Run From Fear (24 page)

Talia snapped her mouth shut, feeling a blush creep up her cheeks at the way Jack’s thumb brushed against a patch of skin left bare by her dress.

Jack gave the woman next to Joe a quick buss on the cheek and offered his congratulations. Must be the fiancée, Talia thought, and had her suspicions verified in the next second when he introduced them. “Talia, this is Marcy Kramer, Joe’s fiancée.”

Marcy was a thin, pretty blonde who might have looked like your generic social X-ray had it not been for the genuine warmth in her blue eyes and the adoration that filled them as she looked at her soon-to-be husband. “So lovely to meet you, Talia. Jack’s told us a lot about you over the years.”

Talia felt her smile freeze in place. Was Marcy just spouting the usual social niceties, or had Jack actually talked about her to his friends and family?

And what, she thought as her stomach churned, exactly had he told them?

“May I get you something to drink?” a server asked.

“Vodka on the rocks with a splash of tonic,” she said, ignoring the way Jack’s eyebrows shot up as he ordered his own club soda. She knew what he was thinking—in the entire time he’d known her, she’d barely touched alcohol. Never during their work at Club One, and since then, he’d seen her indulge in only the occasional glass of wine after work.

But as she met Danny Taggart’s coolly assessing stare, she knew she was going to need all the help she could get, alcoholic or otherwise.

“Nice to see you, Talia,” Danny said with a nod. Talia nodded back and gratefully accepted her drink from the server. “You’ve met my wife, Caroline, and the rest of this ragtag crew at one time or another.”

Talia smiled and said hello to Danny’s wife. Even in the late stages of pregnancy, Caroline Taggart somehow managed to look elegant in a dark red dress that gorgeously showcased her pregnancy-enhanced curves and contrasted with the thick, dark brown hair that fell nearly to her waist.

Talia also recognized Ethan Taggart, as tall and handsome as his brother with his dark blue eyes and gold-shot brown hair. Next to him was his wife, Toni, looking like Snow White meets alterna-chick with her pale skin, red lips, and almost black hair. She was tall and slender despite the fact the baby she cradled wasn’t more than six weeks old.

Jack greeted the men with the handshake half hug that guys did, kissed the women, and, in a move that made Talia’s heart jump for no good reason, nuzzled the baby’s head. “How’s little Joey tonight?” Jack said, his face creased in a grin like Talia had never seen before.

“Oh, he’s all right,” Toni said with a little smile.

“He’s already increased his body weight by twenty percent,” Ethan said, unable to keep the paternal pride out of his voice.

“Considering he was almost ten pounds when he was born, that’s saying something,” Jack said, impressed.

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Caroline groaned. “You Taggarts with your monster babies—”

She was cut off by a crash and a childish howl.

“Speaking of monsters,” Danny muttered, and darted off. Caroline followed, the elegance Talia had so admired obliterated as she hurriedly waddled after him.

“Anna just pulled over the ice sculpture,” a breathless feminine voice broke in.

Talia turned and recognized Alyssa Miles Taggart, followed by her husband, Derek.

“Oh my God, is she okay?” Talia asked, nightmare scenarios of crushed skulls and broken limbs racing through her head.

“She’s fine,” Derek said, shaking his dark head, “but the caterer is ready to roast her up and serve her with barbecue sauce.”

Marcy hid a laugh behind her hand. “We heard the crash—Danny and Caroline are on their way. I’ll go smooth things over with Betsey.”

As Marcy rushed off, Joe removed his wire-rimmed glasses and rubbed his tired eyes. “I swear to God, that girl is going to be the end of Danny. You boys gave me a run for your money but I’d take a dozen of you boys over one girl.”

Ethan and Derek laughed and exchanged knowing looks. Talia had been shocked when she’d first met them
and Jack informed her they were twins. Though they were both tall, almost as tall as Jack’s six foot four, and heavily built—having arms roughly the circumference of her waist must run in the gene pool—the similarities stopped there.

