Page 36 of Marked For Revenge

“Did you pressure the Austin cops into taking Duran into custody?” Edgar fired the question at them. “Do you have any idea what kind of publicity that’s going to generate?”

So, no worry that his longtime friend could have tried his hand at attempted murder. No worry about her. But, yes, bad publicity would get Edgar revving.

“Consider this: Duran was in Austin at the time of the shooting,” Harley explained before Ava could gear up to return verbal fire. “And not just in Austin but in the vicinity of the shooting. He could have been the one who tried to kill Ava. Was he firing those shots for you or because he was trying to cover up something he’d done?”

Judging from the way Edgar’s shoulders snapped back, he hadn’t been expecting that. “What the heck are you talking about?”

“Surveillance footage captured an image of Duran less than a block from the shooting,” Ava provided. “And before you claim it’s some kind of mistake, we just spoke to Duran and he admitted he was there.”

“Why?” Edgar spat out.

“Because he got a report that Aaron was planning on seeing Caleb,” Ava informed him.

She left it at that, letting Edgar fill in the blanks with possible answers, but Ava was going with the obvious on this. If Duran was telling the truth and hadn’t attacked Harley and her, then he’d likely gone there to make sure Aaron and Caleb weren’t about to expose Edgar and him for what they’d done twenty years earlier.

Edgar groaned and squeezed his eyes shut a moment. “Duran wouldn’t shoot at you to stop a meeting like that. He would have found another way to handle it if there was any fallout from it.”

Rather than come out and say she wasn’t convinced of that at all, she gave him a flat look and went with the topic she’d just discussed with Duran. “Monica Howell, Theresa Darnell and Sandy Russo. If you’ve have any kind of contact, even of the second-hand variety, with any of those women, you need to tell us now. We’re digging, and if we find out you’ve lied, the bad publicity will be the least of your worries.”

Edgar cursed. “Those are the dead women, and I didn’t know any of them.” He seemed to be gearing up for a tirade, but he stopped and studied her. “Duran knew these women?”

“Two of them,” she confirmed, causing Edgar to curse again.

Groaning, her father shook his head as if in disappointment or maybe disgust. “I didn’t know. Now, you probably don’t believe that, but it’s the truth.”

“Did you know about Duran paying Aaron blackmail money as recently as seven months ago?” Harley asked.

Edgar whipped his attention in Harley’s direction, and either her father was putting on a good act or he truly hadn’t known. “No,” he said, his jaw muscles tightening and flexing. “But paying someone off doesn’t mean Duran killed anyone. Hell, if he’d wanted someone dead, he would have gone after Aaron.”

Both Harley and she stared at Edgar, giving him some time to let that sink in. Maybe Duran hadn’t taken the direct approach of going after Aaron.

“If Duran could set up Aaron for the murders,” Harley spelled out, “Aaron would not have only gone to prison, he would have been totally discredited if he tried to tell anyone what had happened to him twenty years ago.” He glanced at Ava. “And, if Ava isn’t around to verify what Aaron says, then Duran, or the killer, could spin the truth any way he or she wants it spun.”

Edgar stayed quiet for a long time and he finally shook his head again. “No, I won’t believe Duran’s behind this because that would mean he tried to kill you. He wouldn’t have done that.”

“The shooter missed,” Harley reminded him.

More silence, but she saw the anger erupt in Edgar’s eyes. “Duran didn’t do this,” he snarled, enunciating each word before he turned and threw open the door.

Her father took one step out into the hall, just one, before he smacked right into someone.

Caleb.

Chapter Eleven

Harley wasn’t sure who was more shocked at the impromptu meeting. Ava, Caleb or Edgar. At the moment, he thought it might be a tie.

Figuring that Edgar might say something that would ignite a fierce backlash from Ava, Harley moved toward Caleb. Not that Harley would mind Ava doling out a verbal blast to her slimy father, but he didn’t want Caleb caught up in any fallout. Neither would Ava, and she would end up regretting anything that could hurt Caleb.

“Caleb,” Harley greeted, putting his hand on his shoulder to get him moving closer to Ava and him.

Caleb glanced at Ava. Then Edgar. Caleb definitely knew who the man was and, judging from the lack of friendly greeting in his expression, he was wary of his bio-grandfather.

Edgar stayed put in the hall, staring at Caleb as if his gaze had been pinned to him. Harley didn’t see venom, just the shock. And maybe something else. Not love or affection but perhaps some kind of reckoning that he was face-to-face with his daughter’s child. A child he’d forced Ava to give up.

“Uh, Senator Lawson,” Caleb said by way of greeting before he looked at Ava. “Sorry about just showing up like this, but do you have a minute so we can talk? You, too,” he added to Harley.

That caused Harley’s gut to tighten. He hoped like the devil that someone hadn’t tried to hurt Caleb. Ava was going through enough right now without her firstborn being in danger.

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