Page 85 of Cold Light of Day

But what a tragic ending for them both.

“Mr. Fox is wanted for questioning in a murder case, but today we’re charging him with passport fraud.”

Of course. He’d had an undercover identity on his assignment, all sanctioned by his agency. But Krueger had secured him a new cover and identity while he hid in Alaska, necessary when exfiltrated or removed from immediate danger and put into a safe zone. Alaska was no longer that for him. Now that new identity was being used against him, since the Diplomatic Security Service majored in counterfeit documents. Grier swallowed the impossibly large knot in his throat. So...they had finally caught up to him. He eyed the two agents. If he’d thought he could trust anyone, he would have already turned himself in and allowed justice to run its course. With the chief standing next to him, he wouldn’t put up a battle. She would be caught in the crossfire.

Marshal Flanders stepped forward, pressing his hand on his gun. “Please step aside.”

“Now hold on a minute!” The chief blocked the marshal’s path. “Mateo Santos is adangerousinternational criminal. That’s the man you want. The reason I called for backup.”

“Chief Long, we aren’t aware of your call for backup. We received word that a wanted international fugitive was on the train, and now we’re taking him into custody.”

Who had called to inform these agents? The only other person who knew was Sarah. Or Mateo or Brown? Which meant Grier should remain wary. Maybe he shouldn’t trust these guys.

But he would leave with them, to protect the chief.

“Fine. Take me in,” he said.

Marshal Flanders cuffed Grier and led him to the helicopter.

Grier tensed, tried to hold it together, but he tossed the chief an apologetic look, because really, regret that he’d involved her carved a deep, gaping hole in his chest.

THIRTY-FIVE

They escorted Grier toward the helicopter.

“No!” Autumn wanted to rush after the federal agents. “You have it all wrong. This man is innocent.”

Agent Knap blocked her path this time, while the marshal loaded Grier onto the helicopter. “Chief Long, we’ll have questions for you regarding your time spent working with this fugitive.”

His cold eyes held a threat, as if he would try to charge her as well.

“He’s not a fugitive. He isn’t on any wanted list available to me.”

The man gave her a smug look. “We’ll be in touch.”

Autumn looked over her shoulder. “The train is leaving, and with Mateo out there, it’s not safe. Give me a lift back to Shadow Gap.”

The agent conferred with the deputy marshal and then returned to her and nodded. “We’ll drop you in Skagway, and you can make your way home from there.”

Shadow Gap was not even a fifteen-minute flight from Skagway, but she wouldn’t complain or else he might deny her. Shedidn’t care where they dropped her. She wanted a few more minutes with Grier. She had so much to say.

This was wrong. Maybe she and Grier could spend their remaining time together convincing these two of his innocence. But she doubted they would listen, and she seemed to be digging her own proverbial grave with every attempt to defend Grier. No. She needed that proof Sarah had mentioned, only Sarah didn’t tell them what it was or where to find it.

Without solid evidence, Grier wasn’t getting out of this.

Evenwiththat proof, Autumn wasn’t sure where to take the information to produce results. After all, Martin Krueger had hidden the evidence, or rather, he hadn’t shared it with his superiors. Autumn climbed into the chopper and sat across from the DS agent, donning headphones and a mic. To her right was the deputy marshal, and in handcuffs, Grier sat in the seat across from the marshal. The sight twisted her heart a hundred different ways, but she kept her features flat and expressionless to match the federal agents’ expressions. More outbursts would win her no points with them. To keep her emotions under control, she had to stare out the window. If she looked at Grier, the two men arresting him would read in her expression what she was trying so hard to hide from herself.

I love him.

She blinked back tears. Autumn needed to remain professional or she would lose credibility. She wanted to glance at Grier—offer him just a glimpse of her heart—but how could she with two law enforcement professionals watching her? She got the feeling they considered she might make a move to free Grier.

If she could free him, would she make that move?

The idea that yes, yes she would, ripped through her, sending a jolt across her chest that scared her. She pushed down the rising breaths, the fast heartbeats, the raw panic.

Enough of this. She blinked back the tears, pulled in a longbreath, then shifted to face the men—full-on, no-nonsense police chief.

“Marshal Flanders. As I understand it, your job is to bring in fugitives. So what are you going to do about Santos? He’s still out there running around. Are you going to call in reinforcements to find and take him down? He’s been hanging around Shadow Gap, and I want him out of my town. My state. Mateo Santos is a dangerous man. I understand he was recently released from prison, but he is back to his criminal activity. He brought violence and murder to Shadow Gap, and he also abducted me.”

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