NICK WATCHED CLOSELY, paying attention to Garth’s breathing and his pupils. Things the average person didn’t notice often gave away the truth. His friend barely blinked.
“Odd question,” Garth said. “What do you want to know?”
“Izzy Titan is at my ranch because of you,” Nick said, walking toward one of the leather chairs in front of the desk and taking a seat. “According to her sisters, you’re responsible for their business troubles and they’re investigating you.”
Garth shrugged. “It’s not what you think.”
“You don’t know what I think.”
The other man smiled. “I know you.”
Nick was willing to give his friend the benefit of the doubt. In the twenty years they’d been friends, Garth had never lied to him or let him down in any way.
Garth looked at Nick. “Jed Titan is my father.”
An unexpected piece of information. “You never told me.” Garth had mentioned not knowing his father before, saying the man was alive but that he didn’t have a relationship with him. A mystery father was very different than Jed Titan.
“I never told anyone,” Garth said. “He was rich, my mother wasn’t and when she turned up pregnant, he ended things. To give the old bastard his due, he paid her off. She never told me who my father was and I eventually stopped asking. I found out by accident. Then, when I was thirteen, she started getting headaches.”
Nick had only met Garth’s mother once. Kathy Duncan was a pretty woman with an easy laugh and a slow way of talking. It was obvious there was something different about her. Something not quite right. He’d never asked what had happened.
“She went from doctor to doctor,” Garth continued. “They did tests and found a tumor. There was surgery, rehabilitation, more surgery. Did you know that most insurance policies have a lifetime limit? She didn’t, but we both learned about it fast enough. When the insurance ran out, there was the money Jed had given her, then that was gone, too. By then I was fourteen and the tumor was back.”
Garth stood and walked to the window. He stood with his back to Nick. “We found a doctor who understood her condition. He was willing to operate. A last-chance effort to save her life. But there wasn’t any money left. I went to Jed Titan.”
Nick had never met Izzy’s father, but he’d read about him enough to guess what had happened.
“He refused.”
Garth faced him, his expression hard. “He had me thrown out. Eventually the doctor agreed to perform the surgery for nothing and I found a charity to help cover the hospital costs, but it was too late. You’ve met her-you’ve seen it. She has irreparable brain damage. She lived but she will never be the same.”
There was no anger in his friend’s voice, barely any emotion. But Nick knew him well and could see past the game face. “You want revenge.”
“I want Jed Titan to lose everything. Piece by piece.”
Then Jed was in trouble, Nick thought, suspecting that if he’d ever known his mother or been in a position to care about her, he would do the same thing.
“What does that have to do with his daughters? They’re not a part of this.” He meant Izzy, but he wouldn’t say that.
“I’m using them to get Jed’s attention.” He held out his hands, palms up. “I haven’t hurt them.” He shrugged. “Okay, I’ve messed with them a little, but no permanent damage was done. It’s all part of the game.”
“Why send Izzy to me?”
“So you can keep an eye on her. Something happened on that rig and I want to find out what.”
Nick was on his feet. “You think the explosion was deliberate?”
“I don’t know. I have people checking it out. But there are more players in this game than just me. Besides, she’s my sister and she needs help. You’re the best.”
Nick understood he wasn’t getting the whole story. He had the sense that Garth was using him, but wasn’t sure for what. Had it been anyone else, he would have insisted on the truth. If that wasn’t enough, he would have taken things to the next level.
But this was Garth. The one man on the planet he trusted with his life and his secrets. Garth had never blamed him, never thrown his mistake back in his face. Until this second, he would have risked his life on the fact that Garth was the best man he knew.
“How’s she doing?” Garth asked.
“Better. She’s stronger than I thought. Determined.”
“Will she have the surgery?”
“I don’t know. Something’s holding her back. Until I know what it is, I can’t help her.” Now it was his turn to shrug. “There’s time.”
“And you’re a patient man. Are you going to tell her about knowing me?”
