Enemy Lovers (14 page)

Laura frowned at him. “I can—”

“Dallas would expect me to look after you.”

Stung at the unspoken implication, she ruffled up like a kitten under attack. “I can take care of myself.”

“Hell. I didn't mean you were helpless. What I was trying to say is that Dallas likes to take care of his women—ah,
woman
,” he said on seeing her fierce scowl. “He'd want me to offer my help. Besides, I'm at a standstill with the Clare pub. All I need to do is check on the building alterations and do a couple of interviews later this afternoon.”

“What about here?”

“Gloria is in this morning, and I guess between the two of us, we can take care of tonight.”

“I'm sorry, but I have a thing tonight.” Laura pulled a face. “I'm going to a business dinner with James. Dallas is okay with it.”

“He lets you date another man?”

Laura forced herself to meet his gaze. “It's complicated.”

“You can tell me on the way,” Patrick said and downed the last of his coffee.

Patrick was good company, and the conversation didn't contain the fits and starts of strangers attempting to hold to the social niceties.

“Do you know anyone who drives a dark blue Camry?”

“No,” Laura said. “Why?”

“The car was parked near the pub, and they've been following us for the last five minutes.”

Laura fought every instinct screaming at her to turn her head to get a visual of the vehicle. “Pull over and pretend you're answering a phone call. We'll wait here for five minutes and see what they do.”

“Dallas is right. You have a brain.”

“Thanks so much for the compliment.”

Patrick barked out a laugh and parked. He lifted his phone to his ear while they both eyed the blue sedan. It passed and took the next right turn, disappearing from sight.

“It doesn't look familiar. I didn't see much of the driver. You?”

“No,” Patrick said. “But he's on his own.”

“I'll ring the hospital to check on Dallas.” Laura switched on her phone and it beeped with message alerts. She pulled a face as she scanned them. “It appears my mother has decided to speak to me again. I wonder what she wants.”

Laura rang the number the hospital had given them the previous night and received a report from one of the nurses. “He's doing okay.” Her relief emerged in the guise of a bright smile, and Patrick blinked. “They've decided they need to operate on his arm, and we can visit him this evening.”

“If you ever get tired of Dallas, I'm next in line.”

Laura sent him an uncertain glance. “I'm happy with Dallas, but thank you.”

“So polite,” he said. “You get an edge of crisp princess to your voice when you're irritated. Are you going to listen to your mother's messages?”

She grimaced. “I might as well. I think if we turn around and take the road behind us, we can drive around the block. If the car is waiting for us, we'll come up behind him and take him by surprise.”

Patrick sent her an admiring look and started up Dallas's truck. “Not simply a pretty face. I might've imagined the whole following thing, you know.”

“At least we'll know for sure.” Laura pulled up her messages and steeled herself to listen.

Her mother's voice, smooth and cultured, flowed into her ear. “Why aren't you coming home? Where are you living? You're not working at the charity any longer. Ring me, Laura.”

A second and third message contained much of the same, and hurt stung Laura. “I think my mother wants to know how I'm managing since they cut off my allowance. She's thinking
why hasn't Laura come crawling home yet
?”

“Don't they know you have several temp jobs?”

“I haven't spoken to them since my father issued his ultimatum. I'll see Father and my brother at the dinner tonight. They run in the same circles as James.”

“At least they'll behave civilly if you meet in a public place.”

“That's the theory.” Laura wrinkled her nose as Patrick maneuvered the truck between two parked vehicles. “If my mother is in attendance, she'll try to get me alone. I can be pretty stubborn though. Guess who I inherited that from?”

Patrick chuckled and broke off abruptly. “Fuck! He is following us.” He pulled up with a screech of brakes and was out of the truck and storming the parked vehicle before she struggled free of her seat belt.

She grabbed a pen to jot the number plate on the back of one of her pay slips before joining Patrick. The driver ignored Patrick's demand to open the door. Instead, he started his vehicle and with a spin of wheels, shot away.

