nightmare, Skye thought grimly. She hated that it was happening and didn’t know how to make it stop.
“You’re going to lose good people over this,” Trisha told her. “I’m hearing rumors that people are looking.”
“Are you?” Skye asked bluntly.
“Not yet.”
She couldn’t tell the world what was going on. Not only wouldn’t it help their cause but she had a feeling that blabbing about Garth would only make him happy. Still, she could tell Trisha.
She leaned forward. “You know a little about my family. You’ve met my father.”
“A couple of times. He’s an interesting man.”
“That’s one way of putting it. About thirty-five years ago, he had an affair with a young woman named Kathy and she ended up pregnant. Jed wasn’t interested in marrying her, which is where this all started.”
Skye explained what she knew about Garth and his mother. While she didn’t go into detail, she explained that Garth had been targeting the family from every angle.
“Someone sued my sister and her spa,” Skye said. “This woman used to work for Garth. From what we can tell, he paid her to file a false suit. When Lexi confronted her, she dropped the suit and moved away. Garth will do anything to get us. He poisoned my guests at a cocktail party a few days ago.”
Trisha looked shocked. “I heard about that. They said on the news that it was a frat prank.”
“Garth admitted he’d done it,” Skye said, “but when I told the police, they didn’t believe me. Why would they? A man in Garth’s position, with his money and clout, poisoning guests at a party? It doesn’t make sense.”
“Unless you know he wants the family taken down.” Trisha sighed. “So he’s coming after the foundation?”
“Apparently. He was behind the tip to the D.A. about money laundering. While we were cleared of all charges, think of the money wasted. We could have put our resources into feeding kids. Instead we were hiring lawyers and defending our reputation.”
“I know why this needs to stay private,” Trisha said, “but you have to brace yourself, Skye. People aren’t going to understand and they’re going to start leaving. For the senior staff, their reputation is their most important asset. If they think the foundation is going down, they won’t want to sink with the ship.”
IZZY WALKED through the high-rise condo. The tall ceilings and big windows gave the place an airy feeling. The decor was mostly black and gray with a few bright colors as accents.
She liked the ebony stained hardwood floor and the big fireplace in the corner. She wouldn’t necessarily want to live here, but the place seemed right for T.J.
“Comments? Criticisms?” he asked as he went behind the bar and began fixing cocktails.
“You slept with your decorator,” she said.
He opened a bottle of vodka. “That’s it? You don’t want to mention the view or that it seems so masculine. Just that I slept with my decorator?”
“Am I wrong?”
He laughed. “No. You’re not wrong.”
She slid onto one of the bar stools and rested her elbows on the granite surface.
“You’re a player,” she said.
“Is that bad?”
“Not in theory. I’m just not sure of your game. With me.”
He pushed a martini toward her. “Do we need to have a game?”
Izzy thought about Skye. “We don’t have to-that was your choice. How far are you taking this?”
His blue eyes brightened with humor. “I’m open to suggestions.”
Izzy didn’t have any. She wasn’t completely interested in T.J., but she also seemed unwilling to walk away. He confused her and that didn’t happen all that often. But how much of this was genuine interest on her part and how much of it was to prove a point to Skye? Although right now she wasn’t sure what that point was.
“If you went to school with my sister Lexi,” Izzy said. “You must also know Dana Birch.”
“Oh, yeah. She was intriguing. Hot in a totally different way than Lexi, but I don’t know anyone who was brave enough to ask her out. She made it clear no one was getting close.”
Interesting, Izzy thought, knowing how Dana loved to date quiet, unassuming men she could boss around. The only problem was she easily got bored with them.
“Do you know why?” Izzy asked. T.J. raised his eyebrows. “You’re kidding, right? I’m a guy. I don’t do motive.”
“Or talk about your feelings?”
He shuddered. “No, thanks.”
She laughed. “Fair enough.”
“When do you go back to work?”
“In a few days. Then I’ll be gone for almost two months.”
“That’s a long time.”
“It goes fast,” she said. “They keep me busy. Last time I was working on installing a new rig. This time I’ll be repairing an older one.”
“You’re really a welder?”
“Didn’t you see Flashdance? Welders can be sexy.”
“No one is questioning your sex appeal. But welding?”
“It’s fun. Being underwater gives it an extra punch.”
“Which is important to you?”
“Of course. It’s all about the thrill. Next time I’m off, I’m going cave diving.”
“Seriously?”
“Want to come?”
“I’ll do one or the other. Not both.”
“Chicken.”
“I don’t have a death wish.”
“Neither do I.” T.J. didn’t look convinced. “Cave diving is a dangerous sport.”
“That’s what makes it exciting.”
“So you’re in it for the thrill?”
“I’m in everything for the thrill.”
Their eyes locked.
“Why are you so fearless?” he asked.
A question she wasn’t going to answer honestly. “Because it looks good on me.”
He came around the bar and turned the stool so she was facing him. He put down his drink, set hers on the bar, then cupped her face and kissed her.
His mouth was warming and tempting. The kiss teased and promised. It was the kind of kiss that said sex was very much on the table.
She drew back. “Aren’t you still seeing Skye?”
“Don’t you know?”
“We’ve agreed not to discuss you. The conversation was getting awkward.”
“We’re having dinner.”
Izzy didn’t know how she felt about that. She and T.J. didn’t have a relationship. They weren’t dating. They were hanging out. She never asked the other men she saw if they had other women, mostly because she didn’t care. She wouldn’t care now except she knew Skye wouldn’t get the game. She would look at T.J. as a potential husband, just the way Jed wanted her to.
“What are you thinking?” T.J. asked.
“That I can’t figure you out. You can’t have us both.”
He leaned in and kissed her again. “That’s okay with me.”
Then his mouth was on hers again. The kiss was insistent, taking and giving with equal passion. Izzy wrapped her arms around his neck and parted her lips.
He deepened the kiss. He used his hands to roam her body, then he discovered the side zip on her strapless sundress.
She felt the tug. Acting on instinct, she stood so when he pulled down the zipper, the dress fell, leaving her wearing nothing but a thong and high heels.
T.J. didn’t miss a beat. He grabbed her hand and led her into his bedroom. While she pulled down the covers, he quickly removed his clothing. Then they were naked.
He pulled her to him and they fell onto the bed. His hands were everywhere, touching, teasing, pushing. He made love with an intensity that left her breathless. He drove her to the edge and pushed in right as she began to climax.
When they were done, he stared down into her eyes and smiled.
“I knew you’d be good,” he told her.
“Yeah?”
But instead of contentment, she felt awkward and dirty. As if she’d done something wrong. Figuring out why didn’t take an advanced degree in psychology. This had a whole lot to do with her competition with Skye. In theory, she’d just won the round. So why did she feel so much like throwing up?