Nick hesitated.
“If she knows you know me, she’ll leave,” Garth said.
“I figured that out myself.”
“Your call.”
There were missing pieces to the puzzle. Until he had them, he would take the road that led to Izzy’s healing. “I won’t tell her for now,” he said.
Later, on the drive back to the ranch, Nick wondered if he was making the right decision. Or would it come back to bite him in the ass? But this was Garth. They’d spent months together in a jungle prison being tortured. Months of sitting in the stifling heat, of being eaten alive by bugs, of being blindfolded and living in the dark. Of not knowing when their captors were going to strike next. There had never been any warning, just the burning slice of a knife on an arm or a leg. The sharp blade separating flesh, followed by the screams. His screams…or Garth’s.
Nick had been willing to give up. To surrender to death-to stop trying. Garth had kept him alive and in the end, he’d hung on long enough to carry Garth from their jungle prison.
They’d been friends before that, but their months of hell had made them brothers.
Garth had never lied to him, but Nick couldn’t shake the sense that there was more to the story than Garth let on. But for now, he would do as his friend asked. Because he owed him. Because they both carried the scars. Because neither of them ever slept in the dark.
IZZY STARED at the blurry shape that was Aaron and did her best to keep her mouth from hanging open. “Are you serious? They attacked you?”
Nick had disappeared in the afternoon and hadn’t returned for dinner. Norma had decided two people weren’t worth cooking for and had gone home, leaving them to find food in the packed refrigerator.
Aaron moved around the kitchen, dumping things into bowls and sticking them in the microwave.
“I’m from New York, I’m obviously gay, I was in a cowboy bar in a tough part of Dallas. It happens.”
Not in her world. People didn’t just get beat up for being different. “I hope you pressed charges.”
Aaron patted her shoulder as he walked past her. “You’re surprisingly naive, but sweet, which is why I like you. I wasn’t worried about anything but getting out of there alive. If Nick hadn’t come to my rescue, I’d be dead now.” He sighed. “He was magnificent. He seriously kicked some straight-boy ass. In the movies he would have realized he’d been playing for the wrong team all along and fallen passionately in love with me.”
Izzy hid a smile. “Maybe next time.”
“Don’t tease me. Anyway, he brought me here to heal. Norma fed me until I begged for mercy. And that’s the story of how Nick and I met.”
“What was he doing in a cowboy bar?”
“An interesting question. You’ll have to ask him.”
“What were you doing there?”
From the change in his voice, she knew he was grinning. “I saw the hats. I thought it was a gay cowboy bar. My bad.” He got plates down from the cupboard. “Make yourself useful and put these out, please.”
She grabbed the plates.
“I was tired of New York,” he continued. “The same guys, the same work.”
“What did you do there?”
“I was a party planner. It was fun and I made a lot of money, but it just wasn’t me. One day instead of looking through the singles ads in the paper, I found myself looking at used cars. I bought one and then I ended up here. I like Texas. Now if I could just find a cute boy.”
“Me, too.”
“You have Nick.”
If only.
Izzy stood by the table, turning the thought over in her head. If only? As in she wanted Nick? As in sex? Did blind girls have sex? Stupid question. Of course they did, but did she? If she couldn’t see his face, how could she know what he was thinking? Or know that he really wanted her?
“Izzy, I’m talking,” Aaron told her. “At least pretend to pay attention.”
“Oh. Sorry. I was just…”
“Thinking about Nick.”
“Maybe.”
“Uh-huh.”
She smiled. “Back to you.”
“Finally.”
“You bought a car and drove to Texas, where Nick saved you.”
“From certain death.” He sighed dramatically. “While I was recovering, I found out about his business. Or what he called a business. He doesn’t really have the right personality to schmooze with the corporate types, so he wasn’t getting as many bookings as he wanted. I took over as soon as I could hold a phone. We doubled our income in six months. Now we have a reputation, I’m adored by millions. It works.”
