Ava didn’t like that someone else—another woman who’d been even younger than JJ when the bastard seduced her—had fallen victim to Harrison, but for some warped and twisted reason, knowing it eased her mind. Ava had always blamed herself for being stupid, for falling for his lies. Now she realized he’d set out to seduce her because he was a predator, and she’d been an easy target.
But the worst part was Ava wasn’t sure Harrison hadn’t come by his deceit naturally. Based on JJ’s notes, it looked like his father was as much a predator as his son.
She skimmed the first page of JJ’s notes again, looking for one specific thing.
Born Franklin Joseph Harris.
Harris = Harrison (was that why he chose?)
Rivers lived in Colorado until 2011, when he relocated to Texas, publicly stating he was pursuing a senate seat in Texas.
Lived in various places from Dallas to Houston, then landed in Austin in 2015.
Criminal record: nothing public, but cited several times for drunk and disorderly from the time he was 18. (Those were buried deep)
Arrested for inappropriate actions with a minor when he was 22. The girl (Shayla Andrews) was 16. (Info also buried deep)
Charges dropped, applied for marriage license, license never filed.
His mother (Maria Delgado) was a maid employed by Rivers’s father.
Adopted by the Rivers family when he was 3.
Father’s wife took him in, pretended he was hers.
Birth mother deported in 1993. (Supposedly—missing since 1996, Rivers would’ve been 6 at the time)
Ava sat back, staring at the last two lines. If Harrison’s birth mother had been missing, there was a good chance Harrison’s father had a hand in that disappearance. But what intrigued Ava was the fact Harrison’s birth certificate listed his last name as Harris. If Maria was deported to Mexico, that meant she hadn’t been legally in the US, right? But where did that last name come from? Was she married? If so, wouldn’t that make her a citizen? And to whom?
Technically, Ava didn’t know the first thing about immigration laws, so she wasn’t sure marriage was even a way to remain in the country. However, it was a trope they used on television, so perhaps there was some truth to it. But why would his mother give him someone else’s last name?
She pulled out the keyboard drawer and began typing those questions into the notes section, then she texted JJ to see if she had that information. The response was quick:Nice catch. Let me check, and I’ll get back to you.
Ava was sending a thank you when the front door opened, and Trey walked in. She immediately clicked the screen to hide the window as she got to her feet.
“Hey,” she greeted, hating that she felt guilty for what she was doing. More so that she probablylookedguilty, too.
“Hey, yourself.” Trey glanced around. “Magnus get back yet?”
“Nope. Need something?”
Ava felt her insides warm when he smiled this time. She was beginning to learn Trey’s grins. He had one for every mood, and the one currently planted on his beautiful lips said he was feeling mischievous.
“Hey, Ava! You think you could come help me for a minute?” Gia shouted from one of the back rooms.
“Put that on ice, handsome,” Ava told Trey, matching his smirk. “Duty calls.
Trey winked, and the move was so damn sexy she all but ran out of the room. Otherwise, Gia would’ve been SOL because Ava would be climbing that man like a tree.
***
Trey watched Ava hurry out of theroom, and he couldn’t help but laugh. She looked like a scared rabbit, but he knew better. More than likely, Ava was trying to keep from acting on her impulses. She’d made no attempts to hide her desire for him or Magnus, nor did she pretend she wasn’t horny more often than not.
He damn sure wasn’t complaining. Not about anything at the moment.
When she disappeared down the hall, Trey made his way behind the counter and pulled out the keyboard drawer. He needed to update one of the client files to reflect his medication had run out and, according to the prescription on the bottle, there would be no more refills.
He clicked the mouse to open another application, but when he did, a screen popped up. He quickly scanned the information until he realized what it was.
