A Threat To His Family

“Elaine Pearce,” he repeated. “And you didn’t think that was something I should know?” Owen grumbled. “You didn’t bother to mention that you weren’t who you were claiming to be?”

“No.” Laney took another deep breath. “I thought I’d find the info that I needed and be out of here before anything could happen.”

“You were obviously wrong about that.” He gave a disapproving grunt and went to the man, kicking his gun farther away from where it had fallen from the shooter’s hand. Owen then touched his fingers to the guy’s neck.

“Dead,” Owen relayed as he did a quick search of the guy’s pockets. Nothing. Of course, he hadn’t expected a hired gun to bring an actual ID with him.

“You recognize him?” Owen asked.

Laney somehow managed to stand upright, though every part of her was trembling. She also moved closer to Owen and then made another quick check on Addie. The little girl’s cries were already starting to taper off, but she’d obviously been frightened by the noise of the gunshots.

A muscle tightened in Owen’s jaw and, though Laney hadn’t thought it possible, his steel-gray eyes narrowed even more when he glared at her. He made a circling motion with his index finger for her to continue, but before Laney even had the chance to do that, his phone rang. She saw his brother’s name on the screen. In the months that she’d been working for Owen, she’d met Kellan several times and knew he lived close by. She had figured Owen had called him or their other brothers for backup.

“This conversation isn’t over,” Owen assured her as he hit the answer button on his phone. He didn’t put the call on speaker, but Laney was close enough to hear Kellan’s voice.

“There’s a second intruder,” Kellan blurted out, causing a chill to ripple through her.

Laney hurried back to Addie and pulled the little girl into her arms. Because of her position, she could no longer hear what Kellan was saying. But judging from the way Owen’s gaze fired around, he, too, was bracing himself for another attack. He didn’t stay on the phone long and, once he was finished with his conversation, maneuvered himself in front of them.

“The second guy was in the guesthouse,” Owen told her. “He ran into the woods across the road. Kellan and Gunnar are searching for him now and they’ve called Dispatch for more backup.”

Gunnar was Deputy Gunnar Pullam, someone else that Laney had seen around town. Like Owen, he was an experienced lawman. Something they needed right now. Maybe they’d find the second man and stop him from circling back to try to kill them again. The thought didn’t help with her heartbeat, which was already thudding out of control. Addie must have picked up on that, too, because she started to whimper again. Laney began to rock her.

“Kellan said the second man had something with him when he ran out of the guesthouse,” Owen went on. “A bag, maybe.” His back was to her now, but she didn’t need to see his face to know he was still glaring. “Any idea what he took?”

Laney’s thoughts were all over the place as she tried to fight off the panic, but it didn’t take her long to come up with an answer. “Maybe my toothbrush or something else with my DNA on it. Something to prove who I am.”

Other than changing her hair and wearing colored contacts, she hadn’t altered her appearance that much. If they’d looked closely enough, whoever was after her could have recognized her from old photos she was certain were still out there on the web. But a hired gun would have wanted some kind of proof to give to his boss and DNA would have done it.

That didn’t feel right, though.

She fought through the whirlwind of thoughts and spiked adrenaline, and remembered that one of the intruders had called her by her real name. Elaine. And the one she’d killed had come into the barn to either take her with him or gun her down. So maybe they hadn’t been looking for someone to prove who she was. Maybe they’d been after something else in the guesthouse and the man she’d shot had been just a distraction for his partner.

“My laptop,” she added on a rise of breath. Though everything on it was password protected or stored on a cloud with several layers of security, a good hacker would be able to find what she had there.

“Keep talking,” Owen ordered her while he continued volleying glances between the front door and the window at the back. “Why’d you lie to me about who you were?”

Again, this would only lead to more questions, but she doubted that she could stall Owen, especially since the sense of danger was still so thick around them.

“I lied because I didn’t want anyone, including you, to know my real identity.” Laney paused when her breath suddenly became very thin. “I’m working on an investigation, and the clues led me here to Longview Ridge.”

Owen pulled back his shoulders. “Are you a cop?”

“A private investigator.”

