Page 57 of Dark Horse

He looks at me warily, but I slowly put a hand to his chest, and he doesn’t stop me. I raise onto my tiptoes, kissing the side of his cheek, the roughness of his short beard against my lips.

“Thank you. I’m sorry for what I said when I was hangry.”

“You’re forgiven.” His voice is low and deep, and my hand slips down his chest.

“Anything I can do to make up for it?” I give him my best sorry-I-was-a brat, doe-eyed look, and his lips move to speak when the screen door squeals on its hinges. We both move to separate ourselves, and he straightens his shirt as we look up to see his sister standing there. Her eyes dart between us, but she doesn’t say a word.

“They’re on their way back up.” She looks at Grant and then turns to me. “Is your headache improved, or would you like me to play hostess until dinner?” Her words are plain, but I don’t miss the way she watches me like a hawk.

“I’m good. Just having some Coke to get my energy back up.” I hold the can up like it’s a plausible defense for whatever part of that she saw or heard.

“I’ll get out of your hair and go check on my brothers.” Grant grabs his hat off the hook where he left it and tears out the door like I’ve singed his clothes.

Aspen is silent for a moment, like she’s waiting for him toget out of earshot, and then she looks up at me, studying me quietly and glancing back at the door where Grant’s disappeared.

“What you two do is none of my business. You’re a grown woman, and he’s getting the silver highlights to show for all his time—however young he might still think he is.” She smiles a little to herself before she continues. “But you need to know underneath all those thick layers of armor is a very broken man, with a big heart that’s barely held together by fraying threads. Because he’s let anyone and everyone take a stab if it meant protecting the rest of this family and yours.” She turns back to meet my eyes, the amusement in hers gone, and the bright green reflecting the sunlight pouring in from the window when she speaks again. “You’re one of the few he might let reach under it all, and if he does, and you do anything other than help hold it together…” She shakes her head and makes a clicking sound with her tongue. “I’ll make sure he’s not the only one bleeding out from it. Do we understand each other?”

“We do.” I nod, coming to the fast realization that the Stockton women are every bit as terrifying as the men when they want to be.

“Wonderful.” She smiles brightly and tucks her long, dark-brown, braided hair back over her shoulder. “Hazel said we could start getting drinks ready for dinner and let Kit know that she and Grace can bring it over from the inn. Do you know where the chafing dishes are?”

TWENTY-TWO

GRANT

“It’sin a home in Denver. Expensive neighborhood. We’re looking into who owns it, but it’s behind a shell corporation,” Hudson says as soon as he sits down across from me at the chessboard. He’d just gotten into the state this morning and hurried down to meet with me to let me know the latest news in person.

“A shell?” My brows knit together.

“Clearly trying to keep a low profile. The bid was paid for by another shell corporation.”

“Guaranteed then that it’s someone on our side of the law.” I look up at him, and he nods. No one doing business above board would be working through that many different companies.

“Occasionally, there are legitimate collectorswho bid in those auctions. I’m one of them, and I try to keep my privacy as well for obvious reasons.”

“But I wouldn’t exactly call you above board either.”

Hudson’s past is as checkered as mine, and he isn’t keeping it a secret from anyone. But he has enough legal business interests in Cincinnati and abroad that it makes sense to at least present the air of legitimacy. I work to maintain similar optics. Plausible deniability keeps my lawyers happy in the event anything ever goes sideways.

“No. I think it’s almost certain our John Doe is a bad actor. We’ll have to have someone go up and surveil the house, see what they can garner from the comings and goings. Have Levi dig a little deeper into the paperwork and see if he can turn anything up. Bonus points if he can hack into the security system. The one they have is robust.”

“Might be able to get someone in on a maintenance call or a routine gas line check. Plant a bug or two.”

“We’ll have to work quickly. They haven’t discovered the tracker yet. It’s still logging. But it’s been in the same place for days. If it gets turned off, there’s no telling where it goes or how they might cover their tracks.”

“I’ll get one of my guys on it. Make sure it’s on the top of Levi’s priority list. Other than this wedding, I’ve cleared my schedule.”

“Not the best timing for a wedding.” Hudson frowns, but it fades into a small smirk. “But I am happy for your brother. Getting to know him and his wife better in Cincinnati has been good. It’s hard to make friends you can trust.” He makes another move on the board. “Not like you don’t know that.”

“Hard to keep friends when you’re constantly burying them at chess.” I can already tell he’s cornering me.

“Yes, well, don’t throw me over before we find out who this is. Or before the wedding. Charlotte’s excited aboutthe dancing and the food. It’s all she can talk about this week. She’s also interested to know if you’re bringing a date.” He looks up at me with a curious expression on his face. “I think we all are.”

“I’m in the wedding party. They’re making us sit at those big banquet tables up front like we’re on display. Their first wedding was pretty small, given they were both still in college. They both want all the pageantry this time.” I shake my head.

“The whole performance is part of the fun, you know.”

“It’ll be more fun when it’s over.”

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