He aimed his thumb to the left and whispered, “They’re that way. I can’t make out what they’re doing.”
As his words ended, an explosion rocked the tunnel and threw her onto the ground. Her ears rang and she coughed up dirt.
The blast knocked Rob back, and he reached for her. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine, but they’re going to blast us out of here, aren’t they? They have explosives, and they’re just going to keep bombing away at us until we die or stagger out of here...and die.”
“Nobody’s gonna die—at least not us.” He wiped dirt from his face and adjusted the goggles. “They’re moving down the line. There’s going to be another explosion, so brace yourself. Eventually, they’ll stop in front of us—within my range.”
Libby crouched on the floor of the tunnel, covering her ears. Preparing for the upcoming explosion didn’t help much. This one rocked them even more than the first one. The next one would destroy the tunnel or them—or both.
When the dust settled, Rob got back into position. He murmured to himself, “C’mon, c’mon, you SOBs.”
Rob’s body tensed and Libby braced for the blast to end all blasts.
Instead, Rob fired off several shots. He cranked his head around, the goggles making him look like some alien desert creature. “I got ’em.”
He scrambled from the tunnel, ordering her to stay behind. When he called her from outside, she wasted no time joining him.
Her jaw dropped as she picked her way over the rocks and debris outside the tunnel. Dust choked the air and filled her lungs. It looked like a war zone.
She averted her gaze from a man flung out on the ground, his silver-tipped black boots pointing toward the sky.
Rob growled, “He’s dead, but this one is still breathing. I’m almost glad he is.”
Libby came up behind Rob crouching beside the other man, blood pumping from a wound in his chest and bubbling from his lips, his fingers inches from a crude explosive device.
Rob shone his flashlight in the man’s face and still Libby didn’t recognize him. She’d never seen either of these men before that she could remember.
Rob leaned over the man, his lips close to his ear, and in a harsh whisper said, “We know El Gringo Viejo is in Rocky Point. Libby’s going to be able to ID him, and it’ll be all over. You should give thanks you’re dying because you and your compadre there are the reason we’re gonna get him. He’s finished.”
The man hacked, and his lips stretched into a gruesome smile through the blood. “El Gringo Viejo is gone. You’ll never catch him.”
Epilogue
Libby smoothed out the piece of paper that contained her drawing of El Gringo Viejo, a man she had known in Rocky Point as Ted Jessup.
The authorities didn’t need her drawing now. She’d been able to tell them all about the man in the cliffside compound and his murder of Charlie Harper, or C. J. Hart, that she’d witnessed. She’d been able to direct them to the compound, and they’d conducted their raid.
But the man Rob had killed in the desert was right. El Gringo Viejo was long gone.
“You’d better watch that piece of paper, Libby, or Denali is going to snatch it.” April grabbed the dog’s collar and pulled him away. “Clay, teach your dog some manners.”
Clay Archer whistled to Denali. “I get it. When he’s doing something wrong, he’s my dog, and when he’s being all heroic, he’s yours.”
“Sounds about right.” April winked at Libby.
“I’m sorry about your father, April.” Libby took a sip of wine. “I think at the end, he really was trying to make amends for working with EGV all these years. He was ready to turn him in, give him up to Troy.”
“Too little, too late.” April dashed a tear from her cheek. “That’s my dad.”
“Rob, are you making arrangements for Libby? As long as EGV is on the loose, she’s not safe.” Clay walked up behind Libby and squeezed her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Libby. I mean, it helps that you’re not the only one who knows his identity now. You can’t tell us anything about him that we don’t already know, but the man might want to take his revenge.”
Rob rubbed a circle on Libby’s back. “Now that I’ve passed probation and been on the job for over a year, I’m going to take a little vacation...with Libby. I’ll keep her safe, and we’ll figure it out from there.”
“Hawaii’s not a bad place to figure things out.” April swirled her wine in her glass. “Do you remember everything now, Libby?”
“Almost everything.” She patted Rob’s thigh. “The important stuff. My therapist, Jennifer, said the rest will come gradually. I remember my mother. I remember learning about her death. I recall going to EGV’s compound to show him some art and your father meeting me. Ted, EGV, meant to kill both of us, and your father saved me.”
“I’m glad.” April gave her a watery smile. Then she sniffled. “And I meant it. You can keep all those clothes.”
“I didn’t really invite you over here to return the clothes.” Libby entwined her fingers with Rob’s. “I just wanted to make sure you knew what your father had done for me.”
Rob kissed the side of her head, and she snuggled in closer to him.
“I can take a hint.” Clay jumped up and patted his leg. “Come, Denali.”
April tossed back the rest of her wine. “Don’t go anywhere without telling us first. You promise?”
Libby drew a cross over her heart. “I promise.”
She and Rob stood on his porch and waved while Clay got Denali in the back seat of his truck and took off.
Rob draped an arm over her shoulders as they turned into the house. “Hawaii might be far enough away.”
“Then what?” She stuffed a hand in his back pocket. “I stay in paradise while you go back to Paradiso by yourself? You can’t expect me to stay away from you, Rob. Not when I’ve truly, truly found you.”
He pulled her close, possessing
