Settling an Old Score - Delores Fossen Page 0,41

he’d been spewing. “Someone’s trying to set me up. That’s the only explanation as to why all three hired guns could be connected back to me.”

“Not the only explanation,” Eli assured him. “You could be guilty. Are you?”

Oscar’s gaze came back to Eli. “No. And I’m not saying another word until my lawyer gets here.”

Eli made a suit-yourself sound and walked away, leading Ashlyn back in the direction of Kellan’s office. Kellan was on the phone, and he held up his finger for them to wait a second while he finished. Ashlyn tuned in to the conversation when she heard Kellan say, “Ashlyn’s horses.”

She certainly hadn’t forgotten about her horses or her small ranch, but it was a reminder that one of the animals could have been hurt. After Eli had shot the gunman, he’d gotten her out of there so fast that she hadn’t had time to check for herself.

“Everything’s okay,” Kellan assured her as soon as he finished the call. “The CSIs are out at your place again, and I sent two of my ranch hands out to tend your livestock and get your things.”

“Thank you.” She hadn’t realized just how thin her breath had gotten until she tried to speak. “I’d already packed a suitcase, but I left it on the floor in the kitchen.”

He nodded and sent a text. No doubt to let his hands know where it was. “I’ve also arranged for Cora’s crib to be taken to Jack’s.” Kellan scrubbed his hand over his face. “I considered moving all of you back to Eli’s since it’s bigger, but I think it’s safer if she stays put.”

Ashlyn felt the same way, but there was something in Kellan’s weary eyes that made her realize there was more.

“The CSIs found Hamby’s car,” Kellan added several moments later. “It was parked on a side road just up from Ashlyn’s. There are signs that two people were in the vehicle. Two fast-food bags and drinks. Hamby also had a burner cell phone in it, and he got a call right after he was shot. It came from another burner.”

Ashlyn followed the thread of that. “There’s a fourth gunman?”

“Probably,” Kellan admitted. “Either that or the person who hired him could have been in the vehicle. If so, that rules out Remy, because he has an alibi. He said he was at a doctor’s appointment, and I just confirmed that.”

“Any prints or trace in Hamby’s car?” Eli asked.

“Plenty. Along with the receipt for the fast food. It’ll take them a while to sort through all of it, but we might get lucky.”

Maybe, but she wondered if whoever had hired Hamby would be careless enough to leave evidence behind.

Kellan tipped his head to the man in the suit who came in the front door. “Oscar’s lawyer. I’ll get started with the interview, and when I’m done, I’ll press the CSIs to get us anything they can from that car.” He started out but then stopped, his gaze connecting with Eli’s. “Dominick should be in soon. You want to interview him?”

“Absolutely. I want to ask him about his secret bank account and that big withdrawal.”

Ashlyn knew it would take more luck to pin Dominick down on that. Especially if he had indeed hired those gunmen.

As soon as Kellan walked out, Eli took hold of her hand and moved her out of the doorway. Out of view from the windows, too. She hadn’t needed a reminder of the danger, but that gave her one anyway.

“There are too many puzzle pieces,” she said. “In the meantime, you and I—maybe Cora, too—are in the crosshairs of a killer.”

He didn’t argue with her. Couldn’t. Because it was true, a frustration that they both felt. That frustration was in every muscle of his body when he pulled her into his arms. As he’d done in the kitchen, he brushed a kiss on the top of her head. A kiss of comfort.

And it worked.

Ashlyn could practically feel some of the tension slide right out of her. Of course, the heat came in its place. No surprise there. She’d been dealing with it for much too long.

He pulled back just a little and looked down at her with those smoky gray eyes. They weren’t stormy now but had some of the same fire that she was certain was in her own.

“Yeah,” he said as if he’d known exactly what she was thinking—and feeling. “If we were still in high school, I would just coax you into taking a trip out