Every inch of her body ached after the crash, but Ashlee refused to go back to the hospital. She sat in the waiting area of the sheriff’s office, a blanket draped over her shoulders, nursing a cup of water as Lawson, Josh and Cecile went over the details of the accident in the conference room behind her.
Terror shuddered through her at how close they’d been to another deadly confrontation with the men who’d run them off the road. Their demeanors had been cold and emotionless as they’d spoken about finishing this. Finishing her, they’d meant.
The sheriff’s office door opened and a man entered, whistling an easygoing tune. It struck Ashlee as odd in the tension-filled office. He glanced into the conference room, then stopped at Deputy Deaver’s desk. “I’m supposed to have a meeting with the sheriff, but he looks engaged in something else.”
Deaver leaned back in his seat. “He sure is, Mr. Mayor. His brother was just run off the road and nearly killed.”
“Really? Which brother?”
“Lawson.”
“I hope he wasn’t injured too badly.”
“No, sir. Just shook up as far as I can tell.”
The mayor turned and looked at Ashlee. She squirmed under his gaze, but he pasted a big smile on his face as he approached her. Before he could speak, the conference room door opened and Josh, Lawson and Cecile exited.
Josh approached the man. “I haven’t forgotten about our meeting, Don, but we’ve got an urgent situation here. Can we reschedule?”
The mayor gave him a broad smile. “Of course. I hope everything is okay. Deputy Deaver told me about you being run off the road, Lawson. You’re not hurt, I hope.”
“No, Mayor. We’re both fine.”
“Both? There were two of you?”
“This is Ashlee Taylor. She’s an old friend of mine.” Lawson pointed to Ashlee and the mayor turned his gaze back to her.
He extended his hand. “Mayor Don Baxter. Nice to meet you.”
She shook his hand. “Ashlee Taylor.”
“Are you from these parts, Miss Taylor?”
“Yes, but I...” She was afraid the mayor would ask something about where she’d gone to school, or if she knew various people in town—questions she wouldn’t be able to answer.
“It seems she’s suffering from a bout of amnesia,” Cecile interjected.
The mayor’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really? I’ve never met anyone with amnesia. How much of your memory is missing?”
“All of it. I can’t remember anything from before Lawson found me in my car. I didn’t even know my name until he told me.”
“That must be quite disconcerting for you.”
Ashlee nodded. “Yes, it is. I wish I understood what was going on.”
“The men who ran us off the road, they were after her,” Lawson explained.
“That’s terrible. Any leads as to who is behind these attacks?”
Lawson answered. “Nothing yet, but we’re still gathering information. We’ll figure it out.”
“Well, I’ll let you all get back to work. I hope everything turns out well for you, Miss Taylor.”
“Thank you,” Ashlee said.
He started to walk out, then turned back to Josh. “Oh, there was one thing I wanted to alert you about. I’m sure you’ve heard about that biker gang that has taken up residence at the Waveland Motel on the outskirts of town?”
Josh nodded. “We’ve received a few noise complaints about them, but no behavior that’s reached a criminal level.”
“Yes, well, I heard from a friend at Dallas PD that the feds are opening an investigation into the group for operating a counterfeiting ring. We can probably expect some federal agents to arrive in town any day now.”
“Thanks for the heads-up. We’ll keep an eye on them until they do.”
When the mayor left, Josh looked at Cecile. “Get in touch with the Secret Service and double-check the serial numbers on the bills we found in Ashlee’s car.”
Lawson turned to face him. “You think Ashlee is involved with this gang?”
Cecile answered instead. “She does work for an accounting firm, and I’ve heard these groups often hire companies to manage their money. Apparently, it’s a very lucrative lifestyle. I’m only speculating, but if she handled their accounts, she could have found evidence of counterfeiting and possibly taken the money to prove it.”
“If they are counterfeit,” Josh interjected, “at least we’ll know we’re looking in the right direction. If not, then we’ll move on to other leads. For now, we’ve posted a BOLO on the car that ran you off the road and I’ve got deputies canvasing the area looking for any witnesses. Your truck is pretty banged up, Lawson. I’m having it towed to Mike Morgan’s place.” He pulled a set of keys from his pocket and tossed them to Lawson. “You can use mine until it’s fixed.”
“Thank you.”
Cecile held out a tablet to Ashlee. “I compiled a list of photos while Lawson was giving his statement. It’s of known offenders in the system. I’d like for you both to go through them to see if you can identify the two men who ran you off the road and also the man who attacked you at the hospital and hotel. Do you think you can do that?”
