Karma

Book 5: The Serendipity Series

by Carly Phillips

Genres: Family Life; Sagas; Contemporary Romance; Romance

Synopsis

Police Officer Dare Barron has had a crush on Liza McKnight ever since he was a teenager. But despite his lifelong attraction, the closest he's ever come to interacting with her is watching Liza regularly bail out her brother at the station. Dare's dark past with Liza's brother, Brian, has always kept him from pursuing her. But suddenly Liza finds herself in need of protection and Dare appoints himself as the man for the job. And while the sizzling attraction between Dare and Liza draws them together, the past that Dare and Brian share threatens to keep the two apart forever.

Release date: June 30, 2023

Publisher: CP Publishing

Print pages: 320

Sample

Chapter One

By Carly Phillips

 

Dare Barron heard the commotion in the police station earlier as his least favorite offender was brought in on a drunk and disorderly charge. Dare had been out on a nuisance call when the man had gone before a judge at the courthouse next door, but he was back now, in the cell downstairs.

Dare glanced at his watch, wondering how long before she came to bail her brother out. Every time McKnight got himself in trouble, his older sister, Liza, was never far behind to clean up his mess. McKnight was a rich bastard who thought his family money entitled him to special privileges.

And Liza… Dare didn’t know what she thought. He only knew he looked forward to seeing her each time she walked through the precinct door.

A damned contrast to how he felt about her brother. Dare wished like hell he’d never heard of Brian McKnight, and those feelings dated back too many years to when a teenage McKnight had thrown a party. Dare, who at fifteen acted like he was much older, had gone, and his life had never been the same. Though Dare knew better than to think he could change the past, everything he’d done since then had been with his own atonement in mind.

But whoever coined the phrase “No sin goes unpunished” had never met Brian McKnight.

Or his sister, Liza.

Dare glanced up from his seat behind his desk to see her stride in like she owned the place. He wasn’t above admitting he’d had a thing for her ever since he was a teenager. She was three years older. Her parents had pulled her and Brian from public school, but Liza had been hard to miss the times she’d come to town with her friends.

She still was. And Dare stared at her now without disguising his interest. She wore a basic black skirt and a turquoise-blue silk blouse. A simple outfit on anyone else. Liza McKnight was anything but simple. The skirt was long enough to be decent but short enough to call attention to her seductively long legs, as did her black patent-leather mile-high heels accented by a delicate bow at the back. All in all, a ladylike yet siren-sexy contradiction.

Her chestnut brown hair hung straight over her shoulders, her bangs not long enough to disguise her golden-brown stare.

She reached his desk, propped both hands on the cold metal surface, and leaned in close. “I want to post bail for my brother.”

Big surprise. Still, Dare shook his head, unable to conceal his disappointment. “Still enabling him, I see.”

She frowned, but the expression only served to showcase her dimples and make her look even sexier. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”

She was probably right.

He inhaled her warm, exotic scent. Vanilla, musky, and damned hot. “I’m sure everyone is working to release him as quickly as possible,” Dare said, glad he had the desk to hide exactly what she did to him.

She straightened her posture but still managed to look calm and in control. “He was granted bail over half an hour ago. I can’t imagine what the holdup is. Can you at least get the paperwork started on this end?”

Dare shook his head. “Sorry. I’m not the arresting officer. You’ll have to take a seat and wait to talk to him.”

The waiting area at the far end of the room contained three chairs. She settled into the one across from Dare’s desk, crossing one delectably long leg over the other.

“So what’s he in for this time?” Dare asked, though he already knew. Yet conversation was conversation, and Brian’s record was what they had in common.

“Drunk and disorderly conduct,” she stated without emotion.

Specifically, according to Officer Sam Marsden’s report, her brother had left Joe’s Bar drunk, walked out back to his car—which he shouldn’t have been going anywhere near in his inebriated state—and paused to take a leak, singing at the top of his lungs the entire time.

“In other words, the usual,” Dare said.

She closed her eyes for a brief second. Dark lashes fluttered over her soft skin, giving her a vulnerable look that made him want to pull her into his arms and comfort her.

“It wouldn’t be the usual if Officer Marsden had just driven Brian home and let it go.” Liza pinned him with a questioning look, the vulnerability gone as quickly as it had appeared, making him wonder if he’d imagined the emotion.

Dare shook his head, frustration gnawing at his gut. “So we should just let him break the law?”

“What? Are you guys so hard up for arrests that you can’t find a real criminal to harass?”

He rolled his eyes. “Your brother is a real criminal.” Dare spoke in a soft but realistic tone, almost feeling sorry for her.

