True. Leyton was the worthiest man Max knew. And Jase… Max didn’t know him all that well, but in all the years Jase had worked for the family, the guy had never let Ashlynn down, and that was something.

“What am I supposed to do?” Max asked.

“Nothin’.” Courtney smiled. “It’s none of your business. Let them work it out. You’ve done your part. For now, it’s safer for Ashlynn if Leyton’s there to protect her alongside Jase. If something’s gonna happen between them, it’ll happen. If not, then it doesn’t matter.”

“What if Ashlynn and Jase are serious? What if Leyton gets hurt?”

Courtney smirked. “He’s a big boy, baby. He can take care of himself.”

But could he take care of Ashlynn? That was the only question Max needed an answer for.

Chapter Nineteen

Everyone has their scars.

Seven years ago

Ashlynn walked into her brother’s office, expecting to find him waiting for her, but to her horror, Max wasn’t there.

But her father was.

And so was another man she didn’t recognize. Big guy, pock-marked face, scraggly beard. He looked as though he hadn’t showered in a month.

“Where’s Max?” she asked, peering around the room as though he would miraculously appear if she willed it to happen.

“He had other pressing matters to attend to,” Samuel informed her. “Have a seat.”

Hesitantly, Ashlynn made her way across the room and took a seat on the black leather sofa. “What’s goin’ on?”

“We’ve got an issue to discuss,” Samuel stated. “Turns out, we’ve got a problem.”

And that was the reason she was there, only she’d expected to talk to Max. Her father had called to let her know there was a family meeting and that Max specifically requested her to be there. Sure, it’d been a little strange that her father had called, but she hadn’t thought anything of it. Her brother had started playing a bigger role in the business, so it hadn’t surprised her that he’d want to talk.

But he wasn’t there, which meant Samuel had likely lied to her.

Ashlynn glanced over at the unknown man, who was now leering at her, a menacing grin on his face.

“What problem?” she asked, forcing her gaze back to her father’s.

“Dwayne here has informed me that you’ve been falling behind in your duties.”

“Is that right?” Ashlynn couldn’t hide the anger that burned in her gut. She knew for a fact she hadn’t fallen behind in any of her duties. In fact, she’d been doing exactly as her father had instructed, collecting debts from those who were overdue, ensuring those she dealt with understood they would no longer tolerate them falling behind in their payments. It was a test, she knew, a way to see whether or not she had what it took to be part of the family business. She’d gladly accepted the challenge.

“Watch your mouth, young lady,” Samuel snapped, his eyes narrowed on her. “You were short on collections this week, and Dwayne informed me that Gary Halliston didn’t deliver as he’d said he would. What do you have to say about that?”

“Halliston did deliver,” she challenged firmly, glaring at Dwayne, whoever the hell he was.

“No, he didn’t,” Dwayne announced. “I went to collect from him myself, this morning.”

“That’s bullshit,” Ashlynn shot back, getting to her feet. “And who the fuck are you, anyway?”

Her father was instantly up in her face, his hands gripping her wrists painfully. “He works for me. That’s all you need to know. And since he’s doin’ a better job than you, I asked him to help out.”

“With what?” Ashlynn didn’t like the sound of this. Her father was a cruel bastard, so there was no telling what deranged plan he’d come up with.

“I think it’s time you learn the punishment for lying to me, young lady.”

“I didn’t lie,” she argued, yanking out of his grip.

“Are you sayin’ Dwayne’s lyin’ to me?” Samuel swung his head toward Dwayne, but Ashlynn noticed they traded a look, one that had a chill racing down her spine. Not a good one, either.

“I’ve hired Dwayne to keep an eye on you.”

“Does Max know?” she countered, wishing like hell her brother was there.

“You forget who runs this family,” Samuel snarled. “Now take your punishment like a good girl, and we’ll talk later.”

Ashlynn’s eyes widened when her father backed toward the door. “Where are you goin’?”

“I’ll be back when he’s done. Since he’s the one cleanin’ up your messes, he gets the honor.”

When he’s done? What the fuck did that mean?

Before she could get the question out, her father slipped out of the room, closing the door behind him and leaving her alone in Max’s office with the big, burly guy who was once again leering at her from across the room.

When he began to pursue her, Ashlynn put the sofa between them.

“Make this easy on yourself, bitch.”

Ashlynn frowned. “Bitch? Did you seriously just call me that?”

“That’s what you are, ain’t it?”

Confusion racked her. Ashlynn had never heard of this guy before, had no idea why her father felt it necessary to hire anyone to keep an eye on her. She’d been working for him for less than a month, ever since her nineteenth birthday, and had been issued very few jobs, other than collecting money. Which she’d done exactly as she’d been instructed.

When Dwayne lunged for her, Ashlynn backed up a few feet. “What the fuck are you doing?”

He didn’t answer; instead, he scaled the sofa—pretty damn agile for a man his size—and slammed her into the bookshelf. The wind was knocked out of her, but she managed to slip out from between him and the shelf, scrambling across the room and putting Max’s desk between them.

She recalled the incident with her uncle. Four years had passed since Patrick had attempted to rape her in her own bedroom, and from that day, Ashlynn had vowed she would never allow a man to get the upper hand on her again. And she wasn’t going to start today.

“I think you’d be smart to leave before my brother gets back.”

“He’s not comin’ back. Your father sent him on a wild goose chase. He’ll be gone for hours.”

Great. That wasn’t exactly what she wanted to hear, but Ashlynn wasn’t going to let her fear show.

As he maneuvered closer, they circled the desk once, until Ashlynn was behind Max’s chair. She knew he had a gun in the top drawer, and if she could just get to it…

“Your father took the gun,” Dwayne said with a disgusting chuckle. “Said you’d be a gutsy one.”

He might’ve taken that one, but Ashlynn knew of others. Her brother was well-armed, and he’d always instructed her to be as well. Though she didn’t have a gun on her, she did have a knife. But that would mean she’d have to get close to the big bastard, and she had no intention of doing that.

Not if she could help it.

“Sit down!” he yelled. “I’m done playin’ games with you. Your father instructed me to punish you as I saw fit. Said I needed to ensure you learned your lesson.”

Lovely.

Ashlynn might’ve been at Samuel’s mercy when she was a kid, might’ve not had control over the things he’d forced on her or the people he’d tried to give her to, but she’d always managed to come out on top. She was beginning to think this was a game to Samuel. A sick, twisted game that he enjoyed playing with his older daughter. Ever since Max had killed Patrick for attempting to rape her, Samuel had put her in the same situation at least a half dozen times. But since the incident with Patrick, he’d always ensured Max wasn’t around to take care of her.