The red-haired waitress looked over her half-glasses, studying Garth intently.

“And you are?”

“Garth. I’m a friend of Dana’s.”

“Uh-huh.” She patted Dana’s shoulder. “I’ll let you two decide on breakfast. Take your time.” She winked, then left.

Dana did her best to think cool, restful thoughts. She was calm. She was one with the universe. She’d forgotten this wasn’t Renee’s morning off.

Garth’s dark eyes sparkled with humor. “I’m guessing you don’t bring a lot of guys here.”

“Not only could I shoot you, I would know how to hide the body so no one could find it. Ever.”

He patted her hand. “It’s all right, Dana. Your secret is safe with me.”

While they were on the subject…

“Look,” she said, leaning toward him. “No one can know. About last night.” She’d almost said “us” but there wasn’t an us. One night of hot monkey sex did not an us make. “Especially your sisters. We’re not going to talk about it or even think about it.”

He reached for his coffee. “I plan to think about it, Dana. A lot. You’re incredibly passionate. Do you know how rare that is? No pretense, no games, just one-on-one pleasure.” He sipped his coffee.

Her well-honed sense of control seemed to crumble to dust. She wasn’t passionate. She was difficult and crabby and she didn’t let anyone in. She was restrained.

She opened her mouth to tell him so, only to realize that when she thought about this morning, Renee would barely be a footnote when compared with everything else that had happened.

The front door of the café opened and in walked all three Titan sisters. They were talking to each other and hadn’t looked around the place, but in a few seconds they would. They would look and they would see her with Garth.

He turned around and laughed.

“It’s not funny,” she snapped.

“As this place was your pick, it is. You’d better stop looking so guilty, or they’ll guess in a second.”

“I don’t look guilty.” She cleared her throat and forced her expression to something she hoped was neutral. “If they ask, this is a working breakfast. We’re discussing strategy. Nothing else.”

She wanted to say more, maybe even threaten him if she could figure out how, but just then Lexi looked up and saw them. She looked puzzled for a second, then Izzy turned and spotted them.

“What are you two doing here?” she asked as she walked over. “Never mind. I already know. Do you ever sleep? Work, work, work. Dana, when this is over, you have to swear you’ll take a vacation. Hey, big brother.”

Izzy bent down and hugged Garth from behind. He smiled at her.

“You’re all up early,” he said. “A sisterly tradition?”

“We still have a lot to talk about and this is the best breakfast in town.”

Skye and Lexi joined them.

“How’s the plan coming?” Skye asked. “Are we interrupting? Should we go away?”

“No. Of course not.” Dana rose and reached for a larger table. “Let’s pull this over and we can all have breakfast together. Garth and I were working out the details. There are actually a few things we need to discuss with all of you, so this is perfect timing.”

Skye and Lexi grabbed the other side of the table and dragged it close.

“You’re just going to sit there?” she asked Garth.

“I like watching women work.”

“I’ll just bet.”

She had hoped in the confusion that someone would take her seat, allowing her to settle a little farther from Garth, but the sisters took other chairs, forcing her back across from him. It wasn’t that she minded the view, it was that she was terrified of what she might say or do. Rational thought was more challenging when there were still tingles going on.

Renee returned to the table. Dana started to panic, but the waitress simply raised her eyebrows then passed out menus.

“Big crowd this morning,” she said, giving Dana a knowing wink, then announcing there wasn’t a special.

“But I love the special,” Izzy whined.

“You’re always the difficult one. I’m bringing you coffee. By the time I get back, I want you to all know what you’re ordering. And no, Lexi, we don’t have organic butter, eggs, juice or anything else. So get over it.”

Lexi laughed. “I didn’t say a word.”

“You were going to.” Renee looked at Lexi’s impressive belly. “You’re due to pop soon, and speaking as the person who’s heard the organic lecture fourteen thousand times, I can’t wait.”

“I have two months,” Lexi told her with a grin. “Plenty of time for us to talk about renewable farming.”

“Gotta go.” Renee scurried away.

“I’ll need herbal tea,” Lexi yelled after her.

Skye shook her head. “You should give Renee a break. She’s old-school.”

“She loves the attention,” Izzy said. She turned to Garth. “So you’re in Titanville early.”

“There’s a lot going on,” Dana said, hoping she looked and sounded casual. “I’m going to be speaking with some guys I know at the Dallas Police Department. While a lot of their investigation is confidential, I’ll be able to get a sense of what they have and what they need. There’s no point in duplicating work. But before I do that, I want each of you to be sure about this. Once it’s done, it can’t be undone. If Jed is charged, it sets a course in motion.”