She jumped up from her seat, suddenly a flurry of nervous energy, pacing in front of his desk. Her long legs ate up so much space that she took two steps, turned, and started the process again.

From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Sam walking out of the holding area. “There’s the arresting officer.” Dare nodded in his friend’s direction. “He should know when your brother will be brought up.” Dare softened his tone, not wanting to upset her any further.

He didn’t know why he baited her in the first place except he hated her turning a blind eye to the truth about her sibling.

“Thank you.” She actually smiled at him, her brown eyes sparkling with genuine gratitude.

Then she paused, drawing a deep calming breath and causing Dare’s gaze to focus on the rise and fall of her breasts. Oblivious to his interest, she turned and zeroed in on Sam, heading over to deal with her brother’s problems without looking back.

He exhaled and wiped his forehead with his sleeve, grateful the long day was almost over. The air-conditioning in the old building was on its last legs, and the precinct was as sweltering inside as it was outside. Yet Liza had been completely cool.

Dare rubbed the back of his neck, where a steady pain had begun to throb. It drove him nuts that she made excuses for her screwed-up brother. Hell, he knew what it was like to have a troubled family member, but not once had Dare made excuses for Ethan. Then again, that immovable attitude had kept him estranged from his brother when he could have been working toward reconciliation. Good thing he and eventually their middle sibling, Nash, had come around. The difference was, Ethan had changed and made an effort to fix the past. Brian McKnight showed no remorse, and Liza didn’t seem to care.

Dare groaned. It shouldn’t bother him because it wasn’t his problem. But she was a bright, educated woman. A talented architect. She had to know right from wrong, yet she consistently bailed out a man who, brother or not, she ought to have wiped her hands of a long time ago. Brian needed to be held accountable for his actions.

And Dare wanted Liza in his bed.

He jerked his head, wondering where that thought had come from. He’d never denied his attraction to her, at least not to himself. He’d always wanted her, even though he knew she was out of his league. But that hadn’t been on his mind at the moment. Or maybe it had been. He’d been waiting for her arrival, his entire body on alert.

The scary truth was Dare almost looked forward to the times McKnight got hauled in because it gave him a chance to see her. Scarier, he’d cut school all those years ago and gone to that damned party because it had been at her house, and he’d had the chance to see the girl of his teenage dreams. But Liza hadn’t been home that day, and Dare’s life had been forever altered by the events of that afternoon.

More than a decade had passed, one in which he’d seen major growth, both in his personal and professional lives and in his feelings for Liza. Before, she’d been a teenage crush, someone he’d thought of and, yeah, jerked off to. But now? He’d grown up, and each time he met up with her, she got to him on a level no other woman ever had.

He saw Liza as a woman who could bring him out of the darkness he hid inside him and into the light. He shook his head hard because wasn’t that a nice dream. One that would never happen. Though he liked to think of Liza as an angel, that wasn’t her at all. She enabled her brother, thereby condoning his behavior—all of his behavior, the past included, which made her no better than his brother. Or Dare, no matter how hard he tried to be a better man.

Yet that didn’t stop Dare from wanting her, and damned if the yearning wasn’t more than just physical. He was curious about who she was and what made her tick. Why the last time she’d been at the station late at night, she’d been wearing high black boots with killer heels covering legs encased in tight denim, her long hair cascading in sexy curls down her back. A far cry from the ladylike outfit she wore today. Of course he was equally attracted to her no matter what she had on.

Not that it mattered.

Because despite everything, she’d never once looked at him as more than a pain-in-the-ass cop she had to deal with whenever her brother found himself in trouble.

He glanced at his watch and exhaled in relief. He was officially off duty. Dare grabbed his keys and rose from his seat.

“Heading home?” Sam asked.

Marsden was a few years older than Dare and a darned good friend.

“Yeah. Shift’s over,” he said.

“Sure you don’t want to wait?” Sam asked, eyeing him curiously.

“For what?” Dare asked.

Sam let out a whoop of laughter. “You really want to play dumb? Fine. Don’t you want to wait until Ms. McKnight’s brother is released? She’s waiting for him in the outer hall.”

Dare clenched his jaw, which didn’t help his building headache. “And why would I want to do that?” Yeah, he was playing dumb. Why the hell would he want to admit to his feelings and set himself up to be the butt of Sam’s jokes?

“Because I see how you look at her, man. Only a blind fool could miss it.” Sam leaned against the desk, eyeing Dare with way too much humor.

Okay, no need to admit it. Apparently, Dare wore his feelings on his uniform. Fucking swell.

