Caught!: Taken! / Say Yes

“She’s got morning sickness.” Wade looked ready to sink into the depths of depression. “She’s sick and that damn brother of hers isn’t helping matters by doing his best to separate us. He thinks that since I’m without a job and accused of a crime Kelsey won’t want me. She’s afraid to see me, in case he has me locked up right now. I have to settle for the occasional phone call and it’s intolerable. At this rate, she’ll be giving birth before we have a chance to get married!”

Dillon went into the kitchen and opened a can of cola, then began stripping off his shirt. For the sake of the party at the mansion and his scheme, he’d donned a dress shirt and tie. He hated ties. Wearing them to the office during the week was torture.

The lengths he went to for his brother.

Half brother, he corrected himself. They hadn’t shared the same father, but Wade was still his brother in every sense of the word. Blood was blood, as his father had been fond of preaching. You didn’t turn your back on a blood relative.

When their mother had died, leaving Wade alone, he’d made the effort to find Dillon, wanting him at the funeral, wanting to become a part of his life.

At the time, Dillon had just finished a stint in the military. He’d been living the life of a loner, independent of everyone, even his father, with no clue as to where his mother had gone or what she’d been doing, and not particularly interested in knowing. He certainly hadn’t heard that she’d remarried and birthed another son. All his father had ever told him was that she hadn’t wanted either of them, and that as soon as she could, she’d abandoned Dillon. She’d turned her back on both of them, and that said it all. They’d never talked about her; given the circumstances, it hadn’t seemed necessary.

Women had come and gone in their lives while Dillon was growing up, but none of them had been all that important. His father’s relationships never lasted; women were just a necessary convenience for him.

Though he and his father were close, Dillon had never really understood his attitudes on some things.

Discovering he had a brother had taken him by surprise, but he liked the feeling of having someone around who would depend on him, who wanted to be close to him. He’d never felt the need to bother his mother with his presence, but she’d given him a brother and for that he was grateful.

Dillon took over the chore of helping Wade financially through college. He’d given him advice and concern in addition to loans. After eight years of keeping in touch and visiting whenever possible, they’d developed the kind of blood bond his father had always lectured about. They were brothers, and that counted for a lot.

Dillon stripped off his shirt, then dropped onto the couch, propped his feet on the edge of the battered coffee table and downed his cola in one long gulp.

Wade shook his head. “Look at you! What the hell is wrong with that woman? Why doesn’t she want you? I’d give my right ear to have a body like yours.”

Dillon choked. “For Christ’s sake, Wade, get a grip, will you?” He was well used to Wade’s misplaced worship. He’d been putting up with it since the day they’d met, but he still wasn’t comfortable with such open adoration.

“It’s true,” Wade persisted. “All the women at the company want you. The secretaries, the managers, every one of them! As long as I worked there, I never saw anything like it. The female corporate employees are usually so reserved, all buttoned-up businesswomen. Kelsey was the only one who ever paid me any mind. The rest pretty much ignored me. But they all gawk at you, and whisper behind their hands. Even Laura Neil, which is nothing short of a miracle.”

“Why do you say that?” Dillon was aware of Laura’s attention, but it had never felt particularly complimentary. More like wary curiosity.

“Since Cliff took notice of her, she hasn’t left his side. She acts like a lapdog.”

Dillon scowled at his brother’s insulting reference to a lady. “Maybe she’s just dedicated.”

Wade snorted. “We used to have a thing going, you know. Before I met Kelsey. After we broke up, Cliff promoted Laura to personal assistant. I know he’s not really interested. For him, her new position is just a convenience, keeping her close at hand.” Wade said it with a sneer, emphasizing his dislike of Cliff Johnson. “Laura hopes he’ll marry her, but it’ll never happen. Maybe she’s realized it, and that’s why she’s looking at you now. But then, as I said, all the women look at you that way. Kelsey told me some of the women even made bets about who would get you first.”

Dillon could only stare. “I don’t know about any bets.”

“Trust me, the women know.” Wade frowned in thought. “It’s strange that Virginia is totally immune.”

“She’s not immune.”

“Maybe Virginia’s just not…you know.” He bobbed his eyebrows suggestively. “Maybe she doesn’t prefer men.”

Anger surged through him, but he managed to restrain it. The explosive reaction didn’t make sense, and he buried it deep, along with all the other confusing emotions he’d experienced tonight, thanks to one Virginia Johnson. “She likes men. There’s nothing wrong with Virginia except that she’s been given free rein too long. That and too many men wanting her money and not her.”

“Not exactly a tough one to figure out.” Wade’s tone dripped with sarcasm. “Her money is the only appealing thing about her. My position in accounting only put me in direct contact with her a few times, thank God. She scared the hell out of me. With that razor-sharp tongue of hers, she could shred a man to pieces. Besides, she behaves like a dictator.”

Actually, Dillon thought, fighting the urge to strangle his brother, Virginia’s tongue was soft and tentative and inquisitive. At least when a man took the time to kiss her properly. He had the impression not many men had, and that caused him to feel a certain degree of possessiveness toward her, when he had no right to feel anything at all.

“So what are you going to do now, Dillon?”

“I’m going to wait. She said she’d make a decision this week sometime.”

“Kelsey is going to be so disappointed if I don’t get this settled soon. She’s anxious to move out of the house, to get away from Cliff. She’s been biding her time with school and volunteer organizations, but she’s miserable.”

