Page 117 of Over the Edge

“Do you think you’re up to this?”

At her question, he wiped the sweat off his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt. “I’ll have to be.”

“Rest until I get there. I’ll move as fast as I can.”

“Bring the dark car.”

“I don’t like that one.”

He reined in his temper. Like they had time in the midst of this mess to worry about vehicle preferences. “Put up with it for tonight. Turn off your lights on the approach and pull behind the house. I’ll watch for you and meet you in the garage. Cover up completely and tuck your hair under a hat.”

“I know the drill. Believe me, I’m not taking any chances at this point.”

She should have thought of that Wednesday night.

But he left that unsaid.

“Glad to hear it. I’ll follow you to the drop site, then we’ll come back here until we leave for the final destination. Are you certain there won’t be anyone there?”

“Yes. We’ll have the place to ourselves.”

He stood. Began to pace. “I wish it hadn’t come to this.”

“I do too. But I can’t see any way around it, can you?”

Unfortunately, no. Not if he wanted to avoid going to prison for the rest of his life.

“I guess not.”

“It will be fine, Anthony. She’s a troubled young woman who was never going to have any impact on the world anyway. Not like you or me. And after all we’ve both been through, we deserve a happy ending with each other.”

No, they didn’t—not that it mattered. Besides, however this played out, there would be no happy ending in his future.

“I’ll see you soon.”

“Try not to worry too much. We’ve got this. Once she’s out of the picture, we’ll be safe. Love you, hon.”

“Love you too.” As the lie spilled past his lips, he pressed the end button.

The next few hours would be taxing if he was operating atfull capacity. In his present state, he was in for a rough ride physically and emotionally with Lindsey. She was a fighter, or she wouldn’t have survived all the traumas that had plagued her. It would take both of them to pull off the final deed.

A wave of nausea washed over him at the prospect of another killing, but he swallowed past it. Second thoughts and regrets were useless. He was in too deep to escape.

But getting rid of Lindsey wasn’t ideal. The police would be suspicious. Especially that detective she’d taken a fancy to. If they set it up right, though, and left no clues behind, no one would be able to prove it was anything but another example of his client’s propensity to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Yet there were any number of ways this could go south. No matter how careful they were, the margin for error was high.

Too high.

So until they pulled this off and emerged unscathed, he wasn’t going to take anything for granted.

Nor was he going to dwell on the innocent woman in his closet, whose luck in escaping deadly situations was about to run out.

Twenty-Five

WHYWASN’T LINDSEYanswering the door?

Frowning, Jack aimed the face of his watch toward her porch light.

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