Page 137 of Stormswept Colorado

The vehicle’s brakes squealed as it stopped. The driver’s door flew open.

An officer I’d never seen before jumped out, a hand on his gun holster. He was young, early twenties, with messy light-brown hair. A Silver Ridge PD uniform. He approached the porch. “Sir, can you identify yourself?”

Paul shifted from foot to foot. “I was just trying to talk to her!”

“Were you harassing Miss Maxwell?”

Had Teller sent this officer here to watch over me? I wasn’t surprised.

Annoyance rose briefly inside me. I’d told Teller I didn’t need a babysitter.

But…okay, I did need help getting rid of Paul. I’d been about to call the police anyway.

Quickly, I disabled the home security system and opened the front door, stepping outside onto the porch in my bare feet. “Paul was just leaving, Officer…”

I looked at his name badge.Officer Duncan.

“I’ve met an Officer Duncan before. Are you related to him?” But this guy looked nothing like the officer I’d met on my last trip to Silver Ridge. The same day Teller had arrested me. That man had wire-rimmed glasses. Seth, I remembered. Officer Seth Duncan.

The officer suddenly drew his gun and pointed it at Paul. Paul lifted his hands, shouting.

A gunshot rang out.

I stared in utter shock as Paul collapsed. Blood spread beneath his head. It had all happened so fast. My brain couldn’t catch up.

Then the officer pointed the gun at me, and his hard expression faltered.

“Ayla Hopkins. I’ve been waiting a long, long time for this.”

FORTY-THREE

Teller

“We’re over here!”Piper was standing near the back of her house with my officers. Ollie ran toward me the moment he saw me, and I scooped him up as we collided. He put his arms around my neck, tight enough to choke me. Dropped his face to hide it like a little kid.

“You’re okay, bud,” I said softly. “I’m here now.”

I felt an ache of longing for Ayla too. I hated that I’d left her with those harsh words on my lips instead of I-love-yous. As soon as I had a spare moment, I would send her a text.

But I had to do my job right now. Not just as a brother and uncle, but as Chief Landry.

While carrying Ollie, I went over to Piper. She hugged us both. “Hang out with Officer Nichols a few minutes?” I asked Ollie, nodding at Susan. “You remember her. I’m just going to chat with your mom.”

Reluctantly, Ollie let go of me. But Susan asked about his favorite superheroes, and that helped. She’d had three boys of her own who were grown.

That left me and Piper to chat quietly. “What happened?” My arm went around her shoulder. Her hair was up in a messy ponytail, and she wore a sweatshirt over her flannel pajamas.

“I woke a little after seven. Went to Ollie’s room to get him up and ready for school. Like normal. When I got to the living room, I saw the back door was open.” She pressed a hand to her mouth, eyes filling with tears. “Muddy shoe prints on the floor. Somebody had been inside. He picked the lock. We didn’t hear a thing.”

“What about your security system?”

She shook her head. “I don’t always turn it on. I’m sorry. Ollie’s set off so many false alarms going outside if he wakes up before me, and…”

“Hey, I know. It’s okay. Any windows broken? Things missing?”

“No. But the intruder could’ve… Teller, he could’ve doneanything.”

Acid rioted in my stomach. “Let’s check your cameras.” Even if the alarm hadn’t been armed, she had cameras on the exterior perimeter. I’d made sure of that when I helped her set up the system.

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