Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) by Karen Rose

            “Nothing,” Coleen rasped. “Just filling in the blanks. You’re hurting me, DJ.”

            He used his free hand to pat her down, chuckling when he found the tablet concealed down the back of her shirt. It was Sunnyside’s tablet and she’d figured out how to make it record audio. He hit the end button and dropped the tablet, crushing it with his boot.

            Her eyes widening, she clawed at his arm as she fought to breathe.

            “You were getting me to confess so that you could play it for Pastor.” He smiled down at her, energized by her fear. “You thought you were smarter than me? You’re just a woman.”

            He grabbed the chain around her throat and twisted hard, cutting off her air supply as he dragged her to the bed. He shoved her down and grabbed a pillow. Leaning close, he whispered, “This is how Waylon died. Just so you know.”

            He pressed the pillow to her face, putting all of his weight on it. She struggled. And then she was quiet. He remained another few minutes. Just to be sure.

            Then he took her pulse, just to be very sure. She was dead. He took off her shoes and set them aside, then tucked her into bed, like she’d taken a nap.

            He needed to get Pastor out of this place and back to Eden. Or at least partway to Eden. As far as it took to get him to cough up the codes. He’d have to steal a car to get out of the lot. And then he’d return to the Explorer he’d set aside. That would get him back up into the mountains.

            Putting on the surgical mask, he slipped from the suite carrying his duffel. He met Nurse Innes on his way to the employee entrance.

            “I’m glad you’re leaving. I didn’t want to have you escorted out.”

            Bitch. “My mother has everything covered. I’ll call for an Uber,” he lied, “but I want to stop and say goodbye to the old man on my way out.”

            “I’ll walk with you.”

            He gritted his teeth. “You really want me out of here, don’t you?”

            Her smile was thin. “You’ve created quite a mess for yourself, Mr. Belmont. You are a security risk. If the authorities find you here, you’ll put this facility in a very bad spot.” They stopped at a door marked SOLARIUM. “Your father is inside. There, chatting with the nursing assistant.”

            DJ peered through the window. “That’s not the assistant he was assigned.” The nurse sitting nearby was the same, but not the assistant.

            “She works in pediatrics. He met her this morning when she brought her patient to the solarium, and he demanded that she be assigned to him. We do our best to meet his needs.”

            There was something about the nursing assistant that bothered him. She was familiar. And then she turned her head and he saw her hot pink cat-eye glasses with sparkling rhinestones.

            He’d seen those glasses before—in the scope of his rifle on that rooftop. She’d been with Mercy in the eye doctor’s office. She’d blocked his shot.

            She’d fucked everything up. And then the real truth descended.

            She was with the FBI.

            Fucking hell. He remembered Nurse Gaynor, the little bugs she’d been planting. Had she been hired by Kowalski or had she been with the FBI, too?

            Either way, the Feds knew that he was here. They were probably waiting for him outside. Why hadn’t they stormed the place? What were they waiting for?

            Me. They’re waiting for me. He’d snuck in via the ambulance the night before, so they didn’t know. But they’d know now, because this woman was likely wired like Nurse Gaynor had been.

            He needed to get out of here. But in a way they wouldn’t suspect.

            The ambulance they’d used last night would be perfect. Nobody would stop him from leaving, and any Fed waiting outside would assume he was legit.

            All of this thinking took about ten seconds, and when he glanced back at Innes, she looked wryly amused.

            “Miss Barkley is quite pretty,” she said. “I think your father was charmed.”

            “How long has she been here?” he asked, keeping his tone casual.