Dillon shook his head. He’d met Kelsey several times at the company and because of Wade’s infatuation he’d paid attention. In Dillon’s opinion the woman was a spoiled brat. From what he’d learned of her through subtle queries, both Virginia and Cliff doted on her and tried to protect her from the world. Being the youngest, she’d taken the deaths of her parents the hardest. She was the type of woman Dillon avoided, the type who expected to be coddled and catered to. She knew nothing about coping with real life.

But then, Wade wasn’t exactly a model of maturity himself. “You sure this is what you want, Wade? We could still try to fight this in court.”

Wade shook his head, frustration apparent in his every feature. “There’s no way to get Cliff to drop the embezzlement charges. He’s set me up for a reason, and he’ll have no qualms about putting me away for good. I don’t know what evidence he’ll come up with, so there’s no way I can fight it, but Kelsey said he’s really confident, bragging about nailing me red-handed. So whatever it is, it’ll be solid. He’ll be sure of that.”

Many times, Dillon had considered just beating the hell out of Cliff. It would give him no end of pleasure, yet it wouldn’t solve the problem in the long run. Dillon needed to find out what trumped-up evidence Cliff planned to use against Wade. Short of that, he had to find a way to force Cliff to drop the supposed “investigation.” If it hadn’t been for Kelsey, Wade wouldn’t have known of the setup until it was too late. Thankfully, Kelsey had learned of her brother’s plan and told Wade.

As yet, no legal charges had been filed, but Wade had been discharged from his position without pay or benefits while Cliff gathered together his evidence. Once the officials got involved, it would be too late. Time was running out.

Cliff was a powerful man and diffusing this situation wouldn’t be easy. Dillon had to pull off a tricky unauthorized private investigation. He had to go through files he had no right to see, search records that weren’t his to search and still find a way to keep his own butt out of jail. To do it, he needed Virginia. He didn’t want her hurt, but she’d have to be the sacrificial lamb; it couldn’t be helped. There was no way to switch course now.

He’d ridden some tricky fences in his day, but this was turning out to be the worst.

Though he already knew the answer, Dillon couldn’t stop himself from asking, “Are you sure Cliff wouldn’t change his mind if he knew Kelsey was pregnant?”

“Ha! Are you kidding? He’d probably forget handling things ‘legally’ and just take out a contract on me. He thinks she’s way too young to get married.”

Dillon hesitated, then leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees. “You know, Wade, he wouldn’t be entirely wrong. Kelsey is only twenty-two, and you’re not much older. Marriage isn’t something to be rushed into.”

Wade stiffened and his hands fisted. “She’s pregnant, Dillon. Am I supposed to abandon her now? I know from experience that a woman raising a child alone doesn’t have an easy time of it. The baby deserves a father, and Kelsey deserves a husband.”

“There is that, I suppose.” Actually, Dillon wished they’d both shown a little more responsibility and not gotten into the situation in the first place, but rehashing that issue wouldn’t help now.

Wade began to pace. “It’s not like Kelsey is a child. It’s just that she’s the only family Cliff has. He’s very protective of her, and you know my background isn’t something to excite a prospective brother-in-law. No man is good enough for Kelsey, but I want a chance to try.”

Dillon made a sound of disgust. He hated hearing Wade harp on his unfortunate childhood. So he and their mother hadn’t been rich. Dillon and his dad hadn’t exactly lived a life of luxury, either. If anything, they’d lived a life of stealth.

None of that came out of his mouth, though. Instead, he heard himself say, “Cliff has Virginia, too.”

Wade shook his head in dismissal. “They’re not at all close. Virginia is too damn difficult. You know how she always bosses Cliff around. After their parents died, Virginia just took over. He despises her for it.”

Dillon suspected that Virginia had taken charge because no one else could. Cliff certainly wouldn’t have had the smarts to keep things together. And Kelsey had been a mere teenager. Gritting his teeth, Dillon snarled, “If Virginia means so little to him, then why does he worry so much about who she sees?”

Wade shrugged. “I should think he’d be glad to be rid of her. Most men would be. I suppose Cliff worries about someone marrying Virginia for her money—and her shares in the company. From what I’ve heard, a few men have tried that tactic, but Cliff doesn’t want to take any chances on losing the little control he has.”

Dillon surged to his feet. This night wasn’t improving with conversation and he needed time alone to put things in perspective. He couldn’t allow himself to feel protective of Virginia; he needed the ruthlessness his father had taught him. He needed to be able to do the job, without emotional involvement. “Go home, Wade. I want to get some sleep, and it isn’t safe for you to hang around here for long. If anyone finds out we’re related, the whole plan is ruined.”

“I know. And I’m sorry. But I just couldn’t wait.”

“You’re going to have to wait from now on.” He spoke sternly in the way he knew commanded attention. “Don’t come here again. Do you understand?” He waited until Wade nodded, then he added, “I’ll get in touch with you when I find out something.”

Reluctantly, Wade turned away. “All right.” He walked to the door and then paused. “You know how much I appreciate all this, don’t you, Dillon? I didn’t have anyone else to turn to. The one lawyer I spoke with was useless. He said the company probably wouldn’t press charges because they’d most likely want to avoid the scandal and the possibility of being discredited in front of their shareholders. If it was anyone but Cliff, I’d agree. But he won’t be happy just firing me. He wants to ruin me completely. Kelsey and I didn’t know what to do. Against Cliff’s money, I didn’t stand a chance. He’ll be sure to have the best lawyers around and they’ll make mincemeat out of me. I’d already be in jail and Kelsey would have to raise our baby alone. Cliff would have given her a hard time over the scandal—”