Liza sighed. "Come on into the kitchen," she said, figuring they could sit down for this conversation. "Soda? Water? Iced tea?"

"Whatever you're having." Kelly settled into the kitchen chair Dare had been in just this morning.

After handing them each a can of diet soda, Liza joined her at the table. "Remember, you asked," she warned Dare's sister-in-law before she dove into any conversation. If she dove in. Liza wasn't used to sharing.

"And I'm listening." Kelly, wearing denim shorts and a cropped T-shirt, crossed one long leg over the other one.

Again, Liza reacted against type and decided to confide in her. She didn't understand it. She was usually so self-contained, but there was something about the fact that these strangers kept showing kindness that got to her. Liza genuinely liked Kelly and Faith. More than that, she was embarrassed to admit she was starving for the friendship they seemed to willingly offer.

Liza only hoped that friendship wasn't contingent on her relationship with their brother-in-law because that seemed dead in the water. "Dare and I..." She trailed off, not knowing how to explain.

Kelly waited patiently, not pushing her to divulge more than or before she was ready.

"It's just that we have more things that divide us than we have in common."

Kelly popped the top of her cola can and pulled a long sip. "So? Nash and I didn't have an easy go of it either. But it was worth the hassle, even when things got really bad. And believe me they did. And that good relationship you see between the brothers now?" Kelly shook her head. "It wasn't always that way."

Liza should have been surprised at the other woman's candor, but everything about her seemed so warm and open, she'd almost expected it. "Dare mentioned something about their difficult road."

Kelly nodded. "Ethan got his shit together first. Pardon my French," she said, laughing. "And he came home to make amends. He and Dare warmed up to each other next. But Nash? He came to the party kicking and screaming. In fact, he actually decked Ethan."

Liza blinked, startled by that revelation.

"Yep. It took Nash a long time to forgive his older brother. And Dare? We all thought Dare was the most easygoing of the brothers, but it turns out he had secrets nobody knew." Kelly eyed Liza over the rim of the soda can.

What kinds of secrets, Liza wondered, but knew she wouldn't ask any more than Kelly would tell. Whatever secrets Dare kept hidden, Liza would learn or not from Dare himself.

When Kelly continued to stare, Liza grew uncomfortable. "What?"

Kelly shrugged. "It's just that Dare projects this easy persona, but underneath? He's been hurt and abandoned and it's hard for him to trust. Like all the brothers, really. But he's hidden it the deepest."

This revelation, though not specific, came as more of a surprise. Liza had assumed his harsh words about her behavior with her brother came from his being a cop with a judgmental personality. But from what Kelly was telling her, Dare wasn't as judgmental as he was scared of trusting.

Just like she was. Which made them quite a pair, really.

Could he have been looking for an excuse to push her away this morning? Was the tattoo and then Brian's arrival an easy way for him to not deal with his feelings? Or was she reading more into Kelly's simple words because Liza was falling for the man and wanted an excuse to let him back in?

She groaned out loud.

"Are you okay?" Kelly asked.

Liza nodded. "Yeah." Just more confused than she'd been before and even more wary, if such a thing were possible.

"Do you want to go into town and take care of your errands?" Kelly offered, letting her off the hook and ending personal conversation-at least for now.

These Barron women were as pushy as the men. And Liza liked them just as much as she liked one Barron brother in particular.

Dare promised himself he'd give Liza space. She was clearly angry and he understood her reasons. He'd been an ass. And the scary thing was he couldn't say he wouldn't do it again. Brian McKnight flipped every known switch he had inside him and some he didn't know he'd had. The rest of the morning dragged on, and when Nash called to see if he wanted to grab a late lunch at the Family Restaurant, Dare was only too happy for the break.

He pulled up to the family-owned restaurant on the edge of town. The place had been around longer than most in Serendipity, and that was saying something, but each generation had kept the place up and added modern touches.

Dare walked inside and waved to Macy Donovan, the daytime hostess, and found Nash already waiting in a booth in the back.

"What's up, big brother?" Dare asked.

