Page 37 of One Little Kiss

He’s been through so much, but anger still flares in my gut.

“You know this was Macomb, right?”

Ash nods, his gaze trained on me but unseeing.

“Then why the fuck haven’t you turned him in, Ash? What the hell are you waiting for?”

“Pacen,” he says quietly, and my anger deflates. “Macomb is into more than you could ever imagine, and he put his own daughter in unthinkable situations. I want her to have the chance to take him down herself.”

“It’s been years, Ash. Maybe that’s not what she wants,” Halt says gently. “She made it pretty clear she wasn’t coming back. Is it possible you’re wasting your time trying to find her?”

“It’s my time,” he hisses. “It’s my life. It’s my call.”

“Maybe, but what about the rest of us? This is fucking with all our lives, Ash.”

“I’ll fix it.”

“It shouldn’t all fall to your feet,” I tell him.

“Yeah, well, thanks to Dad it does.” He slaps the doorframe and mumbles something about work.

We all know he’s heading to the secret room none of us have ever entered. The one that’s triple reinforced with steel and every biometric shield known to man. Ashton has turned dark over the years, and I worry we’ve lost him for good.

“He’s still keeping someone’s dark secrets,” Rylan whispers. “And I think they’re your dad’s.”

The lump in my throat threatens to suffocate me. Closing my eyes, I count to ten. When I open them, Halton is watching me closely. “What?”

“Do you want to see it?” he asks cautiously.

I don’t need to ask whatitis; it can only be one thing. I have to force that damn lump in my throat down.

“You finished?”

Rylan beams beside him. “She’s beautiful. Are you going to tell me who it is?”

Shaking my head, I respond with the only truth I know. “She’s just a ghost of what could have been. That’s all.” Her eyes widen with surprise, and damn, do I wish I could snap those words back, but they’re out there now. “Let’s go see it, huh?”

Rylan and Halt exchange a glance I no longer have the inside knowledge to read. The third wheel to their love story is not how I saw my life playing out, but I won’t begrudge them their happiness, so I suck it up and head out the door.

* * *

“We probably shouldn’t stay long,” Halton reasons as we enter my nearly finished home. “I know Pres is pissed off, but he’s right about lying low. They aren’t backing down with the lawsuits, and who knows what Macomb has planned next. You seem to be the target he’s after right now, so we must take every precaution.”

“That slimy little shit is going to get what’s comin’ to him. You just wait and see,” GG’s voice calls from the foyer.

“Jesus, GG. What are you doing in here?”

“I’m waterin’ the plants. Who do you think does it in all these houses you boys built?”

“Ah, I have plants?” I ask, a little shellshocked. The last time I was in this house, the contractors had just started hanging sheetrock. Now it’s fully furnished and has plants?

“Well, ya weren’t telling us what ya wanted, and ya know how impatient Lexi is.”

Easton’s wife, Lexi, was a buyer for a large department store in another life, so it makes sense that she took over decorating all the homes.

“Yeah,” I mutter, flipping on a light as I make my way through the home. It’s stunning. And empty. It doesn’t feel or smell like a home. It’s a house. That uncomfortable feeling in my gut takes center stage until I find the mantel in the family room. Resting on the edge is what I assume to be a large canvas wrapped in brown paper.

My hands shake as I reach for it. Halton is by my side seconds later.