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“Because I knew that it would be no good until we settled what had happened in the past. And that included the truth about your family as well as mine.”
Just as Trevor reached for the handle of the door, Ashley heard a car roar down the driveway.
“Damn,” Trevor muttered. “Too late. Some reporter must have gotten tired of leaving a message with the recorder.” His blue eyes pierced into hers. “Are you ready for this?”
Ashley braced herself and her fingers twined in the strength of his. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
The doorbell rang impatiently several times and then a fist pounded furiously on the door.
“Not the most patient guy around,” Trevor mumbled. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
He jerked open the door and Claud rushed into the foyer, his face ashen, his eyes dark with accusations when they rested on Ashley.
“Wait a minute,” Trevor said, placing his body between that of Ashley and her cousin. “What’re you doing here?”
“We had a deal,” Claud spat out. Then he straightened, regained a small portion of his dignity and let his cold eyes rest on Ashley. “I thought
I’d find you here.”
“What do you want, Claud?”
“Call him off!” her cousin blurted furiously.
“Who? What?”
“Him!” Claud pointed an accusatory finger in Trevor’s direction and it shook with the rage enveloping him. “That bastard’s been hounding me for the last month.”
“I think you should calm down—”
“And I think you should leave, while you still can.” Trevor’s eyes snapped.
Claud stopped abruptly. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just that we’re on to you, Stephens.”
Visibly paling, Claud turned to Ashley. “He’s been telling you all sorts of lies, I suppose.”
Ashley held out her palm, hoping to diffuse the uncomfortable tension. She never really had been afraid of her cousin and she couldn’t really fear him now. Despite Trevor’s accusations, Claud was too much of a coward to try to do her physical harm. “Why don’t we all go into the living room and I’ll make some coffee. We can discuss whatever it is we need to, once everyone has calmed down.”
“I don’t know. . . .” Trevor said, his eyes calculating as he studied his opponent.
“I don’t want any coffee—”
“Something stronger?” Ashley asked, watching Claud walk agitatedly back and forth in the foyer. She started toward the living room and Claud followed.
“I need to talk to you alone.”
“Not on your life,” Trevor boomed, falling into step with Ashley. “I’m not about to forget what you said a couple of days ago, something to the effect that Ashley was expendable and you were willing to do the expending.”
“He’s lying, Ash! I swear—”
“Don’t waste your breath,” Trevor suggested, and the look of steely determination in his eyes coupled with his tightly clenched fists convinced Claud to keep quiet.
Claud sank into one of the stiff royal blue chairs near the bay window and had to hold on to his knee to keep it from shaking. “There’s been some guy following me, Ashley,” he said, avoiding the deadly look on Trevor’s face and concentrating on his cousin. “I don’t know who or why, but I think that it’s someone looking for information about the company. You know, there’s kidnappings all the time—families with money.”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Trevor said with a cynical smile growing from one side of his face to the other. He sat next to Ashley on the couch, one arm curved protectively over her shoulders, the other at his side. He looked coolly disinterested, almost bored with the conversation, but he was tense, all of his muscles coiled. Ashley could feel it. If he had to, Trevor was ready to spring on Claud.
“I think someone might try to kidnap me, for God’s sake!”
