Page 85 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

Not that he minded. Whatever it took to keep Aspen safe.

Twenty-five minutes later, he pulled into the lot at Larry’s Auto Body. He and Aspen climbed from the car when the flatbed turned in just a few moments later. It drove under the lights in the parking lot, and he got his first look at Aspen’s SUV.

And swallowed hard.

Beside him, Aspen gasped.

The front-end was smashed to pieces. The hood was bent. The windshield shattered.

Garrett urged Aspen close by his side to remind himself that she was all right. She must have gotten out before most of that damage had happened. But the impact of what might have been…

She turned to him, and he wrapped her in his arms. He didn’t know what to say. His emotions rose so fast, so powerfully, he was afraid to speak, afraid they’d leak out. Fury and rage at whoever had done that. Terror, thinking of what could have happened. Thinking of how he’d almost lost her.

This woman he hadn’t known two weeks before suddenly meant everything. And someone had tried to take her away from him.

Someone had tried to kill her.

She sobbed against his chest, and tears stung his own eyes. He would do anything in his power to keep her safe. But what could he do?

Who would do this? This washistown. These werehispeople. Surely none of them would have attempted murder. But if not a local, then who? Who would want her dead? And why?

Aspen sniffed and leaned back. “It all just hit me.”

“Me too.” He didn’t let her go, just gazed down at her. “I’m going to keep you safe. I promise. We’ll find a place for you.”

“I feel like I should tell you I can take care of myself. I’m not some damsel in distress.”

“Of course you’re not.” He looked at the place where the flatbed had disappeared around the corner of the building. “If you were, he’d have gotten to you. But that doesn’t mean you don’t need help. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help.”

“Good, because I wasn’t about to refuse it.”

He loved that humility, that authenticity. He realized there were a whole lot of things he loved about Aspen Kincaid.

“We should probably…” She stepped out of his arms and turned, seeming to steel herself for the job.

Though the car was out of sight, the sounds of the chains that had held her car in place being tossed aside reached them. Metal scraped against metal, the low hum of an engine roaring to life.

He took her hand. “Come on. Let’s see if anything’s salvageable.”

Together, they rounded the building and stopped beside the wreckage.

Larry caught sight of them and yanked off his gloves as he walked their way. “Garrett. This isn’t your car, is it?”

“It’s mine,” Aspen said.

Larry shifted to her. He was heavyset, in his thirties with longish mousy brown hair and greasy fingernails. He looked her up and down, not in a lascivious way but with surprise. “Did you push it over yourself? You’ve got nary a scratch.”

Larry was the type of guy to use the wordnary.

“I managed to get out before it went over.”

Larry nodded like he was impressed. “God had His eye on you, my friend.”

“I have no doubt that’s true.”

He turned to the wrecked car. “Haven’t gone through it yet. Cote said you can take anything you can find, just don’t touch the outside.”

Aspen didn’t move toward the vehicle, though. She seemed frozen in place.

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