Karma (22 page)

Ethan narrowed his gaze. He paused, then finally shook his head. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he said. “It’s fine.”

Dare watched the exchange, recognizing immediately that his brother had no idea what Liza was talking about. Faith had clearly taken the reins on this one. As usual, Ethan wouldn’t undermine his wife’s plan, whatever it might be.

“Well I just wanted to say thank you.” Liza laid a hand on Ethan’s forearm. “And thanks for having me over again.”

“You’re welcome,” Ethan said, placing his hand over hers in a friendly gesture.

The sight of her fair hand on his brother’s darker skin irritated the hell out of Dare for no good reason. He clenched his hands into fists and drew in a steadying breath. No reason to act like an ass toward his brother just because Dare was feeling irrational and crazy.

But he could talk to Liza and he suddenly had a burning need to get her alone. Overwhelmed by a host of emotions he could barely contain, he stepped between Ethan and Liza, meeting Liza’s startled gaze. “Pool house. Now,” Dare practically growled at her.

Liza’s mouth opened in surprise. “Dare!”

“I need to talk to you.”

More like he just needed her, he thought as he grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the pool house. He slammed the door shut behind them.

He glanced at Liza, who stared at him, eyes wide and uncertain. Her lips were lightly glossed, her body glistening from the heat, and thanks to the damned air, her nipples puckered through the bikini’s top.

He stepped toward her. It had been too long since he’d seen her last and he’d missed her. Needed to know the distance hadn’t changed anything between them, hadn’t given her time to shore up those damned defenses of hers.

He raised his hand in the air, wanting to cup her face and bring his lips down on hers, but to his shock she flinched.

He immediately dropped his hand in confusion. “Liza?’ he asked softly, having regained complete control. “You know I wouldn’t hurt you. I just wanted to touch you.”

She blinked and started to shake. “I’m sorry. I can’t believe I reacted like that. It’s just that you looked so angry, and then you dragged me in here like a caveman and I was surprised, but I wasn’t scared.”

He remained stock-still, not wanting to move a muscle until she finished. This woman had gone toe-to-toe with
him ever since he’d first met her at the police station, and he needed to know what the hell had set her off so badly. Yeah, he hadn’t been himself, but she had to know he’d never lay a hand on her in real anger.

“I was actually kind of turned on,” she admitted, and her cheeks flushed. “But then you slammed the door and I turned around and you had your hand raised and suddenly I wasn’t here…”

“Where were you?” He swallowed over the nausea rising in his throat, certain
this
was tied to why she felt she owed her brother so much.
Because he’s the one who was there when
…“Where were you?” he asked again. “And this time I’m not letting you get away with not telling me.”

She walked over to the oversized sofa, which happened to face a massively oversized television screen, and sat down.

He wondered if she planned on fighting telling him. He watched her internal struggle and saw in her face when she finally gave in and decided to trust him.

“It was the beginning of my sophomore year of college. My first year I pretty much flew under the radar, but guys started to notice me the following one.”

“They’d be blind not to,” he said.

She shook her head and shot him an embarrassed smile. “Anyway, Tim was a senior and it was beyond flattering that he’d focused on me. I was too naive to realize that focus would later come back to haunt me.”

“What happened?” He eased himself beside her on the sofa, letting his legs touch hers but not pressuring her.

As a cop, Dare knew the signs of abused women, and by now he also knew Liza well enough to know she hadn’t been permanently scarred by whatever had occurred. She’d gotten past it on most levels. He’d guess the stress of three traumas in almost as many days had built up her anxiety levels. And he never wanted to see that look on her face aimed his way again. He still hadn’t gotten over the notion
that for a split second, even her subconscious believed he’d been about to hit her. Jesus.

He placed his hand over hers.

“At first, Tim’s possessive behavior was kind of endearing, at least to someone like me who’d never had anyone to look out for her. But things quickly changed. His behavior was classic, really. He was jealous of my friends, men or women, and controlling over the time I spent away from him. And the longer we were together, the worse it got. Honestly, I was always so used to being on my own, he was strangling me by just existing.”

