Page 114 of Moonlit Colorado

I nodded. “That’s convenient, because I was going to insist you come with me anyway.”

“You jerk. You made me think you were leaving me here!”

I kissed her, laughing. “I’m not going anywhere without you. If you think you’re ready to travel, I’m on board with that. Let me see how soon the jet can be ready.”

I called Margot and explained in general terms what was going on. That we needed to head back to Hart County as soon as possible.

After wrapping up the call, I set my phone aside again. “Margot said she’d work on it and get back to me in an hour. Best guess, I figure we’ll leave late tonight or first thing in the morning.”

“Then we’d better pack.” Grace started to get up.

“Hold on a second. Not so fast.” I pulled her against me so she’d feel my semi. My cock was just perking up, but with her naked in my lap, it wouldn’t take long until I was hard and ready for the next round. “I can think of a better way to kill sixty minutes.” I rolled her so her back hit the mattress, my body hovering over her. “I’d love to find out how many times I can make you come in an hour. If you feel up to it.”

“Ifyou’reup to it, then bring it on.”

THIRTY-THREE

Grace

The jet landedin Colorado around noon the next day. Dane’s Range Rover was waiting there at the private airport, freshly washed and gassed up. That was the amazing thing about having an assistant like Margot. Someone to make those little details happen, even when she was still thousands of miles away.

I couldn’t believe how much had changed since I last set foot in my home state.

Dane reached across the center console to take my hand. “Good to be back?”

“It is.” But even better to have him with me.

After so many weeks in New York, I was surprised to find myself already missing Margot, who I now counted as a friend. Not just because of her incredible admin skills, of course. I admired her dry sense of humor and no-nonsense attitude. I missed Dane’s apartment too, even with its bland decor, just because I’d spent a lot of time with him there.

But as we drove across the border into Hart County, a feeling of completeness washed through me. As much as I had enjoyed NYC, this was where I belonged. With the mountains and broad expanses of sky and evergreens. Most of the fall color had faded, and there was a fine layer of snow coating the branches of the pine trees.

We wouldn’t head to Silver Ridge until later, though. First we had to find Nina Badowski, and we had no idea how that would go. If she would be willing to talk to us at all.

Only a few trucks passed as we drove toward the address that Warren had provided for Nina’s motel. Sun glittered on the recent snowfall. We were in a less populated area of the county, surrounded by national forest land and hiking trails, with hot springs not too far away.

“This is it,” Dane said. He turned onto a short drive that ended in front of a one-story motor court straight out of the 1960s. A retro sign saidSpring Valley Motel, and proclaimed below,Vacancy.

The parking lot was nearly deserted.

Dane pulled his SUV into a spot near the middle and switched off the engine. “Warren said she’s in number 12.”

That was at the far end. The curtain on that unit was pulled closed, no sign of activity.

“We know she’s hiding here,” Dane added, “and she must have a good reason. That could make her dangerous if she sees us as a threat.”

“If you’re trying to talk me out of going to the door with you, we already had that conversation.”

On the flight, Dane and I had debated which of us should approach Nina first. Dane didn’t want me going up to her door by myself. And I was afraid that she wouldn’t open up to some strange guy. Maybe even less so if she recognized him as a member of the Knightly family.

“You agreed we would do this together,” I said.

“I did, and I’m not going back on that. But we don’t know what to expect. If I tell you to get out of there, there’s not going to be time for long explanations. I need to know that you’ll trust my assessment without question.”

“I will.” He had years of training as a soldier. Ashford had taught me plenty of self-defense, but the only time I had faced real violence was when Vincent had attacked me a couple of weeks ago. I wasn’t looking for a repeat of those injuries.

Yet at the same time, I wasn’t afraid, either. I could do this. Ineededto do this. Whatever the true story turned out to be, I was convinced that Nina was a victim here. If she lashed out, it would only be in self-defense.

Dane reached over to touch my face. “I just can’t let anything happen to you.”

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