Page 102 of Cold Light of Day

Either way, neither Mateo nor Rafael would come for Autumn or her mother again.

“The drive for your woman’s life.”

Mateo could just shoot him and take it, but maybe he wasn’t completely sure Grier still had it. Now it was Grier’s turn to smirk. “You’re never getting your hands on it.” He glanced at the mudslide. “I tossed it.”

Or he would...right into the river. Next chance he got. He wasn’t here to hand over the money to them. He was here to take them out.

Mateo’s face reddened.

The hairs on the back of Grier’s arms tingled, and he instinctively rolled out of the seat as three bullets hit the leather. He thrust his fist into Mateo’s face but received three punches to his gut in return.

He and Mateo fought, wrestling in the helicopter as both gripped the weapon. Grier ground out his words. “You need to get your brother to the hospital or he’s ... going ... to die.”

“Hay una temporada para todo. My mamá made sure I attended the best Catholic schools. It means, there is a season for everything.”

Mateo freed his weapon from Grier’s grip and then aimed at Rafael and fired at the exact moment the helicopter shifted, and Rafael’s body with it, so he missed. But then he turned the gun back on Grier.

“He was too focused on the women, the both of them. I had to come all the way here to set my eyes on her to make sureshe was in this forsaken hole! It was cold and snowing, and I hated it.”

Could it be that Mateo had been here in May, scouting the place out? “You. You’re the one who killed Kenny and Monica.”

“I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

“On the mountain back in May.”

Mateo’s dark eyes flashed. “I didn’t need witnesses. As for Rafael’s obsession over the Long women, our organization is suffering because of it. Now it’s time for me to have my moment at the top.”

“And that’s all it’s going to be—a moment!”

The helicopter suddenly took a dive and then whirled. The pilot shifted forward against the dash, bleeding from a bullet hole in his head. Mateo had missed his brother but shot the pilot! As the helicopter spun again, Mateo slipped through the open door, letting go of his gun to grab on to the skid with both hands, his feet and body dangling over the Goldrock River below.

“Help me!”

“Here, take my hand!” Grier reached for him, but the helicopter’s incessant spin caused Mateo to lose his grip.

He screamed on the way down and hit the water.

That’s exactly where the helicopter was going too, and Grier could not free himself from the building inertia of the spinning bird.

FORTY-ONE

Hang on!” Autumn floored the truck, heading perpendicular to the mudslide to get out of the way.

Mom and Sarah were crowded in the truck cab with her, and Nolan held on in the truck bed. He hit the top of the cab and shouted, “We’re not going to make it!”

She pressed the accelerator all the way to the floor. The engine roared, and the truck’s tires spun out in the saturated ground, then got traction. Still, the truck wasn’t fast enough. If she could get them as far as she could... preferably to higher ground.

Nolan signaled, and she suspected he was tracking with her.

“Get out,” she said. “Nolan is signaling for you to climb out the window.”

“What?” Sarah asked. “I can’t do that. It’s too dangerous.”

“He’s going to help you to get up on top of the truck. Trust me.”

“What’s the point? We can’t make it.”

Nolan reached into the window on the far side and practically pulled their mother through the window. Mom was in the bed of the truck with him now.

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