Page 32 of Two Hearts' Subterfuge
“I would have been happy to give you the money, sweetheart,” Dad muttered.
“You know that’s not the same,” she said softly, motioning for the model she was fitting to turn in place.
She huffed out a breath. “What I wanted to let you know is that I’ve bought out Rene’s Boutique in Crystal Rock. She gave me first dibs, and I can’t tell you how excited I am to finally have a place to call home. There’s another space available nextdoor to Rene’s and I’m even thinking about purchasing that too so we can have monthly fashion shows and maybe begin filming videos.”
There was a long silence on the other end of the line.
“Dad? Are you still there?”
She could hear Dad sigh. “I guess I’d better get this over with. Ash has been sighted back in New Orleans. More than once.”
“Where do you suppose he’s been all this time?” she asked quietly.
“Doing penance in Turkey, I presume. His uncle would not have let him off lightly for what happened in Crystal Rock. And since we were able to trick Ash into moving the money he was siphoning from the account he’d created in the Swiss bank into a nonsecure location, there would have been hell to pay for none of it being available, I’m sure. I couldn’t afford to keep letting him get away with what he was doing at Broussard’s, but it was difficult finding a way to deceive him into thinking that the money was still being deposited. Jake Loughlin had a lot to do with handling that. That man has connections far and wide.”
“And since Ash sold me to his uncle, he probably spent most of that money years earlier,” Aylin observed.
“He lived like a sultan. I couldn’t believe the pictures that Jake showed me of Ash’s luxury yacht.”
“All of us wondered about his regular disappearances,” Aylin admitted.
“Always when either Desiree, Rafe or Gray was there at Broussard’s working full time. He was never available for any kind of questions regarding his policies. And I couldn’t fire him, because it was still the only place that I could keep a close eye on him.”
“So, now that he’s back, what does that mean?”
“Well, sweetheart. You’ve set the wheels in motion by purchasing your own business. The only thing we can do now is set a trap. I guess I’d better get a hold of Jake Loughlin so we can figure out how to handle it since I presume you’ll be moving there right away.”
“Yes. I feel cramped for space here in New York, even though I enjoy living here. It’s not the same when you’re living with bodyguards though,” she said dryly.
“Okay. I can’t say I blame you for being sick of it all. But remember, every single one of us is unfinished business as far as Ash is concerned, and I know he’s going to try and find a way to make us pay. Especially if he’s spent the last ten years being humiliated by his uncle.”
“Don’t worry, Dad. It’s kind of hard to forget something like that when you’re always looking over your shoulder.”
Chapter Nineteen
“It’s going to be such a relief to finally have the boutique open again,” Mom said, glancing at Ben.
“They’ve had those windows covered for the last month,” Ben answered gruffly, feeling grumpy for some strange reason. “I wonder what they’re doing in there?”
“I was allowed the opportunity to peek inside. The store is really going to be beautiful when they’re finished, Ben. More modern and unique. The place definitely needed remodeling. Rene never wanted to close the place long enough to do anything other than paint.”
“What’s the new owner like?” Ben asked distractedly. He was having a hard time readjusting to civilian life after opting out of the Air Force. But he’d only been out for a month, and everything seemed to be coming back to him quickly. The hardest task was training on some of the new and improved security features Dad had installed. He’d always been big on new technology, since there’d been numerous domestic terrorism threats in the past. The town had a large military population because of the wounded warrior home and retraining center, which seemed to leave them more vulnerable.
Ben had been working for AFOSI for the past few years which had allowed him to visit home regularly. But when he’dbeen offered a covert position with an elite domestic terrorism investigative unit, it had seemed like the perfect time to start training to take over the Dragonfly Pointe Inn. It was hard to believe that both Mom and Dad were in their sixties now. They planned to do a lot more traveling since Ben had returned home.
“Oh. I’m sure you’ll get along fine with the owner,” Mom said strangely. “She has her own line of clothing and has been doing a lot of modeling.”
“What’s going to happen with the other space that was purchased next door?”
“She’s remodeling it for either weekly or monthly fashion events and possibly filming videos. It should bring in a lot more business for the Inn, that’s for sure.”
Ben grunted, continuing to study something on his notepad.
Mom sighed. “Aren’t you going to eat your breakfast?”
Ben blinked, giving Mom a sheepish smile. “I can’t believe how much trouble I’m having getting back into management. It used to seem so easy. It was all routine.”
Mom smiled back. “I can’t believe you didn’t realize how much you were doing to help run the place back then. It took a while for Dad to be able to handle things on his own again. When you weren’t off playing basketball or football in high school or working out, you were always here at the Inn.”
