Susan Mallery - Hot On Her Heels

Now she had on enough makeup to be an extra in Madam Butterfly and Lexi was determined to curl every hair on her head.

“You should think about growing your hair out a little,” Lexi said, moving to another part of her head. “I’m not talking superlong, but maybe to your shoulders. You have a bit of a natural wave.”

“Lucky me,” Dana muttered.

“Trust me,” Izzy said, puffing her own wildly curly hair. “Guys so go for the big hair. It’s sexy.”

As was Izzy. She wore a halter top and loose black pants, which sounded normal enough. Until Izzy moved. Then the slits that went from the band on her ankles all the way up to mid-thigh were visible. It was the kind of outfit that made a little black dress seem almost plain by comparison.

“Done!” Lexi announced, then sank into a chair. “Just in time, too. My back is killing me.”

Dana turned to her. “You should have said something. We didn’t have to do this.”

Lexi looked at Izzy, who grinned. “Oh, honey, we so had to do this. Go put on your dress.”

Dana touched Lexi’s arm. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. Cruz will be here in twenty minutes to pick me up. Due to my advancing pregnancy, I get to spend the evening at home watching reality TV.” She gave Dana a little push. “Go get ready. You still have to squeeze into your shapeware.”

“Right. The tube of death.”

Dana scrambled to her feet then hurried back to the bedroom she used. She stripped off her jeans and shirt, then spent five minutes wiggling into something obviously designed by a misogynist. The dress was next. Thanks to the shapeware, it fit her perfectly. She pulled up the zipper, then reached for the diamond dangle earrings Lexi had loaned her. The hideously high shoes were last.

Izzy burst into the room. “He’s back. Don’t you hate a guy who’s prompt. You’d better-”

She skidded to a stop and stared. “Wow! You look fabulous, and I don’t say that lightly.”

Dana smoothed the front of the dress. “Is it okay? It’s not nearly as sexy as what you’re wearing. And you have on pants. Maybe this is…”

Izzy grabbed her hand and pulled her into the bathroom. There was a full-length mirror by the tub.

Dana stared at herself, not recognizing the woman staring back. Her dark, short hair had perfect waves with lots of layers that looked amazing. The makeup made her eyes huge, and the long lashes didn’t hurt, either. The dress hugged curves she hadn’t realized she had. And the tan made her legs look slim and long. She had to admit that while she hated the heels, they looked great with the dress. She was elegant and sophisticated and longed to look this good every day.

“Oh,” she whispered. “Okay.”

“Yeah,” Izzy said, hugging her. “Okay for sure. Let’s go dazzle Garth.”

“You think he’ll like it?”

“He won’t be able to talk.”

Dana wasn’t so sure. She followed Izzy down the hall, into the living room where Garth stood talking to Lexi. He looked like a male model in a perfectly fitted tux and white shirt. Her heart gave a funny little lurch, which she ignored.

“Are you ready?” he asked as he turned toward her.

And then the most amazing thing happened. He stopped talking. His mouth hung open but he didn’t say a word. He closed his mouth, then opened it again. But there still wasn’t any sound.

Next to him, Lexi sighed. “I love it when a plan comes together.”

“THE LIMO WAS A NICE TOUCH,” Dana said as they climbed the stairs to Glory’s Gate. She’d been in the house a thousand times before. As a kid, she’d spent the night nearly every weekend. There was nothing to be nervous about. So why were her insides quivering?

“You hated the limo,” Garth said, putting his hand on the small of her back, as if to guide her.

“I wasn’t sure of the purpose. You have a very nice car.”

“It was for show. This is all about how things look, not how they are.”

“There’s a philosophy to embrace.”

They reached the top of the stairs and moved toward the open front door.

Dana could see into the main floor of the huge house. Three or four hundred people milled around inside. Light glittered from a dozen crystal chandeliers. Servers in black pants and white shirts circulated with trays of expensive food while the sound of champagne corks competed with the chamber orchestra.

Nothing about this was her, she thought, knowing it was too late to turn back now.

“You okay?” he asked.

She reached for Garth’s hand and squeezed it. “I’m fine.”

“You’re lying.”

“Go with it.”

They walked into the party. Dana knew she was probably cutting off the circulation in Garth’s hand, but she couldn’t loosen her grip. Not when there were so many well-dressed strangers everywhere she looked. Senators, oil tycoons, movie stars. Not a crowd designed to make her feel at home.

