She took a big sip of the coffee as if it were the cure for all ills. “Hard to say. One of them might know, but I have to wonder why my father would let someone in on his location when he hadn’t told his three daughters.”
“Maybe he did tell one. Not you,” he quickly added when she shot him a glare. “But one of your sisters.”
Eden was shaking her head before he had even finished. “Too risky. They’re young and might let something slip. No, if he’d told any of us, it would have been me.”
Maybe Zander hadn’t wanted to involve any of his girls. Of course, that was something a good father would do, and Declan wasn’t about to put that good label on any part of Zander’s life.
Declan took a notepad and pen and moved it to the empty space at the table that was nearest Eden. “Write down the names of everyone you contacted. I want to press them for info, too.”
Her glare morphed to a flat look. “If they wouldn’t tell me, they won’t tell a marshal.”
“I can be charming when I have to be.” He let the sarcasm drip off that, but it had an unexpected response.
The corner of Eden’s mouth lifted just a fraction. “Yes, you’re charming all right.”
The smile stayed in place for just a few seconds and then faded. She huffed and dropped down in the chair to start writing on the notepad. “Even if your charm works on these contacts, I don’t want my father drawn out just to be killed. And I think we both know that’s what this note writer wants to happen.”
Oh, yeah. If the person who wrote that note was anyone but Zander, that was exactly what the threat had been designed to do. Draw him out. And not just Zander but Kirby, too.
That wasn’t going to happen.
Kirby wasn’t strong enough to face down a killer, and even if he were, Declan wouldn’t let him. Still, that did lead to some interesting conclusions.
“Whoever wrote the two notes probably knows both Kirby and your father,” he pointed out. “And the person wants to use us to get to them. Us,” he repeated. “Not your sisters and not my five foster brothers. Because so far, none of the others has been mentioned in any kind of threat.”
Eden stopped writing. Met his gaze. “So that’s where we start digging. Something that includes me, you, my father and Kirby.”
Declan had already been thinking in that direction and had come up with nothing. But there was a long shot that might give them the connection. Or rather might give them Zander. “I want the press to publicize the last note, to bring your father out in the open. Wait,” he had to add, because she started to object. “Not so he can be gunned down but so he can help us figure out who’s behind the attack.”
“And so you can arrest him.”
Declan lifted his shoulder. “That, too. He’s a fugitive, Eden. If he’s alive, I can’t just let him walk away.”
“I can’t let you use me to get to him,” she argued.
“Too late.” And yeah, this was about to get uglier. “The threat’s going out.” He checked his watch. “Has gone out,” he amended. “The news shows and the papers have probably already picked up on it.”
If looks could have maimed, he’d be hurting right about now, because that was how hard her glare was. She was no doubt about to give him a piece of her very angry mind, but Wyatt came back in the room. He glanced at both of them and could probably feel the thick tension between them.
Wyatt shook his head as if disgusted with both of them. “My advice? Stay away from each other.”
Obviously, his brother thought this was about the attraction and not the press release. Declan was about to correct him, but Wyatt took his coat from the peg near the back door.
“I’ve arranged for relief for security detail for Kirby and Stella,” Wyatt continued.
Good. He wanted the hospital manned 24/7 until Kirby was home. Then the extra security would be moved to the ranch. “You’re not anticipating any trouble at the hospital, are you?” Because something had put that grim look on Wyatt’s face.
“No. No problems there. But I need to go into the office and look at some reports.” He paused. “Remember the fertility clinic where Ann and I stored our embryos before... Well, before?”
Ann was Wyatt’s late wife, and she’d died two and a half years ago. And the before referred to when they’d stored the embryos before she’d started her treatment for a rare blood disorder. Treatments that could have left her infertile. Instead, the treatments had failed, and Wyatt had lost his wife.
“There was a theft at the clinic,” Wyatt continued. “Several batches of embryos were stolen, including ours.”
“Mercy.” Eden stood. “Who’d steal embryos?”
Wyatt shrugged, and even though he looked calm on the surface, Declan could tell this was eating away at him. “Some of the embryos were being contested as part of a divorce settlement, and the San Antonio cops think maybe someone was hired to steal them but got ours instead.”
So all a mix-up, except this mix-up was massive, since Wyatt had planned on hiring a surrogate so he could finally become the father he’d always wanted to be.
“You need help?” Declan asked.
“No. You’ve got enough on your plate.” He gave them one last glance, and though Wyatt didn’t say another word, Declan could hear the repeated warning: Stay away from each other. To start, Declan locked up behind Wyatt, and while keeping some distance between them, he looked at the list of names that Eden was writing. She hadn’t jotted down her sisters, but he made a mental note to have someone question them about their father. Even if they didn’t know anything directly, they might have pieces of info that could lead them to the truth.
“Those are my father’s business associates that I called,” Eden said, handing him the list. “Well, except for the last one. Janet Klein is an old girlfriend, but she said she hasn’t seen him since he was arrested.”
