When You Dare (42 page)

“I’m taking Molly back to my home with me.”

“Where?” Bishop asked.

“Kentucky. A good four hours from here—well out of your reach.”

Bishop gave a slow nod of compliance. “She’ll be safe with you?”

“A hell of a lot safer than she ever was without me.”

“Then I suppose that’s for the best.”

After a timid glance at Bishop, Kathi interrupted. “What about your contracts, Molly? The movie negotiations, your agent, your editor…” She dampened dry lips. “You could stay with us, here. You’d be safe, and then you could finish conducting your business.”

Again Bishop looked at her as if she’d lost her mind.

“Not happening,” Dare said before Molly or her father could respond. “She goes where I go.”

“You could both stay, then.”

“No. I have dogs at home that need my attention.”

Bishop said, “Dogs?” while Kathi blinked at him in clear confusion.

“My girls,” Dare said, knowing how they probably felt about pets that were, in all the important ways, a part of his family. “I don’t like to leave them for long.”

“You jest,” Kathi said. “You’re putting
animals
above Molly’s safety?”

Molly put a hand on his arm. He understood, and let her handle it her way.

“Since most everything is done on computers, I can conduct my business dealings wherever I’m at. Dare’s home is a very calming place. I’ll be able to work on my deadline, and as soon as I let my agent and my editor know how to reach me, I’ll be able to catch up on the legal end of things. There’s no reason for Dare not to be with his dogs.”

Bishop was impatient. “Can’t they already contact you on your cell?”

“My phone, along with my purse, went missing after I was…taken.” She steadied herself. “Dare has agreed to stop long enough for me to pick up a new cell today. If you want, I can call and give you the number after I know it.”

Kathi nodded. “Your father and I would appreciate that, thank you.”

Personally, Dare didn’t give a shit what they’d appreciate. He saw no reason to give them the means to torment her further, but he’d leave that decision up to Molly.

“Time for us to go.” Dare put his arm around Molly and started from the room.

Before he got far, Bishop said, “Wait.”

Dare looked back at him. Indecision held Bishop in stony silence for several beats until his face pinched in reluctant decision. “I need a moment to speak with you. Alone.”

Dare didn’t trust him. “Molly stays with me.”

Kathi had already hooked an arm around her. “She’ll be fine with me. We’ll wait just outside the room.”

“No.”

Bishop chewed over alternatives, and settled on saying to Kathi, “Step out, leave the goddamned door open and stay in view.” And then to Dare, “Good enough?”

Not really, but Molly said to him, “I’ll be fine, Dare. I promise.”

Kathi rolled her eyes. “For heaven’s sake. She’s safe with her family.”

Yeah, right. From what he’d seen, her family was worse than a hated enemy.

Dare pointed at Molly. “Stay where I can see you.”

She smiled agreement.

Bishop moved to the farthest end of the room and waited for Dare to join him. Molly stepped out into the hall with Kathi. Dare heard her remark on a new painting and knew she was talking with Kathi to keep her stepmother from eavesdropping on whatever Bishop wanted to say to him.

So damn smart. And cunning. She put up with more shit than any woman ever should, and somehow, against all odds, she remained kind and open and honest. In and out of bed.

Dare accepted that he was fast falling in love with her. And little by little, the idea grew on him.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

M
OLLY WAITED FOR
Dare to tell her what her father had wanted.

He didn’t.

She knew he had his own way of doing things, a way proven effective. But it hurt her to be shut out, enough so that she didn’t want to have to ask. For the longest time, they rode in strained silence.

But Molly knew she had to direct him to her bank, so she was the first to speak. She kept it curt and to the point. Dare had to know that she was annoyed.

And still he didn’t volunteer the information.

At the bank, with Dare frowning at her, Molly deposited her checks, keeping a thousand dollars in cash. The bundle of money created a nice wad within a zippered compartment in her purse. While at the bank she also cancelled her two credit cards.

Next she directed Dare to the post office, where she found yet another pile of mail waiting for her in her post-office box.

“You don’t have all your mail delivered to your apartment?”