“Then I suppose you’ve also seen how she doesn’t return the sentiment?”

“Jeez, you men are dumb!” This from Cara Hartley, another cop and good friend. The three tended to pull the same shifts and hang out together when they were off duty.

“Where’d you come from?” Dare asked.

Cara laughed, her dark ponytail flipping over her shoulder. “I’m stealthy. I walked over while you two were talking about Liza McKnight. But you’re still both dumb.”

Dare shook his head and stifled a groan. “I really don’t want to know what you’re thinking.”

“Yeah, you do.” Cara deliberately bumped her hip against his. “You think she doesn’t notice you. I’m here to tell you you’re wrong.”

He blinked in surprise.

Sam’s grin was so wide Dare was surprised his face didn’t split. Dare didn’t need the two of them on his case about a woman.

“The thing is, every time you talk to Liza, you judge her for bailing out her brother. So tell me why she should think you’re hot for her. Not to mention why should she want to bother with you.”

Dare reached for the back of his neck once more, the muscle spasms getting worse. “Can we not talk about this?”

“Nope. It’s on the table, and it’s staying there until I’m finished. Now let’s say you happened to…I don’t know…change your attitude toward her? Something tells me she just might alter hers.” Cara raised her eyebrows over her blue eyes.

Despite not wanting to give Cara the green light to get into his head, Dare mulled over her words.

“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Sam asked Dare. “That our girl here makes sense?”

Cara glanced at Sam with a pout on her lips. “I’m not your anything,” she muttered. Cara being Cara hated any hint of condescension toward her as a woman. Touchy was her nickname.

“And I’m not thinking anything,” Dare said. Nor was he conceding his feelings out loud.

“Just remember, I have a feeling you can turn this around. If you want to, that is.” Cara shrugged.

“Is that feeling your female intuition?” Sam asked. “Because Cara’s is usually damn good,” he reminded Dare.

Cara grinned, nodding her head in agreement. “Thanks for the compliment, Sam. Maybe I’ll let that earlier rude comment slide. I might even let you buy me a drink at Joe’s on Wednesday night.” They usually hit Joe’s for Ladies’ Night since they were all off on Thursdays.

Dare laughed, but Sam was right. Cara’s gut instincts, on the job and off, were usually on target.

“Got a plan?” Sam asked Dare.

He rolled his eyes. “I’m going home, like I said.”

“But—” Cara shook her head and groaned. “Never mind, do what you want. Nobody ever listens to me even though I’m always right.”

Sam grinned.

“As long as you’re leaving, I’ll walk out with you,” Cara said to Dare. “I’m off duty too. You coming, Sam?”

He shook his head. “Not until McKnight’s been released on bail. Catch you guys tomorrow.”

Dare nodded Sam’s way. “Night.”

He headed out alongside Cara, who talked about the weekend Police and Firefighters’ Festival. They would man the policemen’s booth in order to raise money for the youth center where they all volunteered. Dare laughed at her jokes and admired her sense of humor, but being with Cara did nothing to make him forget about Liza, whom he just happened to pass as he left the precinct. She sat alone, waiting for her brother’s release, alternately looking pissed and vulnerable, bringing up protective instincts Dare had never felt toward any other woman.

*     *     *

Liza drummed her fingers against her purse as she waited for Brian to be brought up from the holding area. She wondered if the cell in the back of the police station had a plaque engraved with her brother’s name on it. Heaven knew he’d been hauled in often enough. Just the thought was enough to give her a stomachache.

She shook her head and stifled a groan. “At least be honest with yourself,” she muttered. It wasn’t her brother’s most recent arrest making her stomach churn.

It was Dare Barron. The cop who always seemed to be around when her brother was brought in. The sexy man who alternately looked at her like she was the hottest thing this side of a hot fudge sundae or the dumbest enabler on the planet.

Like she wasn’t aware of what she was doing? She was. She just had no choice. Brian was family. He was her brother. Besides, she owed him.

However, she didn’t have to explain herself to Dare, even if he did have “big bad cop” written all over him. His dark-brown hair with flecks of gold and those gorgeous brown eyes were enough to melt her on the spot. But that didn’t mean she had to answer to anyone but herself. That’s how it had been for longer than she cared to remember. But now, as an adult, she wouldn’t trade her independence for anyone ever again.

She rose to her feet, annoyed Brian hadn’t been brought up yet. She couldn’t imagine what the holdup was. The attorney she kept on retainer had shown up and done his job, and Brian’s arraignment had been blessedly brief. So where was he?