Declan knew the woman. He’d interviewed her numerous times after Zander’s escape and had even put her under surveillance for a while. And though he believed Janet was capable of lying—anyone close to Zander could be—he hadn’t thought she was hiding her lover.
“All of this could be for nothing.” Eden’s voice dropped to a raspy whisper. “My father’s probably dead anyway.”
He was about to remind her that the threat indicated otherwise, but he rethought that. Any part of this could be designed to throw them off track. Like the picture from his childhood. Or the notes themselves. Someone might want them to believe that Zander was part of the danger, but he might be innocent.
Of this anyway.
She stood, brushed past him and went back to the coffeepot to refill her cup. Her hands still weren’t too steady. Neither was the rest of her. And it might stay that way until the danger had passed.
“Maybe this is just about you and me,” he said. “If someone wanted me dead, then they could have set up this plan to make sure it happened.”
Eden sipped her coffee and looked at him from over the rim of her cup. “Same here. If I’d killed you, then I would have ended up in jail. Or killed by the militia group.” She paused. “But both of us were supposed to have died in your house. Those gunmen were hired to kill us.”
Declan groaned, scrubbed his hand over his face. “Yeah, and that brings us right back to square one.”
Well, almost. The investigation was a wash, but now Eden and he were more or less joined at the hip. For him, it was more because he wanted to keep her close in case her father resurfaced.
Or the gunman.
But Declan knew an “or else” look when he saw it, and Eden was no doubt trying to figure out how to ditch him. Maybe because she didn’t trust him. Or maybe because if given the chance, he would indeed arrest her father.
Their gazes met. Held. And not just a little holding, either. She finally huffed, “What will it
take for you to believe me?”
Declan thought about it a moment. “It’s not a matter of belief. It’s a matter of whose side you’ll choose when and if you figure out your father’s behind this.”
“If he’s behind this, then I’m darn sure not choosing him.” She paused for a heartbeat. “But he’s not behind this. What if it were your father?” she added before he could answer.
She had a point. He’d never believe that Kirby was guilty of putting him in danger. Or lying about his whereabouts. Lying, period. Kirby wasn’t the same sort of man as Zander Gray.
“We need to declare a truce,” Eden continued.
That sounded reasonable, and Declan was about to agree when he saw the slight tremble of her bottom lip. Okay, so they were back to that. Her having a normal response to danger. Him having a bad response to her normal one.
Great.
“Truce,” he said. But there might be a time limit on it if anything changed in the investigation. Especially if they found anything to implicate her father.
They stood there. Gazes connected again. And with things warm and not so cozy between them. The heat was there all right, but nothing about this felt comfortable. Everything inside him was on alert, and not in a good way, either. For some dumb reason, his body was ignoring the danger warnings and moving right on to the really bad suggestion that he do something even dumber.
Like kiss her.
She didn’t back away. Neither did he, and even though he tried to keep the kissing thoughts out of his head, they came anyway. His thoughts were pretty good in that department because he could almost taste her, and it was the prospect of that taste, of the kiss, that had him stepping away just in the nick of time. Of course, his body protested, but that was a mistake he couldn’t make.
“The last time I trusted someone I shouldn’t have,” he said, unbuttoning his shirt, “I got this.”
Her eyes widened, and a little burst of air left her mouth. Maybe because she hadn’t expected him to bare his chest. But he did that so she could see the scar.
“I slept with a suspect once. Didn’t believe she was a suspect until I got between her and her escape vehicle. I learned the hard way that she was not only guilty, she was a decent shot with the .38 she had hidden in her purse.”
The look in her eyes changed. No longer truce-like. She reached out as if to touch the scar on his rib cage, but then she jerked back her hand. “Sorry.”
He wasn’t sure if she was apologizing for the old injury or for the fact she’d almost touched him.
“I’ve got my own set of baggage,” Eden said.
Yeah, he was betting she did.
His phone buzzed. Thank goodness. Well, Declan thought it’d been a good interruption until he saw that the call was from Wyatt. Since his brother had barely had time to get to work, this couldn’t be good.
“Eden and you need to get down here right away,” Wyatt said the second Declan answered.
Declan put the call on speaker so Eden could hear. “What’s going on?”
“You guys are popular today,” his brother said. “We just had not one but two suspects walk in, and both are demanding to talk to the both of you.”
“Two?” Declan asked.
“Yeah. And they’re already at each other’s throats. My advice, get here fast before they try to kill each other. It’s Leonard Kane and a guy name Jack Vinson.”
Of course, he knew the first one. Leonard was indeed someone Declan wanted to question. But he knew the second name, as well. It wasn’t someone he had associated with Zander Gray or the shooting, though.
However, he did have a connection to Kirby.
“Jack Vinson,” Eden repeated. “Years ago, he had some business dealings with my father.” She shook her head. “But would Jack have anything to do with you or your family?”
Declan tried to keep it short. “Remember the body that was found at the Rocky Creek Children’s Facility?”
She nodded. “Jonah Webb, the dead headmaster. Kirby... All of you are suspects as accessory to murder.”
