Suspicions (The Battling McGuire Boys Book 3) Read online

  Everyone’s a suspect in New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Eden’s latest book in The Battling McGuire Boys

  Mark Montgomery will never forget the night Ava McGuire galloped onto his ranch terrified out of her mind. Once he’d saved his best friend’s sister from harm, the hardest part was letting her go. Now she’s seeking safe haven again—and rekindling desire that will engulf them both.

  Uncovering the truth about that long-ago night plunges Ava into a world where no one can be trusted. Except maybe the rancher she has loved for years… But with a vengeful killer stalking them and passion drawing them inexorably closer, will Mark’s secrets be their downfall…?

  “There’s only…you.”

  All of the moisture seemed to dry up in her mouth. Her gaze slowly slid over him. The last time she’d seen him had been months ago. She’d wanted to talk with him then, but her brothers had been determined to keep her away from him.

  Her brothers were keeping secrets from her.

  Only fair, really, because she’d been keeping plenty of secrets from them, too.

  Mark was a handsome man. Powerful and commanding. He had high, slanting cheeks, a long, hard blade of a nose and lips that were…sexy. Sensual. She’d spent far too much time thinking about Mark’s lips over the years.

  “What the hell are you doing here, Ava? I thought you were staying away.”

  Not from him, but from Austin. From the McGuire ranch, because that place held too many painful memories for her.

  But when no place seemed safe, where were you supposed to go?

  SUSPICIONS

  New York Times Bestselling Author

  Cynthia Eden

  Cynthia Eden, a New York Times bestselling author, writes tales of romantic suspense and paranormal romance. Her books have received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, and she has received a RITA® Award nomination for best romantic suspense novel. Cynthia lives in the Deep South, loves horror movies and has an addiction to chocolate. More information about Cynthia may be found at cynthiaeden.com, or you can follow her on Twitter, @cynthiaeden.

  Books by Cynthia Eden

  Harlequin Intrigue

  The Battling McGuire Boys

  Confessions

  Secrets

  Suspicions

  Shadow Agents

  Alpha One

  Guardian Ranger

  Sharpshooter

  Glitter and Gunfire

  Shadow Agents: Guts and Glory

  Undercover Captor

  The Girl Next Door

  Evidence of Passion

  Way of the Shadows

  Visit the Author Profile page at

  Harlequin.com for more titles.

  CAST OF CHARACTERS

  Ava McGuire—Years ago, Ava survived a nightmare. She’s been haunted by that brutal night ever since. And now, with her deadly past catching up to her once more, she knows that her life is on the line. Desperate, she turns to the man who saved her before—Mark Montgomery. If anyone can help her, she knows it will be him.

  Mark Montgomery—Mark has lived next to the powerful McGuire family for years…and he has spent too many of those years fantasizing about the lovely Ava. He is tired of waiting in the shadows for her. And when danger strikes, he vows to do anything necessary to protect the one woman he can’t let go.

  Ty Watts—Ty is Mark’s ranch foreman and longtime friend. He knows all about the pain in the McGuire family’s past. When Mark gets involved with Ava, Ty knows that his friend is about to find even more danger heading his way. Ty also knows that he has to tread very carefully around the McGuires because he doesn’t want them to learn his secrets.

  Davis McGuire—When it comes to Ava’s older brothers, the most protective one in the pack is Davis. An ex-SEAL, Davis never backs down from any challenge. Once upon a time, Davis and Mark were best friends, but then Davis realized that his friend was in love with Ava. Davis knows just how dangerous Mark truly is, and he doesn’t trust the guy, not around his sister.

  Alan Channing—Ava’s former boyfriend. Alan isn’t the boy that she remembers. He’s grown up and become a powerful businessman. Alan has been working behind the scenes, manipulating other people so that he can get what he wants—and what he wants is for Ava to finally return home, where he thinks she truly belongs.

  This book is for all of the wonderful Harlequin Intrigue fans

  out there—thank you so much for your support!

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Epilogue

  Excerpt from McCullen’s Secret Son by Rita Herron

  Prologue

  “Help me!”

  Her cry broke through the night, a long, loud, desperate scream.

  Mark Montgomery had been standing on his front porch, staring up at the starry sky, but at that terrified call, he whirled around. At first he didn’t see her. The darkness was too thick.

  Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

  He heard the unmistakable sound of a horse’s hooves pounding across the ground. Someone was riding fast and hard, coming straight toward him.

  He leapt off the porch.

  “Help me!”

  Her cry was even louder this time—and it was definitely a woman’s voice. But there weren’t any women at his ranch tonight. His mother had passed years ago, and there weren’t any female ranch hands scheduled for a shift.

  Then he saw the horse. It burst into the clearing near his house. The horse was a beautiful big black mare that he recognized—that was Lady. And Lady...Lady belonged to the McGuires, his neighbors who lived about ten miles away.

  What the—?

