Regan hunched her shoulders against the wind as she and Chloe hurried to Chloe’s car. The icy breeze sliced through the valley and penetrated her coat, chilling her to the bone so she picked up her pace even more. Two blocks had never felt so long. She shoved her hands deep into her pockets and tried to quell the feelings churning in her gut.

She’d had fun tonight. It shouldn’t surprise her—these were her friends, after all—but the easy way they cared for each other made her realize how stark her life had been with Todd. How had she not known that he was isolating her? Why hadn’t she recognized that? Even when everything had fallen apart, she hadn’t come back to Sapphire Creek, at least not right away. Instead she’d taken off, bent to figure everything out before she let anyone know what had happened.

Where had that gotten her? Absolutely nowhere.

Chloe stumbled and knocked into her, causing Regan to look at her sister. With her head down and shoulders hunched, Chloe looked so much younger than she had earlier.

“Are you okay?” Regan asked. “You’re quiet, which isn’t like you at all.”

Chloe glanced over and shrugged. “Just thinking.”

“About what?” When Chloe offered another shrug, Regan clenched her jaw. She couldn’t force this relationship, no matter how much she wanted to be a part of her sisters’ lives. It was going to take time.

Regan looked up at the sky. The stars were so bright. Completely clear over the shadows of the mountaintops, it was amazing how the darkness could sparkle. “You know,” she started, “it’s always surprised me, knowing that no matter where I was I could look at the stars and know you guys were seeing the same thing I was.”

She heard Chloe blow out a breath before tilting her own head back. They might have looked like fools, standing there in the middle of the sidewalk looking at the sky, but it didn’t matter. The tightness around Regan’s chest loosened when Chloe linked arms with Regan.

“I never blamed you, you know.”

Tears filled Regan’s eyes. “I was afraid you did,” she admitted.

“People go to college. It’s a normal thing to do,” Chloe said, shaking her head. “Why would you think you shouldn’t go?”

This time Regan shrugged. “You guys were so young.”

“Yeah, we were. But Regan, you didn’t adopt us. Mom and Dad did.”

Regan smiled at the memory. “I remember the day you guys came home. Do you remember?”

Images of four-year-old Chloe in mismatched clothes and wide eyes that seemed too big for her face filled Regan’s mind. She’d fallen head over heels for her new little sisters instantly, but Chloe had been slow to warm up.

Memories were obviously flooding Chloe, too, because Regan felt the shudder run through her. “I was so scared,” Chloe admitted in a small voice. “I’m always scared.”

Regan was stunned. “Of what? Why?”

Again, Chloe shrugged, but this time it was because she was searching for words herself. Regan waited. She didn’t know anything about her sisters’ lives before they came to live with them. Hadn’t thought much about it at the time. Now, it somehow seemed important.

“Everything has just always felt overwhelming,” Chloe said softly, her pink hair picking up the moonlight and making her look otherworldly. “Mom and Dad are great, but they’re so intense. I was just never sure where I stood with them, if they’d get tired of us some day and give us back.”

Regan closed her eyes. She knew all too well their parents could be overwhelming. She’d lived it her whole life, never good enough or smart enough. It was what drove her to accept a scholarship as far away as she could get when the time came. It had never occurred to her that her younger sisters, girls her parents chose to adopt, felt the same way. “Chloe—”

“Shut up, Regan,” Chloe interrupted as they reached Ollie, her ancient Oldsmobile. “I shouldn’t have said anything.” She wrenched the driver’s door open and tossed her bag in before turning back to her sister. “We all have our stuff, you know? You’re the perfect one who’s smart and athletic and everything. Becca is artistic and smart and interested in the same things they are. Me, I’m the screwup.”

Jerking the passenger door open so Chloe couldn’t hide from the conversation she’d started, Regan let out a squeal when she was yanked backward, landing hard on the pavement. She looked up to see Chloe scratching and fighting someone who was holding her, but the hand pressed against her face was muffling any sounds she was making.

