Page 126 of The Girl in the River

“And they came after us and shot at the boat,” Mia said, her voice haunted as the night replayed in her mind.

Jo-Jo glanced at Seth, then continued, “A few months after we faked your death, we noticed someone following us. They broke in once and trashed our house and left us a threatening message. The next time, they beat us. They said they knew you were alive and they’d kill us if we didn’t tell them where you were.”

Tears filled Mia’s eyes. “Oh, God, Jo-Jo, Seth, that’s horrible. I never should have involved you.”

“Don’t go there, sis. Of course, you should have confided in me. We’re family.” Jo-Jo paused, swallowing hard.

“She’s right,” Seth cut in. “We’re fine now and are relieved you are.”

Mia squeezed both their hands. “Then what happened?”

“By then I suspected they’d murdered our parents and wanted justice for you and Mom and Dad,” Jo-Jo continued. “So… I turned to Sheriff Kincaid.”

Mia’s eyes widened. “Wasn’t he working with the Moons?”

“I thought he was,” Ellie interjected. “But he was actually undercover with the FBI. They were trying to expose the Moons’ money laundering and investigating the sweat shop. When you were children, the Moons forced local businessowners who owed them money to work at the factory to pay off debt. But in the last few years, they’ve been forcing undocumented immigrants to work for them, holding them at a warehouse in the woods.”

Mia shook her head in disbelief.

“Sheriff Kincaid connected us with federal marshals who placed us in witness protection,” Jo-Jo finished. “We’ve been in hiding, waiting till he made arrests so we could reconnect with you.” Jo-Jo’s voice quivered. “It was agonizing not seeing you, sis.”

“It was for me, too,” Mia said. “I thought about you every day. Every holiday. Every birthday. I kept hoping one day it would all be over and we could be together again.”

“Same,” Jo-Jo murmured. “But I knew you went to Red River Rock to find the truth and I had to follow up. The marshal assured us you were safe for a while, so we waited…”

Tears gathered in Mia’s throat. “It’s my fault you had to give up your lives.” She gave Seth a look of regret. “I’m so sorry I put you both through all this.”

Seth curved his arm around his wife. “You’re Jo-Jo’s sister, that makes you my family, too.”

Jo-Jo wiped at her own damp cheeks. “When I saw the news about your disappearance in Crooked Creek, I was terrified the Moons had you.”

Seth cleared his throat. “We contacted the marshal then and told him Kincaid had to do something to speed things up and end this. That he had to find you.” Jo-Jo sighed in relief. “And now it’s really over.”

Mia pulled Jo-Jo into a hug. The nightmares about river monsters would hopefully end now. She had Ellie to thank for catching them and putting them away.

“It is over,” she told her sister. “And we’ll never be separated again.”

ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-NINE

CROOKED CREEK

Two weeks later

A girl’s wedding day was supposed to be the best day of her life. Ellie hoped this one would be for Mia. After all she’d been through, she and Mark deserved to be happy. The storms had passed, the sun was shining and flowers were blooming. It was a beautiful day to celebrate the beginning of their life as a family.

Ellie dressed in a dark blue sundress and shoved her feet into silver sandals, then hurried to answer the doorbell. A little makeup helped hide the knife wound Ronnie had inflicted on her, although it had been superficial and thankfully would not leave a scar.

Derrick stood on the other side, looking handsome in a gray sportscoat and khaki slacks.

His eyes lit with a smile when he saw her. “You look amazing,” he said. “Isn’t it against the law to upstage the bride?”

Ellie blushed. Derrick hadn’t had a lot to smile about lately, so it was nice to see him in a good mood. “You’re crazy,” she said, surprised at how flirty she sounded. Maybe she was just enjoying a day away from the grueling cases they’d worked.

“How’s Evan?”

“Grieving,” Derrick said, his smile fading slightly. “But Lindsey’s arranging counseling for both the children.”

“That sounds like a wise move,” Ellie said as she grabbed her wrap and clutch.

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