Maybe, but it didn’t make sense in this case. “Remy didn’t hold a grudge against me, and he never threatened me. Whoever did this wanted me to kill you. You would have been dead, and I would have gone to jail. The grudge or whatever this is seems to be against both of us.”
A grudge that was a sick kind of poetic justice to have her end up killing the man that she had blamed for Marta’s death. Well, in part she had blamed him, anyway, but Remy had put the full blame on Eli. Ashlyn hadn’t witnessed firsthand the exchanges between Eli and him because she’d been in the hospital recovering, but some of the nurses had told her about Remy’s accusations and threats against Eli. Then the cops from San Antonio PD had brought it up, too, when they’d interviewed her.
“Remy could have let his grief fester to the point that he wants someone else to pay for Marta’s death,” Eli pointed out. His voice was calm enough, but she figured that was a facade. Someone had just tried to kill them, and that had to eat away at him. Plus, he would want to get the bottom of it, and that meant taking a hard look at Remy. Doing so would dredge up the past and put the nightmarish memories right in front of them again.
Gunnar pulled to a stop in front of the sheriff’s office, and as Eli had done at his house and at the hospital, he positioned himself in front of her when she scooped the baby into her arms. He kept right by Cora and her when they hurried inside, where she immediately spotted Kellan in the doorway of his office.
The bullpen was empty, which likely meant everyone other than Gunnar and Kellan was out working the investigation. No sign of Eli’s other brother, Owen, who was a deputy, and she hoped he was home with his toddler daughter. Since Owen lived just a short distance from Eli, Ashlyn wanted him to stay close to home in case something else went wrong. Whoever was carrying out this grudge—or whatever it was—might use Owen to get to them.
Kellan didn’t waste any time, and he quickly ushered them into his office. Away from the front door and the windows. A reminder that another gunman could be out there. That didn’t help calm any of her still-raw nerves.
“The doctor said Ashlyn and the baby weren’t hurt,” Eli relayed to his brother the moment Kellan shut his office door behind him.
Kellan nodded and motioned for Ashlyn to take the chair across from his desk. Because her legs felt as if they might give way, she did. “I’ll need diapers and a bottle for her soon,” she let them know.
Kellan gave another nod. “What kind of formula and diapers?”
After Ashlyn told him, he fired off a message to someone, most likely arranging for those items, and then he turned to Eli. “Remy won’t be in until nine in the morning,” Kellan explained. “And he’s bringing his lawyer with him.”
That didn’t surprise her. Word of the attack had almost certainly gotten out, and Remy would know that he would be a suspect.
“If Remy did this, he’ll have an alibi,” Ashlyn said, and judging from the quick looks of approval, Eli and Kellan had already considered that.
“We’ll get his financials,” Eli assured her. “If Remy paid for those thugs, we’ll find it.”
She didn’t have any idea how much it cost to hire would-be killers, but Ashlyn suspected it would be enough of a withdrawal to get their attention. That meant Remy would have covered those tracks, too. Except there was a problem with the whole theory that Remy was responsible for this.
“Remy isn’t rich,” she reminded them, her gaze holding on Eli. “From what I’ve heard, he drained his savings trying to bring a civil lawsuit against you.” A lawsuit for Marta’s wrongful death that a judge had dismissed before it could even go to trial.
If Eli had a reaction to the reminder of the legal attempt against him, he didn’t show it. He kept the same stony expression he’d had in the cruiser. “He could have borrowed the money or sold something to get it,” Eli pointed out just as quickly. He turned to his brother. “SAPD is interviewing Abe Franklin’s family. They might know who actually hired him.”
Ashlyn latched onto that hope even though she knew it was a long shot. “What about the second gunman?”
Kellan glanced at his computer screen, his eyes scanning over the info he saw there. “Charles Cardona. He’s got a record as long as Abe Franklin’s. No family other than an ex-wife. The Austin PD will interview her.”
