Secrets Never Die (Morgan Dane #5)(77)

Another voice carried into the cave’s entrance. Was that Rylee and his mom? Evan didn’t want to get his hopes up. The noise could have been the wind. When it gusted through the narrow canyon, sometimes it made a weird whistling sound.

But he had to know.

Afraid he’d fall and smack his head if he stood, he crawled on his knees and one hand toward the cave’s entrance.

The storm had picked up in intensity. Wind and water lashed sideways across the cave opening.

Another voice drifted down into the canyon. Someone was here. Someone could help him.

Evan dragged himself forward another foot, until he could see the falls on one side of the ravine and the observation deck on the other. Two people stood on the deck. They were facing away from him.

Hope unfurled inside him. His mom!

His ordeal was almost over. He was in the cave’s shadow. He needed to drag himself forward a few more feet so his mom could see him. Before he could move, another figure appeared on the deck. A man. And he was pointing a gun at his mom.

No!

It was probably the same man who had killed Paul. Fear gave Evan a burst of strength. He had to help his mom. He crawled to the ledge in front of the cave, only to be brought up short. He rocked back on his heels. The water had risen. The huge boulders he’d used to cross to the other side were barely visible. Evan watched, horror spreading like ice through his veins, as a small wave crashed over the ledge. Water lapped over his legs and formed a puddle in the cave’s entrance.

He couldn’t get out now. He was trapped.





Chapter Thirty-Two

“Come out where I can see you!” the armed man shouted at Lance.

Rain hammered on the nylon hood of Lance’s rain jacket. Wind pushed the rain sideways, pelting his face and blurring his vision. He took one more step forward, until he was under the protective overhang of thick branches. He wiped the rainwater from his face and met the gaze of a killer.

“Stop right there or I will shoot one of them in the face. Hands up!” About twelve feet away, the armed man had cornered Rylee and Tina against the observation deck railing. All three were soaking wet, their hair plastered to their heads. The man changed the angle of his body to keep Lance and Rylee and Tina in his line of sight.

In his peripheral vision, Lance saw Morgan, at his flank, lift both hands, palms out.

Lance raised his hands in front of his body and studied the man. He looked familiar. The photo of Joe Martin stuck to the whiteboard back at the office ran through Lance’s mind. The man’s identity clicked into place. Aaron Martin, Tina’s half brother, looked very much like his father had two and a half decades ago.

“Is he your rescuer, Tina? Did you call him to get you out of this mess?” Aaron snarled. “When he dies, remember it’s your fault. Everything is your fault, including your husband’s death. That’s what you get for being a greedy, backstabbing bitch.”

“What do you want?” Lance yelled into the wind.

“I want my fucking money.” Aaron shook the gun in Tina’s face. Tina didn’t look as terrified as she should have. Her gaze kept dropping to the water and the cave below. She was more afraid for Evan than for herself.

“What money?” Lance kept his gaze on Aaron, but his brain scrambled for options. He needed to get Aaron away from Rylee and Tina. How could he draw the man away?

“The money this bitch stole from our father.” Aaron gestured with the gun. His eyes went to his half sister.

The second Aaron shifted his eyes, Lance took a step forward. “What are you talking about?”

Ignoring Lance, Aaron turned back to Tina. “Where is the fucking money? And don’t you dare try to tell me you don’t have it. Joe still thinks those two cops he had in his back pocket took it. That’s why he ordered me to kill them. But that’s not what happened, is it? Those cops were dirty, but they didn’t take the hundred grand. I’ve tortured enough people to know that no one could have kept a secret after what I did to them. Everyone breaks. They didn’t know where the money went. The only other person who could have taken it was you.”

Tina’s eyes were flat, emotionless, but Lance could see her brain working.

“The money is in a safe place,” she said.

“Fuck. I should just kill you now.” Aaron clipped her on the side of the head with the butt of the gun. “I am not playing games.”

Tina fell back a half step. Her hand cupped behind her ear. “I didn’t know you wanted it.”

Under the coating of rainwater, his face reddened. “I sent you a letter. But you sent your husband and his cop buddy to meet me instead of coming yourself. Stupid bitch.”

Tina’s mouth dropped open. “I never got any letter.”

They stared at each other for a few seconds.

“Doesn’t matter,” Aaron said. “I want that money. I know you. Always hoarding cash here and there. Always squirreling it away. You still have the money. Where is it?”

“In the trunk of my car in the parking lot.” Tina glanced over the railing again. Next to her, Rylee cowered and clutched the wooden railing as if it were the only thing holding her upright. “I was going to use it to take my son away from here.”

Aaron thought about her statement, then seemed to decide it sounded plausible. He switched his aim from Tina to Rylee. “How do you propose we get it?”