“I’ll never forget those men’s faces,” Ashlee said. She hadn’t recognized the men who had run them off the road, but neither had been the man who’d previously attacked her. Both she and Lawson had gotten a good look at the ones from the car when they’d hidden from them in the woods. They hadn’t bothered to disguise their faces, either, obviously unafraid of being recognized because they’d had no intention of leaving any witnesses alive.
So far, these men plus the man from the hotel and hospital were the only connections she had to whatever had happened to her. It was obvious this wasn’t merely a case where she’d wronged one man. She’d come afoul of a group...possibly the biker gang the mayor had just warned them about.
Josh and Cecile left them alone and Ashlee turned to Lawson. “You don’t really believe I’m involved with a biker gang, do you?” She shuddered at the thought of associating with a gang of any kind.
“I don’t want to, but it’s a lead we need to check out. Cecile told me and Josh earlier in the conference room that she’s been through your financials and hasn’t found anything out of the ordinary. That money didn’t come from your accounts, which means you got it from somewhere else.”
She sighed and rubbed a sore muscle on her neck. “I wish I could remember.”
“Maybe we’ll catch a break with these pictures.” Lawson switched on the tablet and began scrolling through photos. He positioned the screen where they could both see the images, but by the time he’d reached the end, Ashlee hadn’t recognized a single face. The men who had attacked her, including the man at the hospital and hotel, hadn’t been among the photos Cecile had pulled.
“What do you think that means?” she asked Lawson.
He shrugged. “Only that they haven’t been booked by this department. I’ll ask her to expand the search parameters to include other jurisdictions within a hundred-mile radius.”
She nodded. Looking at more pictures wasn’t exactly how she wanted to spend her day, but she would do whatever it took to find out who was behind these attacks.
Her mouth went dry and she guzzled down the last of her water. “Is there somewhere I can get some more?”
He took her cup and stood. “I’ll get it for you. This courthouse is over a hundred and fifty years old and offices have been added piecemeal through the years. It’s like a maze if you don’t know your way around. You’ll have to go through three doorways just to reach the kitchen. I’d hate for you to make a wrong turn and end up in lockup.” She smiled at his lighthearted tone, but she expected there was some truth wrapped up in his joking manner. “You wait here. I’ll be right back.”
He disappeared through a doorway.
Ashlee leaned back in her seat and pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders, already missing Lawson’s presence. Something about the handsome deputy made her feel safer whenever he was around—and more exposed without him by her side.
Stop it, she told herself. She had to stop being so reliant on Lawson. After the way she’d treated him, he owed her nothing. And after today’s near-death experience, he could decide at any moment that protecting her was too risky—and then he’d vanish from her life the way she had from his.
She thought about her apartment and how it had been ransacked. Whoever was after her was dangerous. She would gladly return the money to them if it meant these threats against her disappearing. But yesterday she’d told the man she didn’t have the money...and today she’d been attacked anyway.
Why?
She pressed her hands to her forehead and willed herself to remember. It did no good except to give her a slight headache to go with the rest of her aching body.
Lawson returned with another cup of water and she drank it up.
“Why don’t we head back to Silver Star,” he suggested. “You look like you could use some rest.”
“What about the photos?”
“I’ll have Cecile email them to me. We can always look through them back at the ranch.”
She was glad to leave. As much as she wanted to help track down these men, she was worn out from the afternoon’s events and could use some time to work out the kinks in her aching muscles. “Okay.”
Lawson told Cecile about their plans, then led Ashlee outside to his brother’s truck. She crawled inside and buckled up and they headed out of town and toward Silver Star Ranch. But as she glanced at the people coming and going through town, she couldn’t help wondering... Who was out there that wanted her dead?
Once Ashlee was settled upstairs to rest, Lawson headed outside to the barn. Ranch chores were never done and he needed the physical exercise of work, even if it was only cleaning out the stalls, to help him wrap his mind around the attempts on Ashlee’s life. And the fact that the shooters hadn’t seemed to be bothered by him being in the line of fire, either. No, these men, whoever they were, were dangerous and Ashlee had managed to do something to get into their crosshairs.
His brother Paul appeared in the doorway and hung some tack on a hook. “Josh told me what happened today. Are you okay?”
Lawson nodded. “We’re both okay. Shook up, but that’s about it.”
“You need to be more careful, little brother.”
“I’m being careful, but it’s difficult with Ashlee in danger.”
