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He pulled his phone out and brought it to his ear. “Hey, Klein.”
Ayla walked to the front door, sliding a bit in her boots. Jace caught up to her quick and steadied her with his arm around her waist. She smiled her appreciation. He smiled back, but whatever his friend was telling him had his full attention.
She typed in the code and Jace swung the door open. Once they were both inside, he shut and locked it.
Ayla hoped he would get comfortable and stay for a bit. She really hoped he’d kiss her again. But whatever conversation he was having with his friend sounded serious.
Sliding out of her coat, Ayla unzipped her boots and took them off. She held up a finger to Jace, and he nodded. After climbing the stairs, she put her coat and boots in the closet and then went into the bathroom and brushed her teeth, put on some mint-flavored lip gloss, and checked that her eyeliner hadn’t smeared. She felt beautiful in the burgundy wrap dress. An Anne Klein find at Mama’s Attic. The dress was surprisingly comfortable with a nylon-stretch blend, so she didn’t change.
When she returned downstairs, Jace was still on the phone, mostly listening. She turned on the fireplace and then settled on the couch, tucking her feet underneath her.
“Okay. Thanks, Klein. I’ll watch for the info and let you know what I hear. Appreciate you, man.” A pause. “Hudson’s a hundred percent committed to Tuesday morning and the helicopter is lined up? Ah, that’ll be a blast. We’ll catch some crazy air for sure. Yeah, my parachute is ready. I don’t care if they video it. Planned on it, actually.” He chuckled. “I don’t think hashtag Jace Jardine is going to add much to Hudson’s fan base. Sure. Can’t wait.”
He hung up the phone. Ayla felt a lurch in her gut. Tuesday she’d be gone, and Jace couldn’t wait to ski with his buddy, Death Wish Delta. Real skiing where he could zip down the mountain unencumbered, without a newbie who had mismatched ski clothes and rented skis. A parachute? What did that mean? Who used a parachute for skiing? Interesting. And probably dangerous. She didn’t like dangerous, but who was she to say what this talented skier could or couldn’t do?
Jace had treated her fabulously today and hadn’t acted for a minute as if she were a pain or slowing him down, but she wasn’t up to his level of awesomeness in any category. Jace was ultra-handsome, successful, athletic, kind, and amazing. He’d married Iluminada, a world-famous singer and exotic beauty. She’d married Tim, a nerdy engineer slash pathological liar and gambler. Though she made good money and worked hard, her job was a dead end, especially if Bryan got killed or kept making horrible choices, and she’d only gained people and computer skills. She wasn’t some successful or irresistible woman in any sense of the word. Yet Jace made her feel like she was irresistible and the only woman he was interested in.
He walked to the couch, palming his phone, a serious look on his face. Sinking onto the cushion next to her, he set his phone on the coffee table and turned to her. He shook his head and said, “Have you ever been blindsided?”
She smiled, though her gut churned even more. “Yeah. What’s up?”
She didn’t want to get into the Tim nightmare. Blindsided was putting it mildly. She should share with Jace, had to trust him with the story soon, but she hated talking about Tim and how low she’d sunk after his death. Thankfully, she didn’t think this was the right moment.
He shook his head and leaned his shoulder against the cushion so he was still facing her. “Klein gave me permission to tell you the truth.” He searched her gaze. “I know you want to help your boss, but I’m trusting you, so please only share with Bryan what I got permission to tell him.”
“Of course.” She returned his gaze. “You can trust me, Jace. I’m not a post on social media or a jabber-monkey kind of girl. Though I don’t want Bryan to be killed, I don’t like or trust him. I’ll share what you tell me to share.”
“Thank you.” His shoulders relaxed a fraction. “Trust is … huge for me.”
“Me too.” They studied each other, and she felt they related on a deeper level than she had with even her family and Taryn. Jace’s heart and trust had been shattered, just like hers had. She wanted to be the one to heal him completely and to trust that he could heal her as well. Was she worthy of a man like Jace? Was she willing to take the plunge again?
Rather than beg him to love her, she focused on the Bryan mess. “What did your friend say?”
“Klein chatted with Joseph, Holly, Keith, and Myrna. They’re the parents of the Delta family. They told him he could trust me, if I promised to keep it to you and I, and they actually don’t care if Bryan goes after the secret cave.”
“There is a secret cave, then?” Her palms started sweating. Would Bryan and whoever was after him tear apart this idyllic valley looking for gold bricks? She hated that.
“Yes. Klein didn’t give me all the details, but basically the Delta family was tasked to protect a secret weapon of some sort. The cave where the weapon was kept was filled with gold bars.”
She sucked in a breath.
He nodded. “There were a lot of mercenaries who pursued the weapon, nobody even knowing what it was capable of. The family spent night and day protecting the cave. Papa Delta was killed by some of those mercenaries. Jessie Delta, the youngest, and her special ops fiancé—they’re getting married at our lodge at Christmas—blew up the cave to bury the secret weapon once and for all. They wanted to keep their family safe, and the people in Summit Valley. They also wanted to give their family some much-needed peace.”
“Wow.” Ayla tilted her head to the side. “That’s quite the story. I wonder what the secret weapon was capable of?”
“He didn’t say, and I feel like I was lucky to get as much info as I did.”
“You’re right. I don’t want to pry.”
“Me neither. But it is interesting that these people I love and trust have had to hide something this huge from everybody in the valley. It must have been really important or they wouldn’t have done that. They’re some of the best people I know.”
“That is crazy, and I bet it hasn’t been easy.”
It was quiet for a few beats, then Jace said, “So Klein told me they’ve had a few mercenaries come try to dig up the cave since the explosion, before the snow fell. The Deltas watched from a distance with surveillance cameras. No matter how thoroughly the people searched, they eventually gave up and left without finding so much as a gold flake. He said you would have to have serious excavating and mining equipment to get anything out of there. With the snow covering it, there’s no way Bryan will find even a shard of gold.”
“That’s what I told him. He’s going to get himself killed.” It made her sick to her stomach. Would Bryan die because of gambling like Tim had? She didn’t have any love lost for her boss, but she didn’t want him dead.
Jace didn’t say anything, which was telling. But then he said, “I guess it depends who’s after him. Maybe if he at least tries for the gold, they’ll ease up on him. He could hire protection or go to the FBI.”
