Page 109 of Cold Light of Day

He opened his eyes again. “From Steve Rogers. Martin Krueger’s alias. I didn’t see anything in the message. I’d thought to go to Miami and look, but there wasn’t time.”

“Martin found Brown’s communication with a third party, possibly the government official’s enemy who knew the man was being financed with illicit funds and wanted those funds, agreeing to pay Brown a huge percentage if he intercepted them. But that’s all still under investigation. We know he hired mercenaries Alberto Acosta and Oscar Evans, the guy who shot Ross, to torture Krueger and find you. But the most important news is that the information proved Brown was behind the other agent’s murder, not you. He was playing both sides, or rather all sides. Sounds like he answered to the highest bidder and had no real loyalties.”

“And look where that got him.” Grier felt the tightness in his chest ease for the first time in months.

“That proof was in a microdot on the postcard.”

Really? What an idiot he’d been. Krueger had sent him what he needed the week before this all started.

“Microdots are old-school, really. Concealed messages—steganography—areas old as WW2. In modern technology, we just take it further with new encryption techniques.”

Like she wanted to know any of that. An ache shot through his head, and he shut his eyes to let the pain pass.

“You need to rest, and my being here is taxing you.”

“You could have put yourself into more danger.”

“Grier, it’s okay. I’ve given the information to the proper authorities.”

Oh no. “We...were trying to learn who we could trust.”

“Nolan and Sarah worked together to gather several figures from the NSA, CIA, and FBI.”

How long had he been here? “And yet I’m still in handcuffs.”

“You should be cleared by now. But maybe they’re hoping to regain the cold wallet. What did you do with it?”

“I dropped it into the river. I was floating. Thought I was dying. But I was able to pull it out of my pocket and just let it go. Since it includes a tracker beacon, we can retrieve it.”

“You did it, Grier. You saved us all.”

“I couldn’t let you have all the glory, could I?” He felt his love for her all the way to his marrow.

Autumn came closer, then leaned in until her face was mere centimeters away. She pressed her lips gently against his, and for a few seconds he forgot all the pain in his body and let go of the fear of what came next.

Medical staff entered the room, and Autumn ended the kiss. “I’ll be back to check on you.”

Grier turned to look at her as she walked out of the room, groaning with the effort, but he had to catch a glimpse...remember this—the last time he would ever see her.

FORTY-FOUR

THREEWEEKSLATER...

Autumn exited her office and stopped at Tanya’s desk.

“Hey, Chief. How does it feel to be back?”

“Like the last few weeks were just a blur and I never left.”

Tanya laughed. “It’s good to be back to normal around here.” She returned her attention to her computer, and Autumn stepped out into a welcoming, sunshiny day. She would walk a few blocks and enjoy the day and the quiet—no one had been shot or murdered or gone missing in almost a month. Gray skies and snow would descend on them soon enough, with winter around the corner.

Craig wasn’t such a bad guy, after all. The way he’d worked to save Grier wiped away any animosity she’d ever had toward him. But as it turned out, he decided to move to Hawaii and marry a woman he met online. They’d been dating for three years. At least that was the story he gave everyone. But, honestly, she suspected he wanted to get out from under his uncle’s thumb, especially before the internal investigation into bribes came knocking on Wally’s door.

Wally apologized profusely to her since it turned out thatGrier had, in fact, been framed and wasn’t an international fugitive. Wally had chosen to listen to the wrong information. Mayor Cindy White had reinstated Autumn as police chief—though Autumn had taken a day to think about whether she truly wanted to hold that position again.

The day after she was reinstated, Wally announced he was moving to Arizona, where it was warm. In a matter of a few weeks, Shadow Gap had shifted and changed, but at the same time, had stayed the same. As she walked across the street, she spotted Sandford and Otis sitting at their usual booth at the Lively Moose—without Grier. Otis’s old truck with the Jesus symbols sat out front.

And Ross would return next week. But until he did, with Craig gone, it was just Angie and Autumn. And she hoped to hire another officer soon—in case they had to endure another crime spree. Because now and then, she spotted outsiders hanging around, some who even stayed.

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