Page 6 of Peyton's Price

He shrugged noncommittally. “What did Donny do?”

Peyton sighed. Ethan was too good an FBI agent to be unaware of her history. That and he seemed to like her. That made him extra nosy.

“In addition to being a lifelong drunk, he also liked to play cards, usually after a few beers. Of course, the more he drank, the worse he played. After a while, it was hard to tell which he liked more—booze or cards. He would have the odd lucky streak, but they never lasted.”

“Let me guess? He got in over his head, borrowed money from bad people he couldn’t pay back, and…”

“Yeah.” She glanced at him. “It’s not exactly an original story, is it?”

“And you were there when they came to collect.” It wasn’t a question. Ethan’s voice was clipped and hard.

She nodded. “I was nine. Maggie’s parents had just passed away a few months earlier, but Liam was somehow still managing to keep the B&B going with the help of their loyal staff—Constanza and Maria-Elena.”

Peyton sank deeper in the seat, lost in her memories. It was amazing to reminiscence on where they started. “For a moment, right after the car accident, it felt like the Tylers were going to lose it all, but Liam pulled everyone together. Even Maggie and Trick pitched in. They cleaned the kitchen together, then took over the gardening. I felt bad hanging around, giving them another mouth to feed, so I told Maggie my dad needed me at home and started catching the bus home from school. And one day, Dad’s creditors came. They were inside when I arrived.”

Ethan kept his eyes on the road. “How many men?”

“Three big guys. I knew a few of their faces from the bar my dad liked to drink at. Sometimes, when the power or water went out, I’d have to go down there to remind him to pay the bill, so they’d turn it back on.”

She ran her fingers over the fine leather interior of Ethan’s car. It was just the type of vehicle Donny would have gone crazy over. But his habit ensured he’d never been able to hang onto his driver’s license for long.

“What did they do to you?” Ethan braced himself.

“Nothing.” Her laughter was harsh. “I was terrified, but I knew enough not to show it. They asked where my father was. I told them he’d be home any minute. Then…I don’t know. I guess being at the B&B had rubbed off on me. I pretended I was Maggie when she was greeting guests. I offered them coffee, but I didn’t wait for an answer. I just headed to the kitchen like everything was normal.”

Peyton picked at the sleeve of her wool coat. “I could hear them whispering in the living room. I wasn’t able to make out most of what they were saying, but one had a higher pitched and nasally voice. I could hear him fine.”

Ethan hung on her every word. “What was he saying?”

She took a deep breath. “He was bitching about our place being a dump, and how Dad would never be able to pay up. He said they’d get more for me than any amount Dad could scrounge up. He knew a guy who would pay top dollar if I hadn’t gotten my period yet.”

Ethan swore aloud. “Son of a bitch.”

Peyton shrugged. It was a long time ago. And she never had nightmares about it. She only ever dreamed about what happened after.

“I didn’t know what to do, so I took the cordless and hid in one of the kitchen cabinets.”

He nodded sagely, piecing it together. “And you called Liam.”

“Yes.”

She replayed the whispered conversation in her mind. All she’d told him was there were men in her house waiting for her father, and she was hiding in the kitchen.

“Liam didn’t give me a chance to tell him about the money—not that it would have made a difference. The surviving Tylers operated on a shoestring back then. Things are pretty different for them now.”

“What did Liam do against three men?” Ethan appeared confused. “He was still in high school, and they would have been armed.”

A corner of Peyton’s mouth turned up. “He came in with his baseball bat. He was on the team at the time—and he didn’t come alone.”

“Who did he bring with him?”

Peyton’s smile was wide now. “Calen. He brought his bat, too.”

Liam had swaggered in like he owned the place. The men had risen to their feet at the sight of the bat, but they hadn’t been scared. They had been ready to fight. They hadn’t known fear until Calen walked in whistling, his bat braced against the nape of his neck, hands hanging over it like boys did when they didn’t have a care in the world.

The men hadn’t recognized Calen right away. Not until Liam had introduced him. “Liam told them Calen’s name and that, yes, he was one ofthoseMacLauchlans.”

Ethan whistled. Though it had waned in recent years, Calen’s father, Colman MacLachlan, was still a name in the city’s underworld. For all intents and purposes, Colman was retired, but back then, just the mention of his name would have been enough to give men nightmares.

---