“All this for a woman,” Jed said, obviously trying to sound relaxed, but the fear in his eyes and the lack of color in his face gave him away. “I didn’t think you’d have that much trouble getting laid.”

Garth tightened his grip. “Is there any part of you that doubts me, old man? You will leave her alone.”

Dana hesitated. While she wanted to bargain and stop the man games, she was more curious about Garth’s plan. Still, she didn’t want him putting Jed in the hospital and himself in jail. Just when she was about to step inside, Jed nodded once.

“I’ll leave her alone.”

Garth released him.

Dana stepped back, then turned and walked toward the party. Her mind jumped from image to image. She could still hear the anger in Garth’s voice.

No one had ever tried to protect her before, she thought, confused by what he’d done. No one had ever flirted with an assault charge to make a point on her behalf. She knew Garth was more than capable of making good on his threat. He had the physical scars on his body as proof of his strength. Strength he could use against anyone at any time. But to risk it all to protect her?

She slipped back into the party, then headed away from where she’d left Nick. She walked around the perimeter of the crowd, not ready to talk to anyone. She felt uncomfortable, but couldn’t say why.

A few minutes later, she walked by one of the many bars and ordered the drink of the night. She’d barely taken a sip when the hairs on the back of her neck stood up.

“No one is fooled,” Jed said, standing right behind her. “No one thinks you belong here.”

She turned to face him. He was still a little white around his mouth, although she doubted anyone else would notice. Were words all he had left?

“Do you hear that ticking?” she asked coolly. “There’s a big clock counting down to your destruction. Your own family wants you in jail. That says something. What I can’t figure out is why you did it. All those years ago when Garth showed up, you could have easily paid for the surgery. That’s all he wanted. Then none of this would have happened.”

Jed’s lip curled. “You’re going to lecture me?”

“No. I’m just curious. You should never have gone after Izzy. Lexi and Skye could have forgiven nearly anything else.”

“Collateral damage. The price of war. I didn’t plan on her getting hurt.”

“You arranged for a bomb to blow up an oil rig. What did you think would happen?”

He shrugged. “That she’d be scared. The purpose of the explosion had nothing to do with Izzy. The Duncans needed to learn a lesson.”

Oh, God. Because he’d been setting up Garth, she thought. Then she replayed his words in her head. “The Duncans? Not just Garth? Kathy has a part in this?”

How could he have anything against Kathy? “Is this about the past?” she asked. “About what happened between you and Kathy all those years ago?” She tried to read his expression and couldn’t.

“This is about making sure Garth doesn’t win.”

“He’s already got you beat.”

“Don’t be so sure, Dana. Garth has a lot to lose.”

WHEN GARTH FINISHED with Jed, he had trouble locating Dana. She wasn’t with Nick, or with Skye. Eventually he found her with Lexi who was seated on a chair by the wall while Cruz hovered nearby.

“I thought you weren’t coming,” he said to Lexi as he approached.

She smiled. “I wanted to see Dana dazzle. We’re only here for a few minutes.” She put her hand on her belly. “Someone else wants to party.”

He frowned, not sure what she meant. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him closer.

“The baby’s kicking. You can feel it.”

There were a whole lot of things he would rather be doing than touching her stomach, but he couldn’t figure out a polite way to refuse. Then his palm was against the surprisingly hard curve of her belly and he felt a jab right under his thumb.

He looked at Dana. “Have you felt this?”

She nodded, then looked away.

He grinned at Lexi. “It’s really a baby.”

“The alternative was that I was developing an unnatural affection for fast food.”

An older couple joined them and started talking to Lexi and Cruz. Garth stepped back, then put his arm around Dana’s waist and led her away.

He’d thought she might resist, but she went with him. When they were relatively secluded beside a large leafy tree in a massive pot, he released her.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing.”

The right word, but she wouldn’t look at him. He stared at her.

“You followed me.”

She drew in a breath and finally looked him in the eye. “He could press charges.”

“He won’t and that’s not the problem.”

“No, it’s not.”

He couldn’t figure out what bothered her. “You were shot at. I couldn’t let that go.”

“If the person with the gun had wanted me dead, I’d be dead now. It was a warning.”

“Just being a warning doesn’t make it okay.”

