The Ties That Bind (21 page)

It crossed Garth's mind that the concern in his secretary's voice was slightly more than he would have expected from Bonnie Garnett. He dismissed the thought. "I'm calling from the car. Put me through to Wes."

There was a short pause and then Bonnie said politely, "I'm afraid Mr. McIntyre isn't in yet, either. I was informed he had a breakfast meeting with Mr. Jensen of
TechHi
. I think he expects the meeting to take all morning."

"Damn." Garth swallowed the rest of the curse and told Bonnie goodbye rather abruptly.

"But when shall I expect you, Mr. Sheridan?"

"In a couple of hours."

That seemed to startle her. "A couple of hours? You're not just driving across town?"

"I'm on my way back from the coast."

There was another pause from Bonnie. "I see, I hadn't realized." She took a breath and said, "Then we'll see you in a couple of hours. Goodbye, Mr. Sheridan." She hung up the phone.

Garth drove another couple of miles, turning everything over in his mind, including
Bonnie's
unexpected concern for his late arrival at the office. Something was very wrong, and the root lay somewhere close to the office of the president of
Sherilectronics
. He knew it. He also knew the feeling of being on the wrong end of an act of betrayal.

On a hunch, Garth picked up his phone again and asked for information. A moment later the operator put him through to Matt Jensen's office at
TechHi
.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Jensen is in a meeting and can't be disturbed," Jensen's secretary announced. "May I take a message?"

"Jensen's in a meeting with McIntyre who works for me. I'm Sheridan," Garth said impatiently. "It's Wes McIntyre I need to reach. Do you know where they're having breakfast?"

"Oh, but they're not having breakfast, sir." The secretary sounded startled at his assumption. "Mr. Jensen is in a meeting with his accountant. I haven't seen Mr. McIntyre."

Garth took his foot off the accelerator as a cold chill of premonition went through him. "I see. Thanks for the information. Must be my mistake."

He hung up and slammed the Porsche to a halt at the side of the highway. Then he sat behind the wheel, drumming his fingers on the leather and marshaled his thoughts once more.

McIntyre. The man he thought he knew so well because Wes's mind worked the same as his own. But for the past few months Garth's own mind had been working a little differently than usual.

Garth asked the mobile operator to put through one more call. When the head of Bailey Security came on the line, Garth didn't bother with the preliminaries.

"I want your man to keep his eye out for a guy named Wes McIntyre. I have a hunch he's involved in this mess." Quickly Garth launched into a description. Halfway through it, he was interrupted.

"But, Mr. Sheridan, you had Walters pulled off that detail over an hour ago. I have a record of your call."

"The hell I did," Garth breathed, aware of a tightening in his stomach. "I didn't make any call, George."

"Just a second. Here's the note from my secretary. The call came in at ten thirty-five. You specifically left word that everything was under control, and you didn't want to pay for any more of Walters's time."

"You didn't take the call yourself?"

"No, I was in a meeting."

"It was a phony, George," Garth said bluntly. "Get Walters back out to that cottage. Now."

It was the other man's turn to swear. "I'm sorry, Garth. But it's going to take him some time to get back there. I'll start him moving as fast as I can."

"You do that," Garth said savagely, putting the Porsche into gear and spinning the sleek car back onto the highway. "I'm going back myself. This whole thing has turned to fertilizer." And it's my own damn fault, he added silently as he opened up the Porsche.

A weekend lover wasn't of much use to his woman. He was doomed to always be in the wrong place when she needed him.

WHEN WES SHOVED HER through the kitchen door of her cottage. Shannon gave up any hope of being spotted by the security guard from Bailey. Even if he had returned from lunch, he wouldn't be expecting an approach from the back of the house. From his position on the opposite side of the road, Ted Walters wouldn't be able to see what was happening at the kitchen door. Shannon told herself she was going to have to think of something else.

Her arm was aching from the fierce pressure Wes had on it. She had taken him by surprise last night, but today he seemed to be waiting for her to try something. Without the element of surprise, she didn't stand much of a chance. McIntyre was a good deal larger and stronger than Shannon was. She stumbled as she was pushed through the back door.