“Fuck,” Patrick shouted, running after the departing vehicle. “Bastard.”

“Did you recognize him?”

“No, but he had private investigator written all over him.”

“I have his number plate.”

“Clever girl. We'll use the vehicle finder service and see what we can dredge up.”

“It might not be his vehicle.”

“True. Maybe Dallas will have some ideas.” He darted a sharp glance in her direction, his eyes narrowing as if a thought had occurred to him. “Would your parents set a private investigator on you?”

Laura thought about it for two seconds before she gave a curt nod. “Yes. Yes, they'd do something like that.” She jammed her hands in her jeans pockets to stem her urge to strike out with her fists. “Maybe I should listen to the rest of my messages instead of deleting them.”

The rest of the drive to the house was uneventful, with no sightings of the blue car. Laura listened to her mother's messages become shorter, crisper before they gave way to voicemail from other family members. Her older sisters and her father. All were in the same vein. She was acting like a child, and it was time for her to come home. After listening to the final one, she huffed out a huge breath and hit delete on the lot.

“You're the youngest,” she said. “Your family doesn't treat you like an idiot, incapable of doing anything by yourself.”

“They do at times.”

“And how do you cope with it?” It was easy to hear her frustration. It throbbed through her voice and in the distance between them.

“I ignore them and do my own thing.”

She snorted. “So not working for me. I was born with a mild heart murmur. The heart thing has never slowed me down. I played every sport I could, even though my parents didn't approve.” She sighed, a loud, unhappy whoosh of air. “I guess they worry I'm not strong enough to cope. My health isn't a problem. Heck, I go for regular physicals to placate my parents. What more can I do to prove I'm capable of running my own life?”

“Nothing in your messages to indicate they'd set a private investigator on you?”

“No, but you can bet I'll ask questions this evening. Maybe James will know something.”

Laura gave Patrick directions, and they pulled up in the driveway of the house a few minutes later.

“Nice,” Patrick said.

“We were looking at apartments, and the real estate agent suggested we view this one. It has a garden and barbeque area out the back. It's pretty and private.” Laura unlocked the door and walked inside with Patrick trailing her. “Take yourself on a tour while I grab a few clothes. Oh, do I have time for a quick shower?”

He checked his watch. “Sure. I have two hours before I need to head to Clare to meet with the builders. It's still early. We can do a quick breakfast before I go to the meeting.”

“I'd love to see the new pub.”

“Okay. Done deal. As soon as we can organize a visit. Get a move on.”

The rest of the morning passed with no strange vehicles following them and no further phone calls from her family. The lull in drama allowed her to worry about Dallas. Relief struck when she found him sitting up in his hospital bed later that day. She scanned his face, relaxing on seeing the familiar happy sparkle in his eyes. She pressed a quick kiss to his lips, taking care not to jostle his plaster covered arm.

“What did the doctors say about your arm? When can you leave?”

A masculine cough behind her had her drawing back.

A swift flush flew to her cheeks making them radiate heat. “I'm sorry. I was so focused on you I didn't notice you had a visitor.”

“Quinn,” Patrick said, giving her a warning before she turned to meet the third O'Grady brother.

“Hello,” she said, shooting him a wide smile while inside her stomach quaked in rollercoaster swoops, terrified of the probable fallout. “You must be Dallas's older brother.” He wasn't quite as tall as Dallas and Patrick, but it was easy to tell he was related since he bore their inky black hair and blue eyes. He regarded her without the ready under-the-surface humor his younger brothers possessed. Dress was another area the brothers differed since Quinn wore a smart gray suit with a crisp white shirt and a gray tie with splashes of blue to match his eyes.

“Laura,” Dallas said, and she obeyed the silent request to move closer. He took her hand with his uninjured one, lacing their fingers together in a blatant act of possessiveness. The set of his jaw was stubborn and determined. “Quinn, this is my girlfriend, Laura Drummond.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Quinn started. “Wait, Drummond?”

