Slow Burn (39 page)

Ron’s head jerked up. “Are you saying
Mom—?”

“Of course not,” Penelope snapped. “Nina has
her faults, but she’d never do something so despicable. She sold
the house to the Fitzgeralds. The money from the sale was to pay
back Doyle. But someone started the fire.”

“That night, before the fire, Doyle came to
the house, demanding we accept his terms,” Gregory continued. “Your
father and I told him the house was already sold to someone else.
He became livid, words were exchanged, accusations and
counter-accusations.”

Ron sat up, Ashley’s revelation during
hypnosis flitting through his head. “What kind of accusations?”

“Your father accused him of orchestrating an
investment scam. Doyle dared him to prove it. In the aftermath of
the fire, Doyle disappeared from L.A. Any attempts to contact him
were unsuccessful. Then he appeared at our door today unannounced.
Once again, he wants Carlyle House, and the money he’s owed is the
down payment on it.”

Ron scowled. “Are you saying Mom never sent
the money back?”

Gregory shook his head. “Nina didn’t know
about all this. She’d just lost your father and was grieving. Your
grandmother and I took care of it. We wired the money back to
Doyle. But a few days after the fire, we discovered the same amount
of money plus twenty-five thousand more in your father’s account.
By that time, the rumor that he was involved in the fire was
floating around. We didn’t know what to believe.”

“The money didn’t make sense, and the rumors
were ludicrous,” Penelope added.

“Our investigator checked into it, but he
couldn’t find any records of a wire transfer. The bank couldn’t
tell us who deposited the bulk of it. But he learned that the
twenty-five thousand came from Prime Corp, a dummy company set up
by Ryan. The same amount was wired into the bank accounts of three
firefighters who were on duty the night of the fire, the same men
who died in that boat two days ago. That’s when we began to wonder
if the rumors were true.”

Ron winced as the words ricocheted in his
head. “No, there must be another explanation for the money.”

“And the rumors?” Penelope asked.

Ron scrubbed his face, frustration burning
his insides. The father he knew would never stoop to criminal
activities, not even to cover a debt. “I don’t know. Did you ask
Doyle about it today?”

“Of course, we did,” Penelope said.

“He insisted he had no idea what we were
talking about,” Gregory added. “He claimed he never received the
money we sent him, never owned Prime Corp, but he had legal papers
that showed your father owed him the quarter a million plus any
interest accrued in case he didn’t pay him back.”

“I will pay it back and expose him for the
scumbag that he is,” Ron vowed.

“You’ll do no such thing,” Penelope snapped.
“Doyle’s money has been sitting in an account we set up. We’ll wire
it to him, plus the interest. As for Carlyle House, I agree with
your mother. He’ll never set a foot in it.” Penelope got to her
feet. “We never wanted to burden you with this, Ronald. But now
that you know, you must put it behind you and move on. No one knows
who started the rumors or whether they’re true or not. Gregory and
I will end this.” She walked to his side and pressed a firm hand on
his shoulder. The pressure was not reassuring. “Of course, your
mother must not be told about this. She’s not strong enough to
handle something like this which is why when someone sent her the
same letters you received, Connie intercepted them and sent them to
us. We didn’t know the person would target you.”

Ron frowned. His mother needed to know the
truth so she could let go of the past, just like Ashley had said.
“No. You can’t hide things from her. She’s stronger than you
think.”

“Have you any idea how devastated she’ll be
when she hears that rumors we’ve all lived with this past ten years
are true? That Doyle paid your father and his firefighter friends
to start the fire, which killed the Fitzgeralds?” Penelope asked in
a relentless voice.

Ron stopped paying attention to his
grandmother before she finished speaking, his mind going in
circles. His Ashley. If one person deserved to know the whole
sordid truth, it was she. He’d talk with his grandmother later
about treating his mother like a child, but he must talk to Ashley
right away, tell her everything.

“Ashley mustn’t be told about this either,”
his grandmother ordered. “Some things are better left unsaid,
especially when revealing them may have dire consequences.”

