Suspicions (The Battling McGuire Boys Book 3) (4 page)

Because if she’d brought danger to Mark’s ranch, there was no way she was letting him face it alone.

Chapter Two

Mark rushed out of his house, his bare feet flying over the wooden porch. The alarm was still blaring up ahead, a security measure he’d put in after a psychotic SOB had torched his stables a few months back. The jerk had been trying to get at Brodie McGuire and Brodie’s girl, Jennifer, and the fire had been set to lure them both into a trap.

No one will use me again.

He could see some of his ranch hands already running toward the stables. There was no sign of a fire, but something had sure set off the alarm.

The whole ranch was wired with state-of-the-art security, courtesy, of course, of the McGuires. He’d been watching the security feed when he’d first seen Ava pull into his drive earlier that night. Ava already knew the code to get past his gate, and he’d watched her, stunned to see her back at
his
place. Especially since her brothers had told him to stay away from her.

“Ty!” He yelled for his foreman because he had just come from the back of the stables. “Are the animals all right?”

Ty Watts hurried toward him. “Looks clear, Boss.” Ty was close to Mark’s age, with dark hair and dark brown eyes. “I didn’t see anyone out back, and the men are in there with the horses now.”

But something had set off the alarm—something or someone.

“What the hell do you think...?” Ty began. Then he let out a low whistle. “Sorry. Didn’t realize company was here.” His gaze was directed over Mark’s shoulder.

Mark glanced back and saw Ava. Her hair tumbled around her shoulders. Under the lights that had flashed on with the security system, she appeared even more beautiful as the harsh glare lit up her body.

She was running toward Mark, clearly coming from the house.

In the middle of the night.

“Like that, is it?” Ty murmured.

Mark cut him a killing glare. “Yes,” he told him flatly. “It is.”

“What’s happening?” Ava asked, her voice husky as her breath heaved out. The woman even sounded like sin right then. He’d had her beneath him moments before. His hot dreams had been about to become reality, and then—

The alarm had been a cold shower. A hard wake-up that had stopped him from making a terrible mistake.

Would it have been a mistake? Or would it have been the start of an addiction I couldn’t end?

“Something set off the sensors at the rear of the stables, ma’am,” Ty told her, his Texas accent rolling beneath the words. “After the recent fire, Mark here didn’t want to take any chances with the horses’ safety. Those sensors go off if anyone gets too close during the night.”

A few more ranch hands came out. “Clear!” one of them shouted.

“Could have just been some animal checking out the place. Maybe a raccoon,” Ty said. “It could even have been a coyote.”

Ava was staring straight at Mark. “Do you have cameras set up back there?”

“No, not there,” he said. “Not yet, anyway. The cameras are all connected to the main house and to the main road that led to the ranch.”

“What if I led someone here?” Ava asked as she stepped closer to Mark. “What if I did this?”

“Nothing happened,” he told her flatly. “You didn’t do anything.” He nodded toward Ty. “Have the men search the grounds just in case. We don’t want to leave anything to chance.”

Ty nodded and turned away. A few seconds later, Mark heard Ty barking orders to his men. Mark wanted to go and join the search, too, but he needed to make sure Ava was safe. “I thought I told you stay inside,” he said as he leaned in toward her.

“I don’t always stay where I’m put.” Her voice held a distinct edge. “If there was a threat out here, I didn’t want you facing it alone.”

Ava...riding to his rescue. And some folks thought she was weak? Those folks didn’t know her at all. “I just wanted you safe.”

She stared up at him. “Are any of us ever really safe?”

With her past, yes, she’d wonder that.

“I want to help, and I don’t intend to help by hiding inside your house.” She straightened her shoulders. “If you’re searching, then I’m going with you.”

“Ava...”

“I...can’t wait in there alone.” Her voice was stark. “Don’t ask me to.”

He understood. He offered his hand to her. “Stay with me every step?”

Her smile flashed. “Of course. That’s how I keep you safe, right?”

She had a gorgeous smile. One that winked dimples on each side of her mouth. He hadn’t seen that smile of hers in a long time. He’d missed it.

