Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 94512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
“Or what?” Brian puffed up his shoulders with a sneering sense of bravado.
Dare glared at the man, giving him more time to sweat, which he was already doing. Profusely.
“Brian, go,” Liza pleaded.
“Like I said, or what?” The pigheaded man glared at Dare, not bothering to look at his sister.
At the station, when Dare was on duty, it was his job to deal with the trouble Brian McKnight caused and do it in a professional way. Nothing he was feeling now was remotely professional.
And Dare wasn’t on duty.
Still, he braced his hand on Liza’s back in an attempt to reassure her. “Or you’ll be looking at more trouble than you can handle,” he promised Brian.
The other man raised his hand as if ready to fight.
Dare shook his head at his stupidity. “It’s one thing to hit a defenseless woman, McKnight. It’s another to come after me.”
Brian’s eyes opened wide, and regret flashed across his face. “Liza knows it was an accident.”
Dare raised an eyebrow.
Liza said nothing.
“Liza Lou, I just need to borrow some money,” he said in a little-boy voice. “Then I’ll go.”
Dare frowned, disgusted at the man’s gall.
“You just got paid on Friday,” Liza said, sounding stunned.
“I can’t explain it now.” He shot another glare at Dare. “But I need your help.”
Dare knew he was getting a firsthand look at the brother-sister dynamic, and he didn’t know how Liza handled the man.
Brian took a step toward his sister.
Dare blocked his way.
“Please, Liza?” Brian all but whined.
“Fine,” Liza said, stunning Dare as she turned and hurried back inside.
She returned a second later, giving him no time alone with her brother.
She had her wallet in hand, and Dare’s eyes opened wide.
“Liza, come on. You know this isn’t a solution.”
She didn’t meet his gaze but instead fumbled with the wallet and pulled out all the bills inside. “Here,” she said, thrusting out her hand. “Take it. It’s all I’ve got on me. Now will you go?” she asked, her voice shaking.
Disappointment rippled through Dare at the exchange.
“I need to talk to you later, though,” Brian said.
Not a thank-you came from his mouth.
Liza remained silent.
Brian shot a smug and triumphant grin at Dare before heading for his car—a BMW 7 Series no less—and drove away.
Dare blew out a breath, unsure of what to think or say. He wanted to comfort Liza, but she’d just done the unthinkable, and inside he was torn.
Dare hated her brother with a passion born of years of regret, self-blame, and disgust. Brian’s behavior in the time since they were kids hadn’t allowed for Dare’s attitude to soften. Not even now.
Not even for Liza.
The realization knocked the breath out of him and forced him to take a long look inward. When he’d gotten involved with Liza, he’d pushed her relationship with her brother to the back of his mind, to a place where he could pretend they weren’t related and the past didn’t exist. Even after McKnight had coldcocked his own sister, Dare had merely stepped in to help the woman he wanted, blocking out the reality that just hit him square in the face.
With Liza came this son of a bitch. And Dare didn’t know if he had it in him to accept it.
Now or ever.
They headed back inside the house in silence. Dare couldn’t bring himself to speak, and even if he could, he didn’t know what to say. Last night had been incredible—the best sex of his life with a woman he’d wanted to know better. Today, he couldn’t see past the chasm between them.
He headed upstairs to get his shirt, and when he returned, Liza had finished cleaning up the breakfast she hadn’t eaten. She remained silent, and he felt the hurt coming off her in waves. He knew he should say something to break the awful tension.
“All you did was enable him, you know.” Dare winced at the words that unwittingly spilled from his mouth. Not the best choice at the moment, but at least it was the truth.
She flinched. “It’s easy to judge something you can’t possibly understand.” She gathered her bag and her briefcase, and together, they walked out to their cars.
His Ford SUV was parked beside her white convertible. Nice but not something he could see her being too willing to repeat. Everything inside him rebelled at the thought of driving away and not seeing what else they could share, but the sight of her handing cash to her drunk alcoholic brother turned his stomach and brought up the past in vivid color.
The party. Brian throwing the punch at Stuart Rossman. His yell to either help clean up the mess before the cops came or to get the hell out, stepping around the injured kid as he went into panic mode. And Dare himself following his friends as they ran for the door.