Family Man

know that. I couldn't let her do it. Mom has spent her whole life trying to protect the rest of us from Justine. I had to do what I could to protect Mom when this happened.”
    “You must have known it was all going to fall apart eventually. You couldn't keep skimming that kind of cash without being found out,” Luke said.
    “I kept hoping after each payment that Nate would be satisfied.”
    “You know what they say about blackmailers. They're never satisfied. You have to pay them off forever.”
    “Nate is not exactly a typical blackmailer,” Eden muttered. “He's angry because of the divorce, and he wants revenge. I thought that after a while he'd be satisfied and go away.”
    Luke stuck his legs out in front of him and studied the toes of his black running shoes. “Does Hayden know about any of this?”
    “Of course not,” Eden snapped. “Dad spends most of his time in his own private world. You know how it is with artists. Mom protects him as much as she can from unpleasant realities. Besides, what could he have done?”
    Luke ignored that. “What about Darren? Did you tell him about the blackmail?”
    “No. There was nothing he could have done either. It was my problem, not his.”
    “Until you told Katy what was going on. And then it became her problem, didn't it?”
    Eden's eyes slid away. She stared at the view of Elliott Bay out her window. “She came to see me because Mother told her I was getting involved with Nate again. Katy couldn't believe it. Once I started talking it all came out. I've been a nervous wreck. I had to talk to someone.”
    “So you just naturally spilled your guts to the Gilchrist guardian angel. You knew she'd help you, didn't you?”
    “I sure as hell didn't know she was planning to run straight to you,” Eden said coldly.
    “Ah, but she didn't run straight to me,” Luke reminded her softly. “She went to Atwood first to see if she could frighten him off. That's what really annoys me in this whole idiotic mess.”
    Eden's gaze slid back to his. “Why?”
    “Because Atwood is slime. I don't want her having to deal with slime.”
    “Is that right? Well, in case you didn't know it, she used to date Nate Atwood. She thought she was falling in love with the man. Who knows what would have happened if I hadn't come along? She might have wound up married to him herself.”
    Luke smiled slowly. “I'm aware of that. And that, my dear cousin, is the only reason I agreed to help you get out of this mess.”
    Eden scowled. “What do you mean?”
    “The way I look at it, you're probably the main reason Atwood didn't try to con Katy into marriage. He wanted a Gilchrist, not an angel. I owe you for that. So I'm going to repay you by getting rid of Atwood.”
    Eden looked baffled. “I don't understand. Are you telling me you're interested in Katy?”
    “Yes.”
    “But Katy ? Luke, she's not your type at all.”
    “I know. She told me that right at the start. Don't worry about it. It's not your problem. Let's get down to the main business here.”
    “What business?” Eden asked cautiously.
    “I want to know everything you know about Atwood. The way he runs his operations, where he goes for his financing, the kinds of deals he favors. Everything. When you've told me what you know I'll use a computer to get the rest.”
    “What are you going to do?”
    Luke shrugged. “First I'm going to gather information. It's what I do best. When I've got enough, I'll crush him.”
    Eden stared at him. “You're serious, aren't you?”
    “Uh-huh.”
    Eden sat forward. There was a spark of hope in her eyes. “Can you really do it?”
    “One way or another.”
    Eden hesitated, watching him closely. “Why?”
    “I told you why.”
    “You're going to save my neck because of Katy?”
    “She's the main reason,” Luke admitted. “But there's another reason.”
    “What?”
    “As much as I hate to admit it, I understand how you got yourself into this situation. You're a Gilchrist. As Katy keeps telling me, we Gilchrists tend to do things with a certain melodramatic flair.”

    In the end it was not particularly difficult. A little digging, a little probing, a little intuition, and it all came together.
    Monday afternoon Luke sat in his Seattle office and studied the screenful of data he had compiled. He had all he needed to control Atwood.
    The next step was informing Atwood of that fact.
    Luke picked up the phone and dialed the office of Atwood Investments. A throaty voice on the