Page 20 of One Night Rendezvous

"So she's supposed to thank you for that? You're more than likely the one who put her in the position to be arrested as it is. You're not father of the year. I think maybe you need to remember that."

He grabs hold of my shirt. "Neither are you, Ford. Maybe you need to remember that."

"Never said I was, but the one thing I can promise you is I'd never leave my daughter out to dry over shit I did. That's where we differ. You're lucky Ashley hasn't laid the hammer down on you. I'd be thanking my lucky stars if I were you, because that's so much more than you deserve."

He eyes me for a second, before taking a toothpick out of his pocket and puts it in his mouth. A smug smile spreads across his face. "Good luck with her, Ford. She's a lot like me, she just uses you for what she needs and then when you no longer serve a purpose, she drops you. Make sure you don't get those feelings hurt when she does." Doogie's smile turns snarky and full of self-importance, and all it does is infuriate me.

"Ashley is absolutely nothing like you. If you really think so, then you have a whole lot to learn about the woman you call a daughter. More than anything, she's closed off because of the shit you've pulled on her through the years." I lean under the hood and keep on working. "For the record, I didn't ask for you fuckin' opinion and until I do, keep it to yourself. Your car will be ready in a couple days. I'll let you know."

He presses into me, but I don't turn to look at him, I stare straight ahead. "Show me some respect, boy. Don't fuck with me."

"No, Doogie, don't you fuck with me."

As the older man leaves, I'm worried about what I've done. What will this bring down on Ashley and myself? More than anything I have to figure out a way to keep us, as well as Felicity, safe. Doesn't matter if she wants long-term or not. She's going to be staying with me for the foreseeable future, just so I can keep an eye on her.

When I show up at her door, I make sure the look on my face lets her know not to argue with me. "Ash? Remember that change I told you to keep, and I said I'd let you know when I needed it back? It's time for repayment."

She opens her mouth, but instead of saying anything, she nods. "What do you need?"

So much more than she's willing to give.

SEVENTEEN

Ashley

I did not expect to be here.

Boy, does that statement ring true. I didn’t expect to be sitting next to Ford in a borrowed vehicle, going incognito to Cassie’s house so we can have a chat with Cam Fellows. Ford doesn’t chat with cops. Ford barely has a civil nod for most of them. But no one has to tell me that Cam and Troy are cut from different cloth than most. It’s not the power trip for them that it is for some of them. They’re the original good guys.

“You sure about this?” I ask him.

“Fuck, no,” he says, the words hissing out between clenched teeth. Every muscle is tense, locked up. “I’m not sure about a goddamn thing … well, one thing. He can’t have you running scared your whole life. You deserve better than that.”

My heart feels like it’s going to beat right out of my chest. “Don’t do this for me, Chevy. Don’t risk this for me. I’m not worth it.”

“The hell you’re not. Don’t let him poison your mind anymore, Ash. He’s had you believing for way too long that no matter what you do, you’re always going to be nothing but an extension of him. The only one who sees it that way is Doogie himself … but he’s so goddamn hung up on himself, he thinks everybody sees the world the same way he does.”

God, I want to believe that. I want to believe that being free from Doogie and his schemes and his manipulations is as easy as just walking away from it. But I can’t. Because when you deal with that shit daily, it changes you. It twists things up inside you and makes the whole world ugly. “You’re a good guy, Ford. A stand-up guy. People might not see it, but they’re the ones missing out.”

The back door opens and Cam slides into the passenger side of the vehicle. It’s full dark outside now. “What gives? Is all this cloak-and-dagger bullshit really necessary?”

I glance over my shoulder. “How much do you really hate my dad, Cam?”

“That fucker could be on fire right in front of me, Ash, and I wouldn’t piss on him … Is that what this is about? Doogie?”

I look over at Ford. His jaw is like rock, clenched so tight it’s a wonder it doesn’t just snap. I know he’s worried that this is going to come back on him. I am too. “Cam, my dad is into a lot of illegal shit. A lot of it. And I spent years helping him cover it up—not because I wanted to, but because I had to.”

“Fuck, I know that, Ashley. Everyone in town knows that. When you quit working for that son of a bitch, we all breathed a collective sigh of relief.”

“He thought he could get by without me,” I explain. “And now he’s figured out that he can’t and he’s trying to force me to come back to work for him.”

Cam’s eyes narrow. “Force you how?”

“Threats, mostly. Bullying. Coercion. He says he’ll hang me out to dry for cooking his books. I don’t think he can. Not without exposing his own dirty dealings.”

“And Ford is here for moral support?”

That’s when Ford turns to face him. “No. I’m here to offer you another way to get his ass … but before that happens, I need your word that Ashley will be okay. And me too. I can’t go down for this. My kid needs me. She can’t have both her parents in jail.”

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