“Yeah, I guess I understand that.”
“How are you doing?” Paul wasn’t always willing to talk about his recovery process from his injury, but Lawson felt it was important to keep asking, to let his brother know that he cared.
“I’m getting there, but I’m sure ready to be back in the action.”
Lawson couldn’t possibly understand all that Paul was going through. His injuries had been severe and his healing time was taking longer than he wanted. Ranch work was hard, but Lawson imagined it was nothing compared to the training Paul had endured as a Navy SEAL. He had to have lightning-quick reflexes before he could return to active service, and he just wasn’t there yet.
Paul left and Lawson returned to the stalls. He was nearly done when Miles appeared in the doorway, his suit bag hanging over his shoulder. “I’m heading back to Dallas,” he said. “My boss wants me for an assignment tomorrow. Are you going to be okay with this thing with Ashlee? Because I can probably stall him if you need me here.”
He would have liked to have Miles around for support, but his brother had a life to get back to. “We’ll be fine. Besides, I’ve got Paul and Colby and Josh here to help.”
He nodded. “Yes, Colby said he could stick around for a few more days.” He turned to leave, then stopped. “This thing with Ashlee... Lawson, be careful. And I’m not just referring to the danger she’s in.”
He nodded, his brother’s intentions coming through loud and clear. They were all worried about him and how close he was getting to Ashlee, how attached he was finding himself to having her here. He had to keep reminding himself that she didn’t belong at Silver Star. She didn’t want to be here. She’d made that perfectly clear six years ago when she’d walked out—stomping on his heart along the way.
Lawson watched as Miles climbed into his car and drove away, then returned to his chores. He was finishing up with the stalls when he heard the whinny of the horses in the pen outside the barn and a soft voice. Lawson walked out to find Ashlee at the split-rail fence, stroking the nose of one of the horses and talking to them. The sight of her took his breath away. She looked so natural, so at home with the animals and her surroundings. Like she belonged at Silver Star.
Stop it, he warned himself as he walked out to meet her and leaned over the fence. “That’s Lady. She’s my mom’s horse.”
Ashlee stroked her nose. “She’s beautiful.” She motioned to the other horses in the pen. “They’re all so beautiful.”
He heard sincerity in her voice and his hope meter kicked up a notch. She’d never cared for horses in the past. That should have been his first clue that she hadn’t wanted to live the ranch life with him. Horses and ranches kind of went hand-in-hand.
He took a chance. “Maybe you’d like to go riding later. We have a mare that’s real gentle, perfect for beginners.”
She chuckled at his use of that word. “Am I a beginner? I don’t even know.”
“Well, I can’t say how much horse riding you’ve done lately, but you were always a fair rider. Never cared much for it, though.”
“That makes me sad and I don’t even know why. I can’t put my finger on anything specific, but something about being out here, stroking this horse and taking in the fresh air, makes me feel like I’ve been inside a box for a really long time and now I’ve finally been freed from it. It’s almost as if the idea of fresh air and green fields is foreign to me.”
“I’d imagine you’ve been working inside for a long while. I get that. This is a far cry from being stuck in some office year after year.”
“I guess it is.”
He hopped off the fence. “Why don’t I saddle up the horses and take you on a tour of the ranch? There’s a real pretty spot down by the lake.”
She smiled at him, a smile that sent his hopes shooting through the roof.
Calm down, boy.
Her eyes sparkled at the idea. “I’d like that.”
He hurried into the barn to retrieve the saddles, but his phone buzzed before he could get to them. He glanced at the text message from Josh.
Bring Ashlee to the office. Someone showed up here looking for her. Says he’s her boyfriend.
The boyfriend. Of course, he would show up now. Lawson gave a beleaguered sigh as he slid the phone into his pocket and walked out to the horse pen. “Change of plans. We need to head back to the sheriff’s office.”
Ashlee’s eyes widened with surprise. “What is it? Did they find those men?”
“No, nothing like that. Someone arrived at the station looking for you. He says he’s your boyfriend.”
“Oh, I forgot about him.”
“I thought you forgot about everyone.” The bite in his tone was uncalled for, but he’d once again been stung by her and he didn’t like that feeling one bit.
“It’s not like that. I don’t remember him—didn’t even recognize his picture when I looked it up online back at the hotel. When I talked to him and told him what was going on, he insisted on coming out here—but then, a few minutes later, I was attacked by that man. I haven’t really had much time to think about Jake since then. That’s all I meant.”
