Dangerous Tides (47 page)

"I know, it was just that I wanted to be out here with the plants for a few minutes. I thought I'd feel at peace again."

Elle reached out to her. "Sam is Tyson's only family, Libby."

"I know. I know. That's why I feel so guilty. I want to like him, I really do, and I've tried. It's just that I don't think he's really what he presents to the world. He isn't smooth and easygoing." She rubbed her face and smeared soil across it. "I should have guessed he wouldn't be. Neither is Ty. The temper must run in the family."

"Tyson has a temper?"

"Big time. Especially if someone isn't very nice to me. And Sam has it, too. He got so angry with me one day he shook me."

Elle glanced up sharply, storm clouds gathering in her eyes. "He physically shook you? The bastard. No wonder you don't like him. You should have told me. I would have paid him a visit."

Libby burst out laughing. "Talk about a temper. You don't have to visit him, Elle. Tyson did enough damage."

"Did he?" Elle asked curiously. "What did he do?"

"He hit him twice and broke his nose. It was awful." Libby ducked her head. "And I'm ashamed to say I didn't want to heal Sam at first."

"Ashamed? When he shook you?"

"He felt bad afterward. He apologized both to me and to Ty. Come on, Elle. I'll bet Jonas or even Jackson is capable of shaking one of us."

Elle huffed out her breath. "I don't want to think what Jonas might do, but Jackson's reactions to things are utterly primitive. He doesn't care about being thought of as a modern man and I'm certain he beats his chest on a regular basis." She smiled encouragingly at her sister. "Don't worry. You'll find a way to accept Sam, Libby. You're like that. You have a naturally compassionate nature and you're probably very protective of Ty. You're protective of all of us."

"Maybe. I hope so. It's not like I detest Sam or anything," Libby hastened to explain. "I'm sure it wasn't easy growing up with a boy genius several years younger but always ahead of you in class. Ty even admits he embarrassed Sam a lot. You know how boys have such egos."

Elle smiled at her sister. "I'm sure it won't take long before you'll be protective of Sam, too. And you know he'll be coming to all the family functions with Ty, so we'll help mellow him out. Joley always mellows the men out. They drool over her."

Libby winced. "He said a few disgusting things about Joley. Maybe that's what makes me dislike him. Well…" she hedged. "I suppose dislike is a strong word. I have mixed feelings. He definitely wants to go to bed with Joley and brag about it to his firefighter buddies."

"You can't be too angry with him over that. Half the men in the world want to go to bed with her. She oozes sex. She can't help it. That's just the way she's put together. She walks down the street and she stops traffic."

"She doesn't like it, does she?" Libby asked shrewdly.

Elle shrugged. "No, but she accepts it. We all have things we don't like but we live with. Joley isn't at all as she appears to the public, you know that. Her public image is just that, an image that sells her music. She's doing the rounds with the late-night talk shows to laugh at herself over this latest write-up. She won't say one way or the other if those pictures were of her, but it will give her more publicity and turn a bad thing into something positive. She knows what she's doing."

"I don't know how she manages with all the lies they tell about her." Libby shook her head. "I'm upset for her, more than
she
seems to be."

The door banged open and Kate waved to attract their attention. "Libby, you just got a garbled phone message. Something about Irene and Drew and you're to meet Tyson at the Chapman house."

Libby pulled off the gloves. "Was it Ty?"

Kate shrugged. "I don't know, but I assumed so. I asked him to repeat what he said, but he hung up."

Elle and Libby exchanged a long look and both laughed. "That sounds like Ty." They said it simultaneously and that had them laughing again.

Libby stood up and dusted off her jeans. "I hope Irene hasn't changed her mind. This morning, Tyson was so excited. He was absolutely certain he'd figured out why the drug wasn't working as well for adolescents and he was all set to conduct more experiments and write up a report for BioLab."

"I hope he found what he was looking for," Kate said. "If he did, would it help Drew, do you think?"

"He'd need to do a lot of testing before he'd trust a drug he came up with on the general public, especially teenagers, but he looked so excited, almost like a kid with his first bicycle." Libby leaned against the door. "I remember that look on his face in school sometimes. He'd just suddenly
get
something and be so eager to try it he couldn't contain himself. And he was always on the right track."

Elle suddenly reached out to hug her. "I'm so happy for you, Libby. You'll always have that, you know, the ability to share in his excitement of discovery. And he'll always be trying to figure out how you do your magic."

"I am happy," Libby admitted. "Who would have ever thought Tyson Derrick could make me feel like this?" She glanced at her watch. "It's getting late. I'd better go check on him. He didn't get any sleep last night. Once he decided he was on the right track he was working." She tossed her gloves into the tool basket and hurried into the house to find her car keys. She hadn't seen Tyson all day and she was eager to be with him. It might be silly if she thought about it too much, but she didn't care.

