She hesitated, then nodded. He led her upstairs. He wanted to take her to his room, not to make love with her, but to hold her. He wanted to put his arms around her and physically keep her safe. But there was Erin to think about. If Skye’s daughter woke up before them, it would confuse her to find her mom in his bed. So he kept going to the end of the hall and pushed open the door.

She stepped inside, then turned back to him. “Thank you,” she whispered. “For everything.”

He kissed her forehead. “Try to sleep. If you need anything, I’m across the hall. The bathroom is through there.” He pointed to the door to the right.

“Okay, thanks.”

He pulled the door nearly closed, then went into his room. Once there, he crossed to the window and stared out at the night. Garth had to be stopped. This had gone too far. Without evidence, the police couldn’t make a move so it was up to him.

THE MAIN OFFICES for Cruz Control were done in red and black. All the artwork reflected the car theme and racing stripes led the way down the hall.

Mitch sat in Cruz’s office, where car parts battled for space with every car magazine known to man.

“The local police are reluctant to get involved,” Mitch told Cruz. “The explosion was in international waters and the oil rig is owned by a British company.”

“Are they still considering what happened at Skye’s party a prank?”

Mitch nodded. He’d spent a frustrating morning speaking with a detective who had been sympathetic but unhelpful. “Without definitive proof that Garth is determined to bring down the family, the events are all unrelated and seemingly random. Rumors aren’t against the law.”

“It’s more than rumors,” Cruz said, sounding angry. “What about doping Jed’s horses and the lawsuit against Lexi?”

“Wasn’t that dropped?”

“Yes, but that isn’t the point.”

“It is to them. Dana will do all she can, but we’re pretty much on our own.”

“You have a plan?” Cruz asked.

“Yes.”

“Then consider me your partner in crime,” Cruz said, his voice determined.

“Agreed.”

SKYE SAT in the chair by the bed and stroked her sister’s hand. Izzy lay on the hospital bed, her face nearly as white as the bandages around her eyes. There were angry red marks on her bare arms and bandages on her hands. One leg was propped up under the covers.

“That’s starting to get on my nerves,” Izzy said, pulling her hand free of Skye’s. “You’re patting me like a cat.”

“And yet you don’t purr,” Skye told her. “Were you sleeping? It’s hard to tell with the bandages.”

“My personal fashion statement. No, I’m not sleeping.” She grabbed Skye’s hand. “Just don’t do the petting thing, okay?”

“You’re so fussy. I’ll have you know I’m wildly busy. You should be grateful I’m taking time out of my schedule to be here at all.”

“Yeah, yeah. You were worried about me.”

“Only a little.” Skye did her best to keep her voice light. “How do you feel?”

“Like I got blown up and tossed in the Gulf. How do I look?”

“Battered and waifish. Do you need me to call a nurse?”

“Only if he’s male and cute.” She shifted and winced. “Otherwise, I’ll pass.” She gestured to the IV running into her other arm. “I have my own supply of drugs to dull everything. Life doesn’t get much better than that.”

Izzy had been sleeping steadily since her surgery two nights ago. When she woke up, she was coherent and as normal as could be expected under the circumstances. Every time she spoke and made a joke, Skye wanted to run into the hallway, telling the world her sister was going to be okay.

She managed to hold back, but just barely.

“You want to talk about what the doctor said?” Skye asked tentatively.

“No.”

“We have to at some point.”

“No, we don’t.”

“Izzy, you’re going to need the surgery.”

“Skye, I swear I can still kick you, so leave me alone.”

“For now.”

Izzy groaned. “I’m gritting my teeth. Do you see me gritting my teeth?” She drew back her lips. “Are you looking?”

“Very clenched.”

“Good. Talk about something else.”

They would have to talk about the surgery eventually, but the doctor had said there was time. Skye would listen to him, although what she really wanted was for Izzy to schedule it right away. To get it done with so she could be herself again.

“You were right about T.J.,” she said instead.

Izzy sighed. “Being right is one of my favorite things.”

“I know.”

Izzy turned toward her. “Right in what way? Did he hurt you? I swear if he hurt you…”

Skye squeezed her hand and fought tears. “Nothing that dramatic. Oh, Izzy, I’m sorry we’ve been fighting. I’ve felt awful about that.”

“I staged the explosion for just this reaction. I love it when a plan goes well.”

“It worked perfectly. I was so angry at you and I can’t even say why.”