“Yes.” Laura lifted her chin, determined to act with dignity. The feud between their families was stupid. Who cared what happened several generations ago? It was the present that mattered.

His gaze skewered her until she wanted to fidget. “Related to the Clare Drummonds?”

“Yes.” She stared back in silent challenge.

“Related how?”

“Jesus, Quinn,” Patrick said. “What's with the third degree?”

Quinn's gaze didn't shift away from Laura and he rattled off her sisters' and her brother's names.

“They're my family,” she said, glad of Dallas's hand gripping hers and the hospital bed between them. Quinn growled—actually growled—and a tremor raced down her spine. Surely he wouldn't attack her in a hospital?

Chapter Thirteen

Dallas thought about intervening, but Laura was handling Quinn. She wasn't backing down or offering an apology for her identity. She didn't dodge the truth. He hoped he managed the same dignity when they confronted her parents.

“Are you all right?” Quinn barked, skewering him with a laser beam from stormy blue eyes.

“They say they're letting me out tomorrow.”

“Will you need help at the pub? At home?”

“I'll help him at the pub,” Patrick said. “Gloria has most things covered already.”

“And I can help him at home,” Laura said, her entire body stiffening as if she expected an explosion.

“Home? You're fuckin' living with her?” Quinn did the expected and exploded. “Do Dad and Ma know?”

Dallas met his brother's fury without a wince. “I haven't mentioned anything to them in my emails and phone calls.”

“And her parents don't know because I would've heard the fallout,” Quinn said in disgust. “I'm leaving. Call me if you need anything, but I'm not coming near you until she's out of your life.”

“That's not gonna happen,” Dallas said without hesitation.

“Don't be stupid, Quinn,” Patrick said. “It's an old feud. Laura isn't any more responsible for something her ancestors did or didn't do than we are. Dallas and Laura are good together.”

“You've got your heads up your arses,” Quinn snapped. “Dallas was mugged and left bleeding in the street. Who the hell do you think was responsible for that?”

“What are you saying?” Laura's hand tightened around his, and Dallas wanted to hold her to reassure her.

“I'm saying your parents have octopus arms and a hell of a long reach. They know about Dallas and, they've taken steps to remove him from your life.”

“No. No, I can't believe they'd do that.” Horror tugged Laura's features, and Dallas figured she felt the same disbelief that roared around him—the denial that they'd go so far to rid their daughter of his presence.

“They wouldn't do that to their own daughter,” Dallas said, yet doubt crept into the fringes of his mind. They'd cut her off because she'd dared to want independence. They'd tried to force her to move back to the Clare family home.

“Wouldn't they?” Quinn's lips curled into mockery. “I think you'd be surprised to learn precisely how far the Drummonds would go to wipe the O'Gradys from this earth. Think long and hard. In fact, if you don't tell Dad and Ma, I will. You can tell your parents too, missy. See how long your
friendship
lasts after you drop this bomb.” With one final hard glare to punctuate his order, Quinn stalked from the hospital room.

“Fuck,” Patrick said, breaking the long silence. “I think he means it. What are you going to do?”

“Why does your brother hate us so much?” Laura asked.

Dallas shared a glance with Patrick, hesitating.

“Tell her,” Patrick said. “She deserves to know.”

“When we were at high school, Quinn was in the first fifteen rugby team. He was popular. Your two sisters went to one of the games and the celebration party after the game, when they came home from their fancy school. I'm not sure of the full details because we were both younger, but they accused Quinn of putting a date rape drug into their drinks.”

“I vaguely remember a fuss,” Laura said. “Lots of discussions behind closed doors.” She frowned at him and Patrick. “I know you both, and from what I've seen of Quinn today, I can't imagine he did what they said. From memory, all the girls loved him. He wouldn't have needed to drug one of them to…” She waved her free hand. “You know what I'm saying.”