  A small figure was curled low on Lady’s back, hugging the horse tightly. The horse’s sides were shaking, its body wet with sweat after what must have been a brutal ride.

  A ride in the middle of the night?

  “M-Mark?”

  And he knew that voice. Not screaming now, but soft, almost broken. He wanted to run toward that horse and rider, but he was afraid of spooking Lady, so he approached slowly, carefully. When the horse neighed, he reached out and softly touched Lady’s mane. “It’s okay.” Then he reached up for the rider—Ava.

  He could see her now. There was no mistaking Ava McGuire, not with that long, wild tumble of her hair. The moonlight and starlight spilled down onto her face, and the fear there made him lose his breath.

  Some of his ranch hands had come into the yard, but they stayed a few feet back. “Get the horse!” Mark ordered as he pulled Ava off Lady.

  She was like ice in his hands, and hard, heavy trembles kept raking her delicate frame. Ava had five brothers, all big, hulking military types, and Ava—the baby of the family—she was different. Delicate... Fragile... She was—

  Crying. Because he’d just touched her cheeks and he could feel the wetness there. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. “What is it? What’s happened?”

  “Sh-shot...”

  He could barely make out what she was saying.

&nbs
p; “They...they were waiting...in the h-house...”

  He caught her arms and eased back so that his gaze could sweep over her. “Ava, did someone hurt you?” Rage pumped through him. Ava was only sixteen. If some jerks had hurt her, he would make them pay.

  Her teeth were chattering. “Dead.” She seemed to push out the word. “I’m scared. They’re—dead.”

  Mark’s whole body stiffened. “Who, Ava? Who are you talking about?”

  She threw her body against his and started sobbing. “M-my parents! I saw them...the men...had guns! I heard the gunshots. I ran.” Her sobs grew even harder. “I left them there...”

  He held her as tightly as he could. There had to be a mistake. Her parents—they were fine, weren’t they?

  “Please,” Ava begged him. “Help my parents. Help them!”

  * * *

  BUT THERE WAS nothing he could do. When Mark and his men went to the McGuire ranch, they didn’t see the attackers. They just saw the blood.

  Mark and his men made it to the ranch before the cops did. He was the first one in that place—and he would never forget the terrible sight that greeted him.

  “Who would do something like this?” Ty Watts, Mark’s ranch foreman, demanded as he stared at the brutal scene. “And why?”

  There was no sign of the attackers. They were long gone. Mark stood there, the scent of blood heavy in the air around him, and he knew that he would be the one telling Ava that her parents hadn’t survived.

  He would be the one to give her the devastating news.

  Mark bent down next to Ava’s father. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

  * * *

  AVA STAYED AT his ranch for two days. During that time, she barely spoke. Her skin was too pale, her eyes far too wounded. She jumped at the slightest sound and during the night, she woke screaming. Again and again.

  Mark didn’t think he’d ever forget the sound of Ava’s screams. He hated her pain and her grief, and he wished that he could do something to comfort her.

  “I should have helped them.” Ava’s low voice had his head whipping toward her. They were on his porch, waiting, because Mark had gotten word that Ava’s oldest brother had finally made it back to town. He’d learned of the slaughter at his family’s ranch, and Grant McGuire had rushed home, flying back from some covert mission that had taken him to the other side of the world.

  “Ava...” Mark sighed her name, and deliberately keeping his voice gentle, he told her, “The attackers had guns. What could you have done? You went for help!”

  She shook her head, sending the dark locks sliding over her shoulder. “I left them to die.”

  She was breaking his heart. Ripping it right out with her quiet words.

  “If you’d stayed,” Mark forced himself to say, “then you’d be dead, too.”

  At first, Ava didn’t speak. She stared down at her hands. Her fingers fisted. “I feel dead.”

  He strode toward her to pull her close. When she wouldn’t look at him, he tipped back her chin. “Ava.”

  She flinched.

  “You aren’t dead.” The thought of her dead—the thought of finding Ava... Ava with her slow smile and her warm green eyes...dead...that notion chilled him. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

  He heard the sound of a car approaching. He didn’t let Ava go, but he glanced over his shoulder. Grant McGuire had arrived. He’d come to take Ava away.

  I don’t want to let her go.

  Because when Ava stayed with him at the ranch, he knew she was safe. He had his men on alert. They were patrolling constantly. But when Ava left...how was he supposed to watch out for her?

  A car door slammed. Footsteps approached. But Ava was still staring up at Mark. He found that he couldn’t look away from her.

  “I’m scared,” she whispered.

  So am I. And very little scared him in this world.

  “Ava!” That was Grant’s voice. And suddenly Grant was charging up the steps. He pulled Ava into his arms and held her tight.

  The guy’s arms seemed to swallow Ava as she stood there, and Mark knew that Grant would be taking her away. The guy had flown halfway across the country in order to come home to Ava.

  Grant turned toward him. “Thanks for watching my sister.”