Finally, she heard a gruff male voice call her name. She turned, hoping to see her brother. Instead, she saw Dare on his way out the door with a pretty female police officer by his side. Liza knew the woman’s name was Cara Hartley. She was a year younger than Liza’s twenty-nine, while Dare was three years younger, making him twenty-six. From the way Cara and Dare were laughing together, they were close.

An unwanted ribbon of jealousy unwound in Liza’s stomach, and she ruthlessly forced it aside. Whether Cara and Dare were friends or something more, it didn’t matter. Liza had her hands full with her delinquent brother. The last thing she needed in her life was an attraction to one of Serendipity’s finest.

Her brother’s arrival reinforced that truth, and she rose to meet him. He must have sobered since she’d seen him in court because he appeared more withdrawn and down instead of chipper and happy to see her. Since she’d paid his bail and signed all the appropriate papers, they headed out the door together. Liza’s stomach growled, reminding her she’d been at the courthouse and the police station for the better part of the day.

She waited until they were settled in the car before turning to her brother. “Hungry?” she asked.

He nodded. “But I need a shower more. I can’t go anywhere looking like this.”

Now he was worried?

His white-collared shirt was wrinkled and dirty, and he looked like he’d been on a twenty-four-hour bender. Which wasn’t true. Liza had seen him at work earlier this morning, at McKnight Architecture, the firm her grandfather had founded and where Brian also worked. Brian was an accountant, and as one of the bookkeepers, his job had few direct responsibilities. He had a supervisor to oversee his performance, something her father had made sure of during his tenure.

“You can take me home, and while I shower, you can go pick up something for dinner,” Brian said.

It wasn’t a suggestion, Liza noted.

She gripped her fingertips tighter around the steering wheel. “How about I drop you off home, and I head out to get dinner myself, like a human being? You can fend for yourself. I bailed you out, Brian. Isn’t that enough?”

He reached over and squeezed her arm. “You know I appreciate you, Liza Lou.” The nickname was a throwback to their childhood when he’d first seen How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Liza used to wear her hair up in a high ponytail, reminding him of Cindy Lou Who. She’d liked the nickname then. Now, all it served to do was remind her of the brother she’d lost. She wasn’t even sure when he’d taken that wrong turn. It just seemed that from the time he’d reached adolescence, trouble found Brian. Or maybe it was Brian who found trouble.

She clenched her jaw tight before speaking. “If you appreciate me, how about you take a good look in the mirror.” She reached over and flipped down the visor, revealing a covered mirror that she also opened for him. “Who are you, and what have you done to my brother?” she asked softly.

He shook his head and closed up the visor. “You know the cops in this town are hard-asses,” he muttered. “They have it in for me.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Why weren’t you at the office this afternoon?” she asked, ignoring his stupid comment.

“I had a business lunch.”

“At Joe’s Bar?” she asked sarcastically.

“Nothing wrong with buying a client a drink.”

“What client would that be?” And since when did his job as a bookkeeper require him to schmooze with any client?

Brian let out an annoyed sound. “I don’t have to answer to you,” he said, folding his arms across his chest and looking out the window.

She ignored him once more. Nothing positive could come from engaging him in an argument. Besides, they were almost home.

In the distance, she saw the house on the hill, the main landmark in the town of Serendipity, looming in the distance, proud and majestic against a cloudless sky. There was a time Liza had visited the house often, back when she’d been friends with Faith Harrington, who’d grown up there. Faith’s parents had lived there until last year, when her father had gone to jail for securities and investment fraud, and Ethan Barron had purchased the house on the SEC auction block.

Dare Barron’s brother.

How could she stop thinking about the man when he cropped up in her mind every time she turned around?

Liza shook her head and forced her thoughts elsewhere. Anywhere. Like back to the landmark she’d just driven past and its previous occupants.

Liza had attended school with Faith until Brian started acting out and got himself tossed out of public school. Livid that the institution to which they paid their taxes had treated their son so badly, Liza’s parents had sent both kids to a private school in a neighboring town. They’d ripped Liza away from her friends and her life, not that either of her parents had cared about that. Brian was always their main concern.

Liza kept in touch with Faith and her other friends for a while until she made friends at her new school, most from the neighboring town where the private school was located. And though she would still hang out in Serendipity from time to time and run into her old girlfriends, things had never been the same. Eventually, she’d drifted and lost touch.

People tended not to stick in Liza’s life and she’d learned from a young age not to count on anyone. The one time she’d let down her guard, she’d been rewarded with Timothy Barker, a charming college senior to her sophomore, and she’d lived to regret the impulse.