Owen growled out some profanity under his breath and looked as if he wanted to do more than growl it. He’d kept it quiet, no doubt because his daughter was right there, but thankfully Addie was falling asleep, her head now resting on Laney’s shoulder.

“So, you’re a PI and a liar,” Owen rumbled. Obviously he didn’t think much of either. “I obviously missed way too much about you when I did your background check. And now you’ve put my little girl, me and now Gunner and my brother in danger.”

Yes. She’d done all of those things and more. “I’m investigating Emerson Keaton.”

She saw the brief moment of surprise, followed by a new round of silent profanity that went through his eyes. “My brother-in-law. Addie’s uncle.”

Laney could add another mental yes to that. Emerson was indeed both of those things, along with being the town’s district attorney. She was also convinced that he had a fourth label.

Killer.

Of course, there was no way Owen would believe that, and she wasn’t going to be able to convince him of it now. Laney couldn’t blame him for his doubts. Nearly everything she’d told him had been a lie, including the résumé and references she’d manufactured to get this job.

Owen’s intense stare demanded that she continue even though they obviously still had to keep watch.

“Seven months ago, my half sister was murdered. Hadley Odom.” Laney had said Hadley’s name around the thick lump in her throat. “We were close.”

Not a lie. They had been, despite the different ways they’d chosen to live their lives.

“What the heck does your half sister’s murder have to do with Emerson?” Owen snapped.

“Everything,” Laney managed to say, and she repeated it to give herself some extra time to gather her words and her breath. “Hadley and Emerson had an affair.”

“Emerson?” Owen challenged when she paused. There was a bucket of skepticism in his tone. With good reason. Emerson was the golden boy of Longview Ridge. He had a beautiful wife, two young kids and a spotless reputation. “I’ve known Emerson my whole life, and there’s never been a hint of him having an affair.”

“He and Hadley kept it secret. Not just for Emerson’s sake but for Hadley’s. Hadley and I had the same mother, but her father, my stepfather, wouldn’t have approved.” Actually, Laney hadn’t approved, either, but it was impossible to sway Hadley once she’d had her mind set on something.

Owen stayed quiet for a moment, his expression hard, ice-cold. “You have proof of this?”

“I heard Hadley talking to him on the phone, and I saw them together once when they were at a restaurant.”

Of course, that wasn’t proof she thought Owen was just going to accept. And she was right. Owen’s scowl only worsened.

“Hadley told me they were having an affair.” She spelled it out for him. “She also told me that she got very upset when he broke things off with her. In anger, Hadley threatened to tell his wife and, less than twelve hours later, she was dead.”

“And you think Emerson killed her.” It wasn’t a question.

Owen wasn’t believing any of this. Neither had anyone else she’d told, but Laney had plenty of proof that she was pushing the wrong buttons with her investigation.

She tipped her head to the dead man. “He came here after me. Why else would he do that if I weren’t getting close to proving what Emerson did?”

Owen didn’t roll his eyes, but it was close. Then he huffed, “If you’re really a PI as you say you are, then I suspect you’ve riled some people. You’ve certainly done that to me.”

“Yes, but you don’t want me dead. Emerson does.”

However, she had to mentally shake her head. Someone wanted to kill her and the most obvious suspect was the one she was investigating. But there was someone else and her expression must have let Owen know that.

“Remembering something else?” Owen snapped.

No way did she want to lie to him again, but before Laney could even begin to answer him, she heard footsteps outside the barn. That gave her another shot of adrenaline and she crouched again with Addie.

“It’s me,” someone said.

Kellan.

Not the threat her body had been geared up to face. However, like Owen, Kellan was scowling when he came into the barn. He glanced at his brother and niece. Then at the dead man. Then at Laney. She didn’t think it was her imagination that she got the brunt of the scowl he was doling out.

“We got the second intruder,” Kellan explained. “He’s alive.”

Laney released the breath she hadn’t even known she’d been holding. “Who is he?” she blurted. “Has he said anything?”

“Oh, he’s talking a lot,” Kellan grumbled. “He’s demanding to see you. He says he’s a friend of yours, that you’re the one who hired him.”

