Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense March 2021--Box Set 2 of 2 Dana Mentink (e books free to read TXT) 📖

of power Maya would fear. Then there was the sheriff. He definitely had power, and he’d also been around when Tommy was killed. But he didn’t seem like the type hungry for more money, more power.

His eyes widened. There was one person that fit all of the criteria and had the means and opportunity. How could he have missed it until now?

As he rounded the bend, a black SUV sat parked on the shoulder against a steep hill. The narrow highway was the only main road on the north side of the river, and it was illegal to park on the bank unless it was an emergen—

The SUV’s hazard lights began flashing. He felt his forehead tighten as he pulled over. He really didn’t have time to help someone out. He needed to follow up on the lead and, if he was right, Nora and Maya would be safe by nightfall.

Henry left the engine running, jumped out of his truck and rushed to the vehicle. He’d see if it was an easy fix, like a flat tire, and be on his way in under ten minutes. If not, he could at least alert Dispatch with the truck radio to send someone from the sheriff’s department.

Lizzie Hartman stepped out of the SUV with a wave as he approached. “I’m so glad to see you. I wasn’t sure what to do.”

His steps slowed. For him, the hardest part of being in law enforcement was making the conscious effort to remain impartial. In trying to avoid giving special treatment to those he knew, he’d lacked compassion in the earlier years. These days, he made an effort to exercise an open mind and compassion with every citizen he needed to stop, and there weren’t many people he disliked. Lizzie had been someone he counted as a friend. Until today. She’d abandoned Nora, having been poached by Frank’s company.

“You’re not happy to see me, though, are you?” Lizzie made an apologetic face. “It’s not as if river guides make a lot of money, Henry. You don’t know how many times I’ve turned down the offer to work at Frank’s until yesterday.”

He blew out a breath. “It’s none of my business, Lizzie.” Besides, neither rafting company would be able to start the spring season on time when the federal investigation started. He wasn’t about to divulge that tidbit. “What seems to be the problem?”

“I have no idea. The engine was idling rough all day, acting weird, and then just stopped.”

He gestured to the hood. “I can see if your battery just needs a jump or if someone can run out a sparkplug to you, but beyond that, I’m no mechanic.”

She leaned back into her vehicle and he heard the pop before the hood lifted an inch.

“I’ll hope for something easy,” she said.

He ducked under the hood and reached to check the sparkplugs when the ominous click of a bullet going into a chamber set the hairs on the back of his neck on edge. He stared at the engine for a second, as if he hadn’t heard. This wasn’t one of the SUV models that kept the tire iron under the hood, but he searched for something to defend himself.

“Come on. Let’s not make it harder than it needs to be. Hands up, McKnight.”

He slowly straightened. “I really shouldn’t have stopped for you.”

She tilted her head, studying him. “It’s too bad you got in the way. I always thought you and Nora made a cute couple.”

His head suddenly exploded with pain that pounded into his temples and rushed down his spine. He dropped to his knees.

“You didn’t have to hit him that hard,” Lizzie said. “Tie his wrists and ankles, and get him in back before someone sees. I’ll take his truck and park it in his driveway to buy us time.”

Henry struggled to clear his mind and get his eyes to refocus, but the man had already tied and lifted him like a sack of potatoes. His shoulder hit the backseat before the man shoved the rest of his body in sideways. His head and ears still roared with throbbing pressure. But he could think straight enough to realize he’d been wrong. He’d never suspected Lizzie as the mastermind. Except, she didn’t have the type of power Maya feared.

“Don’t try to be a hero, Henry,” Lizzie said as the SUV’s engine came to life. He fought to sit up. A tall man with a baseball cap pulled down low sat in the driver’s seat and Lizzie stood at the open back door closest to the hill. “If you want Nora to stay alive, you’ll cooperate.”

Henry gritted his teeth and blinked until his vision could focus on her face. Why would she assume he’d believe anything she said? “What have you done with her?”

“I haven’t done anything, which is why you need to take me seriously. If you don’t cooperate, she’s automatically dead.” Lizzie’s voice shook ever so slightly.

“I’ll cooperate,” he finally said. He clamped his lips shut before he could speak the rest of his thought. Until I see the moment when I won’t.

“Goodbye, Henry. Take him away, Lou.” She slammed the door and the SUV took off on the highway, picking up speed, leaving Lizzie and his truck behind. He hadn’t even had a chance to call in other law enforcement and still was without a weapon, yet he knew with every fiber of his bones that there was no way the drug ring would let him live after this. As soon as he saw his opening, he would take it. He’d die fighting to give Nora a chance at survival.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Nora zipped up her suitcase, assuming there wouldn’t be any whitewater rafting where she’d be staying. It was time to stop procrastinating. She needed to call her aunt. She moved to grab her cell phone. Except the counter where she’d always put it was empty.

She rifled through the top drawer and, just underneath the photo of her and Henry, she found the