Colters' Gift (Colters' Legacy #5)(47)

“Max wouldn’t be hard to track down,” Dillon pointed out. “If someone does any digging, they’ll discover Max and they’ll come here looking for her.”

Seth shook his head. “No, that’s not true. Max is a cagey bastard. I did some checking up on him when all that shit was going down between him and Callie. All I was able to discover about him was his connection to the business he owned. Apparently he’s always been big on privacy, because the only link was to the corporation, and the headquarters lists an address in New York City. I highly doubt that changed after he hooked up with Callie. He’s very protective of her, and he’s a wealthy son of a bitch. He wouldn’t want any risk to her whatsoever and she’s a free spirit, so putting her under lock and key wouldn’t exactly work.”

“Okay, well, that’s a good thing,” Liam said. “No one but Max and your family knows that she’s here or that she came from New York. I assume the locals only know she’s Max’s sister and not much else.”

Seth nodded. “Exactly. I don’t think you should take her anywhere near New York.”

Noah frowned. “Hell no. If the D.A.’s interested in talking to her, he’ll have to meet us someplace that isn’t connected to here or New York.”

“I’m sure Max would fly you out on his jet,” Seth said. “No paper trail that way. No IDs. No way to trace you back here. Have Lauren either dye her hair or wear a wig. Alter her appearance as much as possible for the meeting.”

“I like the way you think,” Liam said.

“And I don’t think you should go alone,” Seth added quietly.

Noah lifted his brow again. “Meaning what?”

“I think some of us should go with you as backup.”

Liam sent Noah a worried glance. The last thing they wanted was to involve the Colters. But he also recognized that he and Noah were only two people, and while they’d risk their lives to protect Lauren, if they went down, who would be left to protect her?

“I don’t know . . .” Noah hedged.

“Seth and I can go,” Dillon said firmly. “Michael can stay with Lily. We can talk to the dads. Max is going to have to know. We really need to let everyone in on what’s going on so we can plan Lauren’s meeting with the D.A. but also make sure that mom, Callie and Lily aren’t left unprotected here.”

“This is going to devastate Lauren even more,” Liam said. “She looks at you and your parents as her family. She loves all of you and she feels like she’s let you down and that she’s not worthy of the unconditional support you’ve offered her. She’s going to hate that it’s all going to come out this way.”

“Mom will nip that in the bud,” Michael said confidently. “The important thing is that we get the family together and decide what’s best for Lauren.”

Seth nodded his agreement. “Lauren is family. There’s no way in hell we’re just going to stand by on this. No offense to you and Noah. I’m sure you’re damn good at your job, and it’s obvious you care a lot about her.”

“No offense taken. We could use the help,” Noah said bluntly. “We need people we can trust, and I feel like we can trust you and your family absolutely.”

Seth checked his watch. “It’s late and I hate to drag everybody out tonight for a family meeting. But I think we should do it first thing in the morning so we can get rolling on what needs to be done. You take Lauren back home and try to get her to rest. Michael, can you call Doc Burton and ask him to call in something for Lauren to take to help her sleep tonight?”

Noah shook his head. “Don’t worry about Lauren. Liam and I will handle things with her. Just tell us when and where to meet you tomorrow. I’ll make sure she calls into work. There are things we need to get worked out between us before we bring in the rest of her family.”

Seth nodded his understanding. “We’ll meet at Mom and the dads’ place first thing in the morning at eight. I’ll go into work early and see what I can find out on those women on the printout. I’ll call Dad and let him know we’re coming. And then I’ll call Max.”

Noah rose from the chair he was seated in and extended his hand in Seth’s direction. “Appreciate the help. I know Lauren will too once she’s gotten over her fear and upset.”

Seth took his hand, shaking it. “You just watch out for our girl. She’s one of us even if her last name isn’t Colter.”

“What about Lily?” Michael said in a low voice. “For that matter, what about Mom and Callie? This is going to upset them.”

“Lauren is going to need their support,” Dillon said. “Lily would be pissed if we tried to keep this from her. Mom would kick all our asses. We’ve been through tough times before. Our women can handle it. We can’t protect them from everything. Besides, they need to know what we’re dealing with so they aren’t blindsided. They need to know to be on the lookout and to be careful until things are resolved.”

“I agree,” Seth said. “We can’t not tell them. They need to stick together and make sure they don’t go anywhere alone.”

“Okay then. We’ll take Lauren home and we’ll meet you at your parents’ place tomorrow at eight,” Noah said.