Molly shook her head as she flipped through a dozen or more envelopes. “Not from readers, no.” She glanced up at him. “It’s safer to keep my residence private. I’m sure the majority of readers are lovely people, but reactions to fictional work can be very subjective. Why take a chance?”

“Agreed.”

She paused over one letter in particular. There was no return address. She stuck it back into the pile for now. The post office wasn’t busy yet, so she was able to finish in a short time. Dare was quick to get her back out to his SUV, and all the while he looked around as if expecting someone to jump out at them.

His gaze went past the car dealership across the street—and then snapped back for a suspended moment before casually looking away again.

Trying to be discreet, Molly peeked up, hoping to see what Dare had seen. All she noticed was nice, shiny new automobiles and a few well-kept used cars.

They were still in the parking lot, so Molly asked, “Do we need to leave quickly?”

He looked at her curiously. “No, why?”

So he wasn’t going to tell her whatever he’d seen across the street, either? She rolled her eyes and handed him the letter.

“What is it?”

“From my most critical reader.”

Brows lifted, he opened the envelope and read the scrawling text with a judicious eye. “Interesting.”

“Repetitive,” she countered.

“You didn’t read it yet.”

Shrugging, she again looked across the street—and noticed a shadow in the front driver’s seat of a black car. “It’s always the same thing from that reader,” she said without really thinking. All her attention focused on that shadow.

Were they being followed? Was there any immediate danger involved?

Uneasiness raced up her spine.

“Let’s go.”

“Just a minute.” He turned over the envelope to check the front.

“There’s no return address.” There never was. And she really wanted to go.

Still Dare studied it. Without a word he folded the envelope, put it in his pocket and finally started the SUV.

Molly hooked her seat belt. Striving for some sense of normalcy, resenting the return intrusion of fear, she turned to Dare. “Is there a reason you’re keeping my mail?”

“There’s always a reason for the things I do.” He checked behind him, then backed out of the lot and steered into traffic. “Any other stops?”

Oh, she could play this game if that was what he wanted to do. “I wouldn’t mind stopping somewhere to buy a wallet. Maybe if we get the phone at a mall, I could find a wallet then.”

“No malls. But you’re a quick shopper, so I’m sure we can work it out.” He pulled out his cell and put in a call. While it rang, he said, “Let’s get into Kentucky first, though. I’ll feel better about it then.”

“That’s fine. As long as I get to call my editor and agent before it’s too late.” Molly didn’t know who he had on the phone, but she went silent when she knew the call had been answered.

“How are my girls?” Dare asked first.

Ah, so he’d called Chris. While she continually peeked out the side-view mirror, watching for that black car, she half listened to Dare. He caught up with Chris and told him that they’d be back before dark. It’d be a relief to settle into Dare’s home with him again. She felt calmer there, less expectant.

But Kathi was right; that could be a problem.

While Dare and her father had talked in the library, Kathi had used the time to whisper warnings to her, all in the name of stepmotherly concern. But she had made one very valid point.

As the one who had rescued her, Dare held responsibility for her continued well-being. But when would his sense of obligation end? As long as she remained in his home, would there ever come a point when he would be comfortable in ending their relationship? How, Kathi had asked, could Molly ever know Dare’s true feelings as long as he was saddled with the task of caring for her?

Molly glanced over at Dare and noticed him watching the rearview mirror. Her stomach knotted.

“No, I’ll take care of that once I’m home,” Dare said into the phone. He listened again for a few minutes and then said, “Thanks. Call Trace back for me. Ask him if he and Alani want to meet for dinner tonight. Yeah. Tell him anywhere along I-75, from Cincinnati down, would work. He can pick the place, but get back to me soon on what he has to say.” He nodded. “Appreciate it. Tell my girls I’ll be home soon.” Dare ended the call.

She couldn’t keep the frown at bay. He’d made dinner plans for them without conferring with her. She had no say in his decision.

And why should she? She reminded herself that she was a guest of Dare’s hospitality; of course he had to maintain a regular schedule, and he couldn’t do that by completely putting his life on hold for her.

Dare held out his phone to her. “If you want to make any calls right now, you can use my phone.”

She thought about it and decided she wanted to get it out of the way. “Thanks.” Right now, any routine normalcy, like talking business, would be welcome.

