Page 145 of The Secrets She Keeps

"No. You are our ace in the hole, Gun. You and Mig. So I go in, buy you two some time." She touched her ear and held up one hand. Gunnar could barely see her through the darkness. She said something quietly into her earpiece.

“Any sign of Dan?” Gunnar asked.

Heather shook her head. “I didn’t see him. Mig?”

“Nothing.”

"Some are still outside here, Grundenman or his pals," Heather said. "We need to come up with a plan and act on it."

"You go in there, you are risking a lot," Miguel said.

They all knew what he meant.

"They don't know you are out here, Mig. And Hope just said we have Murdoch and Jake, at least, but several minutes out,” Heather said after someone said something on her earpiece again. "We need to act. We wait too long, and they are going to finish what they were up to here to begin with. And take care of loose ends before heading for the hills."

Including the woman Gunnar loved, their baby, and her parents.

No. It was time to act.

104

Gunnar was probably dead.Or he was hurt and dying. Powell tried not to break down completely as she imagined the future without him. Her little Viking baby growing up without his or her daddy, one of the best men Powell had ever known.Powell’s life without…him.

Tears tracked down her cheeks. Her arms wrapped around her stomach. Over where her baby rested. Where Gunnar’s baby rested. She...had to think. Heather hadn't broken down in that warehouse. She'd gotten Powell and herself out of there.Got back to her babies. Powell was going to see to it that her baby, Gunnar’s baby, had a chance to live.

Well, it was Powell's turn now. Her mom, her dad—they were depending on her to get them out too.

Heather was smart. She would have understood Powell was sending her a message. It gave Powell hope, but she wasn't going to wait around for rescue.

She had to think. She was a very smart woman. She had always been. She just had to think. Had to push her fear for Gunnar aside. Gunnar would want her to get out of this, wouldwant her to gettheirbaby to safety. That was what would matter to him.

She was going to remember that. And she was going to get her parents to safety.And the only way she could help Gunnar if he was still alive was by getting out of there herself. And getting to him.

She could only do that if she didn’t panic.

That meant not breaking down now.

Her mom was there. She wrapped her arm around Powell. Trying to protect. Of course she was—because she loved.

Well, Powellloved too.And these bastards weren't going to hurt the ones she loved any more.

She looked at the older man. "What do you all think you are doing? What do you think is going to happen now?"

He just watched her for a moment. There was something about his eyes as he stared at her. They were sofamiliar.So…human. "We're...going to figure this out. Trey? What happens next?"

105

What in thefuck was his dad thinking? Trey just stared at his father for a moment. "You need to leave. I'm finishing up here and then heading out myself."

His entire purpose for bringing Fucking Heather there was so he could eliminate her. She just knew too much. Had gotten too close over the last four years. Now, with what she might have heard in that warehouse—leaving her out there was just too dangerous. She’d put shit together, and then track his ass down. Destroy everything.

Fucking Heather had to go.

He was going to do what had to be done with her, and then get the hell out of there.

No matter what.

But he couldn’t kill her in front of his dad. Trey just couldn’t.

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