Page 107 of Karma

Dare let out a laugh. “No, that’s the best thing you could do for me. Liza wouldn’t survive that.” And Dare wouldn’t survive losing Liza.

If there was one thing he’d learned in the last few days, it was that. She was his heart, and he didn’t want to go forward without her. He just hoped she felt the same way about him.

He started for the door.

“Hey, where are you going?” Brian asked, sounding panicked.

“To my SUV. You’ve got five minutes to decide whether we’re taking that trip or not. But if you show up? Don’t do it for your sister. Do it for yourself. Otherwise, you’ll end up right back where you started, and if you ask me, that’s a shit place to be.”

Without looking over his shoulder, Dare walked out, slamming the door behind him.

Chapter Nineteen

Liza drummed herfingers against her desk. She tapped her foot against the floor. She played basketball with balled-up paper. And she waited for a loan shark to walk into her office and take the money she and Cara had painstakingly stuffed into two cardboard tubes that usually held architectural plans.

Fifty thousand dollars,she thought in disbelief.

A knock sounded on her door.

Her stomach jumped, and she rose to her feet. “Come in.”

A third man she hadn’t seen before strode into her office. He wore a suit and tie and looked like any other client. “May I help you?”

“I’m here for the package, Ms. McKnight.”

Hands shaking, Liza pointed at the two tubes.

The man opened the white cap on the end of each, saw the money inside, and nodded. “This all of it?”

“Do you think I ever want to see you again? Of course that’s all of it.”I like my kneecaps, thank you very much, Liza thought.

The man turned and treated her with what looked like a genuine smile. “Then it’s been a pleasure doing business with you. More so than with your brother.” He popped the covers back onto the tubes and gathered them in his arms.

“Umm…would you be insulted if I asked for a receipt?”

The man tipped his head back and laughed. “Tell you what? I’ll go home and count it, and if it’s all there, I’ll send it in the mail,” he said, still chuckling.

“You trust me, and I trust you. Fine.” She nodded, wondering when she’d lost her mind.

The man lifted his hand in a wave and walked out the door.

Liza’s knees shook, and she shut the door behind her, grabbed the garbage pail, and threw up.

Liza had been home for all of an hour. Her nerves were still shot, her legs still shaking, but it was over. She’d handled the payment by herself. She’d alerted Jeff that something serious was going on, and he knew to listen in case she called for help. In that way, she wasn’t alone. But the knowledge hadn’t lessened her nerves. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d gotten sick. She’d called Cara, who’d been sitting in her car around the corner, and assured her all was well. Then Liza had insisted on going home by herself.

Once there, she showered and washed her hair and came out feeling clean, fresh, and completely alone. Her life had officially returned to the status quo she’d known so well before Dare Barron had taken over.

She hated it, and she hated him for teasing her with a glimpse of what could have been. Being part of a family, being cared for, and maybe even loved.

“Suck it up,” she muttered to herself. This was her life.

Her phone rang, and she picked it up on the first ring. “Hello?”

“Hi, Liza Lou.”

“Brian!” Her heart flipped over in her chest. “Where are you?”

“Will you meet me?” he asked.

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