Nash raised an eyebrow. "You're asking me that? I heard you had some excitement this morning."

"You can't go a couple of hours without talking to your wife?" Dare asked, hoping to deflect the subject.

Nash treated him to a smirk. "You're one to talk considering you practically moved into Liza's over the weekend. How's that going for you, by the way?"

Before Nash could answer, Gina, their waitress, strode over. Middle-aged, happily married, and with a heart of gold, the woman knew every customer by name and order. "The usual, boys?" she asked them.

"Thanks, Gina."

Dare nodded, his stomach rumbling. "Tell Tony I'm starving and to add extra fries."

The redhead grinned. "Will do. Be back in a few minutes with your drinks." She walked off, pausing at other tables to check in before disappearing in the back.

"So?" Nash asked.

"How the hell could I fall for the one woman in this town whose baggage is tied up with mine?" Dare asked, giving in and talking to his sibling.

He and Nash had always been close, even when circumstances dictated they shouldn't be. Even when Nash found out why Dare hadn't gone to live with the Rossmans, thereby allowing the brothers to be split up, he'd eventually come around. Because from the beginning, they were a team.

Nash burst out laughing. "I'm the one who married our half sister's sister. And you're asking me about shared baggage?"

Dare shook his head and laughed. "I guess you've got a point. Which means you'd know the answer?"

With a groan, Nash leaned back in his seat, his arm across the back of the booth. "The hell if I know. You learn to accept what you can't change, I guess. If it's not just sex, if she means enough to you...time will tell."

"Who the hell knows if I've got time. I manage to piss her off as much as I...Never mind," he said with a shake of his head.

He'd been about to say turn her on, but thought better of it and shook his head. Was it just sex with Liza?

"Hey, the wives are having a meeting at Ethan's pool on Saturday to talk about the fund-raiser," Nash said, preventing Dare from answering his own silent question. "Want to join your brothers while we hang out and ogle them in their bikinis?"

Fund-raiser business, which Dare took to mean would include Liza. In a bikini. He broke into a sweat. "Yeah. I'll be there."

Nash grinned. "I thought so."

Dare's cell phone rang and a glance told him it was Sam. "What's up?" he asked, answering on the second ring.

"Someone cut the brake line on Liza's car. She didn't lose control by accident," Sam said.

Gina chose that moment to show up with their meals. "I'm sorry, but I'll take mine to go," he said to the waitress. "I'll be right there," he told Sam.

"Meet me at Mason's."

Dare shut his phone. "Sorry."

Nash waved him away, unconcerned as he dug into his food.

By the time Dare arrived at Mason's, Liza was already there with Sam. She'd changed out of her business suit and now wore a pair of frayed cut-off shorts, a tank top and flip-flops on her feet. She looked sexy as ever, but there was a fragility to her that Dare had never noticed before he'd slept with her.

Gotten close to her.

Come to understand how many different things in her life pulled at her. How many people in her life let her down. And now he'd become one more person who'd done the same.

Dare curled his fingers into tight fists, fighting the urge to walk over and pull her into his arms. He was the last person she wanted right now. He also held back in deference to Sam, who was the cop in charge of the case.

So while Sam spoke to the mechanic and caught Liza up on the situation, Dare hovered nearby, listening.

"What do you mean I had a leak in my brake line? The car was just serviced last week," Liza said to Sam.

Sam glanced at her. "I'll need the name of the place that handled it."

"A BMW service center in Manhattan. I was visiting friends and dropped the car off, since I knew I wouldn't need it in the city." She gave Sam the name and address before turning back to Mason.

"The line was cut," the mechanic explained.

"What kind of cut? Slice? Pinprick?" Sam asked.

Mason rubbed his grease-stained hands on his working coveralls. "Small nick. The fluid leaked out over time, so you wouldn't have noticed it right away."

"I haven't moved the car in a few days," she said. "Not until this morning."

Mason nodded, his long dark hair falling over his forehead. "There's probably a puddle in the driveway where your car was parked then."

