Karma (30 page)

Faith nodded, squeezing his shoulder before switching places with him.

Dare stepped out of the small cubicle, claustrophobic and feeling a startling sense of anger at the entire situation. At his inability to control anything that happened to the people he loved. But most of his anger centered on the fact that once again, alcohol, irresponsibility, and complete stupidity had almost caused an irreparable harm.

Anger and frustration swirled around him, filling his lungs, rising to his throat. Damn Tess and her need to fit in so badly she had to go to one of those stupid parties. The same kind of party he’d cut school to attend.

He wanted to scream, to yell, to punch someone and alleviate the building furnace inside him he couldn’t control.

A couple walked by him, the woman bumping into him as she passed. “Sorry,” she whispered, bringing him into the present.

He needed to get back to the rest of his family. Somehow, he pulled himself together enough to return to the waiting room, but his head pounded and everything inside him continued to bubble, as if waiting to explode.

He tried to focus on Tess and the fact that she’d be fine, but somewhere in his mind, he was back in time and he couldn’t manage to close off the memories as he thought he’d trained himself to do. He’d gotten pretty damned good at it too. Until tonight.

He walked into the room and his gaze immediately fell on Liza. She’d tipped her head back against the wall, eyes closed.

He headed over and touched her arm. When she didn’t immediately awake, he shook her lightly.

To his shock, she jumped, startled, and let out a frightened cry.

“Hey, it’s me,” he said, hoping his voice would calm her.

She blinked and slowly her dark eyes focused on his face. “Dare.” She sounded relieved.

“Who else would it be?”

She crossed her arms, hugging herself tight. “No one. How’s Tess?” She pushed herself to a standing position.

Dare exhaled long and hard, wondering how to reply. “That’s not an easy question to answer.”

“Take your time.”

She placed a hand on his arm, but Dare barely felt her touch. Not even her soothing voice eased the ongoing turmoil inside him.

“Tess is okay, right?” she asked.

He inclined his head. “Yeah. She’s okay.”

“That’s good. Very good.” Liza smiled. “At least she didn’t have to have her stomach pumped. I remember that being the worst,” she said with a distinct shudder.

“What?” He realized he’d barely heard her. Something about being glad Tess hadn’t had to have her stomach pumped, he thought, and forced himself to pay attention.

“In a bad situation, Tess got lucky. I just remember when…never mind.” Liza shook her head, cutting off her thought.

But he’d focused, damnit, and now that she’d brought it up, Dare knew what she meant. She’d obviously been about to say she remembered when Brian had had his stomach pumped.

And with that thought, all the simmering anger he’d fought to control rose, ready to explode.

Unaware, Liza stroked his cheek and he recoiled.

“Brian?” Dare asked incredulously. “You’re comparing Brian to Tess?” Dare bit out a harsh laugh. “Oh, yeah, now that’s rich.”

“No. I mean yes. I was just trying to find a silver lining or say how I understood. I didn’t mean to imply—”

“I don’t want to hear your explanations,” he bit out.

Her eyes opened wide and she took one step away from him and then another.

But her distance didn’t stop him. “You think you understand what I’m going through because your good-for-nothing alcoholic brother has been brought in here too?” he asked, knowing his voice was rising but unable to shut up.

“Dare.” Ethan barked out his name. A warning to stop while he could. Before it was too late.

And though Dare knew he wasn’t being rational, the anger since seeing Tess had been building and Liza’s words served as a release valve. He was caught somewhere between the past and that room where his fifteen-year-old sister had nearly died. He remembered her birthday party back in January. A heavy weight pressed down on his chest. Guilt for the kid who’d died when Dare had been there and done nothing filling him with anger along with the stark fear for Tess.

“Dare, I…” Liza opened her mouth, then closed it again.

“I know. You
understand
,” he spat, mimicking her words. “But the thing is, you don’t. You can’t. Because your
brother
willingly guzzles alcohol like it’s water and then destroys everyone and everything around him while you not only watch but help. Tess, on the other hand, is a victim. An underage innocent victim. Something your bastard of a brother will never be.”

“You’re the bastard,” she said, her eyes wide, her face drawn and pale, as words he could barely believe he was saying spewed out of him.

