Page 53 of Distress Signal

“He’s also my future brother-in-law.”

I blinked in surprise. “You’re marrying one of the Lawless brothers?”

I didn’t make it a habit of looking into public figures’ personal lives, so I wasn’t surprised I didn’t already know this about her. Still…small fucking world.

“Crew, the?—”

“Youngest,” I finished for her. “Yeah, I’m familiar.” Aspen’s brow curved, and I realized too late how that sounded. “Sorry, not like that. At least nothim.” Goddesses, I was babbling. My cheeks heated. “I’ve been here before. A long time ago. Met them all at the bar.”

Aspen nodded in understanding, then stood, extending a hand to me. “Let’s go get lunch. You can tell me all about yourself and the night you met my future in-laws.”

“Are you…busy or something?”

“Nah. I was running a few errands, but they’re done, and I’ve got a few hours before I’ve got anything else to worry about. C’mon. It’ll be fun. We can commiserate about those Lawless boys.”

Eager for a friend, I followed along.

fifteen

. . .

REAGAN

When we enteredthe diner around the corner from the department, an older woman immediately approached with a smile.

“Aspen, honey,” she said, leaning in to press a kiss to Aspen’s cheek. “Good to see you, dear.”

“You too, Bonnie.”

“Table for two?”

“Yes please.”

Once she led us to a booth along the windows and we were settled with menus, she looked between Aspen and me, asking, “Who’s your friend?”

“Oh, this is Reagan. Reagan, this is Bonnie, the owner of the diner.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Reagan,” Bonnie said. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

Wait a minute…

“You know who I am?” I asked Aspen when Bonnie disappeared.

Aspen gave me a sheepishsmile. “Guilty.”

“How?”

“There’s been talk of you floating around the family since you first came to town a month ago,” she admitted with a shrug.

My gaze narrowed. “What kind of talk?”

Her grin widened. “Mostly the boys giving Finn shit. You know how men are.”

Boy, did I ever.

“It’s not like that with us. I’m only here to find my sister.”

“I admire your dedication,” Aspen said. “But there’s something about this town…and those Lawless men. I came here on a case once myself. I had no plans other than finding a killer and moving on to my next adventure.” She lifted her left hand, showing off the diamond winking on her ring finger. “I wound up with a hell of a lot more.”