Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) by Karen Rose

            This time it was shame that heated Liza’s cheeks. Not only had she denied Dana the opportunity to meet Fritz, she’d denied Fritz’s family the opportunity to know hers. “They’d love that.” Call waiting beeped in her ear. “I need to go. That’s the security guard downstairs.”

            “Put me on hold. I need to know everything is okay. Especially because I know you’re mixed up in this thing that’s got Tom so worried.”

            “Yes, ma’am.” Liza hit the hold button and answered the guard. “Yes? Can I help you?”

            “Miss Barkley, there’s a visitor for you here in the lobby. Says his name is Tom Hunter. He’s got ID that says he’s FBI.” The guard lowered his voice to a whisper. “But he looks like a guy who used to play basketball.”

            Liza surged to her feet, the blood draining from her head making her dizzy. “Please send him up. Thank you.” She hung up on the guard and said to Dana, “It’s fine. It’s Tom. I thought he’d call, but he’s on his way up.”

            “Call me later. I want the details. Love you, Liza.”

            “Love you, too.” Ending the call, Liza smoothed her clothing and dashed to the mirror to check her face. She’d cried when she’d first starting talking to Dana, but her eyes didn’t look too bad. The knock at her door wasn’t nearly as loud as the pounding in her ears.

            Damn. He looked good even through the weird distortion of the peephole in her door.

            Bracing herself, she opened the door. He stood there filling the space with his big body as he always did, but his head was lowered, his shoulders hunched. When he looked up, all she could see was utter exhaustion.

            “Come on in. You look like shit,” she said, stepping out of the way.

            He laughed, a fraction of his weariness seeming to fade. “Thank you.”

            “Food?”

            He winced. “Hell, no. Irina made me take a cooler full of food.”

            “Me too.” It felt awkward between them, and she hated that. “Sit with me?”

            He nodded gratefully, each of them taking the opposite end of the sofa in the living room. “This is a really nice place.”

            “It really is.” She drew a breath. “Have you slept?”

            He met her gaze. Held it. “Honestly? Not since you left.”

            She gaped for a moment. “Tom, no. You can’t do that. You’re going to get yourself killed.”

            “Croft said the same thing.”

            “Then listen to her.” She started to rise. “I’ll get the spare room ready for you.”

            He reached over and gently gripped her arm. “No. Please. I need to talk to you.”

            Slowly she sank back down to the sofa. That didn’t sound positive, she thought, belatedly realizing that she’d allowed Dana’s parting words to give her hope. Serves me right. “Okay.”

            He released her arm. “DJ Belmont has killed five people that we know of—a nurse, an elderly woman, a young woman whose car he stole, and two cops.”

            The tiny sliver of hope that remained circled the drain. This was only a continuation of the argument they’d had in Rafe’s garage. “I know.”

            “That doesn’t count the five federal agents he killed a month ago. And the owner of the truck he was driving last night, who he killed the same day as the agents. So all together, he’s murdered eleven people in cold blood.”

            Liza’s jaw tightened as she ground her teeth together. “I know. I can count, Tom.”

            “That’s not what I meant. I meant that he’s dangerous. You could come into contact with him at Sunnyside. If you are able to talk to Pastor and DJ finds out, or he finds you planting bugs . . . he’ll kill you without a second thought.”

            He cares. It was all that kept her from showing him the door. “I knew that when I applied.”

            “I can’t stop you from going through with this,” he said, sounding as if he desperately wished to do exactly that.