Page 129 of Starcrossed Colorado

“This is Brynn Somerton,” Aiden said, nodding at the woman who’d come with them. “She’s part of our team. When she’s in town.”

Brynn smiled and reached for Ayla’s hand. “I happened to be in Denver when Trace called. He said they had an op that might need a feminine touch. The rest of the team can be alotof masculine energy.”

Ayla laughed. “You’re not wrong.”

“We’ll take good care of you,” Brynn said. “Doesn’t matter how many people out there in the world are searching for you. We’ll keep you hidden for as long as you need.”

That seemed to soothe the last of Ayla’s nerves.

She gave me a quick hug. “Pass on that hug to Maisie for me when you see her tonight?”

“Will do.”

I watched as she got into the SUV with the others, and they drove away. Thank goodness that was done. Now, I could get back to Emma and my daughter.

Jumping into my truck, I sped off, still buckling my seat belt. I used my Bluetooth connection to my phone to call Emma.

Her phone rang. But she didn’t answer.

It was after ten o’clock. Way past Maisie’s usual bedtime, but I expected they’d end up staying awake until I arrived.

I tried calling Elias next, and he didn’t answer either. Maybe they were doing something that had distracted them. Watching a movie, or…hell, I didn’t know.

But it bothered me.

I almost relaxed when a call came in. But it was Grace. “Hey,” I said.

“Did the drop-off go okay? You sound tense.”

“The rendezvous with Aiden went fine. Ayla’s with them, and I’m heading back. Just anxious to see Maisie and Emma.”

“There are still a few media vans waiting outside Judson’s gate. That was kinda fun, actually. But Piper says the rest of the reporters have descended on Main Street. They’re going up and down questioning every citizen they can find, hoping someonewill reveal where Ayla went tonight. And some people are losing patience, yelling at them to go. Teller’s officers are responding to half a dozen different disturbances.”

Maybe our plan had worked a littletoowell. I tapped my fingertips on the steering wheel. “But Judson’s there at the ranch? He’s arrived?”

“Of course. Been here a while after leaving Emma at Elias’s. But there’s something else I wanted to tell you. Ayla let me and Callum know about what Lori was hiding before she died. The guy she was seeing.”

“Yeah.” I accelerated down the dark highway, my high beams on. “Ayla asked if I was okay with her telling you. I didn’t mind.”

“Well, I decided to follow up on a hunch. And I came across something weird. Remember how I thought before that Lori could’ve been seeing Danny Carmichael?”

“But his initial isn’t L.”

“That’s just it. It took some digging, but I figured out his middle name. It’s Lachlan. What if Lori called him by his middle initial?”

Was that possible? For a long time, Danny Carmichael had tripped my instincts. Yet Lori had refused to speak poorly of him. Was it really because they were having an affair?

“Maybe I’m wrong,” Grace said. “But it’s worth looking into. Ayla’s investigator might not have made the connection with his middle name. Lori would’ve had a lot of reason to keep their relationship secret. He was her boss, and he was married to Piper.”

“And Lori knew I hated him.”

“It’s a theory. I’m working on a list of otherLnames. First, middle, and last initials. Not Teller Landry, since he was still in Army Special Forces and didn’t live in Silver Ridge three years ago. But I put Judson on there, since his last name is Lawrence. Ridiculous as that is.”

“Totally ridiculous.” I’d had a passing recognition of the fact that his last name started withL, but had dismissed it immediately. Still, the thought gave me an odd feeling now, since Judson had driven Emma tonight.

But he was back at the ranch. He’d left Emma hours ago. Hadn’t he?

“Just being thorough,” my sister said. “How far are you from Elias’s?”

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