“Garth, good to see you,” an older man said. “You remember my wife?”

His wife was a blue-eyed blonde with a face that didn’t move. Dana wasn’t sure if she was twenty-five or fifty.

“Of course,” Garth said easily. “Amanda, you look lovely. Jason doesn’t begin to deserve you.”

“So I tell him every day.”

Garth chuckled. “This is my friend, Dana. Dana, Jason and Amanda Barkley. Jason is the ambassador to Costa Rica.”

Dana smiled and shook hands with the couple. They chatted for a few more minutes, then moved on.

“Want to head to the bar?” Garth asked.

“Do I look like I need a drink?”

“No, but I do. Liquor makes the party easier to tolerate.”

“Then I’m glad we came in a limo,” she whispered, as he nodded at more people he knew.

When they’d reached the bar, Dana accepted a pale green “drink of the night” with no idea what it was. Garth asked for Scotch.

They moved through the crowd. The downstairs of Glory’s Gate had been designed for entertaining. Seemingly solid walls could be moved out of the way, creating an open space that could accommodate nearly a thousand people. There would be less tonight because there was a sit-down dinner. Dana had seen Skye plan for a big event before, but she’d never appreciated the sheer size of the major fund-raisers. Everything she’d ever been dragged to before had been tiny by comparison.

“How does this work?” she asked. “Do people pay to come?”

He nodded. “It’s five thousand a plate.”

She nearly choked. “Five thousand dollars? You paid ten thousand dollars? for us to be here?”

“That’s nothing. Ask me about the three million she made me pay the other day.”

Dana had no idea what he was talking about but she couldn’t wrap her mind around the idea of that much money.

“Later there’s an auction. She should walk away with a couple of million easily.”

It boggled the mind, Dana thought, taking a sip of her drink.

Nick came up and joined them. “Izzy found someone who’s actually been cave diving. She’s badgering the poor guy for details. I couldn’t listen.”

Dana didn’t want to think about underwater cave diving, either. “Do you think she’ll really try it?”

Nick shook his head. “We’re talking about Izzy. You want to take bets?”

“No.” Izzy had always been wild, although falling for Nick had calmed her down a lot. She was going back to college in a couple of months. “Maybe she’ll be too busy with homework.”

“We can only hope.”

The orchestra started another song.

Nick took her drink and put it on a small table by a pillar. “Come on, Dana. Distract me with a dance.”

The line was smooth enough and Garth gave her an encouraging push toward his friend, but everything about the moment felt strange. Rehearsed, almost. She turned to say something to Garth, only to find him walking away.

“So this was a plan,” she said, following Nick a few steps, then coming to a stop. “Want to tell me what’s going on?”

“No.”

“What is he up to?”

Nick sighed. “It’s not what you think.”

“I don’t know what to think.”

“It’s not another woman.”

“I never thought it was.” Which was true. So why would Garth want to go off on his own? A business deal?

She dismissed that. Not here. Not at Skye’s party.

“Is it Jed? Is he here?” she asked.

“Apparently he bought a ticket.”

She didn’t like the sound of that. “Garth shouldn’t be alone with him. Something could happen.”

“Don’t worry. Garth can take care of himself.”

“That’s what I’m worried about. Jed will do anything to win, including trap Garth.” She turned to walk away.

Nick grabbed her arm. “Dana, leave him be.”

She shrugged free. “Are you really going to stop me?”

Nick stared into her eyes. “No. But tell him I tried, okay?”

“Sure.”

She went in the same direction as Garth, hoping she could find him before something bad happened. Unfortunately the tiny evening bag Lexi had loaned her hadn’t been big enough to conceal any of her handguns, so she wasn’t armed. Fashion was a big pain in the ass.

She reached the edge of the main room and hesitated. Glory’s Gate was a really big house. There were a dozen places the men could be. But only one Jed would consider his own, Dana thought, and opened a door leading to a long hallway.

She walked the familiar route to Jed’s study. The door was partially closed. Dana debated simply pushing her way inside, but then what? Better to find out what was going on.

She shifted so she could see into the room, but there wasn’t anything in her view. Slowly, carefully, she pushed the door open a little more, then nearly gave herself away by gasping. Garth stood behind Jed, his arm around the older man’s throat. He held a lethal-looking knife at Jed’s chin.

“She bleeds, you bleed,” Garth said, his voice low and threatening.