So, the investigation was already in full swing. No surprise there, since someone had targeted a Texas Ranger. Law enforcement all over the state would hopefully see this attack on one of their own, and that would spur them to get to the bottom of it ASAP.
Eli and Kellan exchanged a glance, and it seemed as if something passed between them. A cue, maybe, because Eli turned to her. “Tell us about the baby,” Eli insisted.
Ashlyn felt herself go stiff, and she tightened her grip around Cora. His comment definitely didn’t sound friendly, more like a lawman’s order. “I adopted her six weeks ago. She’s three months old.”
They both stared at her, definitely waiting for more, and the uneasy feeling in her stomach turned to a hard knot. Because she suddenly knew why they had those lawmen eyes on her.
“Dominick McComb,” she muttered. Just saying his name tightened her stomach even more, but Ashlyn shook her head. “He’s Cora’s biological grandfather, and he wasn’t happy about the adoption. But he wouldn’t have done this. He wouldn’t have done anything to put Cora at risk.”
Eli lifted his shoulder as if maybe not buying that. “Why wasn’t he happy about the adoption?”
Obviously, they weren’t going to accept that Dominick was innocent. And maybe Ashlyn didn’t, either, but it chilled her breath to bone to even consider that Dominick might be behind this. Unlike Remy, Dominick had money along with a cool facade that didn’t make cops take a second look at him. That made him even more dangerous than Remy, but she didn’t think that danger would apply to anything he did with Cora.
Ashlyn took a moment to steady herself before she answered. “Cora’s biological parents were Olive Landry and Dominick’s son, Danny. Danny died of a drug overdose when Olive was pregnant, so Olive decided she’d put the baby up for adoption. Olive and I met, and she liked me. She’s a college student, only nineteen,” Ashlyn added.
“Olive didn’t want Dominick to raise the child?” Eli pressed.
“No, and neither did Danny,” Ashlyn said without hesitation. “Dominick has a police record, and Olive thought he, well, bullied Danny. Dominick tried to stop the adoption, but that didn’t go anywhere.”
“A judge denied him custody,” Eli spelled out. “But he does have supervised visitations.” Obviously, he’d gotten that information during one of those many calls he’d made.
Ashlyn nodded. “He sees Cora every two weeks. But not alone. When he visits, I’m there, and so is a social worker. And then there’s the nanny he hired.”
“A nanny?” Eli questioned. Obviously, that wasn’t something Eli had known, and he was probably wondering why a man with very limited, supervised visits would need the services of a nanny.
“His visits weren’t long, only an hour each time, but Dominick was hoping that Cora would eventually have overnight stays at his house. He thought it was a good idea to have a nanny in place, one who already knew Cora.” She paused. “He’s never been hostile toward me. And he’s very loving with Cora. That’s why I don’t believe Dominick would have hired those men.”
“Maybe the gunmen didn’t have orders to fire into the house or endanger the baby.” Eli’s argument came so fast that she realized he’d already given this some thought. “Unlike Remy, Dominick has the funds to hire thugs.”
Yes, he did, and she couldn’t completely dismiss the notion that the thugs hadn’t followed orders. Maybe they panicked when things hadn’t gone as planned. Still...
“Why would Dominick have sent gunmen after you?” she asked Eli. “He doesn’t even know you.”
“Dominick doesn’t
have to know me, but I’m sure he’s heard of me,” Eli assured her.
He let that hang in the air, and Ashlyn tried to figure out his train of thought. It didn’t take her long to do that. It’d been all over the news about Marta’s death, and Dominick could have easily found out the details with some simple internet searches. If Ashlyn had indeed murdered Eli, she would be in jail. Maybe even dead. The gunmen could have been instructed to kill her and make it look like a suicide because she was so distraught over killing Eli.
And then she would have no longer been in the way of a custody challenge from Dominick.
His police record and Olive’s wishes might be dismissed with the adoptive mother out of the way. Dominick could even possibly use this as a way of discrediting Olive and accusing her of handing over Cora to someone mentally unstable enough to commit murder.
