Page 113 of Only One More Lie

Then she said, “Please, tell me you’re not the one who killed Pepper. I’ve always known you weren’t a good man, but tell me you didn’t kill your own daughter.”

The breath left Andi’s lungs.

Wait . . . was Juniper saying that this man was . . . Heath Klinkhart?

At Juniper’s words, the man pulled off his mask.

Duke sucked in a breath when he saw Heath Klinkhart staring back at them.

“Why couldn’t you and your family just have minded your own business?” he snapped. “None of this would have happened.”

“This wasn’t my parents’ fault,” Juniper said.

“Did you know they weren’t really your parents?” A smirk formed on Heath’s lips.

“As a matter of fact, I did.”

“They were scammed,” he continued, as if he hadn’t heard her. “They were devastated when they found out you weren’t their flesh and blood. But for some reason, they still loved you. That’s why they fled here to Alaska—they didn’t want you to be taken away from them. My wife and I were the only other people they ever told.”

“How did they find out about the mix-up?”

“They had no idea someone else’s embryo had been used for the surrogacy—not until they realized you were nothing like them.”

“Why did they hide the truth from me? My dad hardly wanted to admit I was born via a surrogate even.”

“They struggled with whether or not to tell you all the details. My guess is that they would have eventually admitted that you weren’t their flesh and blood.”

Juniper grasped Simmy’s arm as she stared at Heath with an incredulous look in her gaze. “So you’re doing all this because you had a falling out with my parents?”

“It’s more complicated than that. I told them I would keep this secret quiet—all they had to do was give me some money.”

“That’s dirty,” Juniper muttered.

“That’s what happens when you trust the wrong person. Besides, they’re not the reason I’ve killed these other people. I just thought they’d be the icing on the cake.”

“You’re sick.” Juniper’s voice cracked as she said the words.

“Now enough talking!” Heath aimed his gun at all of them before glancing at Duke. “I told you to tie everyone up. Don’t make me repeat myself.”

Duke cast his gaze to the rest of the group. He hoped they understood his silent message.

Because he needed to make his move now. It was his only chance.

When he did, they would all need to run to safety.

He prayed they would all get to shelter in time.

CHAPTER 61

Andi stared at Duke.

What was he thinking? He was planning something. She just wasn’t sure what.

She held her breath, wishing he wouldn’t put himself on the line. But she knew him well enough to know he would.

She held her breath as she watched Duke take a step forward. Reach down to grab the zip ties.

As he did, Ranger suddenly had a coughing fit.

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