Regan drew in a breath, prepared to scream to high heaven when a gloved hand covered her mouth, pressing so hard she had trouble breathing.

“Quiet,” the asshole ordered, shaking her so hard her teeth rattled. “If you cooperate, you won’t get hurt.”

Was this guy on crack? Cooperate with what? No way she was going to stand by and let them assault her sister. It went against every instinct she had, but she allowed herself to relax and nod as though she were agreeing with whatever the asshole said.

“Good girl,” he muttered, dragging her to her feet but keeping his grip tight. “Check the car,” he ordered someone. “It’s got to be somewhere.”

Regan squinted, desperately trying to make out Chloe and her assailant in the shadows. If only she could tell if they had weapons. Her heart was pounding so hard she could practically hear it and tears filled her eyes.

This couldn’t be happening. Not yards away from the bar where all her friends were still hanging out. Not in Sapphire Creek.

Before Regan could decide what to do she heard glass shatter and someone yelp.

“Regan, run!” Chloe shouted.

Feeling her captor shift his grip, Regan jerked her head back, hoping she broke his nose when she simultaneously stomped on his foot and elbowed him in the gut, knocking him to the ground. She wrenched herself free, rolled to her feet and tried to catch her breath, sucking in huge gulps of air. As soon as she could, she was going to scream. But first she needed to get to Chloe.

She rounded the trunk of the car and skidded to a stop as she watched Chloe bounce off the side of Ollie and hit the ground. “No!” she shouted, launching herself at the bastard who dared hurt her sister. The asshole flipped her off him as though she weighed nothing. She hit the pavement with a jarring thud. Shit, that hurt!

Regan felt someone tug at her arm and opened her eyes to see Chloe pulling on her. “Come on,” she insisted. “We need to get out of here. Can you run?”

“Yeah.” She could run. She had to run. “Where are they?” she whispered. The shadows in the parking lot obscured her vision.

Chloe peered over the top of Regan. “Back at the car.”

Pushing herself to her knees, Regan bit back a groan. Damn, she hurt, but she couldn’t focus on that now. “Ready?” she asked. They had one shot to get away. She didn’t want to think about what would happen otherwise. Regan rolled to the balls of her feet and saw that Chloe was crouched low, too. “Go!”

They took off, back toward the Bitterroot Tavern.

Regan’s pulse pounded in time with her feet. She didn’t think they’d ever reach safety when they rounded the corner and immediately slammed into someone.

Regan found herself on the ground again while Chloe fought like a banshee, screaming, scratching and cursing.

“Chloe!”

The shout pierced through Regan’s panic, enough for her to actually see who was holding her sister. “Mitchell,” she whispered.

“Are you okay? What happened?” Erin was with Regan, still on the ground.

“I’m so sorry,” Regan started to say, but panic set in when she realized where they were. Launching to her feet, she grabbed Erin and hauled her up too. “We have to get inside. They’re still out there.”

Mitchell didn’t waste a second as he shoved all three of them the several steps back into the bar.

Once inside Regan collapsed into a booth, with Chloe pushing in after her. “What happened?” Erin asked again.

Chloe shook her head. “There were men. At my car,” she told them, shuddering until Regan pulled her close, trying to rub some warmth into her limbs. “They grabbed us and searched my car.”

“Did they say what they were looking for?” Mitch’s voice was deadly as he stood at the end of the bench seats, caging them all in. The move made Regan breathe a bit easier. There was no way those men were going to get to them, not with Mitch standing there.

Chloe shook her head again. She was full-on shaking now and had wrapped her arms around herself. “There were three of them. I don’t know what they were looking for.”

Regan looked closer at her sister. “You need to call 911,” she ordered Mitch. “She’s going into shock.” He stepped back to make the call while she and Erin moved Chloe around to elevate her feet and try to get her warm.

Before she realized it, the rest of their friends were surrounding the booth.

