Embracing Danger by Olivia Jaymes Read Free Book Online Page A

you and I have been talking about your father all week, and I know that you are aware that your father’s business dealings are at best unethical and at worst possibly illegal. I assume you’ve made your peace with that.”
    If he thought he was going to shock her with a story about bribes or under the table deals he was sadly mistaken. “I have, and for all he’s done he is still my father. I can love him for how he took care of me after my mother died but not condone the way he has lived his life otherwise. You’re not going to send me into a fainting spell. I know what my father is, Shane.”
    He opened the file and laid it flat on the table, his fingertips making circles on the pages, and his gaze deliberately averted. Finally, he looked her in the eye and picked up a photo, handing it to her.
    “Do you know who this is? Does he look familiar?”
    It was a picture of her father but…not her father. This man was a few pounds heavier with more gray hair.
    “I don’t understand. Who is this?”
    She studied the picture, trying to see all the differences between this man and Ben Cavendish and ended up seeing all the similarities.
    “It’s your father’s brother, David Hollis. Are you sure you’ve never seen him before?”
    Frowning, she shook her head in confusion. “My father doesn’t have a brother. He was an orphan. His parents were killed by a drunk driver and he lived in and out of foster homes until he was eighteen.”
    The man did look like Ben Cavendish, but they say that everyone has a twin somewhere.
    Shane snorted but didn’t laugh. Clearly, what he had to say he didn’t think was funny. “Of course he’d tell you some heroic tale of pulling himself up by his bootstraps. Your father does have a brother though. He came from a rather wealthy family actually and went to the best schools. His parents did pass away but from cancer and heart disease, and only after he was an adult.”
    Arden’s hand shook as she looked at the photo again. “I really have an uncle? Relatives?”
    Her entire life she’d been brought up to believe she and her father and grandmother were alone in the world. Raising her gaze back to Shane, she could see the battle he was fighting within himself. There was more and she wasn’t going to like it. Setting the photo back down, she took a deep breath to slow her racing heart.
    “I have a feeling that old saying about the truth hurting is going to apply, isn’t it? The best way to remove a bandage is to rip it off, so you might as well just spill it. I can take it. I promise.”
    His brows were pulled down with concern and she almost reached up to smooth away the lines in his forehead. “You need to sit down. It’s a long story, honey.”
    Arden sank into the cushions on the couch next to Shane, needing his strength at this moment and suddenly exceedingly glad that he’d promised to be her friend. She had a feeling she was going to need one before this day was over.
    *     *     *
    If Shane had had any idea what Jason’s team was going to dig up he never would have agreed to help Arden. After reading the information, Shane had wanted to punch Ben Cavendish right in the mouth. He’d lied to his daughter for so long and about so many things, Shane doubted the man knew what the truth was anymore, if he ever had. Honesty had never been a hallmark of Cavendish’s business ventures.
    “Let’s start with your name.” Shane cleared his throat, unsure as to how he should proceed. He wished he didn’t care quite so much right about now. “Ben was born Benjamin Hollis in Hemingdale, Indiana. He legally changed it later when he moved to Tremont. I think you would have been about eighteen months old.”
    He watched as she took in the tidbit of information, obviously curious as to what it meant. He’d started here because where the story truly began was going to cause tears and heartache.
    “Hollis.” She seemed to be trying the name out for size. “Okay, he