Page 62 of Her Guarded Hero

“When was that?” Dalton asked.

“Three months ago.”

“What about his cousin, Ricky?” Dalton asked.

“He demanded witness protection, which he didn’t get.”

“Why in the hell would he want that? What the hell kind of information would he have to give up?”

“Funnily enough, that was what the authorities asked. He said that Ned had been working with some people, and he knew too much. Ricky said that he needed protection, they had to explain to him if he didn’t have information to exchange, he wasn’t eligible.”

Dalton snorted. Yep, definitely dumbshiterest. “So, he had no idea who was pulling Ned’s strings?”

“Nope. That man would have sung like a canary if he had the slightest song,” Dex sighed.

“You said first thing, what else was there?” Dalton asked.

“The second thing seemed unrelated too. One of the horses that Aurora had rehabilitated was fatally injured on the way back to its owner.”

“Do you know what horse?”

“No, I didn’t pay any attention. The horse was on its way back to Sacramento. There was an article in the Sacramento Bee that mentioned Aurora Chance’s name. I have Google alerts on her.”

“Was it a stallion?” Dalton persevered.

Dex tilted his head. “I’m sorry man, I really don’t remember.”

Dalton pushed back his concern for Aladdin and focused. “How did the horse die?”

“Somebody tampered with the brakes of the horse trailer, and the damn thing flipped on the freeway. An SUV crashed into it from behind killing the horse. It was a miracle that nobody was killed. After an investigation it was determined that the tampering had been done at a rest-stop in Placerville, which took Aurora and her folks off the hot seat.”

“They actually thought someone from Valhalla might have something to do with hurting a horse?” Dalton asked incredulously.

Dex nodded. “I dipped into the highway patrol report. But the couple who were hauling the horse vouched for Aurora and her grandfather, so they immediately started looking for other suspects.”

“Did they find one?”

“They got some footage of the man who did the tampering, but they still don’t have anyone in custody.”

“Those two things really seem suspicious,” Dalton admitted.

“Especially with what I saw on the aircraft carrier this morning.”

“There’s more?” Dalton practically came out of his skin. Dalton couldn’t respond fast enough. “It better be something minor.”

Dex winced, then put his hands on his shoulders. “She’s fine, that’s the important thing.”

The world stopped. He gripped Dex’s forearm. “What do you mean? What happened.”

“Her car was run off the road. But she wasn’t hurt, just shaken up.”

Black edged his vision. Dex’s face swam in front of him from a far-off tunnel. “How? How do you know that for sure?”

“I checked the EMT report. They didn’t even need to take her to the hospital or anything. There was just a little bit of paint exchanged.”

“Paint exchanged? You mean somebody hit her car? Where? Those mountain roads are treacherous.”

Dex’s eyes slid away from his. Dalton hit his friend’s hands off his shoulders and grabbed him by the front of his t-shirt. “Tell me how the hell you knew what happened. Then you tell me exactly what occurred. Don’t leave out one fucking detail.”