Dare wasn’t surprised in the least. The woman he knew did and said whatever she wanted.

“One weekend, I went home from school and he insisted on coming with me. Five minutes with him in my space at home and I knew I had to end it. I was planning to wait until we got back to school, but something happened. I can’t even remember the trigger.” She shook her head. “I do remember we were alone in the house and had an argument. I told him it was over. We argued some more, and he said I was his. I walked to the front door and opened it. I told him to get out.”

Dare ran his thumb over her hand, encouraging her to continue while his silence told her to take her time.

“He slammed the door hard, turned around, and slapped me.” She blinked, as if still stunned.

Dare clenched his jaw tight, wishing he could wrap his hands around the bastard’s neck himself.

“Hey.” He waited until she turned to face him. “I may get my inner caveman on, but I will never touch you in anger. Ever.”

She smiled. “Believe it or not, I know that. It’s just that for a split second, from the door slam to the lift of your hand, I wasn’t here anymore. You know?”

He managed a nod. “You’ve had a lot of stress this past week. I’m sure that didn’t help. So what happened next?
How did your brother save you?” he asked, wanting the story over and done with.

She tipped her head to the side. “How did you know about Brian?”

“I put together the clues. You said Brian would never hurt you drunk or sober because he was there
when…
This had to be the when.”

She nodded. “He’d been home earlier and had met Tim for the first time. Brian told me later he didn’t like the vibe he got from the guy and something made him come home to check on me.”

For the first time, Dare felt something akin to respect for the other man. His gut had worked correctly and he’d done something for someone other than himself.

“I was fighting Tim off. No way was I going to let him rape me and show me what it meant to be his.” She shuddered in complete revulsion. “We’d trashed the entryway—broken an expensive lamp among other things. Then Brian walked in from the garage, took in the scene, and in a split second he had Tim against the wall by the throat.” She swallowed hard. “Brian told Tim if he left now and never bothered me again, he might let him live.”

“Tim bought that?” Dare asked.

She nodded. “Apparently he was a big man when it came to intimidating and controlling me, but with another man? He crumbled like a cookie. He walked around with Brian’s fingerprints on his neck for the next few weeks, but he never came near me again.”

Dare rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. “How did your parents take things?”

“Leave it to you to get to the heart of things,” she said on a laugh. “Brian sent me up to shower and he cleaned up the mess before they came home. He must have known they’d blame me for everything. It’s just what they did. By the time I came back downstairs, he’d guzzled a bottle of my father’s
best vodka and was claiming he’d stumbled in and caused the mess himself.”

“Holy shit,” Dare muttered.

“You can say that again.” Liza stared at her feet. “I let him do it. I knew they’d shake their heads and say it was Brian being Brian, so I never said a word. I can’t say it was my finest moment.” She raised her gaze to his. “And that is why I know for sure Brian would never hurt me. That’s also why I’d go to the ends of the earth to protect him, even from himself.”

Liza had spilled her guts to Dare and then spent the afternoon with his family as they barbecued, laughed, and joked with each other, including her as if she belonged. Tess came home and Liza enjoyed watching the teenager interact with her brothers. She obviously knew each one well, and which buttons to press to drive them crazy, but it was equally obvious that the teen was loved. She might not have parents in the traditional sense, but she had family, people to rely on, and as Liza knew firsthand, that was more important.

Watching Dare with his sister, Liza was struck by how comfortable he was with Tess. While Ethan had clearly stepped into the authoritative parent role and Nash was still finding his way with the teen’s sarcastic nature, Dare walked the fine line between friend she trusted and confidant on a different level from Ethan—whom she obviously adored.

“He runs the DARE program at all school levels,” Faith said, coming up beside her.

“You caught me watching him, huh?”

Faith bit down on a raw carrot. “You weren’t exactly being subtle. He’s great with kids.”

Liza sighed. Of course the man was great with kids. He’d make a great father some day, but Liza wasn’t going to be a mother. She didn’t know squat about kids or even doing what was right with them. She hadn’t exactly had the best
role models. And why was she even thinking about these things? Lord, she was losing her mind.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” Faith said, squeezing her arm.

