CHAPTER 158

“I know.”

“But maybe we have a ray of hope on the horizon. Laila has agreed to act as bait to try to draw Kimber’s kidnappers out, so we’re working on that. Hopefully soon.”

Tessa knew exactly how Trees would feel about that, and she felt sorry for the guy. He wasn’t going to be able to protect or keep her from this, no matter how hard he tried.

“Yeah. By the way, I’m sorry for mixing you up with Aspen when I went on maternity leave.”

He gave her a reassuring smile. “You didn’t know.”

“But I knew Cash was a jerk. I should have at least considered the fact that any contact of his wasn’t a good idea.” And now they were both gone. The brief conversation she’d had with Craig had been heartbreaking. The man was not only crushed to lose his son but stunned to learn he’d helped drug dealers kidnap his own daughter and spied for Emilo Montilla before his demise—all for money. Despicable, but she was sorry for Craig that Cash’s greed had led to his death.

“You always want to believe the best a