Ron shook his head. He never argued with his
grandmother when she used that tone, but this time was different.
His future was at stake. He refused to lie to the woman he loved
anymore.

“Ronald? Did you hear what I said?”

“Yes, Grandmother. But—”

A sob from behind them cut him off. Ron
turned to look. Someone was eavesdropping behind the door. He
jumped up and raced to open it. When he stepped into the hallway,
Ashley was hurrying toward the foyer. His stomach dropped. Just how
much had she heard?

CHAPTER 20

“Ashley, wait.”

She ignored Ron and continued on into the
foyer, but running didn’t lessen her anguish, her sense of
betrayal. It became sharper as the conversation she’d overheard
replayed in her head. Pain constricted her throat and tears stung
her eyes. How long had Ron known about his father? Why hadn’t he
told her?

“Damn it, Ashley. Let me explain.”

She spun around and glared at him. Everything
else around her became blurry as she focused on his face, so dear
and familiar, yet so angry. Why? Was he pissed with her for
eavesdropping? She would never have known the truth if she hadn’t
gone in search of him and overheard.

She shook her head. It hurt so much to look
at him, to know that she’d trusted him so implicitly, but he had
been hiding things from her. She loved him with her heart and he
didn’t deserve that love. She swallowed her hurt and willed the
tears away from her eyes.

“Explain what, Ron?” she asked in a shaky
voice. “That you knew your father was involved in the fire, but you
chose not to tell me?”

He stopped in front of her and shoved his
hands in the front pockets of his jeans. “I’m sorry you found out
this way. I had planned to tell you everything after I spoke with
Uncle Gregory.”

Ashley shook her head, feeling so betrayed.
“You knew, Ron.”

“Please, listen to me. I didn’t know
anything. It was a rumor I’d lived with the last ten years, but
never cared to find out if there was some truth in it until I
started receiving those letters. If you recall, the whole point of
the investigation was to find out what happened that night.”

Was he seriously trying to excuse his
actions? “You don’t get it, do you? You should have been honest
with me from the word go, Ron. My cousin hinted at the rumor, but I
refused to believe him because I trusted you. I thought your reason
for starting the investigation was the same as mine, to bring
justice to our parents.” Her voice hitched and jerked. She wanted
to hear Ron admit it. No, she wanted him to tell her it wasn’t
true, that what she just heard were lies. She wanted him to make
the pain go away. “Did he start the fire? Did he kill my
parents?”

He sighed. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know? After what I just heard in
there?” She jabbed a finger in the direction of the den. When Ron
yanked his hands from his pockets and scrubbed his face without
speaking, she whipped around and continued toward the back door.
Ron dogged her footsteps.

Ashley ignored him, but the silence whispered
things she didn’t want to hear. She fell in love with the son of
her parents’ killer. Would she have helped Ron with his
investigation had he been honest with her? Probably. Slept with
him? Hell no, not without feeling like she was betraying her
parents. She should have listened to her cousin. Taking the blame
didn’t make her pain go away, it only made it worse.

The pool house door was partially open. She
pushed it, walked to the center of the living room, turned around
and wrapped her arms around herself. Ron closed the door behind
him. He kept his distance but stared right back at her. She wanted
him to take her in his arms and tell her everything would be all
right. How could she still want him when his father killed her
parents?

“I’m so sorry you found out this—”

“Don’t tell me you’re sorry, Ron,” Ashley
whispered, her throat swollen with tears. “I trusted you.”

He forked his fingers through his hair, the
way she often did when they made love. Even thinking about that
made her angry.

“Why couldn’t you just be honest with me?”
she demanded.

“I was afraid you’d shut me out if you knew
the truth. And the more I got to know you, the harder it became. I
didn’t want to lose you.”

“Don’t you mean you didn’t want to lose the
only witness to what happened that night? No wonder you scaled my
wall to be there when I went through hypnosis.” And she’d thought
he’d missed her and wanted to be with her. God, she was an
idiot.