Libby hurried out to the Porsche and slid behind the wheel, smiling at the thought of how Tyson always grabbed the keys. He'd grown very fond of her Porsche and he definitely had a penchant for driving too fast. Each time he got behind the wheel, he pushed the speed just that little bit more. The next time, she resolved to take the car keys away from him until he could resist the temptation to speed.

She shifted as she came onto the narrow switchback climbing the mountain and as she did so, a shadow slid across the moon. At once her heart jumped and she glanced in her rearview mirror. A vehicle was pulling off the shoulder of the road. She hadn't seen it because the lights were off and it was parked beneath the massive shrubbery growing along the side of the mountain.

Again, her heart reacted, beginning to pound with real fear. The car paced along behind her at a safe distance, but for some reason she felt threatened. Apprehension didn't just creep over her, it hit her hard. Her mouth went dry and she felt panic welling up. Libby increased her speed. Her car was fast and built for taking the curves on the highway. And she knew the road. She'd grown up there. The Porsche should have easily outdistanced the other car, but when she looked in the rearview mirror, it was still maintaining the exact distance behind her.

Libby tried to tell herself her imagination was getting the better of her, but she couldn't convince herself. She debated trying a U-turn and making her way back to the Drake house, but she was only a couple of miles from the Chapman home and Tyson. She glanced in the mirror again and her heart leapt to her throat. The car was moving up on her fast. Too fast.

She fought down panic and forced her frozen body to perform. She had the better car. She wasn't the greatest driver in the world, but she should be able to outmaneuver the other driver until she reached Tyson's home.

"Don't freeze, don't panic," she chanted between chattering teeth as she dropped her hand to the gear shift and stepped on the gas.

The car behind her slid forward, running without lights, the bumper attempting to ram her, but just as it connected, sharply bumping her car, the Porsche sprang forward, pulling away. She felt the contact, her head snapping back, but because she was speeding away, he managed to barely tap her.

A sharp curve was coming up. Libby glanced in her mirror and a small moan of fear escaped. He was staying right with her. She was into the turn before she could blink, tires squealing, as the Porsche raced through the switchback at three times the speed she normally would have driven.

Her hands jerked on the wheel, sending her into the gravel on the shoulder of the road. She screamed as the Porsche went into a small slide heading right for the side of the mountain. Rocks spit into the air, hitting the sides and undercarriage of the car. Libby forced herself not to overcorrect, trusting the maneuverability as she eased the Porsche back onto the road. He was right behind her, nearly on top of her, the larger, heavier car gliding up like some avenging demon. He suddenly turned on his headlights, full blast, shooting them right into her eyes, blinding her.

"You're on a straight away," she reminded herself. "Hold the car steady." Even as the words escaped she was able to see again, and she pressed harder on the gas.

The Chapman house was very close, but it was set on a small knoll by the sea. The turn into the drive was sharp. She was coming up on it very fast. Too fast. She didn't dare miss it. She had no choice but to slow down and the larger car was right behind her. Gritting her teeth, Libby swung the wheel. The tires made a screaming sound and she felt the impact as the bigger car sideswiped the rear. The Porsche went into a spin, over the driveway and onto the lawn. Libby fought for control. Her Porsche hit Sam's truck, jolting her hard as it came to an abrupt stop.

Libby looked wildly around, but the larger car was gone, already down the highway. She sat for a moment, shaking so bad she was afraid her legs wouldn't hold her. Tears streaked her face and blurred her vision. With trembling hands she tried the door. Thankfully it opened and she staggered out.

Chapter Nineteen

LIBBY forced herself to breathe. She wiped off her tears and looked back at the road a second time, scanning anxiously up and down the highway. She couldn't even hear the engine of a car. Her heart thundered in her ears. There was no noise at all and she should have been able to hear the engine.

The absence of sound galvanized her into action. She ran to Tyson's front door, praying it was unlocked. Yanking it open, Libby stumbled inside, catching herself before she fell. The house was dark and seemed unoccupied. She slammed the door closed and snapped the lock in place before running to the kitchen. "Ty! Sam! Is anyone home? Ty! Where are you?" She was ashamed of the rising wail.

The door to the basement was open and a single light shone from the laboratory.

"Down here, baby," Ty called.

Fresh tears flooded her eyes and she ran down the stairs, banging the door closed behind her. Libby flung herself into Tyson's arms, nearly knocking him over.

Tyson held her trembling body close to him. "What is it?"

"Someone tried to run me off the road." Her voice was muffled, her face buried against his chest. She clutched his shirt with both hands. "I got your call to come here and started right out and he pulled out of the bushes behind my car…"

"Wait a minute, Libby. Slow down. I didn't call you. I thought you were going to meet me at the other house."

Libby stilled, turned her face up to his. "I got a message saying to meet you here. Something about Irene and Drew."

"I'm calling the sheriff right now," Tyson said. "If Harry's behind this, he has to be stopped." He gestured with a bottle of colorless liquid he had just pulled from the rubble toward the phone. "I brought the phone down in case you called me."