When You Dare - Lori Foster [156]
The look he gave her said liar. And that hurt.
Defensive, Molly shrugged. “Okay, you did. Just a little. But not like…not like I was afraid for me. I would never, ever fear you that way.”
“Then how?”
“You were like a…a machine.” She put both hands to his face, holding him, wanting him to know the truth. “You somehow took the love you have for Chris, and you turned it on those men. Not in an emotional way, but it was so…cold.”
“Methodical,” he corrected.
“Yes.” She licked dry lips. “That you could…refocus like that, that’s what scared me.”
“It’s necessary for the job I do.”
But that type of power meant he could shut out anyone and anything. How could he ever really care for a woman if he could so easily turn his emotions on and off?
Scowling, he said, “If I hadn’t—”
She nodded. “I know.” She even managed an uncertain smile as reassurance that she did understand. “I’m so very glad that you’re okay.”
Disregarding the injury to his arm, he reached for her, hugging her so tightly that it took her breath.
“Dare?”
In a flat tone, he told her, “It’s over.”
She froze.
“It was your stepmother, honey. All of it. Some twisted, sick idea of protecting Bishop from your growing popularity.”
“Kathi?” She shouldn’t have been surprised, but… A strange relief overtook her. “So it wasn’t Dad?”
Dare smoothed back her hair, cupped her jaw. “George’s cell phone rang a little bit ago. It was Bishop. He got a full confession from Kathi.”
Her thoughts went blank. “Dad called?”
“Yeah. He said that the cops are at his house right now.” Dare rubbed her shoulder. “He wanted to warn you, honey, and calling George’s phone was the only way he knew to maybe reach us.”
Molly struggled to assimilate all that. “You don’t look surprised.”
“No.”
And then she remembered. “I heard what you said to George. You knew it was Kathi, didn’t you?”
“After talking with them, I thought she was probably involved. Bishop apparently thought so, too. That’s why he said he wanted to check into things.”
Dare explained to her about the postmark, the way Kathi spoke so familiarly of Mark Sagan, and how protective she was of Bishop.
“What I didn’t know, George gladly filled in.”
“Gladly, huh?”
He shrugged. “I’m sorry, Molly. Kathi wanted to make you understand her idea of morality, that you protect what you have, or you lose it. No room for mistakes, no room for human error.”
Thinking aloud, she whispered, “The character that I redeemed…”
“In Kathi’s mind, there is no redemption. There’s only the perfect appearance.” His thumb brushed the corner of her mouth. “I guess she figured if you were going to find fame, it had to be with her moral code, with characters she approved of.”
“I wonder if she ever really enjoyed my work, or if she just read it to keep tabs on me.” It made sense, because the minute her popularity really bloomed, Kathi took action against her.
Dare bent to put a soft kiss on her lips. “According to George, she never intended to kill you. She just wanted to throw off the movie deal. Once the opportunity was lost, she was going to have you released.”
A rush of anger shot through Molly. “I might not have survived that long!”
As if that thought hurt him, Dare briefly closed his eyes.
Refusing to dwell on her stepmother’s deviousness, Molly let her thoughts skip ahead to other details. “She and George…?”
“They were having an affair. But George wasn’t the only one. Kathi was sleeping with Sagan, too.”
“So you were right about that.” It amazed Molly, how much Dare had figured out, how he’d put the puzzle pieces together.
“That’s how Kathi arranged everything. When George found out, he had this sick need to prove himself to her.”
Not being a dummy, Molly guessed, “By killing Sagan?”
“His death would take care of any evidence against Kathi, and remove Sagan as a threat to her or to Bishop. But George was in way over his head. If I hadn’t busted him now…”
“Sagan would have had him murdered.”
“That’s about it.” Footsteps sounded in the hallway, and Dare stood, bringing Molly up with him.
“Kathi never would have left Dad for a hired