Sam made a note, probably to check the driveway, something Dare hadn't thought to do.

"Could I have driven over something that cut the line?" Liza asked.

"No ma'am. This was deliberate."

Liza stiffened. "Wait. You're saying someone cut a hole in my brake line on purpose?"

"Looks that way."

She wrapped her arms around herself, a protective gesture Dare recognized as Liza's means of retreat and defense.

He itched to walk up behind her and pull her into his arms, offer comfort, and promise her he'd make sure no one ever hurt her again. He refrained because his gut told him she needed to handle this on her own. Like she dealt with everything else in her life, Dare thought, disgusted beyond belief with her family but most of all with himself.

He'd already decided to give her the illusion of control for now. There was no way she was alone in this and she'd understand that shortly.

Which meant that this thing between them was more than just sex. For him, anyway. He'd sensed the possibility from the beginning. He'd even warned her he wasn't the type to get involved and walk away. But now Dare knew he'd also been warning himself. Because there was no way he could walk away. The pull he felt toward her was too strong.

Every man had a weakness and apparently she was his. Because being with her meant dealing with garbage he'd hoped to leave in the past. He only hoped he was strong enough to handle it.

"I have to order the part," Mason was saying. "Because it's a foreign vehicle, it might take a couple of days."

Liza nodded, feeling numb. "That's fine. I rented a car. Keep it as long as you need to."

"I'll be right back," Sam said to Liza before following Mason into the smaller office area behind the garage, probably for a more detailed conversation.

Liza didn't care. She'd heard all she needed to. Someone had cut her brake line. Someone wanted her brakes to fail while she was driving. She blinked in shock, unable to come to terms with the undeniable fact that someone wanted her hurt. Or worse.

Shaking, she turned only to find Dare waiting, arms open wide. She'd sensed his presence as soon as he'd walked into the garage, had managed to ignore him while she was listening to Mason and Sam, telling herself she didn't need him. She didn't need anyone. Knowing too that the words were a big fat lie.

So though she'd hate herself for the weakness later, she stepped into his embrace now. He slid his hands around her waist and held her tight. She wasn't sure how long she stood there, his strong arms comforting her, breathing in his comforting and, yeah, arousing scent.

"It's going to be okay," he promised.

"I know." She let out a shaky breath and forced herself to step away.

"Any ideas on who would want to hurt you?" Dare asked, his gorgeous brown eyes filled with a combination of concern and fury.

She shook her head. "I keep pretty much to myself."

"You said you got flowers the other day?" he asked, his jaw tight.

She swallowed hard. "Turns out they were from Jeff Montana."

Dare's eyes darkened. Anger? Jealousy? Liza didn't know nor did she want to deal with his hot-and-cold routine when it came to his feelings for her.

"He said they were just a get-well gesture from a colleague."

"I'll bet. Get flowers from anyone else in the office?" he asked.

She blew out a frustrated breath. "No, but he was there when I got hurt and you wouldn't let him anywhere near me to see how I was. The man works for me. He was just being polite."

"We'll see," Dare muttered, and she knew he'd be questioning the architect soon. "We can't afford to assume anyone's innocent without checking them out," he said, his voice sounding calmer.

"Fine."

"What about..." His voice trailed off.

"What?" she asked. "Just say it. Don't beat around the bush, don't play games. If you have someone else in mind, spit it out."

"Your brother. Is there any reason your brother would want to hurt you?" he asked.

Liza narrowed her gaze. "No chance in hell." She folded her arms across her chest and glared, letting Dare know he was dangerously close to crossing a line.

"Look, I'm not saying your sober brother would want to hurt you, but what about your drunk one? Is it possible that during one of his binges, he got angry over something? Hell, he might not even remember doing it the next day."

Liza shook her head. She wasn't sure of many things these days, but she was certain her brother wouldn't hurt her unless it was an accident. Not deliberate sabotage. "Not possible," she said once more.

"Everyone has their limits, Liza. Everyone. And you can't afford to eliminate anyone as a suspect when your life is on the line."