Hot on Her Heels Read Online Free Page B

persuasive.”
    â€œIzzy wants you to join the family,” Skye said.
    â€œBy Christmas,” Izzy added.
    He remembered her saying something like that before. “Thanks, but no.”
    â€œYou don’t get a choice.”
    â€œPart of saving me against my will?”
    â€œUh-huh. Come on, Garth. We’re your sisters. Didn’t you ever wish you had someone to braid your hair?”
    â€œI’ll pass.”
    â€œIgnore him,” Izzy told her sister. “He’ll come around.”
    â€œAnd if he doesn’t want to come around?” Skye asked. “This is not a well-thought-out plan.”
    â€œWhen has that stopped me before?”
    Garth couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so uncomfortable in the presence of two women. Just as strange, he couldn’t define the cause of his unease.
    He forced himself to walk closer and take a seat.
    Skye turned to him. “While Izzy can be wild and impetuous, she’s actually a fairly good judge of character. She says you’re worth it.”
    â€œI’m not,” he told her, knowing that the further the conversation went, the harder it would be to ruthlessly take over the Titan world.
    Skye studied him, staring intently, as if she tried hard enough, she could read his mind.
    â€œI understand why you went after Jed,” she said after a few seconds. “What he did was horrific. I’m ashamed of his behavior and I apologize on his behalf. Not that my apology has any validity.”
    â€œNone at all,” he said easily.
    â€œFair enough. But why us? What did we do to deserve your contempt?”
    He didn’t like the word contempt. It implied emotion, not rationality. “You were easy targets,” he said. “If I hurt you, I hurt Jed.”
    â€œBy now you must be aware that Jed doesn’t give a damn about any of us. He’s not much of a father.”
    She said the words easily, but he heard the tight pain in her voice. She might have accepted the truth about her father, but it still had the power to wound.
    Garth shrugged. “If it distracts him, that’s enough for me.”
    â€œNo, it’s not,” Izzy said. “Come on. You didn’t mean for it to get this messy. That’s not your style.”
    Her assessment annoyed him—probably because it was true. “You don’t know my style.”
    â€œI can guess. You want a clean victory,” Izzy told him. “When you started this, you thought we were one happy family. Cut one and we all bleed. You thought you could weaken Jed by going after those he loved most. Which was quite the miscalculation, big brother. Feeling a little foolish now, are we?”
    â€œNo.” Foolish didn’t exactly explain what emotions he’d experienced.
    The ruthless side of him said that he should tell them the truth. That their father had come to him, offering him the chance to run Titan World on the condition that all three of Jed’s daughters never get a penny.
    But he didn’t say the words. There was no reason to hurt them further. Jed would do that well enough without any help.
    â€œWe’re not your enemy,” Skye said. “We don’t want anything from you.” She glanced at Izzy, who was shaking her head, then sighed. “Izzy wants you to be part of the family, but that’s different. We’re not after power or money. We just want to live our lives in peace. Is it that you can’t believe that, or you’re in too deep to back off now?”
    Before he could answer, Izzy moved from her sofa to his and sat next to him. She angled toward him and touched his arm.
    â€œWe’re sorry about your mom. I don’t understand how Jed could be so callous and cruel—which I guess are the same thing. Or maybe I do understand and it scares me. He’s my father, too. Why does he have to be so bad?”
    Garth didn’t want to think about his mother or what