Lawson remembered her saying something about the guy back at the hotel, when she was giving her statement—but he hadn’t wanted to think about it, so he’d pushed it from his mind. But now he couldn’t ignore him anymore. The one good thing about Ashlee running away was that he hadn’t had a front-row seat to her moving on from him. He hadn’t had to see her with another man. Not until now.
They climbed into Josh’s pickup and Lawson drove her to the sheriff’s office, but he was already dreading this reunion for his own sake. He didn’t want to see the kind of man Ashlee had left him for. The previous day, she said he was her boss, which meant he was probably wealthy. He knew she worked for a large and successful accounting firm.
They arrived and walked in to find Cecile talking to a man in a suit. He was tall and looked like he’d just stepped out of a cowboy magazine ad. Not a real cowboy, but an ad agency’s airbrushed idea of one. Lawson instantly didn’t like him and didn’t trust him.
He glanced at Ashlee, who was studying the man, too, but he didn’t see any flashes of recognition. Not yet.
Cecile motioned behind him and the man turned. A broad smile spread across his face. He rushed over, pulled Ashlee into his arms and hugged her tightly. Too tightly in Lawson’s opinion.
“Ashlee, I’ve been so worried about you,” he said, cupping her face in his hands. “How are you? Any recollections returned?”
She continued to stare up at him, but her face was a blank. “No, nothing yet.”
Understanding dawned on the man’s face and he took a step back. “You have no idea who I am then, do you?”
“I’m sorry. I don’t. I mean, I recognize your voice from our phone conversation and your picture from the web site, but I don’t know you.”
“That’s disappointing. I was hoping just seeing me would spark something.”
Lawson understood that disappointment and could empathize with this guy on that point. He, too, had been hurt that she hadn’t known him the first time she’d seen him. Of course, in that moment, he hadn’t known about the amnesia. He’d thought she’d just forgotten him.
Ashlee turned to him. “This is Lawson Avery. He’s an old friend. He’s been letting me stay with him and his family during this ordeal.”
The man held out his hand to Lawson. “Jake Stephens. Nice to meet you. And thank you for taking such good care of our girl.”
Shaking this guy’s hand made his skin crawl, but he forced himself to do it and nod. Something about Jake’s slick manner Lawson didn’t like, but he couldn’t be sure it wasn’t pure jealousy on his part. He didn’t like Jake Stephens one little bit.
Jake slipped his arm around Ashlee and pulled her to him. “I had to rent a car to drive from the airport, but if we leave now, we may be able to catch a flight back home tonight.”
“You can’t leave!” Lawson exclaimed and both Jake and Ashlee looked at him. “I mean we—the sheriff’s office—still has questions.”
Thankfully, Cecile came to his defense and put him out of his jealous misery—although he didn’t miss the smirk on her face as she did.
“That’s true,” she said, stepping into the conversation. “Ashlee was found with a large amount of cash and bullet holes in her car. She’d obviously been involved in a gunfight. In addition, she’s been the victim of multiple attempts on her life in the past two days. We need to find out who is behind these attacks and what exactly is going on before she leaves town and our leads dry up.”
“Yes,” Ashlee agreed. “I can’t leave until I know who is after me and why. I could be a sitting duck if I go home without those answers.”
Jake Stephens wasn’t convinced. “But aren’t you a target staying here, too? I can provide security for you at my condo. It’ll be much safer than that little apartment you live in.”
“We have questions for you, as well, Mr. Stephens,” Cecile added.
He stiffened, bristling at her comment. “Questions for me? About what? I don’t know anything.”
“Still—” Cecile opened the door to the interview room “—if you don’t mind answering a few questions, it would help in our investigation.”
He glanced at Ashlee, then sighed and gave a half-hearted smile. “Sure, whatever you need.”
Cecile followed him into the interview room and closed the door as Ashlee moved closer to Lawson.
“What kind of questions is she going to ask him?”
“You called him from the hotel, right? Is it just a coincidence that you were attacked not long after?”
“I wondered that myself right after it happened.” She folded her arms over her chest and hugged herself, worry lining her face. Lawson wanted nothing more than to take her into his arms and tell her everything would be okay, but he didn’t. It wasn’t his place to do so any longer. It was Jake Stephens’s.
And if there was any talk of Ashlee returning home with that guy, Lawson was going to know more about him first.
“Wait here. I’ll be right back.” He turned to Kyle, whose desk was behind his. “Will you keep an eye on her? I want to hear this.”