“Oh God,” Ashlyn said under her breath.
“Yeah,” Eli agreed. Obviously, he’d had no trouble figuring out what was going through her head. “He’ll be brought in for questioning, too. And since Dominick does have the money to hire more guns, Cora and you will need to be in protective custody. For the time being, that’ll be with me.”
Her head snapped up, and she fired a glance first at Eli, then Kellan. “Eli insisted,” Kellan explained.
“I’m seeing this through to the end,” Eli added when her attention shifted back to him. “No one puts a baby in danger and then tries to kill me. Whoever’s behind this won’t get away with it.”
She wasn’t sure if that was a threat or a promise. Maybe it was both. But before Ashlyn could point out the problems of the two of them being under the same roof, there was a knock on the door. The sound caused her to gasp, a reminder of just how on edge she still was. Her body tensed, bracing for a fight, but it wasn’t a threat. It was Gunnar.
“Here are the baby supplies,” Gunnar said, holding up several large bags. “Want me to put them in the cruiser?”
Eli nodded. “You’ll be driving us to Jack’s?”
“Jack?” Ashlyn repeated. She knew who he was, of course. Marshal Jack Slater, another of Eli’s brothers, and he lived on the grounds of their family ranch.
“We’re going to his place,” Eli verified. “He’s out of town on a case, and he said we could use it. We can’t go back to our houses because the CSIs are still there.”
She didn’t want to go to their houses, but she was still shaking her head about Jack’s. “What if hired guns follow us there?”
“We’ll take precautions.” Eli’s gaze held for several moments on Cora. “Lots of them. Trust me, keeping your daughter safe is my top priority.”
Ashlyn heard the unspoken part of that. He wanted her to put aside their pasts and declare a truce. For Cora. That was probably the only thing that could have caused her to nod.
“Thank you,” she managed to tell Eli.
Obviously, he wasn’t comfortable with that because his mouth tightened again. “Are you okay with Ashlyn giving her statement tomorrow?” Eli asked Kellan, and he checked the time. “It’s late, and I’m sure we could all use some rest.”
“Tomorrow’s fine,” Kellan agreed, and he looked up at Gunnar. “Stay there with them tonight at Jack’s. I’ll get someone out there to relieve you first thing in the morning.”
Ashlyn stood to get ready to leave, but she stopped when Eli’s phone dinged with a text message. He frowned, then scowled when he read it and then immediately made a call. She hadn’t been able to see what was on his phone screen, but Ashlyn held her breath, praying this wasn’t the start of another attack.
“What the hell do you mean by a glitch?” Eli snapped to the person that he’d called.
The next part of the conversation was all one-sided so Ashlyn looked at Kellan to see if he knew what was going on. He shook his head, lifted his shoulder.
“Find them now,” Eli growled a couple of seconds later, and he stabbed the End Call button as if he’d declared war on it. There was an angry fire in stormy eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Kellan and she asked in unison.
A tight muscle flickered in Eli’s jaw. “Marta’s funeral home and hospital records are missing. Both the hard copies and the digital files. It looks as if someone stole them.”
Chapter Five
Eli’s fun meter was already at zero, and hearing about Marta’s missing files sure as hell didn’t give his mood a boost. He wanted answers, damn it, and this certainly wasn’t helping.
Neither were his sleeping arrangements for the night.
Of course, Eli seriously doubted that he’d be getting much sleep, but he was going to need at least a nap if he wanted his brain to continue to function. And that nap would need to happen at his brother’s house. With Ashlyn and her baby daughter under the same roof.
Ashlyn didn’t look any more pleased than he did about the sleeping arrangements when Eli ushered her into the wood-and-stone house, and Eli knew her disapproval wasn’t because of the place itself. She was no doubt troubled by that “being under the same roof” part, too.
