Page 25 of Silverstorm

“We’ll just wait till this car passes,” he said brightly.

But the car slowed and then came to a stop, idling in the middle of the road. The four-wheel-drive had the ranger logo on the door. The man behind the wheel rolled down his window. This must be Levi, Aria thought suddenly. He matched the description Jude had given her; long, dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, a short beard the same color as his hair, watchful eyes sizing up both her and the man.

“Need a hand?”

“Oh, no.” The man waved Levi’s question away. “This lovely lady is going to help me jump my car, that’s all.”

Levi’s gaze zeroed in on her, almost as if he recognized her.

“I can do that,” Levi replied, already directing his vehicle onto the verge in front of the van.

“There’s no need, it’s all under control,” the man replied, and Aria wondered if that wasn’t a hint of desperation in his tone. Why would he refuse the offer of a ranger? He’d surely know more about the car than she did.

Levi stepped out of his truck and went to look beneath the hood, poking something Aria couldn’t see. The man in black grimaced as he looked between her and Levi. Then he stomped to the front of the car and began to talk in an excited, high-pitched tone.

Aria hovered, wondering if she was free to go or if she should go and introduce herself to Levi when another car appeared over the slight rise. It had the unmistakable shape of a sheriff’s cruiser. Finally, this must be Jude. She let out a gust of relieved air. With these two capable men around, she wouldn’t be needed.

Jude drifted the cruiser to a halt behind her Subaru. It was becoming quite crowded on the verge. He got out and stalked along the edge of the road.

“What’s going on?” he asked crisply. “Why have you stopped?”

“This man waved me down. He said he needed help. But then Levi turned up, so I guess I’m not needed.”

“No, you’re not,” Jude answered, his gaze fixed on the van in front. “You get going. I won’t be far behind you,” he promised.

She got back in her car with a sigh of relief, and pulled out onto the highway after checking her rearview mirror, glad there were two strong, capable men to look after the hapless man and his pregnant wife.

Ten minutes later, Jude caught up with her just as she turned into the Stargazer driveway. They bumped along the gravel road in convoy and he pulled into a spot next to her in the parking lot. He was standing beside her car as she got out.

“Will that man be okay?” she asked, pulling on her borrowed Stargazer jacket over her sweater.

“Yes, Levi will look after him.” His words were clipped, even as he gently took her elbow to lead her past a large pothole in the gravel. “But, Aria, I need you to be more careful than that. You can’t just stop for any old stranger. We talked about this.”

“Yes, but…he was harmless.”

“Maybe. But who knows next time…?”

“Okay,” she mumbled. Jude was only looking out for her. And really, she’d been the one to ring the alarm bells in the first place, wondering if her life was in danger now that Iliana was missing. “Sorry, I wasn’t thinking. It won’t happen again,” she promised.

“Aria.” He turned her to face him, using his grip on her elbow. “I don’t want to scare you. But until we have more information on your father’s killer, I want you to keep a low profile. There’s a lot going on, and…” He stopped and pursed his lips. “Some things I can’t tell you, I’m sorry. It’s not just strangers you need to be wary of. You need to stay away from Brady as well.”

“What? Why?” Not that she minded his advice; she couldn’t stand the detective, and would quite happily stay far away from him if possible.

He drummed a tattoo with his fingers on his thigh as he considered her words, his other hand still gently holding her elbow.

“I’m worried that he might want to…question you again. And I don’t want him near you if I’m not around.”

“Okay.” Jude might be taking this protective thing a little too far, but Aria would go with it, for now.

Before she could ask any more, Levi’s truck pulled into the parking lot. He leaned out the window and said, “I sorted that guy out. It turned out there was nothing wrong with his van, after all. It started first time.” Levi shrugged but the light frown hovering on his forehead showed he was more worried than he was making out.

“Thanks, that’s great.” Jude let go of Aria’s arm and backed away a few steps. “This is Aria, by the way. I’m not sure if you guys have been formally introduced.”

Levi tipped his chin up by way of greeting. “I thought that might be you. It’s nice to finally meet you. Cat has mentioned the new marketing guru who’s helping Naomi bring her dreams to life.”

“Nice to finally meet you, too,” Aria called through the open window, although she doubted it was just Cat who’d mentioned her name to him recently. Her name was probably on most of the town folks’ tongues after her recent reappearance and the sudden death of her father. She wondered if Jude had talked to Levi about her. He was good-looking, with his olive skin and dark eyes, big, capable hands resting on the wheel, and she could understand what Cat saw in him.

There was a short, awkward silence.