LITMIR.BIZ

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thrust a sword into his heart. He hadn’t been good enough to protect his family. He hadn’t seen the true risks when he’d followed up on a small leak at the agency. That one thread had led to their deaths.

      Within minutes, the small dirt road appeared. He veered the SUV onto it, the narrow lanes barely visible. The farther they drove in, the bumpier it got. And the more the tension in his chest eased.

      Soon they’d started a climb into the Guadalupe Mountains. Leafless branches scraped the sides of the vehicle. Before too long an outcropping of rock blocked their way.

      Relieved that the county hadn’t seen fit to clear the debris off the glorified cow path, Garrett backed the vehicle into a small clearing. Branches closed over the windshield, barricading them in.

      With a sigh he shoved the gear into Park.

      “Waiting again?” Laurel asked. “I can’t imagine anyone would follow us here.”

      “The rest of the way to the cattle ranch is on foot. I didn’t want the place to be too easy to find.”

      “I’m known for my sense of direction and I studied the terrain, but even I’m not sure I could find my way here.”

      “That was the point of buying it,” Garrett said. He pressed a button on his watch and the face lit up. “Several hours until daylight. To dangerous to go by foot. One wrong move and we step into nothing and down a two-hundred-foot drop.” He reached behind his seat and pulled out a blanket and pillow, thrusting them at her. “Get some rest. When the sun comes up, we’ll hike the rest of the way.”

      “We’ll start the search for my father tomorrow?” she pressed, taking the pillow and holding it close to her chest. “I can help. I have my own contacts.”

      He nodded, but he had his doubts. Laurel might be a gifted analyst, but the moment they ran a few searches, whoever was behind this would start backtracking. Garrett might not know the names of the traitors, but he knew a few dollar amounts. It was in the billions. Too much money was involved for them not to be tracking. Loyalty shouldn’t be for sale, but it was.

      Which was why Ivy was dead.

      Damn it. Garrett should have come out of hiding sooner. He shouldn’t have listened to James. He’d wanted to believe his old mentor was close. He’d wanted to believe justice was in their grasp.

      “Try to sleep,” he said. “Light will come soon.”

      Laurel snuggled down under the blanket. Garrett shifted his seat back a bit. He’d slept in far worse places.

      His hand reached for his weapon. He had to find a way to end this thing. Not only for his family, but before Laurel and Molly paid the price their family had.

      The question was how.

      James had obviously slipped up.

      Garrett couldn’t afford to.

      A small sigh of sleep escaped from the woman beside him. He tilted his head toward Laurel.

      Her blue eyes blinked at him.

      “Are we going to get out of this alive?” she whispered. “Truth.”

      “I don’t know.”

      * * *

      THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS decorating every damn corner in Trouble, Texas, twinkled with irritating randomness. Strickland’s eye twitched. He leaned forward toward the steering wheel as far as he could and still maneuver the vehicle.

      He passed by the sheriff’s house for the fifteenth time.

      Still dark, still deserted.

      Headlights illuminated a house ahead.

      Strickland whipped the steering wheel and turned down a side street to avoid the deputy crawling all over town. He plowed through a mailbox. With a curse he righted the car.

      “Face it,” Krauss said, propping his leather work shoe against the dash. “We lost them.”

      “We can’t,” Strickland muttered. “She has to die. Her and the kid.”

      He made his way to Main and pressed the gas pedal. Trouble was a dead end. The SUV shot ahead. The deserted streets of the small town slipped past. They headed into the eerie pitch blackness of the desert without headlights to light the way.

      “We have to tell the boss that the McCallister woman is alive, Mike. There’s no way we can keep it a secret.”

      “We still have another day or two,” Strickland argued, a bead of sweat forming on his brow. Just the thought made his chest hurt. His pulse picked up speed. He knew what the boss would do. What had been done to others.

      “Too risky. If we come clean—”

      “We’re dead.”

      Strickland’s phone rang.

      He yanked the steering wheel and nearly drove off the road. Cursing, he straightened the vehicle.

      The glowing screen on the phone turned into a beacon in the night.

      Krauss shoved it at Strickland. “It’s the boss.”

      “How—?” He pressed the call button. “Strickland.” He forced his voice to sound confident, arrogant.

      “The car made the papers,” his boss said. “The coroner believes the family died. Well done.”

      “Thank you.” A shiver tickled the back of his neck, as if a black-widow spider had crawled up the base of his skull.

      “I have another job for you. It’s important.”

      A string of curses flooded through Strickland’s brain. Another job. He had to finish this one first. He couldn’t leave it undone. “Of course.”

      “Two years ago. Another car bomb. Another family. You were in charge.”

      Strickland remembered it well. No mistakes that time. He’d earned the boss’s trust on that job.

      “Our target is alive.”

      Strickland slammed the brakes. The car skidded to a halt. “What?”

      “You told me he was dead.”

      “He wasn’t breathing. No way he could have survived those burns.” Strickland pulled at his hair. God, a mistake. No. He jumped out of the SUV and paced the pavement. His hand shook as he gripped the phone. Mistakes weren’t tolerated. Ever.

      “Well, he did. I’m taking care of that loose end. I want you to finish the job. Make certain this time.”

      Strickland turned on his heel and glared at the twinkling lights of Trouble. He was so screwed. “I’ll find him. You can count on me.”

      “We’ll see.”

      His heart thudded against his chest; his stomach rolled. Bile burned his throat.

      “I’ll search for him. He can’t hide.”

      “He’s not living under his real name.”

      Krauss rounded the vehicle. Maybe they could split up. It was the only way either man would make it off this assignment alive.

      “How do I find him?”

      “Your target is Sheriff Garrett Galloway. Trouble, Texas. Kill him this time, Strickland. Be very sure he’s dead.”

      Strickland met Krauss’s wide-eyed gaze. He’d heard the words. His partner shook his head in disbelief.

      “Oh, and, Strickland? This is your last chance. One more less-than-adequate performance and you’ll pray your life will end well before I allow it.”

      * * *

      A SLIVER OF SUN peeked over the horizon, the light pricking Laurel awake. She blinked. The muted blue of the winter sky through the windshield brightened with each passing moment.

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