Page 38 of Two Hearts' Subterfuge

Ben laughed when Mom rolled her eyes.

“You should be able to move in next week if you’d like,” Dad said.

“Let’s go for midweek,” Aylin suggested. “I’m planning on opening the shop Monday, and once we’re open, I’d rather be close so I can keep an eye on things to make sure that everything is running smoothly since I’ll have some new employees I’ll have to supervise since I’ve never worked with them before.”

“Of course,” Ben agreed. “Whatever works for you is fine with me.”

“For now, here’s what’s important. Unless Aylin is here inside the Inn, she should never be left alone. I know that it’s still confining, but I’d rather not have you out at the house unless Ben is there with you either,” Dad admitted.

“I don’t know if my dad ever mentioned it to you, but I’ve had some training since everything happened. Ten years ago, I hated how helpless I felt afterwards,” Aylin admitted.

“Even though you’ve had some training, please do it for me anyway, Aylin,” Mom said softly. “When I was kidnapped several years ago, I thought that I was prepared too.”

Ben blinked, sitting upright. “Why didn’t I know about that?”

“Your dad was the one who rescued me,” Mom admitted.

Ben frowned, becoming irritable. “You’re going to sit down with me and Lara sometime and tell us what happened. Okay?”

“Oh, Ben.” Mom looked uncomfortable. “It was all so long ago.”

Dad sighed. “Now that they’re both adults, we should probably tell them the whole story, Danny, once Lara’s back in town. Danny was kidnapped by the same human traffickers that kidnapped a close friend of hers, guys. Luckily, we were able to track down Mom and her friend while they were still being held here in town. Never forget that Dragonfly Pointe has a long, dark history.”

Looking somewhat reluctant, Mom’s eyes filled with tears as she nodded her agreement.

When Aylin rubbed Mom’s arm reassuringly, Ben reached out, covering Mom’s hand.

“And there are things about me that you have a right to know as well,” Dad said gruffly. “We’ll talk about all of that when Lara comes home.”

Mom gave Dad a misty smile.

Dad continued, “Another thing I forgot to mention, Aylin. Your dad and I decided that we would put more effort into discovering where Ash has been, at least during the last couple years. For someone we’re certain is bent on revenge, he’s making himself highly visible. Possibly intentionally.”

“That is kind of odd,” Aylin agreed. “I would have expected him to show up here right away.”

Dad nodded. “It wouldn’t have been difficult to discover that Ben was the one who saved you.”

For the next hour, they went over what their schedule would be during the following week. They wouldn’t travel back and forth to the Inn at the same time every day. They’d also switch up their vehicles and take different routes to and from work each day.

Eventually, they went their separate ways for the remainder of the afternoon.

* * *

There was a knock on the door of her room, and Aylin grinned when she found Ben at the door wearing jeans and a sherpa lined leather coat.

“You found my room,” she said, reaching for her purse as he stepped inside.

“I finally wormed the information out of Mom,” he answered, grinning back at her.

Reaching for her coat, he helped her into it.

And then he tugged her into his arms, kissing her deeply.

When they pulled apart, he thumped the left side of his chest with a fist. “There it is again.”

“What?” she asked, feeling dazed.

“My heart’s doing a somersault.”

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