Kyle nodded and Lawson opened the door to the interview room.
Cecile gave him a look, but continued her questioning. “I understand Ashlee works at your company. Tell me what you do, Mr. Stephens?”
“I’m a partner in an accounting firm. What does that have to do with anything?”
“Ashlee has been the victim of multiple attempts on her life,” Cecile replied smoothly. “We’re trying to determine where those threats are coming from. Is it possible this is linked to something with her work or your firm?”
The man glanced at them both, then laughed and shook his head. “Trust me, it’s boring work most of the time.”
“I’m sure that’s true, but we would still like to investigate that angle. Are you familiar with a motorcycle gang called the Pontiac Posse? Are they clients of your firm?”
“I’ve never heard of them before.”
Neither had Lawson, but he assumed that was the biker gang Mayor Baxter had warned them about.
“I’d like your permission to take a look at Ashlee’s client list.”
“That’s not possible, Deputy Bradley. Our clients have a right to privacy.”
“But aren’t they Ashlee’s clients? I’m sure you wouldn’t balk at her looking through them.”
Jake tapped his finger against the table, then shook his head. “I’m afraid, given the circumstances, I can’t allow that. If she’s incapacitated, and she obviously is, I’ll have to reassign her workload until she’s able to continue.”
Cecile leaned back in her chair and studied the man. “How long have you and Ashlee been dating, Mr. Stephens?”
“Four months.”
“And you care about her?”
“I do, but—”
“Then why are you hampering our ability to discover who is after her?”
“I’m not trying to hamper anything, but I have a responsibility to my company, as well. I can’t just hand over confidential files because my girlfriend is in trouble.”
Lawson grimaced at the word girlfriend, but tried not to let it show as the man continued.
“Look, I’ll go through those files myself and let you know if something jumps out at me.”
“No offense, Mr. Stephens, but you’re not an investigator. Besides, how can we be certain Ashlee’s not in danger because of something that ties back to you?”
“I would never hurt Ashlee.”
“Then it’s a coincidence that an hour after she called you, she was attacked at the hotel?”
His face paled and he leaned back in his seat. “I had nothing to do with that.”
“I hope not.” Cecile stood and walked from the room. Lawson followed her.
“What do you think?” he asked as they entered the hallway.
Josh appeared from his office and asked the same question. “What’s your gut tell you about Stephens?”
Cecile glanced at Josh, then gave a weary sigh. “I don’t think he’s involved, but I can’t rule it out until I see those files.”
“And without a warrant, that’s not going to happen,” Lawson added.
Josh shook his head. “We’ve got nothing to justify a warrant at this point. Let’s run a background check on Stephens and the firm. See if there’s any dirt to be found that could get us a look at those files. Actually, call Colby. His connections at the Bureau might reveal something more than ours would. Maybe there’s a corruption investigation Mr. Stephens ‘forgot’ to tell us about.”
Cecile nodded. “I’m on it.” She walked off to make the call.
Lawson stared at the man through the window as he sat in the interview room, engrossed in texting on his phone. It made sense that whatever Ashlee was involved in had something to do with her job. Her whole life was about her career. It had to be, since she’d left him for it. And if this case was tied to her work, then Jake Stephens was the man who would know about it. Lawson hadn’t gotten a dishonest vibe from him, but a good liar could fool even someone trained to spot them.
“If he’s involved and he gets back to his office, those files will be gone before we can look at them.”
Josh shook his head and motioned to Stephens, who was still texting. “Trust me, brother. If he’s involved, they’re already gone. But do you really think he is?”
The truth was...no, he didn’t. Lawson wanted something sinister from this guy, but his gut told him he was on the straight and narrow and really seemed to care about Ashlee. That burned him, too, because Jake Stephens appeared to be everything he wasn’t—successful, ambitious and, most of all, in a relationship with Ashlee.
He walked into the main office and found Ashlee at his desk, using his computer. She flushed as if embarrassed. “I hope you don’t mind. Deputy Deaver signed me on. I wanted to check my social media page.”
He sat and rolled his chair closer to hers. The worried crease of her forehead told him her sister hadn’t left her a message on her page. “Still no word from Bree?”
“No, and I’m worried. Why hasn’t she responded to me? Even if she couldn’t reach me anywhere else, she could have at least left a post on my page. I would have seen it.”
“We’ve checked her cell phone and bank records. There have been no calls made, no texts, and no movement on her accounts.”