She called her agent first. As it worked out, once she’d explained to her that she’d been “caught in circumstances beyond my control, which left me incapable of calling,” her agent was very understanding and offered to get hold of the editor for her. She also had several things she needed to fax to Molly for immediate signatures.

Molly checked with Dare, got his fax number and shared it with her agent. Using the excuse of being under the gun on time, Molly promised to talk more when she could, and she told her agent that she’d explain in more detail when she was able.

After she handed the phone back to Dare, he asked, “Everything okay?”

Molly nodded. In the beginning, she’d been so excited about the movie, so flattered and so proud. Now, it seemed almost insignificant in the scheme of things. Her priorities had shifted in a big way.

“She was far more understanding than I thought she’d be.”

“No big questions?”

“No, thank God. She just said that she hopes I’m okay and to let her know if she can do anything.”

Dare grinned. “You’re making her a lot of money.”

Molly shrugged. “Sure. But she’s also a very nice, warm woman with loads of good business sense.”

While she had Dare talking, Molly decided to venture into her concerns. “Will Natalie truly be all right?”

“I don’t think anyone wants to bother her, but even if they did, Jett’s going to keep an eye on her. He won’t leave her alone, except for when she’s at school.” He put a warm hand on her thigh. “Try not to worry, okay?”

Resting her head back against the seat, Molly wondered how she could
not
worry. Especially when she again saw Dare look in the rearview mirror.

Still with a hand on her thigh, Dare asked, “What are you thinking?”

It wasn’t like her to play games, so she gave him an honest answer. “I was going over conversational pieces.”

“Like?”

“Mark Sagan in, and out of, a suit.” She swiveled her head to look at Dare. “It was strange how my stepmother said that, don’t you think? Almost as if she knows him more intimately than we first thought.”

Dare chewed his upper lip, glanced at her, then back to the road. “You picked up on that, huh?”

He had to be kidding. “Didn’t you?”

“Yeah.” He shifted in his seat, put both hands on the steering wheel. “Yeah, I did.”

“Dare?”

His mouth flattened.

“Oh, for crying out loud.” She’d had enough of his macho posturing. “I’m not that fragile, you know. I won’t break.”

“You’ve been through a hell of a lot. That business with your father and his nutty wife…” He shook his head. “Damn, Molly, that was painful for me to watch. I can only imagine how it is for you to live it.”

He’d been distracted in his concern for her? Okay, she could forgive that—as long as it ended right now. “That’s the one good thing to come out of all this. I realize now that I have very real endurance. If what happened to me had happened to someone else I know, I’d expect her to be falling apart. And I’d understand if she did. But…” She shook her head. “I really am going to be okay. I know it, and I can’t tell you what that feels like, but it’s…good.”

“It’s empowering.” Voice low, expression intimate, Dare said, “Your strength is undeniable.”

Such a smooth talker. Somehow Dare made a comment on her fortitude sound like a very sexy compliment. “Then we agree that I’m not the type to crumple into an emotional mess. So, out with it.” She half turned to face him, as far as the seat belt would allow. “Does your silence have to do with that car following us?”

Surprise flashed in his gaze before he masked it.

Molly rolled her eyes. “I’m not a complete dummy, either.”

“I’m aware of your many qualities, honey, you don’t have to keep reminding me.” He checked the rearview mirror again. “I would say that car likely means that we’re on the right track.”

“You think Dad sent people to follow us?”

Dare hedged. “I’m still mulling things over.”

Narrowing her eyes, Molly said, “Mull them over out loud. It’ll help bring clarity.”

His gaze clashed with hers for a heartbeat, and then he looked away with a grin. “You really are getting back to normal, aren’t you?”

Her neck went stiff. “Meaning what?”

Now the grin turned into a laugh. “Nothing insulting, I swear. You were just so damned polite and reserved at first, it made me nuts.” He glanced at her again, all over her. “I like this new…” He thought about it, then shrugged. “Confidence. But more than that, really. You’re self-assured, poised, assertive.” He held out his hand, and when she took it, he lifted her palm for a kiss. “I’m glad that you’re getting back some of your own.”