“Dare, shut the hell up now.” Ethan grabbed his shoulder and shook him hard.

Dare closed his eyes and drew in a steadying breath. By the time he opened them, Liza had grabbed her bag from the floor.

He glanced around and saw his entire family staring at him in disbelief, like they didn’t know him at all.

Hell, he barely knew himself.

He jerked his gaze back to Liza, who’d completely withdrawn into herself. He hadn’t seen that lost, pained look in her eyes before and it scared him.

Jesus, what had he just done? “Liza—” He reached for her hand, grasping her wrist.

She flinched and pulled away. “Don’t touch me.” Shaking, she glanced at the door. “I need to go.”

“Not alone.” The protective words came automatically.

She narrowed her gaze. “Well, you sure as hell don’t think I’m going anywhere with you.”

Dare winced, the damage he’d caused just now settling over him.

Nash strode over to Cara and whispered something in her ear. She nodded and stepped forward, pushing herself off the wall. “I’ll go with you and stay the night.” Cara’s blue eyes flashed as she shot a scathing glare Dare’s way.

Liza swallowed hard. “Thank you. After today, I’m not going to deny myself protection,” she muttered.

Dare shook his head, wondering what she meant by that. And stunned at how he’d just sent his life crashing down around him. Why the hell had he just blasted the one person he knew damned well would never hurt him?

Liza bolted through the exit doors, Cara right behind her, leaving Dare in a room full of silent family members who stared at him in disbelief.

Shaking, he lowered himself into a chair, needing a minute.

Nash stalked over and yanked a chair up and settled in beside him. “Care to explain?”

Dare rubbed a hand over his face. “It wasn’t…I didn’t mean…”

“Try again,” Nash said. “Because what you just did made her brother look like a saint.” Disgust echoed in his tone.

Not that Dare blamed him. “Fuck. I don’t know. I found Tess on the bed and all I could see was Stuart Rossman lying on the ground.” He lowered his head. “Then Liza said how at least she didn’t have her stomach pumped because she remembers that part being the worst. The only way she could know that was her damned brother, and something inside me snapped.”

“It sure as hell did,” Ethan muttered.

Dare looked up.

Kelly and Faith stared at him, disappointment radiating from them in cold waves.

“I need to go see her.” Dare stood.

Kelly stepped into his personal space before he could move. “You’re not going anywhere near her tonight.”

Dare raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“Even before that display, she knew how you felt about her. She knew you didn’t plan on sticking around any longer than she needed your protection. She has Cara now, so do Liza a favor and leave her alone.” Kelly folded her arms across her chest, her face hard and unforgiving.

“I never told her that.” Hell, he’d never thought that. He’d needed space, but…

“You didn’t have to say a word. She told me that Brian was a living, breathing reminder of your past—and, by extension, so was she. And since
nobody in her life ever stuck around
—her words—she didn’t expect you to be any different.” Kelly’s tone told Dare exactly what she thought of him at the moment.

“God,” he muttered, remembering everything Liza had confided to him about her parents. How lonely she’d been. How alone. His shoulders sagged.

“Exactly,” Kelly snapped. “So I suggest for the moment that you don’t go over there with excuses and apologies. Take some time to get your head on straight. Don’t approach her again unless you’re in it for good. She doesn’t deserve to be jerked around.”

Dare stared at his sister-in-law in stunned silence.

Kelly drew a deep breath. “I’ll be with Tess,” she said, glancing at Nash. Then, without waiting for Dare’s reaction to her speech, Kelly turned and walked out.

“She’s right,” Ethan said, cutting Dare no slack.

Nash nodded in agreement. “No argument here. But there is something else you should know. And I’m not telling you this to add more guilt or to send you running over there. Cara will handle it.”

From the tone in his brother’s voice, everything in Dare stilled. “What is it?”

“When I got to Liza’s office earlier, she was pretty shaken up. She’d had a visitor. Different guy from the one at Ethan’s, but someone showed up and obviously made some threats. He’d grabbed her and bruised her arm pretty badly.”

Dare remembered her wince when he’d encircled her smaller wrist and closed his eyes, hating himself with everything inside him.

