Page 52 of Under Fire in Big Sky

Donald Dempsey, George Maben, and Audrey Carter are dead because of your interference. I could kill you, too, if I wanted.

I’ll prove I have the power to do so. Consider it an act of good faith.

I want to talk to the Aegis agent alone. Tomorrow. 0700.

No FBI or police involvement, or there will be consequences.

Shepherd

There were coordinates on the back of the card, down to the seconds. “He wants to meet me. Tomorrow morning.”

“Nope.” Eli put on his Stetson and grabbed their bags. “We’re not going to worry about the food. It may have been tampered with. Let’s go.”

“Shepherd only wants to talk.”

“No, he doesn’t.” Eli opened the door and started out into the walkway.

“He claims Maben and Audrey are dead.”

Stopping, Eli looked at her. “You mean he either killed them or had them killed.”

“Yes.” Either way, she’d have to check with Trujillo to know for sure while not telling the FBI agent anything about the note from Shepherd.

“Call Trujillo from the truck to confirm they’re dead,” he said, as if reading her mind.

“We can’t tell him about the card. It says no law enforcement.”

“The card doesn’t matter. Any offer of parley is either a trick or trap. We’re not going to find out which one. I’ll load up and meet you downstairs.” He left the room, letting the door shut behind him.

A sickening thought occurred to her.

There was no telling how long Shepherd had been in their room, looking through their things. What if he left more than a note? What if he put surveillance in their room?

To watch their reactions. To listen to their conversation and see if they were going to abide by the stipulated terms.

She wanted to vomit at the prospect.

Olivia stuffed the card in her pocket, hurried outside, and looked over the railing of the balcony. “I want to search the room,” she said, keeping her voice low. There were no occupants in the rooms near them, but there were a few on the lower level.

“Why?” Eli hit the ground floor and headed through the parking lot.

“Just come back and humor me. Please.” She doubted there would be any fingerprints on the envelope or card, but they might find something if he left behind any surveillance equipment.

Eli stopped and looked up. “Let me get everything inside the truck first,” he said, gesturing to the Ram that was about a hundred feet away.

She smiled at him. “Thank you.”

“Like I said. You’re my kryptonite.”

She replaced the smile with a grimace. “Don’t ever call me that again. I’d much rather be your yellow sun.”

A weird look crossed his face, like her words made him think of something surprising and pleasant. He grinned at her. “Got it.”

Turning, he took another step toward the truck, and the Ram exploded. Windows shattered, a gust of heat seared the air, the light on the lamppost burst, and the blast concussion hurled Eli backward. Burning pieces of the truck rained down around him.

Her heart seized. “Eli!” Olivia screamed. She dashed to the stairs, her ears ringing, her hands trembling.

An engine roared to life. An SUV with dark tinted windows pulled out of a parking spot, leisurely, near the entrance, and rolled slowly from the lot.