“No.” Laney couldn’t deny that fast enough. “He’s lying.”

Judging from the flat look Kellan gave her, he wasn’t buying it. Apparently, neither was Owen because he walked closer and took Addie from her. He immediately moved next to his brother.

“There’s more,” Kellan added a moment later. “The intruder says that you hired him to kill Owen.”

Chapter Three

Owen hadn’t wanted to spend half the night in the sheriff’s office, where he spent most of his days, but he hadn’t had a choice. This was not just a simple B and E, and with the shooting death of one of the intruders, it was a tangled mess.

One not likely to be resolved before morning.

That was because Laney had denied hiring the intruder, and the intruder was insisting he was telling the truth. That put them at a temporary stalemate. Or at least it would have if Owen had any faith in the intruder. Hard to trust someone who’d come to his home and broken in while his baby daughter had been there. Of course, the reason the intruder had come was Laney.

That meant this was another stalemate.

One that he hoped to break soon.

There was an entire CSI team going through his place, which meant he wouldn’t be going home tonight. The only silver lining was that Francine had taken Addie to her place. Not alone, either. Owen had sent Gunnar with them just case this “mess” got another layer to it with a second attack.

In the meantime, Owen had been in the mind-set of collecting as much information as he could through phone conversations and emails. He hadn’t done all of that under Laney’s watchful eyes and alert ears, either. He’d left her in his office for some of those calls and was now trying to process everything he’d learned.

Laney hadn’t been idle, either. She’d made a call, too. With a cheap, disposable cell phone, he’d noticed. And Owen had made sure he kept his ears alert during her conversation. She’d spoken to someone she called Joe and told him to be careful.

That was it.

The chat had lasted less than five seconds and then Laney had immediately surrendered the phone to Owen. Not that it had been of any use to him since Joe hadn’t answered when Owen had tried to call him. Laney had briefly—very briefly—explained that Joe Henshaw was her assistant, and that she didn’t know where he was. Neither did Owen or the San Antonio cops helping him look for the guy.

“I didn’t hire that man to kill you,” Laney repeated when Owen finished his latest call, this one to the medical examiner.

Declaring and redeclaring her innocence was something Laney had been going on about during the entire five hours they’d been there. He suspected she would continue to go on about it until the intruder either recanted or Kellan and he were indeed able to prove that he was lying.

Owen figured proving it wouldn’t be that hard.

However, they couldn’t even start doing that because the guy had lawyered up and they now had to wait for the attorney to arrive from San Antonio. Until then, they were holding not only the intruder but also Laney. Owen had not yet decided if she was a suspect, but he was pretty sure Laney—or rather Elaine—was going to be the key to them figuring out what the hell was going on.

“The guy you shot and killed was Harvey Dayton,” Owen told her. He’d just gotten the ID during his call with the ME. “Ring any bells?”

“No,” she answered without hesitation. “And I’m sure I’ve never seen him before, either. His prints were in the system,” Laney added in a mutter. “That’s how you got the ID this fast?”

He nodded. “Dayton had a record,” Owen settled for saying.

What he didn’t spell out for her was that the rap sheet was a mile long, and yeah, it included a couple of assault charges with a pattern of escalating violence. Along with a history of drug use, which made him a prime candidate for becoming a hired gun for people who wanted cheap help.

“Did Dayton say what he took from the guesthouse?” Laney asked.

Good question because, other than a gun, Dayton hadn’t had anything on him when Kellan and Gunnar had found him. The CSIs would search the area, but Dayton had been captured by the road, a good quarter mile from Owen’s ranch. There was no telling where he’d put whatever it was he’d taken.

“Your laptop is missing,” Owen added, and he instantly saw the frustration and anger in her eyes.

“I keep copies of my files in online storage,” she said with a heavy sigh. “But everything was also on my hard drive. It means whoever took it won’t have trouble accessing everything.”

Later, he’d want to know more about exactly what was on it. For now, Owen went with giving her more info that would then lead to more questions. Hopefully, more answers, too. “Your toothbrush was there, so that axes your DNA theory. Your purse was open, and your wallet and cell phone were gone. No jewelry around, either, so if you had any—”

“The only jewelry I have is this.” Laney touched her fingers to the gold dragonfly necklace that she’d gotten back from Addie. There was also a small key on the chain. “It was a gift from my sister.” She paused. “You really think the motive for this was robbery?”