There was a lot more she could say-like no matter what, he was their father. She might think he was a class A asshole, but that was because he’d nearly killed a close friend. But she wasn’t family.

Skye, ever elegant in a tailored suit, shook her head. “We don’t have any second thoughts. Garth said nearly the same thing yesterday. We talked for hours and we know this is what we want.”

Lexi put her arm around Izzy. “He crossed the line. We want him taken down.”

Izzy, normally so full of life, was oddly silent. Her face was pale, a stark contrast to her dark, curly hair.

Dana had a small idea of what her friend was feeling. She’d had to deal with a father who was abusive. But she’d known what he was all her life, while Izzy had to deal with the shock of learning her own father had been willing to consider her a casualty of war.

Renee returned and they ordered breakfast. When they were alone again, Skye said, “If he hadn’t arranged for the explosion, we would have backed off. But that changed everything. We have to protect ourselves against him. He needs to be prosecuted for everything he’s done.”

The sisters were so different, Dana thought. Lexi, the cool blonde, with her holistic view on life. Pregnant and glowing, she looked radiant enough to make even the most cynical woman long for motherhood. Skye, with her fiery red hair, had the appearance of the wild child of the group, while she was the most maternal. The quietest and most caring.

Izzy, always ready for adventure, had nearly been defeated by the aftermath of the blast that had left her blind. Not permanently, but it had been a scare. She’d changed, but was still the one who led with her heart.

These women were her family, Dana thought. She would die for them, if necessary.

“If that’s what you want, I’ll move forward,” she said. “We’ll get him.”

Renee returned with a pot of hot water, a teacup and a tray of teas. “The kitchen’s backed up. It’ll be a couple of minutes.”

“No problem,” Skye said.

Lexi sniffed. “Oh, Renee. Look.” She pointed at the tray of tea bags.

“So?” Renee’s eyes narrowed. “What’s your point?”

Lexi stood and hugged her, her big belly getting in the way. “They’re organic.”

Renee shook her off. “Yeah, yeah, so what? I slipped when I placed my order. Checked the wrong box. Now I’m stuck with them, so you’d better drink them all.”

Lexi sniffed as she sat. “I will. I promise.”

“Cheap talk,” Renee muttered as she walked off.

Izzy grinned at Garth. “See what we do to people.”

“It’s terrifying,” he said as he picked up his coffee. “I don’t stand a chance.”

“If only that were true,” Izzy said. “But I have high hopes. Especially with Dana’s help.”

Had Dana been drinking she would have choked. “You’re on your own,” she said, hoping she wasn’t blushing.

“While we’re talking about changes,” Skye said, then paused.

Lexi leaned toward her. “Tell them.”

“Maybe it’s not the time.”

“It’s the perfect time.”

Garth looked at Dana, as if asking what they were talking about. She shrugged, not sure what Skye meant.

Skye shifted in her seat, then smiled shyly. “It’s probably a ridiculous thing to say or even think about, with everything going on,” she began.

Izzy rolled her eyes. “Would you get to the point? It’s wonderful. Come on. Tell them.”

Skye looked from Dana to Garth and back. “As you know, Mitch and I are engaged. We’ve been talking about the wedding and, well, it was Erin’s idea, really.”

Izzy dropped her head to the table. “Will you get on with it?” she said, her voice muffled.

Skye cleared her throat. “We’re talking about a Christmas Eve wedding. Erin thinks it would be romantic and I know Mitch is excited that he’ll never have to worry about remembering our anniversary.”

“I don’t think that’s what has him excited,” Dana said with a laugh. A holiday wedding. Skye’s daughter was right…it was very romantic. “It sounds perfect. And very you. Imagine the party you can plan.”

Skye looked more worried than happy. She stared at Garth. “Is it a bad idea? I’m thinking about all the things going on with Jed. Should we wait?”

“No. Getting enough on Jed could take weeks, months or even years. Don’t put your life on hold. A Christmas Eve wedding sounds very…nice.”

“Nice?” Izzy straightened. “You are such a guy.”

“Thank you.”

“It would be a small wedding,” Skye said. “Family and a few close friends.”

“Don’t compromise,” Dana told her. She might not be a “fancy party” kind of person herself, but she cared about her friend. “Have the wedding you want.”