The Naughty List Bundle - Kylie Adams [68]
Her gaze glued to the stereo as if transfixed, Honey whispered, “Sawyer,” and he was by her side in an instant, taking her hand, as appalled as she.
The voices were unrecognizable to Sawyer, other than being male. But what they were discussing was painfully obvious: murder. And the fact that Honey knew the voices was easy to see by her horrified expression.
So you’ll do it?
It won’t be a problem. But we’ll need some good-faith money upfront.
I can give you half now, the rest after she marries me and her father is gone. But remember, you have to wait for my instructions. If you kill the old man before the legalities are taken care of, I won’t get a damn thing. Which means you won’t get a thing.
How long are we talking?
A week or two. It’s already in his will, but I want to make sure there won’t be any mix-ups.
Honey turned wounded eyes to Sawyer. “That’s Alden.”
Sawyer pulled her closer, but her face remained blank, white with hurt and disbelief. One by one, his brothers and Casey gathered around her until she was listening to the tape from behind a wall of protective men.
You just make sure the wedding goes off without a hitch. I don’t want to be wasting my time here.
I can handle the bride. Don’t worry about that.
What if she objects to her daddy being snuffed? Will the conditions of the will alter if she divorces you?
No, she’s completely clueless to my plans, so don’t worry about her. She won’t have any idea that I was behind it all. If anything, she’ll want me to comfort her.
There was some masculine chuckling over that, and one of the men mumbled, An added bonus, huh?
Sawyer shot to his feet, his fists clenched, the corners of his vision clouded by rage. “I’ll kill him.”
Morgan grabbed Sawyer’s shoulder. “Don’t be stupid.”
“Or so human,” Gabe added, staring at him in fascination. “It shocks me. You’re usually such a damn saint.”
Honey slowly stood and faced them all. “I…I have to call the police.”
Sawyer squeezed his eyes shut and tried to find his control. Gabe was right—he was acting out of character. He was the pacifist in the family, yet all he wanted to do was get Alden close enough to beat him to a pulp.
Morgan stepped around Sawyer. “Honey, I think you should still make that call.”
She blinked owlishly, as if coming out of a daze. Feeling grim, Sawyer nodded. “We need to find out who the hell he hired.”
Casey stood beside Honey, one arm around her waist. “He made the tape for insurance, just as it says, didn’t he? He couldn’t take the chance that the men he’d hired would go against him. Or maybe he planned to blackmail them later with it.”
Morgan shrugged. “Who the hell knows. The man’s obviously an idiot as well as a bastard.”
“But why were they after me?”
She looked so lost, everyone was quiet for a moment, trying to find a gentle way to explain it to her.
Sawyer cleared his throat, taking on the duty. “Honey, when you left Alden, you fouled up all the plans. Not only did you make it impossible for him to recoup the money through the marriage, but when you packed up, you evidently took his tape by mistake.”
“It…it was with my things. I just sort of shoved everything into a box. I was angry and not really paying attention.”
“Exactly. I don’t know why he would have hidden the tape among your things, but—”
“Oh, God, he didn’t.” She clutched at Sawyer, eyes wide. “When I pulled the stereo out, there was a tape shoved up against the wall behind it. Alden only has CDs so I assumed it wasn’t his, and I just threw it in with the others.”
“But now you have it, and it’s evidence not only against the men after you, but against Alden, too. I imagine he had to tell them about it, knowing you’d find it sooner or later and they’d all go to jail. They have to get you, to get the tape.”
Honey covered her mouth with a hand, then turned for the phone. “I need to call my father to make sure he’s okay.