"This is all a waste of time, you know," she tried to say calmly as she caught herself on the edge of the table.

"Is it?" Wes asked contemptuously. "I don't think so.

I think if we look real hard around here we'll come up with another copy of that
Carstairs
bid. Find it!"

Shannon tried to free herself once more, twisting angrily in McIntyre's grasp even as he tightened his hold. Desperately she looked around, seeking an object she could use in her own defense. Her eyes lighted on the teakettle sitting on the stove, and she was wondering if she could get hold of it when everything in the kitchen suddenly went still, including Wes McIntyre.

"Sheridan." Wes sounded dazed. He didn't release Shannon, but his eyes were fixed on the doorway into the living room. "What the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be halfway back to San Jose. I watched you leave myself."

Shannon's head came up with a quick movement, her eyes widening in relief. "Garth! Oh, Garth, thank heavens you're here!" He was standing like a rock in the doorway, his eyes colder than Shannon had ever seen them. In one hand he held the copy of the bid he had taken with him earlier.

"Let her go." The words were far too quiet. Garth looked at Wes.

"Listen to me, Sheridan, don't be a fool. The woman's been putting you through the hoop for weeks. She's the one responsible for the theft of that bid. She's been working with Bonnie. I just found out myself what was going on. The two of them have been running rings around both of us. I finally realized what was happening when I -"

"Let her go."

Abruptly Shannon felt her arm being freed. She didn't hesitate. Running across the kitchen, she hurled herself against Garth. His arm went around her as she buried her face in his chest.

"Don't listen to him, Garth. He's the one behind this whole thing. He and Bonnie copied the bid that day we went to lunch in San Jose. He screwed up that night at the party and put the bid into my tote instead of
Bonnie's
. Kenyon was supposed to retrieve it later, but we left early and the bid was already inside my bag. That's why I-"

"You going to let another woman make a fool out of you, Garth?" Wes asked with soft contempt. "I thought you learned your lesson after Christine left."

Shannon clung more tightly, a new kind of fear replacing the sort she had been experiencing around Wes. "Garth, no, please. Don't listen to him."

Garth very gently unwound her arms from around his waist. Without glancing down at her, he set her aside. Shannon stood paralyzed in the doorway as Garth took a few steps into the kitchen to confront Wes McIntyre.

"What was Kenyon offering, Wes? More money? A better job? Stock in the company?" Garth sounded as if he were only remotely interested.

"Ask her," Wes snarled, gesturing toward Shannon. "She's the one who tried to sell you out. Ask her what he was offering."

Garth ignored him. "You must have known that sooner or later I'd figure out who'd sold Kenyon the copy of the bid. And you know me well enough to realize I wouldn't have just written the whole thing off to experience. I would have come after you. So Kenyon must have found a way to convince you he could protect you."

"You're trying to blame me, Sheridan, because you don't want to admit you let another woman get past your defenses again." Wes was suddenly calm and controlled. He glanced at Shannon. "She's all right, I suppose, but nothing spectacular. Bonnie would have been a better bet. You could have had her, instead, I think. But with Bonnie you were always strictly business."

"Is that why she turned to you so easily?"

Wes lifted one shoulder negligently. "You should be grateful. If I hadn't been sleeping with your secretary, Garth, I probably wouldn't have figured out what was going on here. But Bonnie talks a little too much in the sack. She'd given up on getting your attention, but she hadn't given up on getting even for the fact that you managed to ignore her for damn near five years. So she worked out a plan. But she needed an assistant. Someone who might be able to get close to you. She went into partnership with her good friend Shannon
Raine
. Fed her the information Shannon needed about your trip to the coast, made sure she knew about the party and all the other details. Then they contacted Ed Kenyon."

"He's lying. Garth," Shannon said quietly.

"I know," Garth stated.

"Who are you going to trust, Sheridan? The guy who's been with you for over three years or that little hustler? I'm the one who helped you bring off the
Kilton
deal, remember? I'm the one who worked out the logistics on the Barton order. Hell, there have been more times than I can count that you've relied on me and I've always come through, haven't I? How long have you known her? Two or three weeks at the most. You know something? I could never understand how a sharp guy like you let that wife of yours pull that stunt a few years back, but now I guess I've figured it out. You're a sucker for a certain kind of woman, aren't you, Sheridan?"