She shook her head, hating that all those old memories came back to her now. It was the house on the hill, she thought. The mansion wasn’t just a town landmark. It was a marker of many things to many people. To Liza, it had brought back the past, a place she didn’t intend to revisit.

As long as Liza remained in the present, she’d be fine.

She snapped her attention to tomorrow’s calendar. Coincidentally, her first meeting was with Faith Harrington. The new Mrs. Barron was the head of the Beautification Committee’s fundraiser and Liza had signed onto the committee.

Realizing she’d reached her destination, Liza turned onto the long driveway of her parents’ house where Brian still lived. It wasn’t as grand as the old Harrington mansion, but the house was huge and on the “right” side of town. Although her parents had moved to Palm Beach, Florida, full-time, they’d kept the house in Serendipity, allowing Brian to stay on. Whether he paid them rent or not, Liza didn’t know nor did she want to. They were all equally at fault when it came to enabling him.

She knew it. Understood Dare was right in his assessment of the situation, but dammit, what else could she do? Leave him in jail to rot?

No. Not when she’d inadvertently contributed to the fatal day that still haunted them both. And then there was the fact that Brian had been there to save her from her own poor judgment and colossal mistake. Brian might be a loser, but he’d been there the one time Liza needed him, and without him, who knows what her ex might have done to her.

But that didn’t mean she had to take care of or be around him any more than necessary. At this point, he could get help or not, but she wasn’t going to be his caretaker.

“We’re here.” She cut the engine and glanced over, realizing he’d passed out in his seat.

Well, that explained the silence and why she’d been able to go off on all sorts of tangents in her own mind.

Liza jolted him by pushing against his arm. “Brian!”

“What?” he barked grumpily.

“You’re home. Go inside and clean up,” she said, more gently than he deserved. “And don’t forget to eat.”

“You’re the best, Liza Lou.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek.

She winced and tried not to gag at the smell of alcohol, sweat, and jail that surrounded him. “Night,” she managed.

He opened her car door and stepped out, stumbling once before he righted himself and made his way to the front door.

Liza waited until he was safely inside before driving away. She was exhausted and looking forward to changing into sweats and going to sleep early. First, she’d microwave herself leftovers, eat, and then fall into bed. No late night for her. Tomorrow was a busy day with back-to-back meetings, beginning with an important 9:00 A.M. with Faith.

Liza had an agenda for joining the Beautification Committee. In past years, the committee had raised a fortune at their fundraisers but had spent the money on the parts of town that were already well cared for. This year, Liza hoped to convince them to steer some of the immense funds raised toward a more worthwhile cause, the youth center downtown.

The center was a place for kids to hang out, take art and music classes run by volunteers, and play basketball and other sports games in a safe environment. The center was close to Liza’s heart because it represented a future to kids who might have none. And she couldn’t help but wonder if just maybe had it been around when Brian was younger and acting out, things might have been different for him.

Who am I kidding? she thought with a shake of her head. Nothing short of discipline would have shaped up her brother and there’d been nobody to give it to him.

But the center had volunteer counselors and teachers who didn’t mind taking a tough stand with the kids. Unfortunately, it was also always short of funds. The Police and Firefighters’ Festival that was scheduled for this coming weekend raised money for the center, but it was never enough. And that was because the wealthier residents, like Liza’s parents, couldn’t be bothered with a place that helped the less fortunate.

By working with the committee, Liza also hoped to up her credibility within her hometown. McKnight Architecture flourished thanks to out-of-town referrals and business. Their work spoke for them, but here where she’d grown up, Brian’s reputation had tarnished her own.

So for the last two years, Liza had attended beautification meetings and ignored the more uppity members who’d tried to freeze her out, slowly making younger acquaintances and giving her views. Then at last month’s meeting, they’d surprisingly announced that Faith Harrington would be the new fund-raising chair.

Surprising because Faith hadn’t been a committee member before. And because Faith, like Liza, had committee members with immense bias against her. In Faith’s case, thanks to her father’s criminal behavior. Still, Faith’s husband had money, and rumor had it that Ethan had gifted the mansion to his wife as a wedding present, making Faith the current owner of the premier landmark in town and cementing her role as the fund-raising chair.

Liza couldn’t be more pleased. She’d liked Faith when they were kids and it seemed they had a similar uphill battle against the snobs in Serendipity. She hoped to get Faith on board with her idea to use the money raised at the annual fundraiser, a black-tie event of the elite and the wealthy, for the youth center.

Liza believed she had a shot. Unless, of course, Dare told his sister-in-law about her brother’s latest arrest, and Faith decided working with Liza and implementing her ideas was a liability.

Liza groaned. One way or another, she’d know soon enough.