Susan Mallery - Lip Service

SKYE SPENT a terrible weekend pretending to be strong for Erin and feeling as if she’d been sucker punched in her heart. By dawn Monday morning, she’d given up trying to sleep and was grateful she had work to deal with. At least going into the office would be a distraction.

She showered and dressed and was just about to go down for coffee when Izzy came into her room.

“You’ll want to see this,” her sister said, handing her the morning paper.

The headline made Skye’s head spin-Titan Executives Charged With Smuggling.

“This isn’t happening,” she whispered as she began to read.

The article was light on facts, but heavy on speculation. Apparently the shipping division of Titan World Enterprises was under investigation. Not only had company employees been charged with bribing foreign officials, they’d brought in ships with illegal cargo.

Manifests had been forged. What was supposed to be simple manufacturing parts turned out to be guns and ammunition. Jed Titan was being accused of being a gunrunner.

“This is bad,” Izzy said. “They’re hinting at treason.”

“It’s bad,” Skye agreed, knowing Garth was behind this. She’d worried about what the next attack would be and here it was.

“Jed could go to jail,” Izzy said.

Skye put down the paper. “If he’s charged with treason, there’s no way he’s getting out of this one, and going to jail will be the least of his problems.”

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?”