He stepped in, glanced around, trying to see it from a lawman’s eyes rather than a visitor’s. It definitely wasn’t sprawling like the main house where Kellan lived and helped run the family ranch. This one only had a combined living and kitchen area, two bedrooms, an office, two baths and was, well, laid-back. Which was a fairly apt description of his brother Jack. This was a place where you could flop on the sofa, drink a beer and watch the game on the big-screen TV mounted on the wall above the fireplace.
Now it was going to be a place where Eli would keep Ashlyn and Cora safe. He started that by arming the security system, which he knew was top-notch. It was a precaution that Eli and all his brothers had taken after their father was murdered.
“I’ll put these in the guest room,” Gunnar said, holding up the bags of baby supplies. “I’ll also close the curtains and make sure all the doors and windows are locked,” the deputy added, and he went into the hall.
“You really believe Marta’s missing records are a glitch?” Ashlyn came and asked Eli. It was just a rephrasing of what she’d already pressed him on, and during one of his responses, Eli had indeed used the word glitch.
His word choice, though, was because the alternative just pissed him off. There was no good reason for someone to steal the files. That’s why he’d demanded a full investigation on it. However, there was a bad reason for a person to do this.
“I don’t believe Marta’s alive,” he said. “But someone could have stolen and wiped the files to muddy the waters.” If he had to run down leads on who’d do something like that, then he wasn’t focusing on the actual person who’d sent those armed idiots after them.
She nodded, swallowed hard and then glanced around as if to give herself a distraction. “The place looks like Jack.”
It didn’t surprise him that she would realize that since she knew his brothers as well as she did him. Almost as well, he mentally corrected, since she hadn’t been around them much lately. However, Ashlyn had been Eli’s girlfriend in high school.
Now he mentally cursed.
Because he had to add an asterisk to that girlfriend label. She’d lost her virginity to him when she was seventeen, a memory that was certainly etched in his brain. His body wasn’t going to let him forget it, either.
Once, they’d been as close as a couple could be, and while Eli hadn’t exactly been planning their future when he’d been in high school, it had stung when they’d drifted apart after Ashlyn had gone off to college. Then there’d been other relationships, both his and hers, and the timing hadn’t worked for them to get together for even a round of ex-sex.
Then Marta had died, and everything had gone to hell in a handbasket.
He’d never been thankful for the bad blood between them, but it would stop the old heat from rising now. He hoped. Because that wasn’t a distract
ion he needed when he already had enough of them.
“Will we really be okay here?” she asked, and even though he’d purposely kept the light dim, he had no trouble seeing the fear that was still in her eyes. “I want the truth. Don’t tell me something just to ease my mind.”
He thought about that a moment, then nodded. “No mind-easing then. The security system will alert us if anyone tries to break in. Both Gunnar and I will be here, and we’ll both have our guns ready.”
Their gazes met. Held. “Will that be enough?” she asked. Ashlyn pulled the baby even closer to her. “Because nothing bad can happen to Cora. I can’t lose her.”
The fear was in her voice, too. And the love. Eli recognized it because his brother Owen had a daughter as well, and he got an up close and personal look at that parental love whenever he visited them.
“It’ll be enough,” Eli assured her. It wasn’t a lie. He hoped. And because he didn’t want her to see any doubts in him, he tipped his head to the hall. “As soon as Gunnar’s done checking the place, I’ll show you to the guest room. You’ll feel better once you’ve gotten some rest.”
She nodded, almost absently, and with the baby cuddled in her arms, she went to the bookshelves on the sides of the fireplace. Her gaze combed over the framed pictures, some of Eli and his brothers. Others were of the champion horses that Jack had raised and trained.
Her attention lingered on the one that was on the center shelf. It was a shot of Kellan and his now fiancée, Gemma, and they were standing next to Jack and his then-lover, Caroline Moser. It had obviously been taken during happier times, because they were all smiling.
“Caroline Moser,” Ashlyn said. She looked at him. “How is Jack?”
Eli knew that was a Texas-sized question with a couple of layers. Their father had been murdered a little over a year ago, and his killer still hadn’t been caught. Ironic, since Eli and all his brothers were lawmen.
Settling an Old Score Page 4
