“I—I’m not sure, Clay.” Meg’s voice dropped to a whisper. “You know that note April got?”
“Yeah.” Clay forced the word past his dry throat.
“I opened it.”
“You stole it from April?” Great minds must’ve been thinking alike. “I hope you didn’t have to tackle her.”
“What? No. I opened it before I gave it to her, and then I resealed it. I’m sorry if that makes me nosy, but...it’s April and she found two heads on two different days.”
“So?” Clay licked his lips. “I’m guessing it wasn’t from Carly. What did it say?”
“The note was weird, like in one of those kidnapping movies with the letters cut out of magazines.”
The blood pulsed in his veins. “What did it say, Meg?”
“It said, ‘Nothing has changed. Stay away from him.’”
AS THE LIGHT of day edged into the room through the gaps in the blinds, April felt beneath her pillow for the hundredth time since she’d stashed the envelope there. Sleep had eluded her all night.
Her fingers curled around a corner of the envelope and she dragged it out. She stared at the white oblong in the semidarkness.
Who was watching her? Who was torturing her? Had this malevolent presence been waiting for her to show up in Paradiso again? And why?
She knew nothing. She had no information to give Clay about anything. She hadn’t even known Jimmy when she and Clay had been engaged. It couldn’t be him or his associates.
Her father. Was Adam right? Was their father some big-time drug dealer who didn’t want his daughter married to a Border Patrol agent?
She buried her face in the pillow. It didn’t make any sense. But she knew it was no hoax.
The first time she’d received the warning, the week before her wedding, her tormenter had tampered with the brakes on Clay’s truck to show her he could get to Clay when and where he wanted. Then he’d kidnapped Denali.
Clay had no idea these events were connected or had any greater meaning than a patch of bad luck—but she knew. The person threatening her made sure of that.
She could’ve told Clay. He would’ve assured her that he could protect himself and her, just like he always had. But what if he couldn’t? What if some day out on the lonely border, working on his own, Clay met with violence? It would look so natural—a Border Patrol agent running into a bad guy and winding up dead. It did happen.
But she would know. She’d know that she brought that danger to Clay, and she wouldn’t have been able to live with herself. So much better to hurt him once, hard and fast, and leave him to find someone else, someone less complicated, someone less...cursed.
She rubbed her stinging nose. She’d been so close to staying here with Clay and making a life with him. She’d been trying to create that with Jimmy when Adam had given her a Clay substitute in Jimmy, but she’d known all along on some level that it was all a big lie. Nobody could ever replace Clay in her heart.
But this time, she planned to fight for him, fight for the life they deserved together, and if the puzzle started with her father, then she needed to go to the source.
By the time she dragged herself into the kitchen, the two new lovebirds were chirping at each other over breakfast.
Meg looked up from her omelet. “Kyle made me breakfast. Do you want some?”
Kyle held up his fork and circled it in the air. “I can whip up another omelet for you, April.”
“Coffee’s fine for me.” She reached for a mug on the shelf and poured some coffee for herself. “How’d the security system work the past few days?”
“Perfect.” Meg fluttered her lashes at Kyle. “I felt so safe.”
“I don’t think you’ll be finding any more heads on your porch.” Kyle entwined his fingers with Meg’s.
“I certainly hope not.” April smiled into her coffee cup as she took a sip. “Did Denali behave himself?”
“He’s high energy. I took him to doggy daycare on Friday, so he could frolic while I was at work. I forgot to tell Clay, but I know he’s used that place before.” Meg traced a finger around the rim of her orange juice glass. “Have you heard from Clay this morning?”
“Why would I? After two days together, I’m sure he needs a break from me.”
“Sure he does.” Meg rolled her eyes. “What happened in New Mexico? Did you close up your apartment? See Adam?”
“Might be keeping my place there, and I did see Adam.”
“Is he still a troublemaker?”
“He still has issues. Why wouldn’t he?” April’s cheeks warmed in Adam’s defense.
“C’mon, April.” Meg’s gaze shifted to Kyle, busily scanning through his phone. “Adam was trouble before...it happened.”
“I know that, but finding Mom didn’t help matters.” April tossed her coffee into the sink.
“Of course not. That’s just unimaginable, but you survived it.”
Did she? Did you ever survive a trauma like theirs? “Everyone deals differently.”
Kyle held up his phone. “They found her.”
“Who?” Meg reached across the table and dabbed a string of cheese from Kyle’s chin.
April gripped the edge of the sink. “The second headless body?”
Kyle nodded. “In the pecan groves down from Clay’s house.”
April clenched her teeth. She’d been walking Denali out there the other day. Had the body been there then? Had Denali sensed it? Smelled it?
She eked out a breath between her teeth. “Hopefully, they can identify her and put both of these women to rest.”
“They were mules, working for a cartel.” Meg screwed up one side of her mouth. “I wouldn’t waste too much pity on them.”
Folding her arms and grabbing her upper arms, April said, “They were exploited, probably told their mission didn’t hold any risks beyond getting arrested by Border Patrol.”
“Some women are easily duped.” Meg collected the dishes on the table. “Kyle and I are going to Tucson today. Do you have any plans?”
“Just some errands. Have fun.” April left the newly minted couple goggling at each other