While Ethan’s dark hair was streaked with gold, Derek’s hair was a dark, coffee-colored shade. Where Ethan’s blue eyes were bright with humor, and his smile flashed easily, Derek’s expression was guarded, his dark eyes revealing nothing about his emotions.

Except when he was looking at his wife. Then his whole face changed, his eyes softening with a warmth that seemed to come from the center of his soul.

Alyssa was oblivious as she launched herself at Talia with a hug that was as enthusiastic as it was genuine. “Talia, it’s so great to see you,” she said, her slender arms winding around Talia’s back. “I’ve been traveling so much lately I haven’t been able to get to Suzette’s to catch up with you and Susie.”

Talia returned her hug, touched by the sincere warmth of Alyssa’s greeting. She was pleasantly surprised to find that, other than Danny’s reserved greeting, the rest of the group was welcoming.

Talia found herself fascinated as she watched Jack. His laugh was loud and easy, his smile broad. He looked more relaxed and happy than she’d ever seen him.

He’d always struck her as a loner, keeping to himself, but she saw now that he was part of this group. His line about Joe Taggart being like a father to him wasn’t spouted just to guilt her into coming to the party.

There was genuine love and affection between Jack and Joe, his sons, and their wives. It made Talia wonder
about Jack’s real family, which, now that she thought about it, she’d never heard him mention. And she’d never asked.

Watching him laugh and joke good-naturedly with his friends, she was struck again by how little she knew about Jack, what he did with his real life when he wasn’t busy trying to save hers.

S
oon their small group dispersed to mingle. Jack introduced her to Marcy’s daughter, Kara, a tall, stunning blonde who looked to be in her early twenties. “You look great, kiddo,” Jack said, and gave her a brotherly hug.

Kara turned to Talia and offered her hand. “Nice to meet you,” she said distractedly. Though she smiled, Talia noted a slight downcast pull to her mouth as she looked at something—or someone—past Talia’s shoulder.

Talia looked and saw Ben Moreno, handsome as sin, teeth flashing whitely against his dark skin as he chatted up a brunette whose dress left no detail of her surgically enhanced curves to the imagination.

She felt a surge of sympathy as she turned back to Kara. Nothing but trouble could come from pining after a player like Moreno.

Kara’s face morphed into a hard smile. “Let me introduce you to some people,” she said, taking Talia by the arm and leading them into the crowd, away from Ben and his latest conquest.

Talia smiled and made small talk as Kara introduced her and Jack to what felt like dozens of guests. Everyone
was friendly enough, but Talia couldn’t get past the feeling that they were looking at her, assessing. Judging.

Jack must have read her tension. He curled his hand around her arm and bent his head close. “You okay?”

His warm breath tickled her ear, sending a tingle of awareness through her. “I’m fine,” she said, her mouth gone suddenly dry. “I just need to excuse myself for a minute.”

Following Kara’s directions, she hurried to the restroom. On the way back, she made a detour at the bar to grab another cocktail. But instead of going back to Jack’s side, she lingered on the edge of the crowd, watching.

“Having fun?”

Talia turned, automatically returning Alyssa’s warm smile. “It’s great.”

Alyssa nodded. “Sometimes these things get overwhelming, though. So many people. I start to get maxed out after a while.”

“I can relate,” Talia said. She took a sip of her drink and moved next to Alyssa.

Alyssa waved off an offer of a shrimp skewer from a passing server. “I heard through Derek about the trouble you’ve been having. Are you any closer to catching whoever is harassing you?”

Talia shook her head. “It has to be someone who knows about my relationship with David,” she said, pitching her voice low so the other guests milling around them wouldn’t hear. Alyssa nodded in understanding. She knew enough about Talia’s sordid past not to need clarification. “If I had to guess, I’d say it’s someone close to Margaret—David’s widow—if not Margaret herself. But so far she’s clean, and it’s not like I didn’t ruin a lot of lives and careers when I helped Krista Slater take him down.”

