Hot on Her Heels by Susan Mallery Page A

Talk about changing the rules. She wondered how he would react to the news that the sisters now considered him one of the good guys.
    She pulled into her covered parking space, then walked to her apartment. As she approached the door, she saw someone standing there. He moved into the light. It was Garth, and for reasons she couldn’t explain, she was almost not surprised.
    â€œYou spoke to them?” he asked.
    â€œYes. I was just there.”
    â€œAre they all right?”
    She unlocked the door and stepped inside. He followed her.
    â€œBe careful,” she told him. “Someone could interpret that to mean you care what happens to them.”
    â€œMaybe I do.”
    He wore a suit—no surprise there. As they stood in her small living room, he shrugged out of the jacket and draped it over the club chair she’d bought on sale at a furniture liquidator with a storefront by the freeway. Her sofa had seen better days and the entire square footage of her apartment could probably fit into Garth’s penthouse bathroom.
    The small space made her want to back away from him, but there was nowhere to go. Besides, she didn’t back away from a challenge. She faced it head-on.
    She motioned to the sofa. After he’d taken a seat, she slid out of her leather coat, then hung it on a chair in the dinette. She took the club chair because she didn’t want to sit next to him. Caution, she reminded herself.
    â€œYou’re actually interested in the welfare of your sisters?” she asked. “The same women you have been going after for months? Color me surprised.”
    His dark gaze settled on her face. “You don’t believe me?”
    â€œI’m not sure. Why the change?”
    He stood and crossed to the window that looked out on the courtyard. “I didn’t like what I saw earlier today. Them. When they found out about Jed it was like…” He cleared his throat. “I didn’t like it.”
    It was like they were broken. At least that would be her interpretation of what had happened. She knewthat Garth had a heart—she just wasn’t sure she believed it was so easily touched.
    â€œWhat about Jed?” she asked.
    He turned back to her. “He’s finished. I’ll make sure of that.”
    â€œSo you end up with three loving sisters and you still get to face your paternal demons. A win-win for you.”
    He shoved his hands into his pockets and walked toward her. “The situation is a little more complicated than that, but you have the basics right.”
    She stood so she wasn’t looking up at him. “They want me to help you bring down Jed. It’s a two-pronged attack. Your financial assault, along with a campaign to make sure he goes to jail for all he’s done.”
    â€œI don’t have a problem with that.”
    Jed going to jail or them working together? She decided to assume he meant both.
    â€œThere have to be some ground rules,” she told him.
    He smiled. “Of course. You like rules.”
    Was it her, or had he just moved closer? She’d always really liked her apartment, but right now it seemed tiny. They needed more space, or at least she did.
    She cleared her throat. “Nothing illegal. We’ll find what we find through legal channels. If we’re building a case to send Jed to jail then it has to stand up in court.”
    â€œAgreed.”
    She looked at him. “I thought you’d want to keep up your little covert operations.”
    â€œI wasn’t looking to play spy. My way is faster, but you’re right. If we want to be able to use it against Jed in court then we’ll do everything legally.”
    â€œOkay. The sisters are off-limits.”
    â€œI’ve already said I’m not going after them.”
    â€œI’m just checking. You haven’t exactly been brother of the year through all this.”
    He nodded. “I give you my word that I will do nothing