Big Bad Boys A Romance Collection - Penny Wylder Page 0,23

I went to the locker in the bus station, retrieved the bag, counted every penny. It was all there.

Then I dropped it off where it needed to go. To the people who truly deserved it: Mrs. Brown and her daughter. I gave it to them to help them start their new life, far away from here.

But Dad doesn’t need to know that. Not yet.

I step closer to him. “Damon actually talked quite a lot, you know, once I started asking the right questions.”

Dad’s eyebrows rise. “Good, you’re learning. Now where in this room did he say the money would be? Is there a secret panel, a hidden door?”

“A loose floorboard, believe it or not,” I say, a slow smile beginning on my face. Dad’s eyes light up, greed evident behind that shark-like grin. How did I never see it before? How did I never realize what a monster he was? I knew he was a bad person. Knew he had his rages, his fits of anger. I knew he did bad things, stole and lied and cheated people. But not this. Nothing like this.

I should have seen it sooner.

Dad reaches for the floorboards. I plant a stiletto heel on the ground, just over the loose board. “Not so fast, Dad,” I say.

His eyes narrow. “Ashley…”

“I just want to clear one thing up first. Then we’ll get the money squared away.” I lift an eyebrow as I say that.

“Ashley, we don’t have time for this.”

“Trust me, you’re going to want to make time for this.” I catch his eye and hold it, my own gaze steady as steel. “Someone is on to us, Dad.”

His brow furrows. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, Damon is telling a different story than the one you told me. And I’m not the only one he’s telling it to. People know what really went down in the bank.”

“What people?” he asks immediately, his tone sharpening.

I notice he doesn’t ask what I mean, about what really went down in the bank. “So it’s true then.” I take a step closer to him, chin lifted. “You planned the whole heist.”

“Of course. You think an idiot like Damon could have put this together?” he scoffs.

“Not just that.” I shake my head. “You killed Eric Brown.”

“I didn’t pull the trigger, if that’s what you’re asking,” he snaps.

“But you ordered it done. Ordered one of your men to do it.”

“Ashley, it was nothing personal. A job is a job. I thought I raised you to understand that.”

“Oh, you did, Dad. But I need to hear you say it now. I need to understand just how far you’d go for your jobs. How badly you want this cash.” I stomp my foot on the floorboard I’m standing over for emphasis. It wiggles a little, still loose from when I pried it up earlier. Dad’s eyes flash to it, and I can see the hunger in his gaze sharpen.

“I ordered him killed. To protect us, Ashley, to protect this family. He’d seen my face, he knew my identity. He could have destroyed everything we have, everything we’ve worked so hard and so long to build together.”

“And his wife? His daughter?”

Dad waves a hand, dismissive. “I had some men follow them, told them to keep them quiet if they threatened to talk. But neither of them were anywhere to be found. I guess the wife is smarter than her man, and went to ground. That’s fine by me; I’ll leave them alone as long as they keep silent.”

“You told me they were dead. And you would have had them killed, too, if they hadn’t disappeared. Is that what you’re telling me?”

“Why the sudden third degree, Ashley? Why the change of heart? We’ve always been in this together. You’ve been showing so much initiative, investigating Damon for me, taking on more responsibility at the company… This is part of that responsibility. You want to be the heir to this fortune, then you need to understand where it comes from.”

“From bloodshed, from the sound of it. I thought we didn’t kill people, Dad.”

“We don’t kill innocent people. Eric Brown was far from innocent.”

“What did he do beside own a bank that you wanted to plunder?” I snap.

“Nobody is innocent, Ashley,” he replies, face flushing. “Now, I’ve had just about enough of your games. Move aside and let me have the money. This has gone on long enough.”

“Oh, I agree, Dad. It has definitely gone on far too long.” I step aside. Dad bends down to reach for