Valley of Shadows. Shirlee McCoy

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      “Including me.” Or Miranda, but Hawke didn’t add the thought.

      There was another moment of hesitation. “You know you need to turn yourself in.”

      “Do I?”

      “What other option do you have?”

      “I can get back home, find out who set me up and get the evidence I need to prove it.”

      “I take it you have an idea how this should be done?”

      “You’ve got connections on both sides of the law. If I can make it down to your area, can you get me out of the country?”

      “I’ve got some people that owe me favors. I’ll call them in. See what I can do.”

      Hawke had hoped Noah would agree, but hadn’t been certain. Relief loosened his grip on the phone, eased some of the pounding pain in his head. “How long will it take?”

      “Give me an hour.”

      “Thanks.”

      “We’re friends. I trust you. Just don’t let your need for revenge keep you from doing what’s right.”

      “You’re telling me not to kill the person who set me up.” A few years ago, he might have. Hawke had changed since then. Stone was part of the reason for that, though Hawke doubted he knew it.

      “Taking the law into your hands won’t solve anything, and it’ll only make more trouble for you.”

      “This isn’t just about me anymore, Stone.” He glanced at Miranda, saw that she was watching with wide, dark eyes. “You’ve been pulled into it. So has the woman who’s with me. I won’t risk either of you for revenge. I give you my word on that.”

      “One hour, then.” Noah disconnected and Hawke tossed the phone into Miranda’s lap.

      Now that he had the means to get her out of harms way, he’d make sure she had reason to cooperate. Flying halfway around the world with someone determined to escape was low on Hawke’s lists of ways to keep from being noticed.

      She stared down at the phone, but didn’t reach for it, her hands fisted at her side, her jaw set.

      “Is there someone you want to call? Someone who might be worried?

      “Yes.”

      “Then call.” And if news was spreading as fast as Noah claimed, Miranda would hear just how much trouble she was in from someone she trusted.

      Call? Miranda was sure Hawke would pull the phone from her hands as she lifted it, but he looked relaxed. Much more relaxed than he’d been before his phone call. He’d mentioned leaving the country. Maybe he planned to drop her off and let her return home. Miranda refused to contemplate anything else. She dialed, pressing the phone to her ear, her heart thrumming a frantic beat. Please, Lauren, pick up. For once be there for me.

      “Hello?” Lauren’s voice filled the line, high-pitched and breathless.

      “Lauren, it’s me. I—”

      “Miranda! Thank goodness! Where are you?”

      Miranda glanced at a road sign, almost gave her sister the exit number, but hesitated. There was an edge of hysteria in Lauren’s voice, a breathless quality to it that didn’t fit. It wasn’t like her to be overly concerned with anyone but herself. That she was so upset could only mean bad news. “What’s wrong, Lauren?”

      “Wrong? You attack a police officer and you’re asking me what’s wrong?”

      Miranda went cold at her words, her back rigid with mounting tension. “How did you hear about that?”

      “How do you think I heard about it? The police are here. They don’t take kindly to having one of their own knocked unconscious.”

      “I didn’t have a choice. Liam—”

      “Don’t say anything else, sis.” Her brother Max cut in, his voice such a welcome relief Miranda’s eyes burned with threatening tears.

      “Max. I thought your plane wasn’t coming in until the morning.”

      “I took an earlier flight. It’s a good thing I did. You’re in a lot of trouble, kid.”

      “I didn’t do anything wrong, Max. This is all some kind of misunderstanding. I—”

      “We’ll talk when you get home. The line is being monitored by the police. I don’t want you to say anything else until we’re face to face.”

      “I don’t have anything to hide.” But her palms were sweaty, her breath hitching with fear.

      “You need to come home, Randa. Max and I are here for you. We’ll support you. No matter what. Max has found you a great lawyer. The best. I’ve already paid a retainer fee. It’s the least I could do.” Lauren’s words caught on a sob. “After all, this is my fault. The past few years…all your time spent caring for Justin. I should have known you needed more than that.”

      “Your fault? What are you talking about? I went for a walk and—”

      “Don’t say anything.” Max nearly shouted the words, his panic scaring Miranda more than all Lauren’s sobs could. Older than her by fifteen years, Max had been more father than brother to Miranda, a calm steadying influence in a chaotic, unstable home.

      “Tell me what’s happening. Tell me what you think I did.” Miranda’s panic rose with Max’s.

      “I don’t think you did anything. It’s the police who are accusing you.” Max bit out the words, his anger preferable to panic. “According to them, you’ve been dating a felon. The two of you plotted to steal fifty-thousand dollars from a DEA agent. The agent was found dead an hour ago.”

      Miranda’s gaze leaped to Hawke. He’d said nothing about a murdered DEA agent. But then, he hadn’t said much about anything.

      “Miranda? Are you still there?” Max’s words pulled her from her thoughts and she took a deep breath, trying to force a calm to her voice that she didn’t feel.

      “I’m here. I haven’t been dating anyone, haven’t stolen anything. I haven’t done anything wrong. I’ve got plenty of friends who will verify that. All my time has been spent with Justin. You know that.”

      “It isn’t about what I know or what I believe or even what you tell me is going on. It’s about proof. And right now the police have witnesses willing to testify that they saw you and their suspect together on more than one occasion.”

      “What witnesses? What are you talking about?”

      “Coworkers and friends. Add to that Sergeant Jefferson’s testimony—”

      Miranda stiffened, her muscles so taut she thought they might shatter. “About what?”

      “About seeing you and the СКАЧАТЬ