“I’m worried about her, Lawson. I have to find her. If this happened to me, she might be in trouble, too.”
“Or she might be the cause of this trouble. Have you considered that?”
He saw her eyes flash with something like anger or irritation and knew it was directed at him. He’d seen that look before. For her, it had never mattered that Bree was the author of her own troubles. Ashlee would always run to her aid.
“I’m still trying to run down known associates of your sister. Maybe one of them can lead us to her.”
She nodded. “Thank you, Lawson. I know this isn’t important to you, but I appreciate your help.”
He leaned forward and placed his hand over hers, ignoring the way his heart skipped a beat at the feel of her soft skin and delicate hand under his. “It’s important to you, Ashlee, so it’s important to me. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be bad-mouthing her to you right now. You’re right. Whether or not she’s linked to whatever is going on, we need to find her. Finding her might be the only way we learn the answers to why this is happening to you, why someone is targeting you.” Lawson nodded at the interview room. “What about Jake? What are you going to tell him?”
“I don’t know. I’m certainly not leaving with him. And not just because I need to be here for the investigation. He’s a stranger to me. There’s nothing familiar about him at all. Plus, I can’t get it out of my head that I spoke to him not long before that man showed up at my hotel to attack me. That can’t be a coincidence, can it?”
It could be but, in his experience with criminal cases, coincidences didn’t exist.
Josh called both Lawson and Ashlee along with Cecile into his office for a rundown of the investigation.
“We’re still trying to track where the money came from,” Cecile said. “It’s slow going. I’m still waiting on a callback about whether or not it’s counterfeit.”
“What about that biker gang the mayor mentioned?” Ashlee asked her.
“So far, we haven’t been able to tie them to this. We haven’t identified any of the men who’ve attacked you, but if they’re a part of that biker gang, they’re keeping their heads low. I also checked the call logs and we didn’t have any calls about shots fired coming in the day you were found.”
“It’s unlikely we would, unless they came from town,” Josh commented. “Around Courtland County, no one flinches if they hear gunfire.”
Cecile interjected. “They would have if they’d heard enough to make all the bullet holes in the back of Ashlee’s car. I’d guess those holes were made with a semiautomatic. Either that or there were multiple shooters.”
“She’s right,” Lawson concurred. “That much gunfire would attract attention.”
“Which means,” Josh noted, “that wherever this happened, it was isolated enough that no one was around to hear the shots. That could mean an abandoned ranch or warehouse.”
Lawson took off his hat and rubbed his head. “There are any number of abandoned ranches around here to choose from—too much land to check everywhere.”
Cecile stepped forward and glanced at the map of Courtland County pinned to Josh’s wall. “That’s true, but based on the road and the direction she was headed when you found her, Lawson, I might be able to narrow down that list.”
Josh nodded. “Good. Start working on that. And pull Mahoney and Deaver off their assignments if you need the help.”
Cecile turned to walk out, but stopped when the front door opened and Colby walked in and headed straight for Josh’s office. “Looks like your brother has news.”
Lawson stood as Colby entered. “Did you find something?”
“I had a colleague at the Bureau do a check on our friend Jake Stephens in there,” Colby said, motioning toward the interview room. “His background came back clean. He’s got no criminal record, pays his bills on time and manages a multimillion-dollar company that hasn’t been tied to any scandals. The background check revealed no red flags. He emailed me a copy and I printed it out for you.”
Lawson took the report from him. Disappointment settled in and he saw by her expression that Ashlee was disappointed, too. They were both getting weary of dead ends. He’d been hoping for something to be wrong with this guy, but that had obviously just been the jealousy talking. He glanced through the printed pages and realized his brother was right. This guy didn’t even have a parking ticket in his past. “That doesn’t necessarily mean he’s not involved. He could have something going on under the table that he hasn’t been caught at yet. Ashlee could have found out, which put a target on her back.”
“That’s always a possibility,” Colby said, “but until she remembers what’s going on, we’re searching for something and we don’t even know what it is. I called in a favor and had an agent go down to that firm’s headquarters and start asking questions. If there is something going on, she may be able to flush it out, but it’s a long shot.”
“Sometimes they pay off,” Lawson reminded him.
Colby nodded and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Sometimes they do.”
“Until then,” Josh interrupted, “we’ve got no reason to hold Stephens. Let’s turn him loose.”
Lawson glanced at Ashlee. They needed more than a long shot. They needed answers if he was going to keep her safe. But at least she wasn’t leaving with Jake Stephens.