Page 91 of Her Guarded Hero

“You should have thought of that before you went all Nancy Drew,” Chuck said dismissively. He turned to Mort. “Are you going to move their car?”

“Of course. Why else would I have taken their keys?”

Aurora watched the door close behind the two men.

So much for the pity vote.

She looked over at Lindy then down at herself. Great there they were mummy and the mummy mommy.

She wanted to cry.

16

“That’s the third time she hasn’t answered. And she hasn’t replied to my text. Are you satisfied now?” he asked Dex.

“Okay, you gave it fifteen minutes,” his friend said slowly.

“You would have only given it ten minutes if it was Kenna,” Hunter said to Dex.

“What are you boys talking about?” Gunnar asked as he pushed back from the restaurant table.

“Aurora isn’t answering her phone and hasn’t been for fifteen minutes.”

Zebadiah frowned and pulled out his cell phone and made a call. He looked at everyone. “Lindy’s went straight to voicemail.”

“Anybody know Crystal’s number?” Dalton asked, looking mainly at Gunnar. The old man fumbled for his phone and took a hell of a long time to go through his contacts, at least in Dalton’s opinion.

“Got it,” Dex said. “Dialing now. It’s ringing.” He pushed his phone over at Dalton.

“Crystal?” he asked as soon as he heard her voice. “This is Dalton.”

“Why are you calling me? Why isn’t Aurora? Is something wrong?”

“I can’t get ahold of Aurora or Lindy, are you all still together? Can you put Aurora on the phone?”

“They left hours ago,” Crystal answered.

Dalton’s blood turned to ice water.

“What do you mean they left hours ago? Where did they go?” He got up from the table, Hunter and Dex on his heels.

“Lindy and Aurora were going to go check out a stable near Yuba City to see if they might be responsible for all the abused horses.” They were just outside the restaurant. Dalton put the phone on speaker. Dex and Hunter leaned in close. Gunnar and the two Dressler’s crowded in the best they could. “Aurora was convinced it couldn’t be the owners at someplace called the Lyle Olympic something-or-other.”

“Lyle Olympic Equestrian Center,” Gunnar whispered.

“She and Lindy were going to go check it out.”

“They shouldn’t have gone anywhere,” Dalton all but yelled.

“Calm your ass down, Baby Daddy.” There was a pause. “Oh shit, now you’ve done it. Now I’m scared. You couldn’t get ahold of either one of them?”

“They’re not answering,” Gunnar called over Dalton’s shoulder.

“Do you know when they left Crystal?”

“Three and a half hours ago,” she said worriedly. “You don’t think something bad has happened to them, do you?”

“Yes,” Gunnar growled. “Where’s your common sense?”