  He forced his gaze to meet Grant’s green stare. Green, like Ava’s, but different. Colder. Harder. Fierce.

  “I won’t forget what you did.” Grant shook Mark’s hand. Then he looked back at Ava. “It’s time to leave.”

  A tear slid down Ava’s cheek, but she didn’t make a sound. Mark’s chest ached. He wanted to reach out to Ava and comfort her.

  But Grant was the one to do that. Grant wiped away her tears before he pulled her close once again. “We’re going to find the men who did this,” he promised her. “They won’t ever hurt anyone again.”

  And in that moment, Mark made a vow of his own. No one would ever hurt Ava again.

  Because her tears tore him apart.

  Chapter One

  Ava McGuire didn’t have a lot of safe havens. And, outside of her family, there weren’t exactly a lot of people she trusted.

  In fact, only one person came to mind...

  Mark Montgomery.

  Ava slammed her car door and turned to the house. It was the middle of the night. Not the right time to be paying a visit to Mark’s ranch, but she wasn’t exactly overwhelmed with options.

  I need to see him.

  She straightened her shoulders and she marched toward his front door. She didn’t let the memories swamp her as she climbed up the steps of the big wraparound porch. If she thought too much about the past, it would hurt. Those memories always did.

  So she shoved the thoughts into the recesses of her mind, and she climbed those front steps. She reached for the doorbell but then the door opened.

  Mark was there.

  Tall, handsome, strong—Mark. His blond hair was tousled, and the light shone behind him, glinting off his shoulders. Very broad and bare shoulders because he wasn’t wearing a shirt. Just a pair of low-slung jeans.

  “Ava?” He reached out to her. As always, he seemed warm. His touch chased away the chill she’d felt since she’d first climbed into her car and begun the drive that would take her from her place in Houston to Mark’s ranch in Austin. “What are you doing here?”

  I needed to see you. I had to talk with someone...with someone who wouldn’t think I was crazy.

  Those words wanted to tumble out of her mouth, but she was trying to play things cool and not come across as the insane one. At least, not right away. She knew there were plenty of folks who already thought she was nuts or, much worse, a cold-blooded killer.

  The rumors about her had persisted for years.

  But...Mark had never seemed to believe those stories. He’d always stood by Ava and her family.

  “I need your help,” she told him quietly. She looked over his shoulder, hoping that no one else was there. The ranch house was huge, sprawling, but normally his staff stayed in separate quarters. She really didn’t want anyone to overhear the confession she was about to make.

  He pulled her into the house and shut the door behind her. “Ava, I’ll give you anything you need.”

  Right. Because that was true-blue Mark. The guy who was always there to save the day. Or at least, that was the way she thought of him. Lately, though, her brothers had been acting differently when they spoke of Mark.

  Her brothers had been friends with Mark for her whole life. And she, well, she’d been the tagalong. The little girl who bounced after the boys. And who had always been in love with Mark Montgomery.

  Not that she’d ever told him that. Not him, not anyone.

  He kept his hand on her shoulder as they headed into his den. All o
f the lights were on in the place, and she saw a glass of wine sitting on the table.

  Wine. No shirt...

  Heat flooded her cheeks. “Do you have a...” Not a lover, please, not a lover! “Is someone here with you?”

  One brow shot up. “Jealous?”

  Wait, what? She shook her head. “I am so sorry. This—this was a mistake.” What had she been thinking? She’d just been scared and she’d run. But she hadn’t run back to her brothers because she couldn’t handle going to the McGuire ranch or...having them stare at her with pity in their eyes as they wondered if she’d finally cracked under the pressure of their parents’ murder.

  Poor, fragile Ava...she just couldn’t handle it anymore.

  She pulled away from him, spun on her heel and marched for the door.

  Mark stepped into her path. His arms crossed on that massive bare chest as he gazed at her. “I’m not letting you go now.” The words seemed to hold the edge of a threat. Or a promise?

  “Mark?”

  “I waited too long,” he murmured.

  She backed up a step.

  “No one else is here.” His voice was flat. “There is no girl waiting in my bedroom—if that’s what you’re thinking. There’s only...you.”

  All of the moisture seemed to dry up in her mouth. Her gaze slowly slid over him. The last time she’d seen him had been months ago. They’d been at the funeral of Austin police detective Shayne Townsend. She’d wanted to talk with Mark then, but her brothers had been determined to keep her away from him.

  Her brothers were keeping secrets from her.

  Only fair, really, because she’d been keeping plenty of secrets from them, too.

  Mark was a handsome man, powerful and commanding. He had high, slanting cheeks, a long, hard blade of a nose and lips that were...sexy. Sensual. She’d spent far too much time thinking about Mark’s lips over the years.

  He was big, easily a few inches over six foot, with those strong, broad shoulders that he’d used back in his high school football days. His skin was a sun-kissed gold, his eyes a dark blue. When he looked at her with those eyes, Ava sometimes felt as if he could see through her.