Susan Mallery - Straight From The Hip

She realized that no one was talking.

“What?” she asked.

“Nothing.” Skye sounded shocked. “It’s just you said ‘enough about me.’ I’ve never heard you say that before.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Just that you’re usually…You enjoy…”

“Stop trying to be so damned delicate,” Dana grumbled. “She’s trying not to say you usually like it when we talk about you.”

Izzy frowned. “That’s not true. I joke about it, but I’m not totally self-centered.”

There was more silence, and this time it was less comfortable.

“I’m not,” she insisted.

“Of course not,” Skye murmured soothingly.

Izzy had a feeling they were all exchanging looks she couldn’t see. Ones that said they shouldn’t upset her.

Did her sisters really think she was selfish? That she didn’t care about them? Or anyone? Hadn’t she been the one to try to protect Skye from lying, slimy T.J. Boone earlier that summer? Not that Skye had appreciated her effort.

She shifted on the sofa and did her best to keep her confusion from showing on her face.

“How are things going with Garth?” she asked, to change the subject.

“He’s been quiet,” Lexi said. “Which makes me nervous. Jed is still being investigated for the arms shipment. So far he hasn’t been officially charged with treason, although the threats are there. Garth hasn’t attacked my business lately.”

“Mine, either,” Skye said. “I suppose we should be grateful, but not having him do anything is nearly as stressful as having him coming at me. I keep waiting for the next shoe to drop. It’s impossible to relax.”

“Maybe that’s part of his plan,” Dana told her. “I swear to you, I’m going to get him. I’m talking to a couple of guys at the Dallas PD, and they’ve hooked me up with a Texas Ranger. These are guys who know how to investigate. We’re doing our best to build a case. Garth Duncan isn’t going to get away with any of this.”

She sounded fierce, which made sense, given their history with Garth.

A couple of years ago Lexi’s banker had offered her a loan to expand her day spa. The terms were good enough to be seriously tempting and the investor didn’t even want a piece of the action. Just principal and interest. The only catch had been that the note was callable without warning. The past spring, the note had been called and Lexi had scrambled to find a way to repay the mystery lender in less than a month. She’d nearly lost everything.

Then she’d been sued by a former client, several of their father’s race horses had tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and someone had leaked damning but false information to the district attorney about Skye’s not-for-profit foundation. Only Izzy had been spared, probably because she didn’t have anything worth taking.

The sisters had struggled to figure out what was going on. Their investigation had led them to an impossible truth-their businesses were being targeted by a half brother they didn’t know about. Garth Duncan was Jed’s oldest child-one he’d never acknowledged. For reasons they didn’t understand, Garth was after them, with a vengeance.

Dana, a Titanville deputy, was doing all she could to protect her friends.

“Garth has always come at you in ways you didn’t expect,” she said now. “From our perspective, his attacks seem random, but I don’t think they are. I think he has a master plan. I just want to throw his ass in jail. Very little else would make me happy. We need to-”

Dana stopped talking.

“What?” Lexi asked, but Izzy had already heard the footsteps approaching.

“It’s Nick,” she said, recognizing the sound.

“Ladies,” he said as he entered the room.

She heard Lexi and Skye stand.

“We can’t thank you enough,” Skye began.

“You don’t have to thank him at all,” Izzy grumbled. “I’m the one doing the work. He’s just part of the background.”

“What draws me most to your sister is her charm,” Nick said dryly.

But she knew he was smiling as he spoke. She could hear it in his voice.

“How is she doing?” Lexi asked. “Really?”

Izzy rolled her eyes. “Do you care that I’m in the room?”

“No.”

“She’s doing well. You can see that for yourself.”

“And?” Skye prompted.

“And I don’t discuss my guests with anyone. If you want to know that information, ask Izzy herself.”

“Nice,” Dana said. “A man with principles. I approve.”

“You sound surprised,” Nick said.

“I am.”

“You don’t think much of my gender?” he asked.

“Not really.”

“Fair enough. Ladies, enjoy your visit.”

He left.

Lexi and Skye sat back down. Izzy grinned. “I love that he won’t tell you anything.”

“I’m sure you do,” Lexi said. “I find it annoying, but I’ll get over it. I didn’t realize he was so hot.”

“Excuse me?” Izzy said.

“Oh, yeah,” Skye said. “Not that I don’t love Mitch, but I didn’t notice it before.”

Nick hot? Aaron had said the same, which only made Izzy want to see him more. Being blind really sucked.

“You were probably too upset about betraying me,” she said, not really meaning it in a bad way. “Hot, how?”

“Interesting,” Dana said slowly. “Why would you care?”

“I spend a lot of time with the guy. Good-looking is nice, even if I can’t see it.”

“Beautiful eyes,” Skye said.

“Body to die for,” Lexi told her.

“Love the butt,” Dana said.

Interesting comments, but no details. And if she pushed the point, her sisters would remind her that, in theory, having the surgery would allow her to see for herself.

“Do you think he heard us talking about Garth?” she asked.

“I hope not,” Dana said. “This isn’t information we want getting out.”

“I’m sure it’s fine,” Skye murmured. “We weren’t talking that loudly.”

“I guess it doesn’t matter,” Izzy said. “It’s not like Nick and Garth know each other.”

NICK DROVE DIRECTLY to Dallas. It took nearly two hours, but this wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have on the phone. He was immediately waved in by Garth’s assistant and stalked into his friend’s office.

Garth finished up a call and then stood. “I didn’t know you were coming into town. Want to grab some dinner?”

Nick looked at the man who’d been like a brother to him and the only family that had ever mattered. The man he’d nearly died with. The one he trusted with his life.

“What’s going on with you and the Titans?” he asked.

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.