He started forward, but Nash stopped him with a firm hand on his shoulder. “No. Cara can handle it.”

Dare forced himself to breathe. He exercised more restraint than he’d have thought he possessed in not going off half-cocked. He wanted to kill someone. To bash down Liza’s door and demand she listen and accept his apology.

“For tonight we focus on Tess,” Nash said. “Then you figure out how you feel about Liza and what the hell happened here tonight. Then and only then do you go after her.”

Knowing his brother was right, Dare nodded.

But the sick feeling in his gut remained—and would stay there he knew—until he made things right with the woman he loved.

* * *

Liza and Cara left the hospital. Thankfully the dark-haired officer didn’t push or force Liza to talk about the scene in the waiting room. Liza could barely process it herself.

“Mind if I stop home and pick up a few things?” Cara asked.

“Of course not. I’m sorry to put you out.”

Cara smiled. “I don’t mind. But when we get back to your place, I am going to need you to tell me everything about your brother and the situation. I can’t keep an eye out if I’m in the dark.”

Liza nodded. What was one more humiliation in a night full of them? “Sure. No problem.”

A little while later, Liza curled up on her couch. Both she and Cara had dressed in sweats and T-shirts and had opened a bottle of wine.

“Man, I needed this drink after the day I had,” Liza said, taking a long sip of the dry wine.

Cara raised an eyebrow over her glass. “And this nice Pinot Grigio was the best you can do?”

Liza laughed. “It was this or beer. I bought it for Dare,” she muttered, sobering. “And I’d much prefer not to be reminded of him. But good point. I ought to keep something harder in the house for just this kind of occasion.” Liza lifted her glass and drained the rest, hoping the buzz would kick in soon.

Cara eyed her with understanding. “Seeing as I’m your protection for the night, I’ll stay sober. So tell me what’s happening. I only know what was in the police report after the accident. And Dare was staying with you because someone deliberately sabotaged your car. Something to do with your brother?”

Liza nodded. Starting at the very beginning, she filled Cara in on her brother’s history with Dare, Stuart Rossman’s party, and the current situation, including Brian’s
embezzling money from the firm and borrowing from a loan shark.

She ended her recitation with tonight’s threat and the deadline she’d received. “So that’s the story.” To her surprise, Liza felt more unburdened afterward.

Cara whistled. “Okay, then. I guess that explains an awful lot.” The dark-haired woman paused, going over everything Liza had said. “Your brother’s in deep.”

Liza nodded, appreciating how Cara had skipped over mentioning Dare or the scene at the hospital. Liza knew she’d have to deal with her emotions eventually, but she’d stuffed everything deep, waiting until she was alone in her bed tonight.

“I know. I can’t make excuses and I don’t want to. He’s going to have to take responsibility for his life, but I can’t walk around with a target on my back. If that means paying off his debts, so be it.”

“Fifty grand?”

Liza briefly closed her eyes, then nodded. “I have it in savings. My grandfather left us both some money. I never touched mine.”

Neither of them mentioned the obvious, that Brian had probably gone through his already.

“And his stealing from your firm? What do you want to do about it?” Cara treated her to a grim smile.

“I don’t know. What can I say? He’s committed a crime. If he isn’t forced to own up, he’ll keep on doing it and I’ll always be in potential danger because of him.” Liza swallowed over the lump in her throat, realizing the truth of what she’d just said.

Cara remained silent, obviously recognizing Liza needed time to think.

Her throat hurt from the effort it took not to cry, more over Dare’s awful treatment of her than from anything her parents might do or say.

Liza poured herself some more wine and was about to
take a sip when her brother’s face flashed before her eyes. Alcohol had been the vice that destroyed him, she thought, and she placed the long-stemmed glass down on the table. She no longer had the stomach for the wine or the idea of getting drunk.

“Does Dare know about what happened at your office today?” Cara asked.

“I suppose you had to mention him eventually,” Liza muttered. “No, he doesn’t know.”

Cara sighed, her exasperation clear. “We both know he was a major asshole tonight. And I’m not excusing him for one second. But I know him and he must be kicking himself up and down the hospital corridors right now, regretting everything he said.” She leveled her eyes on Liza.