Suspicions

“Ava, let me explain,” Mark said as he followed her out to her car.

The cops had come out to the ranch. Uniforms who’d questioned them all and who’d collected pretty much zero evidence. Mark wasn’t exactly holding his breath when it came to those guys breaking the case wide open. They were still nosing around the place, but Ava was fleeing.

At his words, Ava didn’t slow down. Instead, she seemed to speed up as she hurried toward her vehicle. He reached out to stop her.

Davis caught his arm. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Most folks in Austin were afraid of the McGuire brothers. Their reputation preceded them just about everywhere they went. Grant, the eldest brother, was a former army ranger. Davis and his twin, Brodie, were both former SEALs. Mackenzie “Mac” McGuire had been part of Delta Force, and Sullivan, the youngest of the brothers, was an ex-marine. Yeah, most folks hesitated before trying to tangle with those guys.

Mark wasn’t most folks. And he’d never taken any crap from the McGuires. “The game has changed,” he said, his low voice carrying only to Davis’s ears. “I’m not just going to sit back anymore. I thought she was safe. Happy. But she’s not. She still wakes up screaming at night. And now some new jerk is out there terrorizing her.” He shook his head. “That’s not going to happen. She’s not going to spend her days and nights afraid. I won’t let that happen to her.” He’d do everything within his power to protect her.

He heard Ava’s car door opening. He forced his back teeth to unclench as he said, “Why didn’t you come to me about this Shayne Townsend mess weeks ago? I wasn’t involved in the murder of your parents! I had plenty of people here at the ranch who saw me right before Ava came galloping up!” The idea that he was involved was ridiculous. He was—

“I know you have an alibi. I already checked that.”

Davis had been investigating him?

“It was your father who didn’t have an alibi. No one could account for him an hour before the crime or an hour after.”

Mark felt shock rip through him. “He was my...stepfather.” Like that distinction mattered. Technically, Gregory Montgomery had adopted him. Of course, most folks didn’t know that Mark had hated the bastard with every bit of his soul.

“He committed suicide two months after my parents died,” Davis said.

Mark glanced over at Ava. She was in her car, appearing for all intents and purposes as if she was about to drive away and leave him.

“Sometimes guilt can drive a man to take his own life.”

Davis seriously thinks that Gregory murdered the McGuires!

And...and Mark couldn’t say that he hadn’t. Because he knew just how twisted Gregory could be.

Ava cranked up her car.

Mark jerked away from Davis. “Ava, wait!” He lunged toward the car. Her window was rolled down, and his fingers pushed through the opening and locked onto the steering wheel. “Wait,” he said again, his voice softer.

She didn’t look at him.

“I didn’t hurt them, Ava.”

She nodded. Blinked several times. Oh, no, was she crying? He couldn’t stand it when Ava cried.

“I would never do anything to hurt you.”

Again, she gave the faintest of nods.

Davis was a few feet away, watching them far too closely.

“Where are you going?” Mark asked her. “You said you were starting a new job in Austin soon. You can’t just stay in some motel.” Not with that creep out there watching her. “Stay here. You’ll be safe.”

Her head turned then, and she finally stared into his eyes. He didn’t see any rage there. No accusation. Just the same trust that he always saw when she looked at him. “I don’t want to bring any danger to you. He was in your house. Whoever this guy is...I don’t want him hurting you.”

And I’d be destroyed if he hurt you, Ava. Can’t you see that?

“I’m going back to the ranch with Davis.”

“You hate staying there.” He knew Ava hadn’t stepped foot inside the main house, not since that night.

She shrugged. “There’s a guest cottage I can use.”

“You can stay here.” She’d been asking to stay hours before, and now she was running away.

But then Davis stepped forward. “We have better security at our place. He already got in here once. He won’t reach her there.”

Because the McGuire ranch had basically been transformed into a fortress after those murders. The brothers had wanted to make sure their home was always protected.

Even if that protection had come too late.

“I’m sorry I involved you,” Ava said. Her hands were curled around the steering wheel.

He leaned forward a bit more and caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger. “This isn’t over, Ava.”

“Mark, I—”

He kissed her. A fast, hard kiss, right on her lips. And yes, he knew Davis was watching. So what? It was time all the McGuires realized that Mark would be taking what he wanted.

And what he wanted most was Ava.

He pulled back and held her surprised stare. “I’ll be seeing you very soon.” She wasn’t getting away from him. Not this time.

* * *

THE COPS WERE USELESS.

He watched as they scurried around the Montgomery ranch. Were they seriously looking for clues? There weren’t any to find. He was too good. He hadn’t left any evidence behind, nothing that could be traced to him.

This isn’t my first ball game.

And Davis McGuire was there, too. Stalking around, questioning everyone.

Some of the idiots there actually stuttered when they talked to Davis. Like he was some kind of big deal. He wasn’t. None of the McGuire brothers were.

The only McGuire who mattered...that was Ava.

She’d left Mark. Good. She’d taken his warning. He’d already known that she was planning to move to Austin. He’d learned that during one of his trips to her place. He liked to keep tabs on Ava. To find out just what was happening in her life.

He was glad that she’d come back home. Back to me. He’d grown tired of waiting for her, so he’d started trying to...scare her a bit. Nothing too bad, of course. Just little nudges to make sure Ava realized Houston wasn’t the place for her.

She was back now. She’d left Mark.