“I wasn’t trying to hurt you or say you couldn’t get the guy. There was just something about him.”

“He was working for Garth.”

“What?” Izzy nearly rose into a sitting position before falling back onto the bed. “No way.”

“Oh, yeah. He was being paid and everything. I don’t know if it was to actually try to get me engaged or to play us against each other.”

“I’ll bet he was just supposed to make trouble.”

“And we played right into his hands,” Skye said with a sigh.

“You more so than me,” Izzy told her.

“As always, your support brings me such joy.”

Izzy smiled, then the smile faded. “Working for Garth. That asshole.”

“Tell me about it. Are you okay? Did you care about T.J.?”

“No. He was mildly interesting.” She squeezed Skye’s fingers. “I’m sorry I slept with him. I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”

“You were a little.”

Izzy hesitated. “Maybe. You’re very sanctimonious sometimes with your perfect life.”

“My life isn’t perfect.”

“Of course it is. You’re a great mother raising a great kid. You started a foundation to feed hungry children. How are the rest of us supposed to compete with that?”

Skye didn’t know what to say. “It’s not a competition.”

“Sometimes it feels like it. Lexi is all smart and business-y. You’re like Mother Teresa with breasts and red hair and I’m the idiot who gets blown up.”

“Don’t say that,” Skye told her, fighting tears. “You’re my sister and I love you. I don’t know what happened with T.J. I really don’t. He pushed our buttons, that’s for sure. You’re all sexy and adventurous. Guys are into that.”

“Maybe.” She touched the bandages on her eyes with her free hand. “How did you find out about T.J.?”

“Mitch heard him talking to Garth. But I should probably tell you that after you told me you’d slept with T.J. and he was still planning to go out to dinner with me, I decided to teach him a lesson.”

Izzy grinned. “Yeah?”

“Uh-huh.” Skye told her about the dinner and the not-so-subtle invitation to bed. “He jumped at it, which is disgusting. He’d just been with you. So I told him off.”

Izzy laughed. “On the sidewalk?”

“Right outside the restaurant. After I had his car towed.”

“Go, Skye.”

“Thank you. It felt good. Then I called Lexi and we’ve been spreading some very nasty rumors about him. Everything from him being bad in bed to embezzlement to having a dick the size of a peanut.”

“So I was seriously flirting with danger by pissing you off,” Izzy said.

“You were, but you’ve always been brave. Which is why I know you’ll want to schedule the surgery right away.”

Izzy pulled her hand free. “That wasn’t a very smooth transition.”

“Come on. You know you’re going to do this.”

“I don’t know. I have to think about it.”

“What’s to think about?”

“Total blindness.”

“If you don’t have the surgery, you’ll be stuck where you are.”

“Until the bandages come off, I don’t know what that means. It’s my decision, Skye. Back off.”

“But you have to-”

Izzy pointed in the general direction of the door. “Aren’t visiting hours over? Shouldn’t you be leaving?”

“Izzy, don’t. I’ll stop talking about it.”

“Just go. I’m tired. I don’t want to talk anymore. Go on. You can come back later.”

Skye wasn’t sure what to do. After a few seconds, she rose and kissed her sister’s cheek. “I’m sorry. I won’t mention it again.”

“Like I believe that.”

“I’ll be by later.”

“It’s not like I’m going anywhere.”

Skye left. Everything had gone great with the visit, right up until the end. Why couldn’t she leave well enough alone? Why did she have to push?

She paused in the hallway, not sure what to do. Should she wait and see her sister in a couple of hours or come back later? Before she could decide, she saw a man walking toward her.

Every part of her went still, as if knowing he was here made her world right again. She didn’t have to decide on her own. She could ask his opinion because he would tell her what he thought and he thought things through. He was tough and difficult and smart and sexy and he made her laugh. He protected her and Erin. He was someone she could depend on. Just as important, she burned for him.

She walked toward him. When they were next to each other, he pulled her close.

“You okay?” Mitch asked.

“No. Izzy and I had a fight. I was pushing. Why do I do that? She’s still in the hospital. I shouldn’t be pushing.”

He led her over to a couple of plastic chairs in an alcove. They sat down. He laced their fingers together.

“Why were you fighting?”

“She needs surgery. The doctors can’t know for sure, but they expect her eyesight to be at about thirty percent when the bandages come off. It should stabilize there, but there’s also a chance it could get worse.”

“That has to scare the hell out of her,” he said.