Alyssa wrinkled her nose and looked so adorable it would have been annoying if Talia didn’t like her so much. “That sucks, to say the least. I know exactly how that feels, always looking over your shoulder, never knowing who to trust. Well, except for Jack, of course,” Alyssa said, a sly glint in her green eyes. “Just like I had Derek.”

“I think that was a little different.”

“You know that’s how Derek and I met, right? My uncle hired him as my bodyguard—actually more like my watchdog.”

Talia’s fingernails dug into the wooden armrests. Right now, being here with but not really with Jack, getting a glimpse into his inner circle of close friends that he never would have offered up if it hadn’t been absolutely necessary, Talia didn’t want to be reminded of the vast differences between Alyssa’s relationship with her once bodyguard and her own relationship with Jack. “I’m not his client,” Talia said, trying to keep her tone light. “I’m his charity case.”

Alyssa cocked an eyebrow, a knowing look in her green eyes. “Jack’s got a generous streak a mile wide, but he doesn’t drop everything to play hero for just anyone.”

Talia stiffened. “I’m nothing special, believe me.”

Alyssa leaned toward her, her expression grave. Talia flinched but didn’t jerk away when Alyssa covered her hand. “I know exactly where you’re coming from. Before I got my act together, I felt exactly the same way. I made big mistakes in the past and I knew exactly what people thought about me—it was all over the news. But that didn’t stop Derek from loving me. And that won’t stop Jack—”

She broke off as Derek appeared at her side and she took the drink he offered.

Talia gave a silent prayer of thanks for the interruption.

She liked Alyssa and knew her intentions were the best, but she didn’t really want to get in a big discussion about her mistakes, and her damage was way worse than anything Alyssa had ever gotten herself mixed up in.

A couple of tabloid scandals were nothing compared to having a long-term affair with a man she knew was a criminal. They couldn’t hold a candle to helping to put a man on death row.

Still, as she watched Derek hover around his wife, it was hard not to feel a pinch of something that felt a little like envy.

Derek leaned in for a kiss hello, but it quickly turned hot enough that Talia had to turn away, her face burning.

And her heart—and other parts of her—aching.

She didn’t have faith she could have something with Jack that even approached what Alyssa and Derek clearly shared, but dammit, didn’t she deserve a taste?

She spotted Jack walking toward one of the buffet tables as Danny waved him over, and her stomach gave a funny little flip at the sight of his tall, strong body moving through the crowd.

Hadn’t she suffered enough for her sins?

She started after him.

Jack surveyed the wreckage of the ice sculpture while the catering staff rushed around, picking up glasses and trying to keep about a thousand custom-printed cocktail
napkins from fluttering away in the wind that had suddenly kicked up.

Off to the side, Danny and Caroline were issuing a stern lecture about being careful and the dangers of running near massive blocks of ice carved into the shape of a swan to almost three-year-old Anna. Tonight the little heartbreaker was in a white and pink dress with a ruffled skirt. A matching pink bow was threaded through her dark curls, and her gray eyes that matched her dad’s were huge and spilling over with tears at her dad’s scolding.

“It was a assident, Daddy,” she said, her little chest heaving with sobs. “I d-didn’t mean to mess up the ice.”

“Nevertheless,” Caroline said, “we told you when we got here that you were not allowed near the ice swan. That means no cake tonight.”

To her credit, Anna didn’t scream or yell. Little shoulder’s stiff, bottom lip pouted out, she sniffled, her chest heaving in silent sobs.

It was heartbreaking.

It was also, apparently, very effective. Though Danny did his best to keep his expression stern, Jack saw the second he cracked. “Aw, sweetie, you can’t have cake, but I bet Grandpa still has some of that rainbow sherbet in the freezer from last time.”

The tears dried up as though a switch had been flipped, and a bright, glowing smile replaced the pout. “Okay! C’mon, Mom, wet’s go get ice cweam.”

Caroline glared over her shoulder as Anna tugged her away. “You are such a p-u-s-s-y,” she said, spelling it for Anna’s benefit.

“Damn, and you think I’m too much of a sucker for a pretty face,” Jack said.