Liza forced a smile. “Me too.” And she meant it. Each time she was with the Barron family, it became easier to feel a part of their intimate group and harder to want to pull away.

But she had to go.

Each time she was with Dare, one of them opened a vein and poured out their lifeblood. How much more deeply connected could they get before he remembered he couldn’t be with her because of her brother? Dare would leave eventually. Everyone in her life did. And when he left, he’d be taking all these wonderful people with him.

“Would you think I was rude if I said I needed to get home? I’m just so tired,” Liza said.

Faith smiled. “Not rude at all. I don’t know anyone whose been through what you have who wouldn’t be wiped out. Go home. I’ll see you this week at the Brettons’.”

Liza nodded. “Would you do me a favor?”

“Of course!”

“Tell Dare I said good-bye?” He was in the pool with Tess on his shoulders and she couldn’t face him while she was feeling so raw and emotional.

Faith frowned. “Are you sure you don’t want to tell him yourself?”

“He’s busy.” Liza grinned when Tess reached down and pulled at his short hair.

Faith laughed at the antics too. “Okay, I’ll tell him. Take care of yourself, okay?”

“Always,” Liza said.

She let herself out of the gate that led to the driveway and headed for her car. The side of the house had an extra driveway with a patch of blacktop for guest cars and she’d parked in one.

She reached into her purse and was looking for her keys
when someone tapped her on the shoulder. Already antsy from earlier events, she jumped back, letting out a little shriek.

“Ms. McKnight?” A man wearing a black T-shirt with gold chains and denim jeans stood too close for comfort.

Liza narrowed her gaze and clutched her bag tighter in her hand. She hadn’t yet found her keys and she stepped closer to her car in search of personal space, but the man wasn’t taking the hint.

“Who are you?” she asked the man with dark hair and a short crew cut.

“A friend of your brother’s.”

“Who somehow found me here?” She shook her head, better than letting the rest of her shake, which would only show her fear. “You followed me.”

“You’re smarter than your brother.”

Only because I’m sober,
Liza thought. “I’ll ask you again. Who are you?”

He grinned. “I like you, Ms. McKnight. So it would really pain me if you had another accident, only this time you were on the highway with no flower beds to cushion your crash.”

Her mouth grew so dry, words failed her. “What do you want with me?” she managed to ask.

“Your brother owes my boss money and he’ll get it one way or another. Your accident was a warning. Tell him to pay or next time you won’t be so lucky.”

Her legs started to shake and she leaned against the car, watching as he ran, not walked down the driveway.

“Liza!”

She whirled toward Dare, torn between sending him after the guy who’d disappeared at the end of the long driveway or jumping into his arms. But when she heard the roar of an engine in the distance, she knew the guy was long gone.

Liza had jumped Dare the minute he’d stepped into view. He’d caught her and wrapped her in his arms, but it wasn’t enough and she was practically crawling inside his skin, trembling.

“What the hell happened?” Dare asked, holding her tight. He wasn’t about to let go. “I came out to see if I could catch you before you left, and thought I heard voices.”

“Some guy was waiting for me by my car.” She spoke in his ear. If he wanted to see her face, he’d have to peel her off him and she clearly wasn’t ready.

“What do you mean? Who was waiting by your car?”

“Some guy. He said that Brian owes his boss money and my accident was a warning. That next time, I’ll be on a highway and there’ll be no flowers to cushion my crash.”

Dare’s stomach churned. He slowly lowered her feet to the ground. Bracing his hands on her forearms, he held her out in front of him. Her dark eyes were wide in her pale face. Real fear embraced her and he wanted to take off down the driveway after the guy.

“Liza?” He needed to make sure she was hearing him.

“What?”

“Where did he go?”

“He ran off. Down the driveway. I heard a loud engine at the same time you came outside. He’s gone.” She wrapped her arms around herself and started shaking once more.

“Hey. Nobody is getting near you,” he promised her. He had unused vacation time and he planned to take it. “I’ll be with you twenty-four/seven until we figure this out. Okay?”