grabbed Carter by the shirt, pulling him close. “What’s the radar?”
Carter leaned forward, whispering. “Mom and Dad have the most prestigious medical practices here to woo you. I think a couple of rich bachelors were added to the pot.”
Rolling her eyes, Leigh mouthed a thank-you as she allowed her mother to drag her toward the waiting crowd. “Mom, where’s Haley?”
Haley cringed as she heard Jack singing in the bathroom. She would have to talk to him about that one day. On the other hand, it didn’t matter. She didn’t plan on keeping him around much longer.
Rolling over on the bed to retrieve her watch, she noticed his wedding ring placed right next to it. She thought of his wife and their kids and wondered for a second if it was weird that she felt no guilt. Haley never felt guilt, but she would fake it sometimes to get sympathy, something she wanted or just to keep everyone from thinking she wasn’t human. Leigh had always told her there was something wrong with her because she felt no remorse, but Leigh was weak and…
“Jesus!” Hopping out of bed, Haley yelled to Jack while she jumped into her clothes wondering how she’d managed to let the time get away with her again and again. Jack wasn’t that good.
Jack rushed in with nothing but a towel around his waist. “What is it?”
“I was supposed to be home hours ago! My sister is…Mom is gonna kill me.” Standing there, he suddenly looked like a fool to her. “Will you hurry up? Let’s go.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll be back on land in twenty minutes.”
“Well, do it!” After he was gone, Haley stopped a moment to calm down and think of what lie she could come up with to get out of this one. It wasn’t going to be easy. Leigh was the angel and upsetting her brought on Daddy’s wrath. She would have to use her mother against him. But what was the excuse going to be?
Stepping out onto the deck, Haley tried to think of an excuse that could make her forget an event she promised to be at. Chase family events were priority number one. It pissed her off, the whole family thing. It was so fake, but her mother held on to it like it meant everything. Jack wasn’t worth this, she told herself. She saw a challenge, an adventure, and went for it, no care for the consequences. She heard Leigh’s “I told you so” ringing in her ears and part of her didn’t want to show up at all. That would be something, wouldn’t it? She loved her sister and missed her, but she loved stealing the spotlight even more.
She calmed down, taking a seat and a deep breath. Off in the distance, she noticed a boat that seemed to be still. Reaching under the seat to grab the binoculars, Haley watched with interest as she saw the two men arguing. Then, without warning, one man pulled out a gun and shot the other, just as he seemed to be reaching for his own gun. Haley screamed something incoherently, blinking several times as if she thought she was imagining things. She wasn’t. The man who was shot was now lying on the deck and the other man poured more bullets into him.
Just as the boat roared to life, Haley watched in terror as the loud engine caught the attention of the killer. It felt almost like slow motion to her as she watched him point to the boat and yell something to someone she couldn’t see. Then another man emerged from inside with a gun almost as large as he was. When Haley saw him point the gun toward Jack’s boat, she threw the binoculars in his direction as if it would do anything.
She jumped out of the seat, hitting the floor as the boat’s movement jerked her around. They were moving, that was all that mattered, and she didn’t have the nerve to turn around and see if anyone was coming after them.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Her mother’s cultured tone sent dread through Leigh who slowly turned around. She had thought she could escape just for a second alone, but there was no escaping this woman.
“Leigh, this party is for you.”
“Mom, I’ve been flying for almost twenty-four hours straight.”
“You’re twenty-six. Stop acting like an old lady.”
“I wish you had consulted with me before planning this big party.”
Janet wasn’t sure how to handle this side of her daughter. She seemed unappreciative, more like Haley. “You don’t consult with someone when you’re doing them a favor.”
Leigh knew she was defeated. After the flight, she didn’t have the strength to fight her mother this soon in the game. With her mother’s hand firmly leading her, Leigh’s expression pleaded with Carter for help as they passed, but all Carter offered was a sympathetic shrug. He was much more interested in the sexy young woman who was showering him with attention. Leigh knew it would be a long night.
As the woman’s mouth moved, Carter didn’t hear a word she said. He was trying desperately to remember what her name was. She was hot and new to Los Angeles. She’d come as someone else’s date, but Carter had an idea she was going to leave with him.
Michael was a charmer, but only selectively. If he didn’t think you mattered, he was ruder than anyone Carter had ever known, which was why he didn’t take too well when Michael joined him and all but ordered the woman with no name to go away. Carter didn’t push it. He and Michael agreed they would never let a woman come between them. He certainly wasn’t going to sweat one whose name he couldn’t even remember.
“What do you want, Michael?”
Michael leaned in. “To know what you’re gonna do about Avery Jackson.”
Carter pushed him away with his shoulder. “I just found out about this. I haven’t come up with anything yet.”
“I have.” Michael’s face creased into a sudden smile. He loved these moments when he had the upper hand. Whenever their father was involved, he had the upper hand. Carter was the big brother, always making the right choice, so unassumingly confident. But he lacked the tenacious edge that Michael had and Michael relished the moments when that came in handy. When Carter’s honest character put him a step behind. “What are you gonna tell Dad?”
“Dad doesn’t expect me to—”
“Carter.”
Carter turned to his father who seemed to come out of nowhere. He had a way of doing that and always with a face that let you know he’d been thinking about you and not in a good way. The man was overbearing, seeming twenty feet tall, and it killed Carter that he always felt like he was on a hot plate in his presence.
“What have you decided about Avery Jackson?” Steven asked.
Carter glared at Michael who didn’t bother to hold back an icy grin. “I’ll figure out something. I haven’t even read the file.”
“It’s gonna be harder than you think.” Michael knew he was wicked, but he wanted Carter to succeed for two reasons. He loved his brother and he had come to hate Avery Jackson. “There’s something seriously wrong with that woman.”
“What are you planning for Performance, Michael?” Carter asked, hoping to deflect the attention from himself.
“You don’t want to know.” Michael turned to his father. “But I do have something planned, unlike Carter here.”
Steven