“Don’t you love it when the universe gets it right?”
“I do. It’s really the perfect relationship. Nick focuses on his kids and I run everything else.”
She’d heard about the kids before. “What kids? How does he find them? Why here?”
“Because he’s good and it’s free. If you ask me, he has a dark, dangerous secret from his past he doesn’t want to talk about. I can tell. He’s a man who carries guilt, and does it look good on him. Anyway, he’s atoning.”
“For what?”
There was silence.
“Are you giving me a look?” she asked.
“Oh, yeah. Sorry. I don’t know. You can ask him if you want. God knows I’ve tried.”
He went on to talk about the last corporate retreat and what had happened. Izzy only half listened. She kept glancing out the window, not that she could see anything. Not only was there the whole lack-of-sight thing, it was already dark. Where was Nick and when was he coming back? And why did his being away bother her so much?
AFTER DINNER Aaron wanted to watch Project Runway, but Izzy was too restless. She tried listening to a book on tape, but it wasn’t enough of a distraction, so she went upstairs and changed into shorts and a T-shirt, then returned to the living room.
“I’m going to work out,” she said.
“Sweat?” Aaron asked, sounding horrified. “On purpose?”
She rolled her eyes. “Call it a quirk.”
“I call it smelly, but you go have fun. I’m sorry you can’t see the show. Tim Gunn is such a hottie.”
Izzy waved and walked to the back door, then opened it and stepped into the darkness.
She realized her mistake at once. While there were lights around the property and she knew the general location of the gym, she couldn’t see it. There was no big, looming shape to guide her.
“One creepy cave at a time,” she told herself, remembering Rita’s words of encouragement.
Closing her eyes, more out of habit than need, she imagined the location of the various buildings on the property. The barn was directly ahead, the gym to the right. If she missed the gym, she would run into the fence, so she didn’t have to worry about getting lost. Unfortunately she’d never counted the steps to the gym. Something she would do in the morning.
But for now, she simply had to go on faith. She opened her eyes-not that she could see all that much-and struck out in what she hoped was the right direction. A minute or so later, she saw the door to the gym, illuminated in the darkness. As she stepped inside and hit the light switch, she realized it had never occurred to her to go back into the house and ask Aaron to take her.
“Progress,” she told herself.
The gym had every piece of equipment imaginable. Izzy considered the elliptical, then found herself wandering over to the rock-climbing wall. She’d done it once before. It had been hard and terrifying, but satisfying. Could she do it again?
She found the ropes and harness. Climbing alone wasn’t smart, but she was experienced enough to handle it. And if she fell, she would pick herself up again. Or not. Either way, she wouldn’t be afraid.
She climbed slowly, carefully, feeling her way up the wall. Sweat poured down her back and her arms trembled but she was determined to reach the top. With each step, each movement higher, she felt stronger and more herself. This was what she liked to do, she thought. Test herself. Experience the rush.
Because thinking about the wall meant she didn’t have to think about anything else.
Izzy stopped in midreach and frowned. Was that true? Was she addicted to the adrenaline rush because it was, in a way most people couldn’t understand, safe? It was a distraction, she knew that.
She grabbed the next hold. Was the hunt for sensation so much of a distraction that it allowed her to forget? Like everyone else, she had issues she didn’t want to deal with. Some people drank, some gambled. She swam with sharks. Because while she was putting her life on the line, she didn’t have to think about the fact that neither of her parents had given a damn about her.
“Seriously?” she asked aloud and stopped again.
Izzy didn’t usually allow time for introspection. She didn’t like it, but here, sweating, in the silent gym facing a wall that didn’t care if she could see or not, everything came into focus.
Pru, her mother, hadn’t seemed to notice she had a second daughter. Izzy always had the sense Pru was looking right through her. As for Jed, his daughters were a means to an end, nothing more. She’d spent much of her life trying to be the son he’d never had. It hadn’t helped, so she’d lost herself in a world of death-defying sports.
