Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) by Karen Rose

            “Hayley,” Tom murmured. “Call her Magdalena.” To the man he said, “Please lower your weapon. We’re a rescue party.”

            “We don’t need to be rescued,” the man bit out. “Go away or I will shoot your heads off. You’re trespassing.”

            Technically, the man was trespassing, but Liza wasn’t going to escalate things by pointing that out. She took a step closer, her hands up in surrender. “My name is Liza. I was sent by your healer, Sister Coleen. I work at the hospital where Pastor has been recuperating. She was busy caring for Pastor, but asked me to come and help. She’s worried about the young woman who’s about to give birth. Magdalena.”

            The man hesitated. “Sister Coleen sent you?”

            “She did. She was afraid the baby would be born breech and that she wouldn’t be able to get back in time for the birth.”

            “Who are they?”

            “Tara is my assistant,” Liza said, pointing to Molina. They’d agreed that this would be a less precarious mission if Tom and Molina didn’t scare them by identifying as FBI right away. “And Tom is here with food and water. Sister Coleen also said you were low on supplies.”

            The man looked torn. “Can you prove what you say?”

            Liza smiled at him. “Sister Coleen thought you might say that. Can I show you a photo of us together?” She took Tom’s phone from her pocket and the man eyed it suspiciously. “Here we are, just this morning.”

            She showed him the photo that she’d taken at Brooklyn’s request—bless her—and had accessed from her e-mail using Tom’s phone. Molina had assured her that Brooklyn was well after the raid, which had soothed her mind enough to focus on this next task.

            The man frowned at the photo. “Pastor looks awful.”

            “He was hurt badly. But his recovery was going well when I left today.” Which was true. Pastor’s recovery hadn’t tanked until DJ had killed him.

            “Who’s the bald kid?” he asked gruffly.

            “That’s my patient. She’s got a kind of cancer.” Another scream echoed through the caves. “May I please come in? Magdalena sounds like she needs assistance.”

            The man made his reluctance clear, but he lowered the shotgun and stepped back so that they could enter. “You have to leave after.”

            “Of course.” Liza couldn’t help but stare as they were led through the compound. “These caves are beautiful.”

            “They’re cold and wet,” the man grumbled. “Some of our people are sick.”

            “I’d be happy to help them as well,” Liza told him. “I didn’t get your name, sir.”

            “Brother Joshua.”

            Liza recognized his name. Joshua was Amos’s guess for who would take Ephraim’s place.

            Joshua continued to look uncomfortable. The people they passed met them with shock and downright animosity. But they also watched Tom with interest, whispering that he carried two big bags filled with food.

            Liza just smiled and waved, making sure the first-aid kit she’d taken from the helicopter was prominently displayed. The red cross was a symbol most people recognized. Even those who’d been hiding for thirty years.

            They followed Joshua through a maze of rooms, many partitioned off with curtains. Some were legit curtains and others were clotheslines with drying laundry.

            The young woman screamed again and this time it was closer. Joshua pushed the curtain aside and three shocked pairs of eyes met theirs.

            Hayley—Liza refused to call her Magdalena in her own mind—lay on a pallet on the floor, sobbing. Two women kneeled next to her. One was older and had a harsh face. The other was much younger and exuded an air of gentleness.

            The older woman rose, shock quickly morphing to outrage. “What is the meaning of this?”

            Liza met Hayley’s wide eyes and gave her a small wink.

            “They were sent by Sister Coleen,” Joshua said. “Two healers, and the man carries food and water. You may return to your own quarters, Tamar.”