“No.” Owen didn’t have to think about that.

The gunman had called her by name and come to the barn. Plus, nothing was missing from his house. If this had been a robbery, they would have taken his wallet and anything else of value. They also would have had a vehicle stashed nearby, and so far, one hadn’t turned up.

“And the second man, the one who’s lying about me, any ID on him yet?” she queried.

“Rohan Gilley.” Owen watched for any signs of recognition.

She repeated the name several times, the way a person would when they were trying to jog their memory. But then Laney shook her head. “He had a record, too?”

Owen settled for a nod. Gilley’s rap sheet was almost identical to Dayton’s, just slightly shorter. They’d even served time together.

“Gilley’s lying to save his hide,” Laney grumbled. “Or because someone put him up to it.” She added some muttered profanity to go along with that.

The last five hours hadn’t improved her mood much. She was just as wired as she had been during the attack. At least, though, she wasn’t trembling now. For reasons he didn’t want to explore, the trembling got to Owen, and right now the only thing he wanted to feel for this woman was the cool indifference he felt toward anyone who’d been involved in any way with a crime.

But indifference was impossible.

If she was telling the truth about not hiring Gilley—and he believed that she was—then that meant she was a victim, one who’d saved his daughter by getting her out of harm’s way. Hard for something that big not to be on the proverbial table.

Laney’s tough exterior, or rather the front she’d tried to put on for him, cracked a little. She didn’t go back to trembling, but it was close, and before she could gather her composure, he caught another glimpse of nerves.

Big ones.

She was a PI—he’d confirmed that—but this could have been the first time she’d actually been in the middle of an attack. Maybe the first time she had been a target, too.

Along with having a good aim, she had an athletic build and was on the petite side, only about five-three.

And attractive.

Something he hated that he noticed, but it was impossible to miss. Being a widower hadn’t made him blind. However, he still had plenty of common sense that reminded him that Laney had way too many secrets behind those cool blue eyes.

“The CSIs found a jammer,” Owen went on a moment later. “That’s how Dayton and or Gilley cut off the electricity.”

She stayed quiet for a moment. “That proves I’m innocent. I wouldn’t have needed to jam the power since I was already in the house.” Her eyes widened. “Did you check to make sure Francine really had an emergency? Those men wanted me there, and they could have tricked Francine into leaving.”

At least Laney wasn’t accusing the nanny of any wrongdoing, but it was a clever observation. An accurate one, too. “The call from the nursing home was bogus.” Of course, Francine hadn’t learned that until she’d gotten there to check on her mom. By then, the attack at the ranch had already been in progress.

“More proof,” Laney said under her breath. She looked up, her eyes meeting his. “If I wanted you dead, I wouldn’t have kept Addie there. I would have told Francine I couldn’t watch the girl so that Francine would have had to take Addie with her.”

That was the way Owen had it figured, too, which was why he was leaning toward the conclusion that Laney was innocent. Of the attack anyway. But there was a boatload of other troubling concerns here. Not just the lies that she’d told him about her identity and work résumé, but there was also the problem with the accusation about Emerson.

“Go back over what you told me in the barn,” Owen insisted. “Tell me about your half sister’s murder.”

This would be a third round of Laney doing that, but thanks to an emailed report he’d gotten from the San Antonio PD in the past hour, Owen knew that Hadley’s death had indeed been ruled a murder. She’d died from blunt-force trauma to the head. No eyewitnesses, no suspects. Well, no official suspects for SAPD. Laney clearly felt differently about that.

“Hadley and Emerson had an affair.” Laney stared at him. “I’m not going to change my story, no matter how many times you have me repeat it.”

That was what he figured, but this was another square filler, like calling out his identity to the intruder. It was especially necessary because she’d lied to him about who she was.

Something that still riled him to the core.

