Page 3 of Marked For Revenge

That was also Ava’s profile. Well, almost.

“The first victim, Sandy Russo, had several miscarriages,” Ava explained, not looking away when Harley’s gaze locked with hers. “The second, Theresa Darnell, also had a miscarriage.” She had to pause and gather her breath. “When I talk to Monica’s parents, I’ll ask them if she’d ever been pregnant.”

Ava watched as Harley processed that. Others in town might not know about the piece of her life that didn’t fit the MO, but he did. During one of their insomnia-night discussions, she’d told him all about her past.

About the child she’d given up for adoption when she was sixteen.

Even now, twenty years later, Ava felt the pain of that. The shame. The anger that it’d been something her father had forced her to do. But that was an old unhealed wound she didn’t have time to soothe right now. One that she couldn’t use Harley to help her soothe either. They had to stop this killer because the safety of their child was at stake.

“I’m sorry,” she heard Harley say under his breath.

Ava wasn’t sure if that was a multipronged apology for the murders or for the baggage she’d always carry for giving up her child.

“Your father talked Waylon into calling the Rangers in on this,” Harley added a moment later. “I’m sure your dad would have preferred a Ranger other than me, but he definitely pushed Waylon on this.”

Everything inside her went still. Not for long though. The fresh wave of anger punched her as hard as the killer had hit Monica. Her father, State Senator Edgar Lawson, didn’t live in Silver Creek. Never had. No, his grand estate was over fifty miles away in an exclusive gated neighborhood in San Antonio. That didn’t mean, though, that he wouldn’t use his power and influence to try to mess around with her life and career.

“Waylon told you this?” she managed to ask.

Harley shook his head. “I have my own contacts, but I found out your father called Waylon and pushed him to bring in outside assistance.”

Some people might believe her father had done that to help the Silver Creek Sheriff’s Office, to make sure his pregnant daughter didn’t end up dead in the woods, but Ava knew that Edgar’s motives had nothing to do with love. No. He’d have his own reasons, and she would need to find out what those were.

“Your father might not want any bad publicity from having a string of unsolved murders under your jurisdiction,” Harley suggested, obviously reading her expression. “After all, he’s up for reelection and the press will definitely point out that you’re his daughter.”

Yes, it could be something as simple as that, and in Edgar’s mind, it was bad enough that his heiress daughter was a career cop. Bad enough that she was unmarried and pregnant and wouldn’t play the part of being devoted to him so as to help him keep his seat in the Texas senate. But bad would be multiplied many times over when the media continued to point out that the senator’s daughter hadn’t been able to stop a killer who was terrorizing the town where she was a deputy.

A killer who had to be connected to her since the snake was covering the dead women’s faces with her photo.

“We have a problem,” she heard Veronica call out. The CSI got up and practically ran away from the body.

“What’s wrong?” Theo and Harley asked in unison.

“We need to evacuate the scene and get a bomb squad out here right now,” Veronica blurted. “There’s a bomb beneath the body.”

Chapter Two

When Harley had gone to the latest crime scene, he hadn’t expected to be chased out of the area because of a bomb. But that’s exactly what’d happened. Ava, he and the rest of the responders had been forced to evacuate and hope like hell that they didn’t get killed in an explosion the killer had set up.

Harley had had the additional fear of Ava and the baby being hurt. Thankfully, though, they’d all gotten safely out of there so the bomb squad could be called in to do their job. Then Harley had gotten on with doing his.

For starters, Harley knew he really needed to take a harder look at the area where the killer had dumped this latest body. He also needed to find some evidence and find it fast because he wasn’t sure how much time they had before the killer struck again.

Correction—how much time Ava had.

A thought that tightened every muscle in his body.

Because Ava was pregnant, it meant she didn’t precisely fit the profile of the other murdered women, but it was obvious the killer had “involved her” by using her face on the masks. Maybe the fact Ava was pregnant didn’t play into this sick plan. Or the pregnancy could be at the core of it. It was something he needed to try to work out and fast.

And that’s exactly what Harley was trying to do now.

Sipping coffee that was strong and bitter enough to burn a hole in his stomach, Harley sat in the chair next to Ava’s desk in the Silver Creek Sheriff’s Office and waited for Ava and Theo to return. A wait he wasn’t sure how long would last, but he was using the time to study the files on the previous two murders.

Harley practically had the entire building to himself tonight since Waylon thankfully hadn’t accompanied him to the sheriff’s office. No reason for it. Waylon had already gotten what was no doubt his cheap thrill for the night by reminding Theo, and Ava, that he had plenty of power in town. Not that his power was ever in dispute. He had it. Money, too. And apparently the man had enough allies to keep his butt firmly planted in the mayor’s seat.

Harley glanced up when the phone rang and he halfway listened when Deputy Diana Warner took the call. Other than Harley, she was the sole occupant of the building, and was working Dispatch and doing what appeared to be a mountain of paperwork. The other deputies were no doubt out in the field, trying to track down any leads on the killer.

The call seemed to be about some cattle breaking fence and getting on the road, so Harley tuned it out and went back to the files. And to waiting.

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