Eyeing her rigid stance, he said carefully, “It wasn’t all a pretense.”
“No? Well, some day you’ll have to tell me which parts came close to the truth. Right now, I’m just not interested. I’d like you to leave.”
He swallowed hard, still watching her. “No.”
“I need to get dressed!” The panic was real, making her voice too loud, too high. She needed to be alone. Already her hands were shaking and her legs were following suit.
“Charlie.” Despite her warnings, he started toward her. She shook her head, but he looked more determined now than ever. “We have to talk about this.”
“About how you used me? How you played along so Dalton wouldn’t be disappointed?” His hands reached for her and her temper snapped. Without really thinking it through, she slapped him. Hard. The loud crack of her palm striking his handsome face sounded obscene. For an instant, they both froze. Then she covered her mouth, appalled.
Harry fingered his cheek, his brows up in surprise. “I didn’t see that coming. Knowing you as I do, I was watching for a fist, or maybe a kick. Not a feminine slap.”
“Don’t you dare tease me now.”
“I’m sorry. But Charlie, there’s more I have to tell you.”
“Oh?” Her stomach clenched, but she forced herself to be flippant. “Did you maybe just fake what we did in bed?”
Incredulous, he stared at her a moment, then laughed. “Honey, men can’t fake a thing like that.”
Her teeth ground together. “You know what I mean. And don’t call me honey.”
He hesitated for the briefest moment. “No, I didn’t fake it.” His gaze softened, turned intimate, and he whispered, “I love you.”
Her chest hurt so much she gasped. She felt raw and exposed, and she almost hated him. Almost. “Did Dalton tell you to say that? To do whatever was necessary to appease me?”
“No.”
In a burst of temper, she snapped, “Will you at least put some damn clothes on!”
His expression didn’t change. “Dalton had a heart attack the day you sent the letter.” He caught her before she dropped to the floor, then led her to the bed. He spoke quickly now, rushing his words together. “I was so worried about him, it’s part of the reason I let him talk me into this harebrained plan, because I didn’t want to see him disappointed again. You’ve been so hurt, I couldn’t guess how you might react to the truth, if you’d even give Dalton a chance. And if you didn’t, with his health in danger—”
She was back off the bed in a flash, no longer worried about her sheet or keeping her body covered. She jerked on her jeans and pulled the T-shirt over her head, then stepped into a pair of sneakers.
“Charlie—”
She rounded on him. “You bastard!” Stepping close so she could shake a fist in his face, she yelled, “My father could have died, and you didn’t tell me?”
He caught and held her fists. “He’s fine now, Charlie. He only needs to be more cautious.”
She shoved him away then turned for the door. Harry grabbed her shoulder. “Where are you going?”
“To see him. I want you out of my place.” She picked up a key off the dresser and flung it at him. “Let yourself out.”
“Wait!” He started rushing into his own clothes. “I’ll go with you.”
“Ha!”
“It’s not safe, Charlie! Damn it, you don’t know what’s going on!”
But she was already hurrying down the hall. Harry tried to follow after her, and she barely slipped through the door in time. She heard his fist hit it with incredible force, and he yelled her name again. She ignored him. She knew by the time he got the key and unlocked the door, she’d be gone. And if she never saw him again, it was only what she deserved.
* * *
CHARLIE CHECKED first at Maria’s, the restaurant where they’d planned to eat, but Dalton and her sister weren’t there. She assumed they had gone on to Dalton’s jewelry store, so she headed in that direction. At the moment, she had no idea what she planned to say to her father, but she needed to reassure herself that he was okay. Whether he cared about her or not, he was her father, and that mattered. It mattered more than she’d ever thought possible, and she now regretted all her plans for revenge. It made her almost sick to think she might have played a part in his ill health with her hurtful letter.
All her concentration was centered on the problem with her father. She couldn’t think about Harry. If she did, she might start bawling like a baby. She loved the arrogant, obnoxious jerk, and yet he’d used her. The really sad part was, she could understand his reasons for the deception. In his position, she might have done the same. And if she hadn’t pushed so hard, their relationship probably wouldn’t have become intimate. She had only herself to blame. She’d been a complete fool—and she’d behaved like her mother. The truth hurt so bad she didn’t think she could stand it.
She trudged up the sidewalk to the jewelry store, lost in thought. At first she didn’t notice when a car pulled up beside her. Absently, she turned to look, and was stunned to see Floyd in the passenger seat, grinning at her with evil intent. The car stopped and she broke into a dead run, but she’d only gotten a few feet before he caught her arm and jerked her back. She stumbled, going down hard on one knee. She groaned at the jarring pain.
The car pulled alongside and Ralph got out. “Get her in the back seat.”
Hearing that cleared the pain from her knee enough to allow her to fight. She started kicking and shouting, doing anything she could to fend them off. Somehow she knew if they got her in the car, she might never get out again.
Floyd managed to drag her as far as the curb, using her arm and her shirt collar for leverage. Even in her struggle, she saw the unfamiliar man in the front seat. She had the brief impression of a polished businessman before shouts sounded behind her. Her blood nearly froze when she recognized Dalton’s voice.
“No!” He couldn’t get into a skirmish because of her, not with his heart condition. If anything happened to him… She doubled her efforts, and caught Floyd low in the stomach with a fist. He grunted and loosened his hold. She tried to roll away, but Ralph reached for her.
“Let her go!” Dalton leaped onto Ralph’s back, knocking him down, all the while cursing so vividly Charlie couldn’t help but be impressed. The third man in the car got out and started toward them with a purposeful stride.
Suddenly other men were there, leaving their shops in a rush, leaping into the fray, crowding together on the sidewalk. It became a chaotic free-for-all with the elderly swinging canes and brooms and fists. Vile threats filled the air from both factions. Charlie was tossed aside and landed on her butt, but she was back up in a heartbeat when she saw the man from the car reach inside his jacket. Oh God, a gun!
Dalton threw himself in front of her, and no matter how she tried, she couldn’t get around him. The brawl ended, no one daring to move. Floyd and Ralph, with a lot of blustering, brushed themselves off and straightened their jackets. Six older men and two gray-haired women stood in a circle, their hands in fists, their faces red.
“What should we do with them all, Carlyle?”