"The mistake I made this time around was in trusting you, Wes. I should have seen the signs and realized you were getting restless. God knows I've seen them in others. But either I haven't been concentrating on my business as much as I should have during the past few months or I've just gotten damn tired of distrusting everyone on my payroll. Did you know it gets to be something of a strain, Wes? Not being able to trust anyone, I mean. A year ago I would have kept a closer eye on you. A year ago you'd never have gotten as far as getting that copy of the bid from Bonnie. I would have sensed something was going on and done something about it sooner. But I've changed during the past year, Wes. And keeping tabs on everyone isn't worth the effort anymore. It takes energy. It wears you out. And it limits you in a way I hadn't quite understood until I met Shannon."

"You're telling me you're too tired to exercise a little caution around a bitch like her?" Wes shouted incredulously.

"You're missing the point, but I suppose it doesn't matter. Why don't we call a halt to the discussion, I'm sure you don't want to hear that I'm making new plans for my life, and I sure as hell don't want to hear any more of your idiotic accusations and excuses."

"You bastard!" Wes exploded. He launched himself toward Garth, fury and desperation suddenly in his eyes. Garth shifted slightly, depriving Wes of his target. The younger man ended up against the kitchen wall, the impact knocking one of Shannon's framed silk-screen prints to the floor.

"Damn you, Sheridan." Wes struggled to regain his balance, his face locked in a snarl of rage. He swung one arm wildly.

Garth stepped aside and caught McIntyre on the jaw with a fist that carried the full force of his upper body. Wes staggered back against the wall and slid slowly to the floor, his eyes glazed, although he was not unconscious.

Garth stood watching him for a few seconds. "There are still a few things you're going to have to learn if you expect to survive in the jungle, Wes. One of them is that sometimes the business gets downright physical. If you're going to spend the rest of your career stealing other people's secrets and betraying their trust, you'd better expect things to get rough on occasion. That, by the way, was for manhandling Shannon, not for trying to cheat me."

"I never touched her." Wes's voice was strained as he put the back of his hand to his mouth. There was a trace of blood on his lips.

Wordlessly Garth stepped closer and yanked at the front of Wes's shirt. The fabric tore effortlessly. Garth pushed it back until Wes's bandaged arm was clearly visible. "She used a knife on you last time, Wes. No telling what she would have come up with this time. You should be glad I was here."

"The bitch."

"The lady saved
Sherilectronics
from being screwed by the one man its president was stupid enough to trust. I thought I knew you, Wes. Thought I understood how your mind worked. You always had the makings of a bastard, but I assumed I was paying enough to make sure you were my bastard. What did Kenyon offer?"

Wes stared at him sullenly. "Go to hell."

"How much did he offer? What's the going rate these days for a man's loyalty?"

Wes's eyes were
slitted
with resentment. "A future. For the past year I've been getting the impression there isn't going to be one at
Sherilectronics
. Not an important one, at any rate. When I first came to work for you the sky was the limit. You were the most aggressive SOB in the Valley and you were going places. I knew someone like you could take me along for the ride. But this past year everything changed, didn't it, Garth? You've lost your appetite for the business. Oh, sure, the company is still in good shape and this
Carstairs
job will be a real coup if you land it, but something's changed. You didn't seem to want to dominate the market any longer. You were getting soft. I decided I'd better get out while the getting was good. Damned if I was going to go down in a sinking ship."

"And Kenyon's ship looked more watertight?"

"He's going to be number one on the West Coast soon. The top slot could have belonged to
Sherilectronics
if you hadn't started losing your taste for that kind of warfare."

Garth studied him. "One of the reasons I hired you, Wes, was that you struck me as being reasonably perceptive. I was right. Unfortunately, you aren't so bright in other ways. You should never have used Shannon. You should have been perceptive enough to realize she was definitely off limits. Maybe if you'd kept her out of it, I might have taken care of you the usual way. You'd have been fired and you might have had a tough time getting another job, but you'd probably have been able to dig up something. You're sharp and you're slick. But you involved Shannon. Don't expect to get away with that sort of stupidity."