Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) by Karen Rose

            “Of course I do. Please.”

            “9-3-5-5-6-9. Spells ‘yellow.’ That’s also the password for the app.”

            Croft noted it and gave Tom a thumbs-up.

            “Got it,” he said. “Which app are you using? I’m not at the field office right now, so I don’t have immediate access to your phone.”

            “FindMyCheatingSpouse dot com. User name is Angie W.”

            “Thank you.”

            “You’re welcome. We’re square now. You gave me a heads-up on Belmont. My kids slept in my bed that night. I kept the dog in my room, too, along with a small arsenal. I didn’t sleep at all. I was terrified. If you put that sonofabitch I married away, I’ll owe you another.”

            Tom didn’t know what to say to that. “Have a safe day, ma’am.”

            She ended the call and Tom slid his phone back into his pocket.

            “Oh. My. God,” Croft breathed.

            Tom glanced over to see her staring at her phone with huge grin. “What?”

            She turned that grin his direction. “Guess where Kowalski is? You’ll never guess, so I’ll tell you. Here. On this road. About twenty minutes north.”

            Tom blinked. “What?”

            “He’s on this road. What’dya bet it’s a coincidence?”

            “No such thing,” Tom murmured. “So Kowalski is following DJ?”

            “He does have a score to settle.”

            “But how did Kowalski know . . . Never mind. We can ask when we find him.”

            “I’ll contact Raeburn and let him know. You drive faster. We need to get there before they kill each other.”

            “And Liza.” Tom floored the gas.




TWAIN, CALIFORNIA

            TUESDAY, MAY 30, 3:45 P.M.

            This is far enough, DJ thought once they were roughly an hour past the last big town on the way to Eden. This route was very remote and he hadn’t seen another vehicle in at least a half an hour. There was a steep rock face to his left and a deep ravine to his right. There was also a pull-off with enough foliage to camouflage the SUV.

            He rolled to a stop as close to the edge of the ravine as he dared. Edges sometimes crumbled, and he had no desire to go plummeting a hundred feet to his death.

            Liza Barkley looked around, too alert for his liking. She’d served in the military, which meant she had fighting skills. She’d been silent ever since Pastor had informed her that she’d be their healer, seeming to accept that she wasn’t going to be able to turn them against each other, but he wasn’t going to take his eyes off her. She was trouble.

            Of course, the damage was already done. Pastor had believed her about Mercy and the old man was unhappy.

            Which doesn’t matter. Because neither Pastor nor Liza would live to see Eden. When he was done with Pastor, the old man would be dead and DJ would be fifty million richer. And he wouldn’t have to share it with the community or Coleen or Pastor’s damn banker.

            “Why are we stopping?” Pastor asked sleepily, having just woken.

            So I can kill you. “So I can pee.” He needed to get the lay of the land before he shot them. Dragging that drunk to the creek the night before had reinjured his shoulder. He needed to find a place to shoot them where he could just push them into the ravine.

            And he really did need to pee, so there was that.

            He was zipping up his jeans when he heard an approaching engine. “Shit,” he muttered. He hunkered down, waiting for the vehicle to pass by.

            But it didn’t. It slowed down. And then it stopped.

            Fuck, fuck. It was Kowalski’s Jeep.

            Motherfucking Kowalski. He followed me. How?

            Both front doors opened and DJ recognized the passenger as another of Kowalski’s minions. He and Kowalski strolled up to the Explorer like they owned it. The minion yanked Barkley from the front seat and Kowalski pulled Pastor from the back, holding the old man against his chest, a forearm pressed to Pastor’s throat.