in what was now a crime scene. An investigation would quickly follow, which meant she’d be questioned and requestioned. Soon, everyone in town would know who she was, and she’d be in more danger than she already was. That was why she had to figure a way out of here—fast.
“Elaine Pearce,” he repeated. “And you didn’t think that was something I should know?” Owen grumbled. “You didn’t bother to mention that you weren’t who you were claiming to be?”
“No.” Laney took another deep breath. “I thought I’d find the info that I needed and be out of here before anything could happen.”
“You were obviously wrong about that.” He gave a disapproving grunt and went to the man, kicking his gun farther away from where it had fallen from the shooter’s hand. Owen then touched his fingers to the guy’s neck.
“Dead,” Owen relayed as he did a quick search of the guy’s pockets. Nothing. Of course, he hadn’t expected a hired gun to bring an actual ID with him.
“You recognize him?” Owen asked.
Laney somehow managed to stand upright, though every part of her was trembling. She also moved closer to Owen and then made another quick check on Addie. The little girl’s cries were already starting to taper off, but she’d obviously been frightened by the noise of the gunshots.
A muscle tightened in Owen’s jaw and, though Laney hadn’t thought it possible, his steel-gray eyes narrowed even more when he glared at her. He made a circling motion with his index finger for her to continue, but before Laney even had the chance to do that, his phone rang. She saw his brother’s name on the screen. In the months that she’d been working for Owen, she’d met Kellan several times and knew he lived close by. She had figured Owen had called him or their other brothers for backup.
“This conversation isn’t over,” Owen assured her as he hit the answer button on his phone. He didn’t put the call on speaker, but Laney was close enough to hear Kellan’s voice.
“There’s a second intruder,” Kellan blurted out, causing a chill to ripple through her.
Laney hurried back to Addie and pulled the little girl into her arms. Because of her position, she could no longer hear what Kellan was saying. But judging from the way Owen’s gaze fired around, he, too, was bracing himself for another attack. He didn’t stay on the phone long and, once he was finished with his conversation, maneuvered himself in front of them.
“The second guy was in the guesthouse,” Owen told her. “He ran into the woods across the road. Kellan and Gunnar are searching for him now and they’ve called Dispatch for more backup.”
Gunnar was Deputy Gunnar Pullam, someone else that Laney had seen around town. Like Owen, he was an experienced lawman. Something they needed right now. Maybe they’d find the second man and stop him from circling back to try to kill them again. The thought didn’t help with her heartbeat, which was already thudding out of control. Addie must have picked up on that, too, because she started to whimper again. Laney began to rock her.
“Kellan said the second man had something with him when he ran out of the guesthouse,” Owen went on. “A bag, maybe.” His back was to her now, but she didn’t need to see his face to know he was still glaring. “Any idea what he took?”
Laney’s thoughts were all over the place as she tried to fight off the panic, but it didn’t take her long to come up with an answer. “Maybe my toothbrush or something else with my DNA on it. Something to prove who I am.”
Other than changing her hair and wearing colored contacts, she hadn’t altered her appearance that much. If they’d looked closely enough, whoever was after her could have recognized her from old photos she was certain were still out there on the web. But a hired gun would have wanted some kind of proof to give to his boss and DNA would have done it.
That didn’t feel right, though.
She fought through the whirlwind of thoughts and spiked adrenaline, and remembered that one of the intruders had called her by her real name. Elaine. And the one she’d killed had come into the barn to either take her with him or gun her down. So maybe they hadn’t been looking for someone to prove who she was. Maybe they’d been after something else in the guesthouse and the man she’d shot had been just a distraction for his partner.
“My laptop,” she added on a rise of breath. Though everything on it was password protected or stored on a cloud with several layers of security, a good hacker would be able to find what she had there.
“Keep talking,” Owen ordered her while he continued volleying glances between the front door and the window at the back. “Why’d you lie to me about who you were?”
Again, this would only lead to more questions, but she doubted that she could stall Owen, especially since the sense of danger was still so thick around them.
“I lied because I didn’t want anyone, including you, to know my real identity.” Laney paused when her breath suddenly became very thin. “I’m working on an investigation, and the clues led me here to Longview Ridge.”
Owen pulled back his shoulders. “Are you a cop?”
“A private investigator.”
Owen growled out some profanity under his breath and looked as if he wanted to do more than growl it. He’d kept it quiet, no doubt because his daughter was right there, but thankfully Addie was falling asleep, her head now resting on Laney’s shoulder.
“So, you’re a PI and a liar,” Owen rumbled. Obviously he didn’t think much of either. “I obviously missed way too much about you when I did your background check. And now you’ve put my little girl, me and now Gunner and my brother in danger.”
Yes. She’d done all of those things and more. “I’m investigating Emerson Keaton.”
She saw the brief moment of surprise, followed by a new round of silent profanity that went through his eyes. “My brother-in-law. Addie’s uncle.”
Laney could add another mental yes to that. Emerson was indeed both of those things, along with being the town’s district attorney. She was also convinced that he had a fourth label.
Killer.
Of course, there was no way Owen would believe that, and she wasn’t going to be able to convince him of it now. Laney couldn’t blame him for his doubts. Nearly everything she’d told him had been a lie, including the résumé and references she’d manufactured to get this job.
Owen’s intense stare demanded that she continue even though they obviously still had to keep watch.
“Seven months ago, my half sister was murdered. Hadley Odom.” Laney had said Hadley’s name around the thick lump in her throat. “We were close.”
Not a lie. They had been, despite the different ways they’d chosen to live their lives.
“What the heck does your half sister’s murder have to do with Emerson?” Owen snapped.
“Everything,” Laney managed to say, and she repeated it to give herself some extra time to gather her words and her breath. “Hadley and Emerson had an affair.”
“Emerson?” Owen challenged when she paused. There was