The same way he’d missed her.

Ava put her hand in his.

* * *

F
ROM
HIS
HIDING
PLACE
, he watched Ava McGuire and Mark Montgomery cross the paddock. Ava was
making a huge mistake. She couldn’t trust Mark, not for an instant. She needed to realize how dangerous he was to her.

Mark had been keeping secrets from Ava for years. He’d been lying to her. And now she was going to turn to the man for help?
Wrong move, Ava. Wrong.

In fact, that move could prove deadly for her.

Ranch hands were scrambling around, checking on the horses, trying to make sure they were all safe. Mark stayed beside Ava every moment, but he didn’t think it was because he wanted to protect her.

You just want her.

In many ways, Mark Montgomery was just like his old man. When he saw something that he wanted, he took it, not caring at all for the consequences. Or for the shattered lives that he left in his wake.

Mark wanted Ava, so he thought he’d take her.

That won’t happen.

Ava wasn’t going to be destroyed. The Montgomerys had already wrecked enough lives. Maybe it was time for Ava to learn the truth about her so-called hero.

He slipped back into the shadows.

Maybe it was time for everyone to learn the truth.

* * *

T
HEY
SEARCHED
THE
PROPERTY
but found no sign of an intruder. Mark headed back to the house with Ava by his side. She seemed tense next to him, and he knew she had to be exhausted. They’d spent at least an hour out there because—

Because I wanted to make sure the jerk who has been harassing Ava didn’t follow her to my home.

He shut the door behind them and set the alarm. “You should try to get some sleep.” He wasn’t touching her right then. Probably a good thing because the more he touched, the more he wanted.

I had her in the bed beneath me. Her breast in my hand. In my mouth. She was moaning for me. Ava wanted me.

And he’d been about thirty seconds away from taking the woman he wanted most.

He turned away from her.

“You’re not going to talk about it, are you?” Ava asked him.

He locked his jaw. “The alarm went off. Maybe it malfunctioned. Maybe someone was here. I don’t—”

She grabbed his arm and pulled him around to face her. “I’m not talking about the alarm. I’m talking about us!”

He tried to unclench his back teeth. “There isn’t an us.” Even though he spent too much time thinking about her. Even though he wanted to strip her right then and get her back on a bed once more. Even though—

“Why not?” Ava asked. Her eyes were big. Her gaze so deep. “Don’t you want me?”

Wanting her sure wasn’t the problem. He cleared his throat. “The age...difference between us is—”

“Bull.”

He blinked.

“So you’re a bit older than me. I’m not some kid. I’m in my twenties. I’ve got a graduate degree. I support myself.” She waved the age difference away. “My brothers have dated plenty of women who are older and younger than they are, so don’t give me that baloney. We’re both legal.”

“Your brothers...they are my friends.”

She exhaled. “Are you sure about that? Because Davis told me just a few months ago... He said you weren’t the man I thought you were.”

And Davis had been acting odd around him ever since Detective Shayne Townsend had died. Mark didn’t know what was happening, but the McGuires had definitely put the freeze on him.

“But I don’t really care what Davis thinks about you.
I
want you.”

Then she leaned forward, trying to wrap her arms around him.

He stepped back.

Hurt flashed across her face.

“Ava...”

“You were kissing me like a desperate man earlier. Like you didn’t need anything more than me in the whole world.” She shook her head. “Now you back away from me?
Why?
”

“Because I don’t want to hurt you.”

A faint line appeared between her brows. “You wouldn’t! You never have. You’re the one who has always been there for me. Never judging, just accepting. You know all of my secrets.”

“But you don’t know mine, Ava.” And that was the problem. He’d shielded her from that part of his life. Did the very best that he could not to taint her image of him.

But Ava didn’t know the things he’d done. Ava didn’t know about the dark core inside of him and, for her sake, he hoped that she never did.

Ava had always looked at him as if he were some kind of hero. He wasn’t. He was about as far from hero material as a man could get. If she knew the things he’d done, Ava would never let him so much as touch her again.
And that’s why she won’t ever know.

