When You Dare - Lori Foster [137]
She subsided.
Coming around the desk to face Molly, Bishop studied her. “I’ve always credited you with being a smart girl.”
She gave him a yeah, right look.
“No, I don’t approve of what you write, but you’ve made it a profitable enterprise. You knew what you wanted, and you stuck to it, worked at it, and you’ve gained your own success. Unlike many young people—”
“Dad, I’m thirty years old. Not a child.”
His expression softened in sadness. “To someone pushing sixty, thirty is still young, believe me. My point is that you’ve avoided the pitfalls of drugs, alcohol or lack of initiative. I think you could have done more, something truly worthwhile with your talent—”
“Entertaining others is worthwhile,” she insisted. “Not everything in life has to be a lesson.”
Bishop let out a long-suffering sigh. “Debating it now is futile. What I’m attempting to say is that I want you to think long and hard about this. Don’t make yourself a matter of public gossip just to hurt me.”
Indulgent, more understanding than Dare could believe, Molly huffed a small breath. “Oh, Dad, don’t you see? Not everything is about you. This happened to me, and I need to know who wanted me hurt, and why.”
Bishop didn’t touch her, not to embrace her in comfort, not to exert his paternal will and not to vent his anger. To Dare, the two feet between them felt like miles.
He was willing to bet it felt even wider to Molly, a chasm that would never be bridged. Even as a child, she’d learned to live with that emotional distance.
Bishop nodded his acceptance of her decision and looked at Dare. “When do you plan to go public?”
“Soon.” Remaining noncommittal, Dare scooped up the photos of Mark Sagan and Ed Warwick and tapped them against his thigh. “First I think I’ll get in touch with your buddies, maybe squeeze them a little.”
“Your many connections, I suppose?”
“I have ways of getting to the truth, yes. Both men have a jaded history that they’ll want to protect. If you’re a party to this, they’ll eventually let something slip. You know that, right?”
Bishop gestured in resignation. “Do your worst. There’s nothing they can tell you about me, because I have never engaged in kidnapping, and I never would.”
For once, Kathi held silent. She kept her gaze on her hands, and Dare almost felt sorry for her. Almost.
“I’m taking Molly back to my home with me.”
“Where?” Bishop asked.
“Kentucky. A good four hours from here—well out of your reach.”
Bishop gave a slow nod of compliance. “She’ll be safe with you?”
“A hell of a lot safer than she ever was without me.”
“Then I suppose that’s for the best.”
After a timid glance at Bishop, Kathi interrupted. “What about your contracts, Molly? The movie negotiations, your agent, your editor…” She dampened dry lips. “You could stay with us, here. You’d be safe, and then you could finish conducting your business.”
Again Bishop looked at her as if she’d lost her mind.
“Not happening,” Dare said before Molly or her father could respond. “She goes where I go.”
“You could both stay, then.”
“No. I have dogs at home that need my attention.”
Bishop said, “Dogs?” while Kathi blinked at him in clear confusion.
“My girls,” Dare said, knowing how they probably felt about pets that were, in all the important ways, a part of his family. “I don’t like to leave them for long.”
“You jest,” Kathi said. “You’re putting animals above Molly’s safety?”
Molly put a hand on his arm. He understood, and let her handle it her way.
“Since most everything is done on computers, I can conduct my business dealings wherever I’m at. Dare’s home is a very calming place. I’ll be able to work on my deadline, and as soon as I let my agent and my editor know how to reach me, I’ll be able to catch up on the legal end of things. There’s no reason for Dare not to be with his dogs.”
Bishop was impatient. “Can’t they already contact you on your cell?”
“My phone, along with my purse, went missing after I was…taken.” She steadied herself. “Dare has agreed