Page 137 of Starcrossed Colorado

Rounding the side of the barn, I searched for a side entrance. When I reached the door, panic hit me again. What if it was locked? But the knob turned beneath my fingers.

I went inside, closing the door softly behind me. Elias wasn’t far. He was running, yelling my name.

I had to hide.

The barn was a large, open space. It was dark. A play of moonlight and shadows. Once, there had probably been stalls for animals and hay, but now it was full of large, upright tanks. The brewing equipment Elias had mentioned. Metal shone in the darkness.

I found a small nook and ducked inside, unlocking my phone.

A door opened. “Emma, I know you’re in here.”

My phone had no service. I was too far from the house, so I must’ve lost my connection to wi-fi. I could still call 911, but could the dispatcher find my location? I couldn’t risk speaking to anyone.

But any minute, Maisie would get to the neighbor’s house. She’d be safe and warm, and they would call for help. They’d send the police.Please, I thought.

“Just come out, and we can talk about it,” Elias said. “I was seeing Lori. That’s true. Which you must’ve guessed from finding that photograph. Stupid of me to be so sentimental. I told you I can’t throw things away. Though it’s not exactly my fault that you decided to be nosy.”

It sounded like he’d gone to the other side of the barn. A beam of light played off a high rafter in the loft. Instead of switching on the overheads, he was using a flashlight to search for me. Why?

The answer appeared in my mind.He’s keeping the lights off in case Ashford drives up. Doesn’t want anyone to know we’re out here.

Carefully, I crawled deeper into the alcove, feeling around in the darkness. My hand closed around a heavy piece of wood. Something I could use as a weapon.

“I meant to tell Ashford a long time ago. I swear. But when Lori and I got together, it was complicated. Which is something I have to think you’d understand, of all people.”

My grip tightened on the plank of wood. How dare he compare himself to me. But he was trying to draw me out. Get me to respond.

“Lori wasn’t happy in a loveless marriage. Things weren’t going well for me either, and that’s what I confessed to her. It started out casual. Then we developed feelings for each other. She resisted it because I was married, but I won her over.”

With lies, I thought. I had no doubt he’d said whatever was necessary to convince Lori to accept him. To make her believe he was in the process of leaving his wife.

The flashlight beam swept a far wall. His boots shuffled over the dirt.“Ashford was one of my best friends, but in case you haven’t noticed, he can be a self-righteous asshole. As if he can do no wrong. He was the same back in high school. He acted like his family’s problems were the end of the world. But Ashford never acknowledged how good he had it. He had siblings who loved him. A mom who took care of them, even if she later passed away. I fought for every friendship, for that spot on our wrestling team, for my girlfriend. Yet Ashford could go around being a jerk half the time and people still loved him.”

Elias kept walking, coming closer to my side of the barn. I worked to keep my breaths even and quiet.

“When he and Callum left for the Army, they barely kept in touch with me. Just expected that their old friend Elias would be here when they got back. And you know what? I was. My restaurant was going okay. I got married to Holly because everyone expected it. I had managed to put together some kindof life for myself here. And then Ashford sweeps back into town with his beautiful new wife and their adorable baby daughter, and everybody acts like it’s the fucking return of the king.”

So you were jealous, I wanted to say.And that’s why you went after Lori.

The leather of his boots creaked. He was getting closer.

“Lori was so lonely. I realized that right away. Ashford likes to pretend he’s the hero, but he’s the one who trapped her in that marriage. I felt trapped in my marriage too, and I wanted to find a way for us to be together. I looked out for Lori. Tried to do the same for you too, Emma. I kept an eye on you, like that night after you left the brewery. Making sure you were safe.”

My skin crawled. Elias had been watching me? Following me?

“Ashford was Lori’s jailer. I was trying to set her free.”

He’d almost reached me. The flashlight beam darted behind a nearby fermentation tank. I held my breath, gripping the wooden plank.

Then he turned. Went the other way. Now was my chance. I had to get out of this alcove and try to reach the door.

Slowly, I got up and tiptoed across the space, stopping to hide behind another fermentation tank.

“That’s why I told her she should ask her sister for money. So I could get my divorce, and we could start our new life together. But even though he didn’t know what we were planning, it was like Ashford was inside Lori’s head. Telling her that what we were doing was wrong, and that she shouldn’t trust me. Poisoning her against me. Lori tried to end things with me. So what happened was his fault, not mine.”

Crouching to stay low, I dashed out from behind the fermentation tank.

The flashlight beam hit me.

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