Hell, here he was a cop, and he hadn’t known one of his employees was living under an alias. Of course, there was no way he would have hired her had he known who she was and what she was after. That got Owen thinking—exactly what was she after anyway?

“Did you think I was covering up about my brother-in-law?” he asked.

“Yes.” Her answer came quickly, causing him to huff. If she truly believed Emerson had murdered her sister, then she’d just accused Owen of assorted felonies by not reporting the crime and obstructing justice. An accusation she must have realized because her gaze darted away. “I know you’re close to him.”

Yeah, he was. Emerson had helped him get through Naomi’s death. Those days had been so dark, Owen would have slid right down into the deepest, darkest hole if it hadn’t been for Addie and Emerson.

Of course, Emerson had been grieving, too, since he’d lost his only sister that day. Naomi and Emerson had been close, and while Owen didn’t have the deep connection with Emerson that Naomi had, Owen respected the man, especially after Naomi’s death when Emerson and he had been drawn together in grief. Maybe “misery loves company” had worked for both of them. Though there were times when Owen wondered if anything had actually worked. The grief could still slice through him.

“Tell me why you think Emerson killed Hadley,” Owen demanded. “And stick to only what you can prove. Gut feelings don’t count here.”

Her mouth tightened a little. “Hadley told me it got ugly when her relationship with Emerson was over. Like I said, she threatened to tell his wife, and then Emerson threatened her. He said he’d hurt her if she didn’t keep her mouth shut.”

Emerson could have a hot head. Owen had even been on the receiving end of one of his punches in high school when they’d disagreed over the score in a pick-up basketball game. But it was a big stretch to go from a punch to hurting a woman, much less killing her.

“That isn’t proof,” Owen quickly pointed out. “It’s hearsay.”

Laney didn’t dodge his gaze this time. “I have pictures.”

That got his attention. There’d been nothing about that in the police report. “Pictures?” he challenged.

She nodded. “Of Emerson and Hadley together.” Another pause, then she mumbled something he didn’t catch. “Hadley told me about them and said she kept them in a safe-deposit box.”

Owen wasn’t sure what to react to first. That there could be pictures or that this was the first he was hearing about it. “And you didn’t bother to tell the cops that?” he snarled.

“I did tell them, but I didn’t know where they were. Hadley hadn’t given me the name of the bank where she had the box.” Her forehead bunched up. “I didn’t ask, either, because I didn’t know how important those pictures were going to become.”

“They still might not be important. If the photos exist, they could possibly be proof of an affair and nothing more.” Though it twisted at his insides to think Emerson could have cheated on his wife.

Laney made a sound of disagreement. “They’re important. Because they’re the first step in proving that Emerson carried through on his threat to hurt her.”

Owen glanced at the key on the chain around her neck and groaned. “That’s for the safe-deposit box?”

Her response wasn’t so quick this time. “Yes, I believe it is. And I’ll give it to the cops when I find out which bank has the photos. By cops, I mean the San Antonio Police, not anyone who has a personal connection to Emerson.”

Of course. Laney wouldn’t trust him with the key because she believed he would tip off Emerson. Or destroy the pictures.

He wouldn’t.

If Owen did find something like that, he would do his job. But he doubted he could convince Laney of that. Doubted, too, that he could convince her of anything else right now.

“If there are photos and a safe-deposit box, they could be anywhere,” he pointed out. “You need help finding them... Joe Henshaw’s helping you with that.”

She nodded. “He’s a PI, too, and we became friends in a grief support group. He lost both his parents when they were murdered. Sorry,” Laney added.

The apology was no doubt because his father had been murdered, too, about a year ago, not long after Owen had lost his wife. His father had been gunned down by an unknown perp who was still out there. Owen had hope, though, that the case would be solved since they had an eyewitness. Too bad the witness had received a head injury and couldn’t remember squat about what had happened. But maybe one day she would remember.

One day.

Even though it had nearly killed Owen to lose Naomi, it was a deeper cut to lose his father. Naomi’s death had been a medical problem. A blood clot that had formed during delivery. But his dad’s life had been purposely taken. Murdered. And all of Owen’s skills learned in training as a cop hadn’t been able to stop it. Or bring the killer to justice.