“Are you hurt?” Gavin asked, squatting next to her seat. “Do you need a medic?”

“Mitch is calling them.”

“What happened?”

Regan quickly told them as she continued to watch Chloe. She seemed to be okay, but there was a goose egg on her head, probably from when the asshole threw her against the car, that had Regan concerned. Now that they were safe, Regan could feel her own adrenaline drop and the shaking start.

“This is all my fault,” Erin whispered, wringing her hands.

“What are you talking about?” Regan asked. “How can this be your fault? Where’s your other guard? Logan?”

Erin blew out a breath and looked at Mitch, who nodded. “Logan went to get the car. And it is my fault. We moved the rehearsals here because I have a stalker. I mentioned that.”

“They found the asshole in her house,” Mitch said. “We’re still trying to figure out how he bypassed the main security system.”

“That’s way more serious than you implied,” Regan accused, trying to fit in what the men at the car had said with Erin’s problem. It didn’t add up.

Before she could say anything else, Bethany interrupted.

“Are you sure they were adults? Not some teenagers looking for an easy score? There’s been a problem with petty theft lately, along with an increase in overdoses.”

This time Chloe snorted. “Do you really think someone would decide to break into Ollie? He’s older than dirt and worthless.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Regan said, trying to keep everyone focused. “These were definitely adult men. That one guy threw me off his back like I was a rag doll.”

A low growl came from Gavin, which had Regan blinking in surprise.

“I don’t think it’s Erin’s stalker,” Mitch said, leaning against the back of the booth. “What do you have that they could be looking for?” he asked Chloe.

“I have no idea,” she answered, sounding more like herself, much to Regan’s relief.

“They obviously think there’s something.” Regan tried to think. “Did Becca leave anything in the car when you took her home from Gavin’s the other day?”

Chloe scrunched her face, trying to think. “I wasn’t really paying attention. I don’t think so.”

Connor and Logan strode through the tavern door, the paramedics on their heels, Chloe’s purse clenched in his fist. “Whoever it was was gone by the time I got there. This was on the ground about twenty yards from the car. And…” he shot an uncertain look at the group. “The car has been trashed.”

“What?” Chloe shrieked. That car may not have been much, but it was hers. A symbol of independence. She loved that car. Regan’s heart ached for her sister. “What did they do?”

“Tires have been slashed, windows busted.”

“Plus,” Mitch interrupted, looking at Chloe, “you’re always supposed to name a car a girl’s name. Didn’t you know that?”

Chloe reared her head. “You did not just insult Ollie.”

“Now you did it.” The humor in Gavin’s voice was obvious to everyone, but Regan was concerned Chloe was going to hit Erin’s handsome shadow.

“You did not just insult Ollie,” Chloe growled again, narrowing her eyes.

“No. Those jackwads who took a tire iron to her windows insulted her. They insulted her when they slashed her tires.” Mitch paused and leaned closer, bracing his hands on the table. “And you insulted her when you named her Ollie instead of Olivia or Olive or Ophelia or some other girl name.”

Regan grinned as the tension started to dissipate and cut her eyes to everyone around the table. Mitchell’s approach was unorthodox, but it was working. Gavin shook his head and shot her a wink, clearly thinking the same thing.

“You don’t know anything about me.” The color had returned to Chloe’s cheeks as she leaned forward to go nose to nose with Mitch.

Mitchell grinned, but didn’t move back. “You’re right. I don’t know anything about you. But those guys who tore up your car did. And now it’s up to me to keep you safe until they’re caught.”

“You’re not responsible for me,” she told him. “You keep track of Erin and those people who can’t keep track of themselves. No offense,” she quickly said to Erin.

“None taken,” the blonde assured her, leaning back against the back of the booth. Erin looked more amused than offended by the entire exchange.

“We’ve got you covered while you’re here,” Gavin assured Erin before looking square at Chloe. “We’ve got you covered too. Whether you like it or not.”