call. He’d failed to answer in time. He hadn’t wanted to answer in front of Rae, so he’d quickly parked and escaped the vehicle. She might question him about the call, but he needed to process the information before he relayed it to her, if he even needed to tell her.
He wished he could have gone after that skier who’d forced her off the slope so he could find out who he was and why he’d targeted Rae. But Liam didn’t dare leave her alone after what happened.
Now he wasn’t sure that he ever could. At least not until this ended.
He called Kelvin back and hoped he didn’t get voicemail. As he waited for the call to connect, his mind remained on the investigation. Their next stop was to see Sheriff Taggart. The Bridger County sheriff’s responsibilities had grown in the small county, considering that the ski resort had recently opened. With the increase in tourism and population stretching Sheriff Taggart’s department, Liam might see a shift in the man’s attitude and the time he could give Liam.
Jackson Hole had changed a lot since Liam had lived here as a kid. More tourists and, though Jackson and Grayback remained western towns, one couldn’t escape the sense of over-commercialization. Then again, catering to the tourists passing through and the wealthy who remained kept the region alive. He could well expect Heath to bump up his game when it came to Emerald M. Those were changes Liam didn’t much like.
But before he even attempted to track down Sheriff Taggart, he needed to speak to Kelvin. Maybe Kelvin had learned something about Enzo Astor that Liam could potentially use if necessary when talking to Taggart.
Liam leaned against his truck. He glanced at Rae sitting in the cab, staring at her cell.
Kelvin answered.
Liam jumped right in. “So, Enzo Astor. Is he someone you’re watching? What did you find out?”
“We’re working it, but I don’t have all the particulars. And when I do have them, you’re not cleared to know them. Not yet.”
“Well then, what can you tell me?” Why did you call? Liam ground his molars.
“I get that you’re concerned you might have seen him before in a not-so-above-the-board dealing. He’s a face you can’t place, and the two of you are there in the same valley. I’d be concerned, too, except this guy owns property in Wyoming, Montana, and Colorado. Has a home there in Jackson Hole. So he appears to be there for legitimate reasons, at least on the surface.”
“Tell me something I don’t already know.”
“Again, I don’t have anything else for you.”
“You mean you don’t have anything else you’re willing to share? Or that you really don’t know anything?”
“Be patient, Liam. I don’t know anything yet. You and I go way back. I wouldn’t leave you in the dark, especially after what you went through in getting the goods on Malcom Fox.”
“That’s good to know.” Liam’s undercover work had been instrumental in putting away Malcom Fox, a man who trafficked drugs and humans. He was believed to have blackmailed more than one senator, as well as other high-ranking officials who would not come forward with information. Fox’s operation was the reason Liam had run into Rae in the first place. Liam had given two years of his life working undercover, climbing his way up in the organization until he identified Fox as the man behind it all. And then—bam!—enter Rae Burke, who stole his heart and the covert intel he’d gained to go with it.
Sometimes repercussions came with taking bad guys down. Big men could exact revenge even from prison, though Malcom was only waiting for his trial in prison without bail, for which Liam was grateful. Fox was considered a flight risk. Now Liam found himself in Jackson Hole and no longer working for the DEA. So why had seeing Enzo Astor’s face left him disturbed?
Liam measured his next words. Should he tell Kelvin? “There’s another aspect you don’t know about.”
“Yeah? What’s that?”
He sucked in the cold air and blew out a big white cloud. How did he begin to explain this to Kelvin? “Enzo Astor is the brother of Simon Astor, who disappeared five years ago. Before he disappeared, he’d stalked a woman named Tawny Davidson who moved to Colorado to start a new life, changing her name to Zoey Dumont. Five years ago—around the time Simon disappeared—she returned home to her college dorm room bruised, beaten, and unwilling to tell the police. Simon’s remains were recently found and