“But it’s perfectly fine to hold a knife to someone’s throat?”

“Is that what’s bothering you?”

“It doesn’t make me happy.”

“Jed isn’t someone who responds to quiet conversation. Dana, he can’t be allowed to think there aren’t consequences. Jed has never had to answer to anyone before. Now he has to answer to me.”

“Vigilante justice is still illegal.”

“I’m not interested in breaking the law.”

“No. You just want to win at any cost. You’re more like him than you think.” She drew in a breath. “Has he had any contact with Kathy since the surgery?”

“No, why?”

“He said something.”

“You spoke to him?”

“Mostly he wanted to tell me I didn’t belong here, with you. Which isn’t important. He implied there was something he owed the Duncans. Not just you.”

Garth swore. “As far as I know, he hasn’t spoken to her since I was born. Certainly not since the surgery. Her caretakers would have told me.”

“You have someone watching her?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” She looked around. “I can’t be here right now. I’ll see you back at the condo.”

She was leaving? Just like that?

He wanted to tell her she couldn’t. Or that he would take her home. But something about the set of her body, the way she held her purse so tight that her knuckles were white, made him stay silent.

“I won’t be late,” he said quietly.

She nodded and then left.

Garth watched her go, wondering how everything had gotten so screwed up and how, if he didn’t understand the problem, he couldn’t possibly fix it. First Jed threatened Dana, now his mother. In addition to adding security, he would talk to Kathy’s caretakers. Explain a little of what was going on. He could have a guard move into her house until this was wrapped up.

DANA SAT CURLED UP on the sofa in Garth’s condo. The lights of Dallas seemed to twinkle in the light rain, but she wasn’t enjoying the view. Her stomach hurt and she had a strong sense of dread. Telling herself that she was safe, that nothing bad was going to happen, didn’t make her feel any better.

Cruz and Lexi had driven her home, and because they were good friends, they hadn’t asked what was wrong. She’d changed into sweats and a T-shirt, washed off the makeup and slipped on thick socks. Now all she had to do was wait.

Garth was going to want an explanation. The real question was did she tell him what was wrong, or did she come up with some half truth to put him off? Could she even talk about what she was feeling?

If he’d been one of the guys she usually dated, none of this would have been an issue. No one she knew would be willing to take on Jed Titan that way. In all her other relationships, she was the one in charge. Now she wasn’t so sure.

She heard a key in the lock and straightened, braced for Garth’s temper.

He walked into the condo and tossed his keys on the small table in the entryway. He closed the door, then locked it, shrugged out of his jacket and pulled off his already undone tie. Then he crossed to the living room and sat on the coffee table in front of her.

“I’d never hit you.”

She did her best not to wince. Talk about getting it right in a single guess.

She drew in a breath. “When I was fourteen, Jed wanted to put Lexi into these after-school classes. They pretended they were something different, but it was basically a charm school for rich kids. She didn’t want to go, but Jed insisted. Finally she agreed, but only if I went with her.” Dana shook her head. “It wasn’t much of a win for me.”

Garth watched her without speaking.

“Some of the guys there were from our school, but a lot were from a prep school I’d never heard of. They wore blazers with patches on the chest pocket and gray flannel slacks. They were our age, but they seemed older and a lot more sophisticated.”

She drew her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around her knees. “There was this one guy. He was really good-looking and funny and I liked him a lot. I guess he was my first crush. He would always dance with me. One day we snuck out of class and were hanging out behind the building. He kissed me, which was fine, but then he tried to take things further.”

“What did you do?”

“Kicked him in the balls. It was just a reaction. Apparently I nailed him really good because they ended up taking him to the hospital. I got thrown out, Lexi refused to go back without me and Jed…”

She looked out the window, but instead of the view, she saw the familiar book-lined study and a younger Jed looking both stern and amused.

“Jed told me that it was a man’s world and the sooner I figured that out, the easier things would be for me. I knew he was probably right, but I didn’t want easy. I wanted safe.”

“Because of your dad.”

She nodded, still not looking at him. “I never knew when,” she whispered. “I’d be sitting at the kitchen table, doing my homework and he would walk by. Sometimes nothing happened. Sometimes he jerked me to my feet and started hitting me. He hit hard. There’s a sound a fist makes. I’ll never forget it.”