doubt hoping to disprove Dare’s claim, Kathi shook her head. “That’s not true. Mark doesn’t always wear a suit. Sometimes he plays tennis, and he swims—”
In wide-eyed incredulity, Bishop swung around to stare at Kathi. “Shut up.”
Breathing hard, Kathi frowned at him.
“I mean it.” He looked at her as if she had two heads, as if he’d never really seen her before. Finally he turned back to Dare. “Enough of this nonsense. I know nothing about what you’re saying. I wouldn’t even know how to get such a thing done.”
“Bullshit. With Sagan’s muscle and Warwick’s contacts in Mexico, you have everything you need.”
Bishop didn’t blink. “I would never risk the scandal of having my daughter kidnapped to some godforsaken place.”
“No.” Kathi put her hands on Bishop’s shoulders. “He wouldn’t. He doesn’t even approve of her writing.”
“I heard. And I figured that might be the motive.” Dare stared at Bishop. “With the movie deal in the works, her name is really going to be out there. Folks will be making the connection, and soon you’ll be known less for your own accomplishments and more as Molly Alexander’s father.”
Bishop narrowed his gaze on Molly. “It’s absurd, all of it. You, at least, have to realize that.”
Trembling, Kathi curled her lips in an unbecoming smile. “Speaking of your work, Molly, I presume you haven’t had much opportunity for writing lately, have you?”
Molly sent a tight smile right back at her. “Actually, I’ve written quite a bit. Dare has a computer that he lets me use. At present, I’m only a little behind schedule.”
Dumbfounded, Kathi lost her smile. “After your … ordeal, you still took time to write?”
Molly shrugged. “Writing has always been my entertainment, and my escape.” She gave her father a defiant look. “It’s always been my way of coping with the uglier things in life.”
With a critical sneer, Kathi looked her over. “Then you obviously weren’t hurt all that badly, were you?”
“Bad enough,” Molly told her, and she never faltered from holding Kathi’s gaze. “But I wasn’t about to let those creeps, or anyone else, ruin me.” She sniffed, and said as if it made perfect sense, “I do have a deadline, you know.”
Dare wanted to intercede, but it seemed important to let this little exchange play out, so he kept silent. He had a feeling that before now, Molly had never really told her father or stepmother how she felt about their mistreatment of her.
Fidgeting with the sleeve of her sweater, Kathi asked, “What about your … controversy?”
“What controversy do you mean?”
Dare gave Molly points for pricking Kathi’s already crumbling façade. The older woman barely held herself together. She looked like she wanted to sob, or perhaps fly at Molly for bodily harm—all in defense of her asshole husband.
Interesting.
Dare stayed alert. The verbal abuse was difficult enough. No way in hell would he let either of these monsters lay a finger on Molly.
Before anything more could be said, Kathi noticed Bishop giving her the oddest look, and she drew in a long, deep breath. “Forgive me. Bishop prefers that I not speak of her books in his presence. In the middle of all the turmoil, I forgot myself.”
Bishop worked his jaw. “Exactly. This is hardly the time for chatting about her outrageous career choice.” In clear recrimination, he watched Kathi a moment longer before turning back to Dare. “I say again, I would never get involved in such a thing.”
“Stick with that story if you want. My goal now is to keep Molly and Natalie safe, whatever it takes.”
Kathi made a rude sound. “Why ever would Natalie be in any danger?”
“Why wouldn’t she be?”
Kathi waved a hand at Molly. “You said whoever took her wanted Molly.”
“No, I didn’t.” Softly, Dare told her, “We don’t yet know why she was taken. If it wasn’t Bishop, then the threat could be to any or all of you. But I promise I’m going to get to the bottom of it, no matter what it takes.”
“Fine.” She dismissed his warning as unimportant. “As long as you accept that Bishop wasn’t involved.”
She wanted verification that her husband was in the clear. She wouldn’t get it from Dare.
Molly stayed rigid beside him; for her sake, he needed to end this and soon. “I think my next course of action is to go to the law. This wasn’t done by one person. Whoever arranged it had help. Once the story breaks, someone will talk.” He leveled a look on Bishop. “Someone always does. And then we’ll know the truth.”
Putting his head in his hands, Bishop whispered, “I’ll be ridiculed, ruined …”
“A little useless gossip is all you care about, right?” Dare tugged Molly into his side. She was too silent, and it worried him. But when he looked at her, she appeared more thoughtful than hurt. “The fact that Molly was taken doesn’t even factor in?”
Sighing, Bishop lifted his head and looked up at his daughter. A flicker of genuine emotion showed. “I can still see the bruising,” he said quietly. And then, “You’ll be okay?”
“Yes.” Molly positioned her chin as she always did when on the defensive. “Thanks to Dare, I’m fine now.”
“She was damn near dead when I found her,” Dare said. “Drugged. Tortured. Dehydrated and starved.”
Molly gave him a sideways glance at how he played up her mistreatment. She had been tortured, but probably not in the way her father and Kathi now assumed.
“Molested?” Kathi asked.
Molly shook her head. “Don’t sound so broken up over it, Kathi. They spared me that humiliation.”
Her sarcasm was wasted. “Well, I would assume … that is, if you were truly treated so badly, why would they not have raped you?”
“Goddamn it, Kathi! Shut up.”
Startled by Bishop’s rebuke, she was quick to say, “I’m glad you weren’t subjected to that.”
Sitting back in his seat, Bishop ran both hands through his hair. He took a steadying breath, and locked gazes with Molly. “You might not believe me, but I’m truly sorry for what you’ve suffered, and you need to know that I had nothing to do with it.”
Molly said nothing.
“If you go public, no one will believe that you weren’t used sexually. You realize that, I’m sure.” Bishop shook his head. “Your life will be under a microscope, Molly. Not only will you damage me, but your sister’s livelihood as a teacher could be at stake, and you’ll ruin yourself, as well.”
“Natalie
