“My dear, dear Shelby, don’t you remember how angry you were?” He leaned back on the sofa. “And for just a second, think about me. I’d just found out I was a father. That my ex-wife had not only kept her pregnancy a secret from me but never told the child who I was. That your mother’s silence had made you hate the very idea ofme.”
She took in a breath to argue, but Wade’s softshhin her ear kept her silent.
“When Philip and I came to the funeral, I expected to tell you my identity, even though at that time I was masquerading as my attorney. I didn’t know what to do.” Alan leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, his expression the most sincere she’d ever seen it. He looked so vulnerable that it twisted her heart. “If I’d told you then who I was, what would you have done? How would you have felt toward me?”
“I would’ve hated you.” Shelby’s eyes burned, and she blinked.
“I wanted to give you time to adjust,” Alan said. “I thought if you got to knowme, I could eventually tell you the truth.”
“It’s been ten years, sir,” Wade said.
“I know. I’m a coward.” Alan’s entire body language pleaded for her to believe him. “The more time passed, the closer we got. But you never once let up on the ‘sperm donor.’ What could I do? If I told you the truth, I risked losing you forever.”
Shelby tried to swallow the lump in her throat. Her father. Her secret dream for years had been for Alan to be her father. But he’d just been another person who’d lied to her. She closed her eyes so she didn’t have to look at him.
“It’s in my will.” Alan said. “When you graduated from college and went off, only coming home once a year, I knew the truth. You would never forgive Charles Grantham, but I thought you cared for Alan Bradley. Only after I died would you know the truth.”
She opened her eyes. “Why are you wasting your time telling me this instead of thinking of a way to stop Philip from stealing your money?”
“I’m more worried about losing you.”
Alan’s gaze met hers, and if Wade hadn’t kept his arms around her she might have run to him.
“Shouldn’t you be worried about what they plan for us?” Wade’s question pulled Shelby back, and a sharp pang of fear shot through her.
“Yeah.” She straightened and pulled his arms from around her so she could face Alan. “They said they need you. What for?”
“And what happens when they’re done with you?” Wade laced his fingers with hers.
“I have state-of-the-art security in place.” Alan rose to his feet. “I’m not worried about it.”
“You didn’t answer my question, sir.”
The old Wade wouldn’t have pushed the issue. A noise outside squashed the good feeling.
“They think they only need my fingerprint and a retina scan.” Alan’s expression had turned smug.
“Are you going to cooperate with them?” Wade lowered his voice and moved closer, pulling Shelby with him.
“Idon’tplan on it.” Alan’s gaze never left her, and she knew he wanted to get back to their previous topic.
“And when they threaten to hurt Shelby?” Wade’s asked.
“What’s that?” She finally pulled herself out of her thoughts. “Me? Why me?”
“Because they know I’d do anything to keep you safe, you fool girl,” Alan said.
“We have to get the both of you out of here.” Wade studied the small office’s only window. “How many of them were there?”
“I only know about the ones you saw.” Alan stepped toward the window. “Philip likes to run small ops. It’s easier to get in and out with a smaller team, and keep undercover of the local authorities. I imagine he’s pretty confident with what he has, since the tropical storm turned at the last minute. I haven’t been here in a year. Can you suggest a good place for us to hide if we can get out of here without being caught?”
Shelby and Wade exchanged glances before saying together, “The La Playa Cave.”
“The cave? Oh!” Alan rubbed his chin. “Is it done enough? And wouldn’t that be harder to get to in this weather?”
“Yes, but it’s also not been mentioned in the news,” Wade said.
“Let’s see if we can get a chair to stay under the door—” Alan frowned.