“Insight,” she murmured. “Who knew?”
Now that she was dealing with the insights, she found they weren’t half bad. Okay, she wasn’t ready to take up meditation or start a dream journal, but this was good. Knowing why she’d started risking her life was important. But it didn’t mean she had to stop. There were-
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
The voice came out of nowhere and caused her to jump. Not a good thing when she was halfway up a rock-climbing wall. Her fingers slipped, her feet lost their hold and then she was falling toward the ground.
She only had a second to tell herself to relax. If she tensed she would hurt herself more. She took a deep breath and-
Strong arms caught her. She recognized Nick at once and opened her eyes.
He was a blurry mess of features she couldn’t quite see and a body she couldn’t bring into focus. She scrambled to her feet and pointed her finger at him.
“Are you stupid on purpose?” she demanded. “You came out of nowhere and yelled at me. I could have been killed.”
“While we’re on the subject of stupid, what were you doing climbing alone?” he asked, his voice just as loud as hers. “It’s dangerous. It’s irresponsible. Do you know what could have happened?”
“Nothing. I was fine until you decided it would be fun to startle me.”
“You could have broken your neck and slowly asphyxiated. Not the way anyone would choose to go.”
It wasn’t a visual that made her comfortable, Izzy thought, involuntarily rubbing her throat. “You’re ignoring the fact that you waltzed in here and scared me. I was perfectly safe until then. Just because I can’t see everything doesn’t mean I’m not capable.”
“You think I don’t know that? I’m the one teaching the class.”
She could hear the frustration in his voice, and the temper he was trying to control. She had the thought it would be interesting to see what he was like when he lost it.
“Don’t put the blame on me,” she snapped. “You screwed up.”
“You were climbing alone.”
“You keep saying that. Take responsibility for messing up and I’ll do the same.”
“What are we? Five?”
“You’re acting like you are.”
He growled low in his throat and reached for her. She couldn’t really see the movement, but she wasn’t surprised when he grabbed her by her upper arms and pulled her against him.
“You make me crazy,” he muttered.
“Then my work here is complete.”
He gave a short laugh, swore, and pressed his mouth to hers.
The kiss was as hot as it was unexpected. His lips seemed to burn hers, but in the best way possible. His fingers held her tight, not that she was interested in going anywhere.
He didn’t move much at first. There was just his mouth on hers, as if he were surprised to find himself in this position. Then he shifted slightly, exploring, discovering. Everywhere his lips brushed hers, she felt heat and sparks. Desire turned liquid and poured through her. She could hear her own heartbeat thundering in her ears.
She broke free of his hold so she could wrap her arms around his neck and leaned into him. He grabbed her around the waist. They touched from shoulder to thigh, body against body. He was strong and big and getting harder by the second.
He parted his lips slightly, she did the same and he moved his tongue against hers. She accepted him with a quick stroke, then they were kissing deeply, exploring and feeling.
She lost herself in him, in the sensation of passion and wanting. When he nipped on her lower lip, her insides clenched. He kissed his way along her jaw, then down her neck. She began to tremble in anticipation. He drew his hands across her waist and up her rib cage before cupping her breasts.
Even through her T-shirt and bra, she felt the warmth of his fingers as he caressed her. He brushed his thumbs across her nipples, sending jolts of pleasure all through her. Her breath caught. Need exploded. She angled her head and claimed his mouth, kissing him with all the fiery passion that surged inside her.
He met her stroke for stroke. His arousal flexed against her. She dropped her hands to his chest and explored his hard, sculpted muscles even as he continued to tease her breasts. Their arms bumped and brushed, their breath merged. Between her legs, female flesh grew swollen in anticipation.
And then he was gone.
One second Nick was kissing her back, taking as much as he gave, making her ache, the next he’d released her. She heard footsteps. A door opened and she was alone.