Page 17 of Dead and a Best Friend
"Here you go."
I stepped into the room where Aiden was behind bars and saw anger in his eyes. "Why, Aiden? What you did to Pen was wrong. I hope you rot in hell for how you treated her."
Aiden's jaw twitched, and his eyes narrowed. "Don't get on your high horse, Tallulah. Pen can be a cold fish. Eventually, I looked elsewhere." He jumped to his feet and started pacing, then stopped directly in front of me. "My relationship with Jane started up again eighteen months ago when my wife told me she'd never sleep with me again. Why do you think I hit her? She wouldn't fulfill her wifely duties and open her legs for her husband. So, yes, I fucked Jane. A lot." He grinned.
Asshole!
"What did you do with the money, Aiden?"
"What money?"
"Well, the money you hid in the rim of Pen's car wheel, for starters. Where did it come from?"
His eyes narrowed. "What did she do with it?" he asked quietly and dangerously.
I whispered back, "She paid off the mortgage and bought stuff with the rest. However, she didn't find the two million that someone named Angel is looking for. Not to mention some out-of-town detectives."
His complexion turned white as I spoke. Then, my brain seemed to come online. "Wait a minute. You haven't had sex with Penelope in eighteen months?"
"Longer." He shook his head. "What the hell does that have to do with anything?"
He wasn't the father of Penelope's baby. What the hell?
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing!" I blurted out in a high-pitched voice. "You were about to tell me about the money."
"I wasn't about to tell you anything," he snarled.
"I'll start the rumor that you spent two million before the cops caught up with you." I smiled. "I wonder how long it would take Angel to find a way to get to you."
"You wouldn't dare?"
“You killed Monica. You messed up, Penelope. I'll do whatever it takes to keep Pen safe, even if it means throwing you to the wolves. Where is the money?"
"Ask Carlisle."
"You're lying,” I snapped back, furious how his name kept coming up.
"You wish." He turned his back on me. "I'm done."
My unsteady legs carried me out of the room. Oliver took one look at me and pulled me into his arms. "Tallulah, it's over. I have you. You're okay." He rubbed his hands up and down my back, then just held me.
My mind was freaking out. Carlisle and Jane. Angel and Carlisle.
What was going on?
I couldn't decidewhom I wanted to speak to first, but in the end, I chose Carlisle because I couldn't stop thinking about him. I wanted to trust him. I wanted to believe that he wouldn't lie when I asked him a direct question.
When he saw me, the man smiled and pulled me into an embrace. When I didn't return his embrace, he pushed me away slightly and frowned. "What's happened?"
"Your office," I muttered, allowing him to lead me inside his spacious hotel office. Behind closed doors, I turned to face him. "Have you ever lied to me?"
"Of course not. What is this about?" He moved away from me and sat behind his desk. I remained standing, my legs trembling as I stood in front of the desk.
I cleared my throat. "You told me that you'd never slept with Jane. Was that true? Have you ever fucked her?"
His dark eyes glittered with anger, and a faint flush crept onto his cheekbones. He was clearly angry about being questioned.
"You don't trust me?" He steepled his fingers.