“You’re taking what you heard the wrong way,
Ashley. If you’d heard—”

“I heard enough. Your grandmother said I
shouldn’t know the truth and you agreed.” The words came out shaky,
her voice begging for answers instead of demanding. When he pressed
the heel of his palm against his temple and scrunched his face as
though he were in pain, her heart wrung. She almost opened her
mouth to ask if he was all right, but she had to know the truth.
“Do you deny you were willing to continue lying to me?”

A muscle ticked in his cheek. “If you were in
the den with us, you’d have seen me shake my head when she
demanded
I keep the truth from you.”

Ashley was taken back by the depth of despair
in his eyes. She’d been so absorbed with his betrayal she hadn’t
stopped to think how he must be taking this new revelation. Could
he be shouldering the guilt of his father’s criminal act? Once
again, she was tempted to reassure him, but she hardened her heart.
She shouldn’t care about what he was going through. He was the one
who’d betrayed her trust. His father made her an orphan.

“I know you’re angry right now and you have a
right to be, but I meant to tell you everything, Ashley,” Ron
continued, his tone bleak. “You and my mother deserve to know the
truth, no matter how painful and distasteful it is.”

It was a little too late. She just wanted to
go home. “It doesn’t matter. Not anymore.”

“Don’t say that. It matters, just like what
we have matters.” Before she knew his intentions, he’d closed the
gap between them and pulled her in his arms. “I won’t let this come
between us, Ashley.” His mouth closed over hers.

For a moment, his senses overwhelmed hers.
Her body yielded, guided by familiarity. He made it so easy to love
him. To want him. To need him. Tears filled her eyes, rolled down
her cheeks to their locked lips. He must have tasted them because
his head lifted.

“Sweetheart….”

She shook her head, rejecting the concern in
his voice. “You can’t use the power you have over my body to win me
over, Ron. I won’t let you.”

His jaws clenched. “We belong together.”

“No, we don’t. Not when you lie to me. Not
when I can’t trust you.” Not when what his father did would poison
their relationship. “There is no longer an
us
.”

Pain flashed in his eyes. “There will always
be us. We can start over. You can learn to trust me again. I love
you.”

Earlier in the day, she would have jumped
with joy at those words. Now, they left her angry. A borderline
hysterical laugh escaped her. “Love is not a four letter word you
brandish when you feel cornered, Ron.” His eyes blazed at her
words, and for a beat, she thought he would grab her and shake her,
but all he did was glare. “Listen, this conversation is
pointless.”

“No, you listen.” His voice was hard. “You
can laugh at my feelings, throw them back in my face, but it
doesn’t change how I feel about you. I love you, and once this
investigation is over, I’m going to prove it to you. And before you
blow me off, hear me out.”

Ashley had no choice but to listen as he
explained about the bad investments his father made, owing Doyle
money and the man’s demands concerning Carlyle House and finally
the money in his father’s account that tied him to the other
firefighters. “It’s all circumstantial. Just because the money was
wired into his account at the same time the other firefighters were
paid doesn’t mean my father was in on their plans. Since Doyle
won’t talk, I mean to find Frankie and have him confirm or refute
my father’s involvement that night.”

Logic returned as she shifted through
everything he just said. Was it possible that his father wasn’t
guilty? No, she didn’t want to cling to false hope. Besides, his
explanation didn’t negate the fact that he’d lied to her.

Ashley sighed. She was tired and emotionally
drained. She just wanted to nurse her bruised heart in the privacy
of her home. Even now, sheer will was the only thing keeping her
tears at bay.

“Then I wish you the best in your
investigation.” She started to walk around him, but he blocked her
path.

“Where are you going?”

His scent, so masculine and enticing, teased
her senses. Her heart trembled. It hurt so much to think they’d
never be together again, that this was goodbye. “To collect my
things and go home.”

“Don’t go, please. As long as Frankie and
Doyle are free, it’s not safe. You’re not safe. Stay here for a few
days.” He indicated the pool house. “There are two bedrooms in
here. I swear I won’t bother you.”

She couldn’t sleep with him a few feet away,
wanting and needing him, knowing he lied to her. “I can’t.”

“Then sleep in the main house while I stay
here. Just for tonight.”