“Yeah. And the rangers are also questioning Jack Vinson. He was acquainted with a lot of people connected to Rocky Creek, and he and Webb had had a recent falling-out over the way Webb was running the place.”
Last Declan had heard, there was no evidence against the man. So why was he here in Maverick Springs?
“Jack Vinson says he’s got information about yesterday’s shooting,” Wyatt explained. “Says he knows why somebody’s trying to kill you.”
Chapter Eight
Two suspects. Eden wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or suspicious. Either way, this was a strange development, but if it panned out, it could save Declan and her some time. Maybe even their lives.
If the suspects truly cooperated, that is.
Just because they’d arrived voluntarily didn’t mean they were at the marshals’ office to do anything other than muddy already muddy waters. But then, sometimes people said things they hadn’t planned on saying. Maybe that would happen this morning.
“Leonard Kane,” Declan repeated, glancing at the two names that he’d jotted down after Wyatt’s call. He dropped the notepad with the names on the truck seat next to her, and he drove away from the ranch. Heading into town, where they’d hopefully get the answers they needed.
Yes, Leonard was definitely a suspect since he had a grudge against her father. And against Kirby for killing his son. He’d probably come in because if he hadn’t, the marshals would have hauled him in.
But the other suspect was, well, unexpected.
“How much do you know about Jack Vinson?” Declan asked, tapping the second name. He was all lawman now. No trace of the heat that’d stirred between them over coffee in the kitchen. And that was good. They didn’t need that interfering with what they had to do.
Eden repeated that to herself.
“As I said, Jack did some business with my father,” she explained. “In fact, he was in on that deal that cost Leonard so much money. I can’t be sure, but it might have cost Jack money, too.” She certainly hadn’t known about his connection to Rocky Creek.
“But he wasn’t on the list of people you called last night.”
She shook her head. “No. I tried, but he wouldn’t take my call. But I did speak with him shortly after my father disappeared.” She’d contacted anyone and everyone who’d had an association with him. “Like everyone else, Jack said he had no idea where my father was.”
Declan made a sound to indicate he was thinking about that. “So why would Jack show up now out of the blue?”
“I don’t know.” And she didn’t. “Your brothers will run a recent background check on him.” That was a given. But it might take more than a mere background check to discover why the man had just shown up, claiming to know why someone wanted to kill them. “Do the rangers believe Jack had something to do with Jonah Webb’s murder?”
“I’m not sure. They’re working with a long list of people they’re questioning—including all the former residents and employees of the facility.”
Declan was also on that list. Webb’s wife had been the one to murder him, but she’d had an accomplice, and that was the person the rangers wanted to identify. So far, they still had a lot of suspects to rule out.
Declan’s phone buzzed. “Stella,” he said when he glanced at the screen, and he put the call on speaker. “Is Kirby okay?”
Eden heard the worry in his voice. It was yet another layer of stress when they were already overloaded.
“Kirby’s better,” Stella answered. “In fact, the doc thinks he’ll be able to go home today or tomorrow.” She paused. “I asked him about the note. Tried to do it in a roundabout way, but he picked right up on the fact that I was trying to hide something.”
Declan flexed
his eyebrows, clearly not surprised by that. “Does he have any idea who wrote it?”
Another pause. A long one. “He said it’s probably somebody from his past.”
“Yeah,” Declan agreed, but his eyes said something different. Did he doubt Kirby? “You mentioned the photos to him, especially the one from Germany?”
Even though Eden couldn’t see Stella’s expression, she could almost feel the hesitation in the woman. What the heck was going on? Was Stella trying to hide something at a time like this?
“Kirby wants to make some calls to ask about those pictures,” Stella finally answered.
“No way,” Declan snapped. “I don’t want him doing anything to put his health at risk.”
“Too late. You know how he is when he gets an idea in his hard head. I’m worried, Declan.” And the woman’s voice cracked. “There are secrets that could come back to haunt him. Haunt all of us,” she added.
“What do you mean?” No snapping that time.
“I’ve said too much. Anything else needs to come from Kirby.” And with that, Stella ended the call.
Declan groaned. Then cursed. Eden waited for him to tell her what he intended to do about the news Stella had just dropped on them, but he shot her a glance that let her know the subject was closed.
It wasn’t.
Yes, the conversation had had a personal tone to it, but the threat that Declan received was connected to her. They were connected. And any secrets that Stella might want to keep couldn’t be kept secret.
“You won’t talk to Kirby about this,” Declan warned her, and he pulled to a stop in the parking lot of the marshals’ building.
Since it would have been a lie to agree to that, Eden kept quiet, but she would find a way to speak with Kirby. Or better yet, Stella. The woman obviously knew what was going on, and Eden would make sure she shared it. For now, however, they had a more immediate problem on their hands.
Well, two of them actually.
Declan and she made their way into the building, through the security checkpoint and up the stairs. She didn’t even have to step into the sprawling office before she heard a familiar voice.
JUSTICE IS COMING Page 7