Settling an Old Score - Delores Fossen Page 0,19

as Eli had been. Until they were certain that Dominick had had no part in hiring those thugs, then he wouldn’t have access to his granddaughter.

Eli was betting that wouldn’t go over well with Dominick.

And that was the reason he’d taken precautions before they’d left Jack’s house. First, he’d called a sitter, Gloria Coyle. The woman hadn’t actually watched Cora yet, but Gloria was someone they had both known most of their lives. Ashlyn had contacted her shortly before the adoption to ask her if she’d be able to watch the child if ever there was some kind of emergency. This definitely fell into that “emergency” category, so Gloria had agreed to meet them at the sheriff’s office. She could wait with Cora in the break room while Ashlyn chatted with Dominick.

That wouldn’t be a fun conversation, either.

After Dominick said whatever it was he had to say to Ashlyn, then Eli wanted a crack at questioning the man. As a Texas Ranger, he didn’t have a set jurisdiction, so it would be perfectly legal for him to do that as long as Kellan agreed. Which he would. His brother was as eager to get to the bottom of this as he was.

This time when they arrived at the sheriff’s office, Eli had Gunnar park the cruiser at the back of the building. One of the other security measures Eli had taken was to ask Kellan to unlock the back door so he could get Ashlyn and Cora in fast. Kellan had also posted a deputy there to make sure a hired gun hadn’t thought it was a good place to lie in wait for an ambush.

When Gunnar pulled to a stop, Eli glanced around for any signs of a threat. None. But he saw his other brother Owen waiting in the doorway. So this was the deputy that Kellan had assigned to the protection detail. Owen immediately stepped out, helping Ashlyn get the baby into the break room. The transfer was fast, exactly what Eli wanted.

Gloria was already there, waiting, and she went to Ashlyn to give her a hug as soon as Owen had shut and locked the door. Ashlyn thanked the woman, and while they talked about the baby’s bottle and such, Eli turned to Owen.

“Dominick’s in the interview room,” Owen said. “He’s got a bad attitude and two lawyers.” He glanced at the baby. “Please tell me he won’t get near that little girl.”

“Trust me, he won’t,” Eli assured him.

There must have been something in his tone that got Owen’s attention, because he lifted an eyebrow. “That sounded...personal.”

Eli scowled. “Don’t read anything into it.”

Owen’s eyebrow stayed up. “Hey, this is your brother, remember? I used to have to cover for you when you sneaked off with Ashlyn for some...private time.”

“That was high school,” Eli snapped.

And if they’d been in high school now, that remark from Owen would have earned him a butt-whipping. Not because it wasn’t true. It was. But Eli didn’t like that smug look on Owen’s face. Still, he supposed it was better than the angry gloom and doom that all of them had been sporting since this whole ordeal had begun.

Ashlyn handed off the baby to Gloria, but Eli didn’t have to be a mind reader to know that was hard for Ashlyn to do. With the memories still fresh from the attack, she probably didn’t want the baby out of her sight. Something he considered using to try to talk her out of coming here to see Dominick, but her expression was easy to read, too, when she looked at him.

She was ready to do this.

“I’ll wait back here with Gloria and the baby,” Owen assured Ashlyn. “We’ll keep the door locked and the security alarm on.”

Ashlyn thanked him, and as if it were the most natural thing in the world, she brushed a kiss on Owen’s cheek. A reminder that once Ashlyn and his brother had been friends. Heck, maybe they still were. Ashlyn had shut Eli out of her life, but it was possible she hadn’t done the same to the rest of his family.

She gave the baby one last kiss and then one last glance before she followed Eli out of the break room. He shut that door, too, so that Dominick wouldn’t be able to hear the baby if she cried or fussed.

“Is the adoption ironclad?” Eli asked her as they walked up the hall.

“Yes.” She didn’t hesitate, but she did give him a long look. “Why do you