Page 7 of Two Hearts' Subterfuge

What he found interesting was the fact that another man—this one older with a foreign look about him—had also stared through the binoculars for a long while. And it was worrisome that the shop window that they’d been peering through was Rene’s Boutique.

There could be a relatively simple explanation. Maybe they were just looking for someone they thought was inside.

But to Ben, the binoculars kicked up the situation to a whole new level. Was one of the ladies inside being stalked? There had been at least three other women besides Rene and the drop-dead gorgeous girl inside the shop when Ben had glanced through the window before his run a little earlier.

There could be another explanation. Although Rene had always appeared to be on the up and up, maybe she was in financial trouble and had borrowed from someone she shouldn’t have.

If Ben had to guess, the former would be more likely than the latter. Dad was scrupulously up to date regarding the financials of his tenants in the service wing of the Inn.

Well, all Ben could do was try and get some clear shots of the men so Dad could begin running them through his recognition software.

Thankfully, Dad always had the most updated technology available, so the camera quality was top notch. Since he had footage from two different angles, Ben was able to focus on each man pretty clearly, so he was quickly able to crop out a couple decent photos.

Ben studied each of them for a moment, pursing his lips. The younger man appeared to be in his mid to late twenties and seemed somewhat familiar. Why, he couldn’t say.

The older man was probably in his mid-fifties if Ben had to guess, and there was something about the look in his eyes that made him uneasy.

Ben reached for his phone. He’d better let Dad take it from here.

Chapter Four

Celine had walked into the boutique just as they’d finished fitting Emilie and Desiree. The gown Aylin had designed for Mom had fit like a glove since she’d already known her measurements. Designing the gown had been one of the first things Aylin had done after learning two weeks earlier about Dad’s plans for Rafe and Camille to remarry in Crystal Rock on Christmas day.

Hopefully, the assault on the Broussard family was finished, Dad had said. First, in a highly suspicious incident, Alex had gone missing in action in Afghanistan but was later discovered alive—not because someone hadn’t tried to eliminate him, but because of mistaken identity. Then Ash had proved to be responsible for kidnapping Gray’s son Joey after seducing his first wife. Rafe’s wife Camille had been stalked, while her sister Emilie, who just happened to be the love of Gray’s life, had been brutally assaulted by Ash, they’d recently discovered. Ash had even focused his attention on Desiree for a while. And then there’d been numerous attempts on Dad’s life as well as on Gray’s and Desiree’s husband Marc’s. Even Celine had gone in hiding so that no one knew she’d been pregnant when Alex disappeared.

All because Ash’s birth father had been killed as a leader of Isis in Turkey. Not only Ash, but his uncle, sought revenge since Broussard Industries had been responsible for manufacturing the newly designed cutting-edge weaponry behind the assault of that particular terrorist cell. Aylin assumed they’d used some kind of drone.

There was more to the story than even that, Aylin had been told. Funds were being syphoned from the company and defective parts had been produced for military contracts, along with numerous other problems. But Dad had sat down with them all after Ash’s last attempt to wreak havoc to try and explain the situation. There’d been a bomb planted at the central manufacturing plant in New Orleans, where not only were the business offices located, but thousands of employees worked. It had been set to go off during the hub of activity on Monday morning, one month earlier.

Somehow, it had been detected and disarmed, although Aylin didn’t know the details about how.

But Ash had somehow disappeared when they’d attempted to take him into custody.

Realizing that Aylin was the only family member who’d been left unscathed, Dad had felt that it was important for Aylin to be told the truth. Everyone was keeping a watchful eye on her, even though they couldn’t imagine why Ash would bother causing any trouble for her since she was the only family member who didn’t have any direct connection to the business. She had no interest in learning the ropes.

But there were so many horrific things that Ash was responsible for, the entire family decided that they couldn’t afford to take any chances.

Aylin was starting to feel confined. At least she was able to roam around inside the Inn on her own because of all the security, but she’d sure like to get out for a while and maybe gofor a walk and see the sights. Supposedly, there was ice skating nearby. She’d love to know what it was like to skate outdoors on an actual body of ice rather than the rink that they visited at home.

It didn’t matter so much right now, since everyone seemed to approve of the work she’d done with the gowns. She had plenty of things to do for the next few days. But maybe everyone would ease up a little after the wedding.

“Now that we’re through this phase of the fitting, why don’t we all have lunch in the restaurant?” Desiree suggested after Celine returned to the fitting room to change back into her slacks and sweater.

“I’ll need to come back to work on the wedding gown after we eat,” Aylin said.

Rene smiled at Aylin. “Go and get recharged. Take your time, and I’ll see you in about an hour or two. I’ve got an additional sales clerk coming in this afternoon because sometimes we get busy before the charity event that’s taking place tomorrow. You’d be surprised at how many guests don’t realize that it’s a formal affair and have nothing to wear. That’s actually why we began stocking menswear here at the boutique as well once we expanded.”

“Aylin. I feel guilty about leaving you here sewing while Marc and I go visit our nephews over at Celene and Alex’s house this afternoon,” Desiree said, frowning.

Aylin grinned. “I’ll be fine. I’ll grab my iPod from my room and get absorbed in my work while I listen to some music.”

“She definitely gets absorbed,” Rene agreed. “I wish that everyone who worked for me could be even half as enthused as Aylin.”

Celine walked out from the dressing room. “Come on ladies. Lunch is on me since I probably held all of you up by arriving so late.”

“Everyone had plenty to do,” Aylin said reassuringly. “You came just in time. Now all we have left are the alterations. I even talked to Mom and Dad about ordering your flowers Camille, and went over everything with the flower shop owner in town via Facetime. Maybe you’d like to stop by the flower shop while you’re doing your shopping this afternoon, to check everything out and give your approval. The place is called Sander’s Floral, and it’s located in the mall downtown.”

Celine smiled. “I recommended the place since I know the owner. They do a terrific business in town as well as here at the Inn.”

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