Page 68 of Colton First Responder (Coltons of Mustang Valley)

And it gave Savannah hope there would be more later on. And ended at least some of her frustration at all the unhelpful calls before.

She couldn’t rely on what she heard now between Zane and Ian being of much use, though. She needed the reality of more conversations, discussions that finally made it clear that those two had done more than discuss banking and legal issues.

With Schuyler, too.

Grayson had also finished his sandwich. He must have seen the conflicting encouragement and discouragement on Savannah’s face that she felt inside. He moved his chair closer and put his arm around her as they continued to listen.

For another hour. Savannah, who put her head down on Grayson’s shoulder, appreciated his nearness, even if they wouldn’t, couldn’t, do anything about it.

She appreciated him. Still. More.

Realized she had come to hope for a future that included him.

But—

 

; She closed her eyes, figuring it wouldn’t hurt to go to sleep—and then, there it was.

Zane was not only talking to Ian, but to Schuyler, too. Was it a three-way phone conversation? Were Ian and Schuyler together?

No matter. The main thing was what they were saying.

“So, Schuyler,” Zane said. “You know my divorce is final, but unfortunately that’s not the end of things. Did Ian explain what I want both of you to help with?”

“Hey, yeah,” said Schuyler Wells. Savannah recognized his voice. Of course. Wasn’t she supposed to have been having an affair with him at the time of this conversation?

She would have laughed—but she needed to be completely quiet to hear this.

“I gather,” Schuyler said, “that you’re about to be murdered, right? By your wonderful ex—and I’m going to get to know her better. Way better. You’ll disappear, and the cops will just happen to find some damning evidence against dear Savannah. But without your body around—well, there should be arguments that you’re okay, that your ex is innocent. And our buddy Ian there is going to take her case to prove it.”

“Or not,” Ian said, and all three men laughed.

The conversation continued a little longer. Savannah was staring straight at Grayson, knowing her eyes were wide and she was smiling. She had proof now. She didn’t kill Zane, and the world—and the authorities—would know it. She would be exonerated in court at last. She wanted to shout, to hug Grayson, to laugh and laugh and engage in nice, celebratory kisses with him.

And when those men hung up, Grayson said, “We’ve got it!”

Chapter 20

And that call wasn’t the last of it. Grayson chortled as, still sitting there with his arm around an excited Savannah, they heard a couple more conversations—and the final one on this subject contained verbal confirmation of everything they would need to demonstrate to the police that Zane was still alive, and Savannah was not guilty of killing him.

It should also let the authorities know there were a couple of better suspects in the murder of Ian Wright—one of his coconspirators in framing Savannah.

“This is so amazing,” Savannah said, looking at him with a huge grin after one of those calls finished. “I don’t know why my ex was stupid enough to record those calls, since they’re proof of so much against him. But I’m so glad he did!”

“He might have wanted some kind of reminder of what was said in case he needed to use it against his coconspirators,” Grayson told her. “Or maybe he just wanted to save them as proof that he hadn’t been alone in this, if the truth ever did come out. As it will now.”

One of those last calls was certainly the best. In it, the men had all agreed to do what was needed to frame Savannah as Zane’s revenge against her. He promised to be generous in his payments to the others, and the amounts he mentioned seemed a lot more than that.

And the very last call? It described how Zane would cut himself with the knife and hide the bloody thing in her closet. He would disappear then.

Too bad he didn’t mention where he would disappear to.

Grayson’s mind began spinning. What should they do next? But his thoughts were interrupted when Savannah rose and pulled him up to stand, too. In moments, they were kissing, sweetly and happily at first, and then more heatedly.

Grayson felt his body reacting. He wanted more, much more, as part of their celebration. But this definitely wasn’t the time. They had to act on this and get Savannah cleared before anything else.

And after? Well, maybe they could get together again, to celebrate or whatever. And determine if that would be their happy ending, or if there could be more...

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