“Go to sleep,” he told her because he had to put some distance between them. He couldn’t be that close to Ava and not feel her sensual pull. “It’s been a long day.” He walked away from her.

* * *

A
VA
STARED
AFTER
M
ARK
, narrowing her eyes. He was seriously just walking away? She wanted to scream at the man. Finally,
finally
,
they’d been close. The desire had been burning between them. There had been no barriers. Nothing at all holding them back, and now—

Now he was pulling away.

It won’t be that easy, Mark.

She headed back toward the guest room. Sleep wasn’t going to come for her, not then. Adrenaline spiked her blood, and if she slept—well, she wasn’t in the mood to deal with a second nightmare. No way.

Ava pushed open the door to her room. It was dark inside. Pitch black.

Ava hesitated. She’d been sure that she left the lights on when she ran out earlier. The lights had been blazing. She’d dressed as fast as she could and then rushed out after Mark.

And I didn’t turn the lights off.

She glanced back over her shoulder. “Mark?”

It was just like before. Small things. Things that most people would overlook. But after a while, those little things had started to add up.

Ava pulled in a deep breath. Then her hand slid out, moving along the wall near the door. Her fingers touched the light switch. She flipped it on, fast, and illumination flooded the room.

The bed sheets were still tangled. Her purse was on the chair in the right corner—just where she’d left it.

The windows appeared to be closed and still locked.

She crept forward. Her body was tight with tension and fear. They’d searched the perimeter for the prowler, but maybe they hadn’t found the intruder because he hadn’t been outside. He’d been
inside.
The ranch house had been empty. It would have been the perfect time for the guy to sneak in.

No, I must be wrong. I left the lights off.

She bent and searched under the bed. Nothing was there. The closet was empty. She turned toward the bathroom. The door leading to the bathroom was shut, too. Ava tried to remember...

Did I leave it open or closed?
She inched forward.

Open?

Another step.

Or closed?

* * *

D
O
NOT
GO
back to her. Do not.
The chant echoed in Mark’s head, but his body wanted to turn around and go after Ava. She’d just looked so hurt.

And he’d never wanted to hurt Ava. He wanted to protect her. To keep her safe, always.

Why did he screw up so much when she was around?

Snarling, he turned and marched toward his bathroom. The door was partially shut, and he shoved it open. He flipped on the light—

The glass mirror was shattered. And letters were carved into the wall next to the broken mirror—rough letters that looked as if they’d been made with a shard of that broken glass.

Stay away from her.

“Ava!” He roared her name even as he whirled around and ran from the bathroom. The creep hadn’t been outside. He’d been in the house. He’d drawn them out, maybe even set off the alarm deliberately so that he could get access to the home.
“Ava!”
Mark was in the den now and running fast. His heart thundered in his chest. He had to get to Ava, to see her. Had to—

She ran out of her room. “Mark?” Fear flashed on her face.

“He was here,” he snarled as he grabbed her shoulders. “Someone was in my home.”

She shivered before him. “I...I know.” She pointed toward her door. “My light was off. I think he was in my room.”

The sick joker might still be in there. Mark pushed her behind his back and ran to her room. The covers were tousled, and he had a flash of Ava in that bed, with him.

So close...

Until that jerk had come and sounded the alarm.

Her bathroom door was shut. Was the guy in there? Waiting for her?

“Be careful,” Ava whispered. “I was just about to go in there...”

Forget careful. If someone was waiting in her bathroom, Mark would tear the guy apart. Mark kicked open the door. It slammed back into the nearby wall.

He saw the broken shards of the mirror on the floor. Just like in his bathroom. Words had been left behind for Ava, too. Only these words...

Don’t trust him.

“We need to search the whole house,” he said, voice flat and hard. “The video cameras were running, so we must have caught the bastard.” He turned to find Ava behind him. Her gaze wasn’t on Mark, though. It was on the message the intruder had been left behind.

The guy was trying to play games with them, but he was about to realize... Mark was an enemy he didn’t want.