“He had a steady girlfriend at the time,” Dallas said. “From what I understand, your oldest sister cried rape and the cops were called in, but despite all the accusations flying around the town, no charges were laid. Quinn has hated your family ever since. Laura, this is the reason I insisted on a signed agreement.”

“I understood, even without knowing this.” Laura let out a heavy sigh that seemed to vibrate through the air. “Maybe it's time to come clean and end this stupid feud, at least between some of us. If one or both of my parents are at this dinner tonight, I'll tell them. I'm tired of sneaking around. If you and I want to go out to dinner or to an event together, we should be able to go without worrying about our families' reactions.”

Patrick let out a low whistle. “You possess a mountain of courage.”

“They'll disown me,” Laura said in clear regret. “From what you've said, my sisters will follow. I don't know about Aaron.”

“You're walking away from your inheritance,” Patrick reminded her.

“Don't try and talk her out of it,” Dallas snapped.

Patrick took a step back from the bed. “I'm not, but if she can't handle my mild concerns, there's no way in hell she's going to cope with our combined families tugging from opposite sides of the table.”

“Don't, Dallas. Patrick is right. Until recently I haven't stood up to my parents. I do love them, despite their smothering. It's not going to be easy.” She glanced at her watch. “Patrick, I need to go to work. Will you give me a ride?”

She stooped to kiss Dallas on the lips, and the slight contact wasn't enough. Dallas wanted to wrap his arms around her and tell her everything would work out for the best.

“Say hello to James.” Dallas batted down his surge of jealousy because he knew she and James truly were friends, but still, he didn't want her to face her parents alone.

“Don't worry. This is something I need to do. Just concentrate on getting better. I presume you'll need to start physio once you're out of here.”

“Don't try to distract me,” he said in a harsh voice.

“Bother.” She winked, tossed a grin in Patrick's direction. “I need more practice at this distraction thing. It's a pity we're not alone. I could've flashed skin.”

“Don't let me stop you,” Patrick said.

Dallas barred his teeth at his brother, an expression Patrick and Laura found hilarious, judging by their cackles.

“I'm sorry, but I do have to go. I packed a couple of things for you. A set of fresh clothes and some toiletries. I'll come tomorrow and pick you up.” She kissed him again.

Patrick gave him a nod and gave his arm a gentle squeeze. “Do you want me to ring the folks?”

“I'll do it,” Dallas said. “I still have my phone. It was in my jacket pocket.”

“Okay. Don't worry,” Patrick said, obviously reading his fears. “I'll keep an eye on Laura.”

“Why didn't you tell him about the man following us?” Patrick asked.

“He's dealing with enough now. Why didn't you tell him?”

“Same reasons as you. Any ideas as to what we should do next?”

Laura climbed into the passenger seat while considering the matter. “I'll ask when I tell my parents about Dallas. I might fire first and nudge the conversation to Dallas once I've heard their answers.”

“And meantime we keep watch.”

Laura nodded. “Yep, that's all we can do.”

James picked her up at the house not long after six. “You look beautiful.”

She'd dressed in red to make a statement and done her hair in an old Hollywood glamour style, copied from photos she'd seen of her grandmother. Her smoky eyes and bright red lipstick completed the image. “Thanks. You look pretty dapper yourself. Are both Mother and Father attending tonight?”

“From what your father said.” James shot her a look before turning his attention back to the road. “They asked me where you were living and what you were doing for money.”

“What did you tell them?”

“I said as far as I knew you were staying with a friend, but I didn't know any details.”

She nodded. “Patrick and I were followed this morning when we went to the house. Do you think my parents would hire a private investigator to follow me? I checked out the vehicle details. The vehicle is registered to Scott and Sons. I've never heard of them, and I don't know what they do.”

“They're loan sharks,” James said in a terse voice. “Does Dallas have gambling debts?”

“No, not that I know of. I help him with the pub accounts. Financially, he's good. Their two existing pubs are doing well, and they're expanding and setting up a third in Clare. We spend most of our time together. He's never placed a single bet in my hearing.”

