“Then come out in thirty-nine and make contact with me.”
A flicker of something moved in his eyes.It was not amusement.Not quite gratitude either.But something close to it.
“I’ll call you once I have her,” he said.
“You’ll keep your phone on.”
“Yes.”
“You’ll answer me.”
“Yes.”
“And if Morimer asks for anything else, anything at all that might be used against you in the future, you don’t agree.You walk out.Remember the house may be bugged.”
Connor did not answer quickly enough.
Selena stepped nearer.“Promise me.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“That isn’t a promise.”
“All that matters is getting Marlene safely into custody without Morimer playing games so he has something over me and the department.”
For one moment, the argument seemed ready to start again.Then the radio at Selena’s belt crackled, Arnold reporting another dead end near the creek trail.
The search was already behind the truth.
Marlene was with Morimer, and no one else knew it.
Selena moved away from the SUV door.
Connor opened it, then paused.“I know you hate this.”
“I hate most things about this.”
“I’ll get her out safely.”
“You’d better.”
“Don’t tell anyone until I contact you.I don’t want my deputies coming in guns blazing, thinking I’m in trouble when I’m not.”
Connor climbed in and started the engine.
Selena stood in the lot as his SUV backed out.At the exit, he stopped long enough to look at her once through the windshield.Then he turned onto the road and drove away from the sheriff’s department, heading toward the roads that led to Morimer’s private gates and whatever price waited behind them.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
The gate at Morimer’s estate opened before Connor reached the call box.
That bothered him more than if they had made him wait.
A black sedan sat just inside the entrance, angled beneath the trees.Two men stood in front of it, both familiar from his first visit.The bald one lifted a hand, palm out, and Connor brought the SUV to a stop with the driver’s window down.
“Afternoon, Sheriff.”
“Where is she?”