“What about the other brothers?”

“I suppose it's a possibility, but I don't get that vibe.”

James pulled up in front of the hotel where the dinner was being held. He rounded the front of his vehicle to help her out and handed his keys to a valet.

“I'll keep my ears open and let you know if I hear anything,” he said.

After checking their coats, James escorted her into the function room. It was already crammed to capacity, the music of a string quartet battling with the clink of glasses and pre-dinner chatter. Laura flashed a wide smile and acknowledged several acquaintances.

“I think we should grab a drink,” she said.

“Hell, yeah,” James said. “Liquid fortification sounds like a grand idea.”

In charity, they navigated their way to the bar.

“I'm going to tell my parents about Dallas,” she said. “His older brother Quinn knows and he's threatening exposure anyway.”

“He wasn't impressed?”

“No.” Laura sighed. “A long story, but the truth is I'm tired of hiding my feelings for Dallas. If they disown me, so be it. I'm doing well with my temping and working at the pub. I'm making friends at both places.”

James handed her a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. “It's a big step.”

“Maybe, but it's better for me to tell them than have gossip reach them first—if they don't know already. Just because the car was registered to a loan company it doesn't mean they didn't set the man on me.”

“I admire you, Laura. In other circumstances, I'd have proudly married you.”

“That's the nicest rejection I've ever received.”

“Steven likes you too.”

“Laura, why ever did you decide to wear red? You stand out like a traffic light.” Her mother spoke from behind her. “And you're not slim enough to wear a dress that tight. Every male is ogling your backside.”

Criticism
. Suppressing a sigh and the ready words that tickled the tip of her tongue, she turned to face her mother. Her mother wore a soft dove gray dress with black accents. Her hair was in its usual smooth chignon. Stylish, but cool and unapproachable.

“Hello, Mother.” Her gaze went to the corpulent man standing behind her mother. His expensive and well-cut suit hid some of the damage garnered from long business lunches and countless social outings. “Father.”

“I'm glad to see you're here with James,” her mother said. “At least you're displaying a modicum of sense.”

“James and I see quite a bit of each other. We're friends.” Laura took a deep breath. She might as well get this done while the opportunity presented itself. “Are you paying a private investigator to follow me?”

Her mother gaped. Her father's expression didn't falter.

“No,” her father said. “We didn't think it had come to that yet.”

In other words, they were confident she'd come 'round to their way of thinking, and seeing her here with James cemented their confidence. “Who is we?”

“The family,” her mother said. “Your father and your brother and sisters.”

They'd discussed her like an errant child. Her shoulders stiffened under James's casual touch, even though he meant to comfort her.

“We expect you to tell us where you're living, and how you're supporting yourself. We were shocked to learn you're no longer working at the charity.”

“So you did check up on me?”

“You're our daughter,” her mother said without apology.

Laura pressed her lips together and fought her need to grimace. In their own way, they loved her. She accepted that, had always known they cared. But she required a happy medium, where they didn't smother her hopes and dreams.

Her father's eyes narrowed, a rush of emotion flickering across his face. “You're living with James. He said you weren't, but seeing you together now, it makes sense.”

“No,” James said.

“I'm dating someone else.” Laura spoke at the same time as James. The longer she delayed, the harder this would be. Her stress levels were soaring already. She raised her chin. “We're living together.”

“When are we going to meet him?” her mother asked, disapproval dripping from her leaky faucet style. “And why are you here with James if you're with someone else.”

“Laura and I are friends,” James said. “I required a date, and she agreed to attend the dinner with me.”

“Who are you living with?” her father asked.

Laura swallowed, feeling like a disobedient kid.

James handed her a glass of white wine, and she took it while fighting the impulse to run the chilled, smooth surface over her hot cheeks. She sipped her wine and strove for control before she uttered the words that would detonate a bomb under her family's collective butts.

“I'm living with Dallas O'Grady.”