Page 101 of Midnight Secrets

A hot breeze whizzed past my neck and the corner of the island base splintered, but I made it past the wall and now had the fridge blocking one angle and the island another.

“You should have charged Warren. He was the perfect fall guy. Plus, he’s an asshole. He treated Marie like shit.”

I pressed my back to the cabinet as I scurried around it. With a moment to collect myself, I removed the two extra magazinesfrom my holster and stuffed them in my pocket. I still had eleven shots left before I needed to reload.

Drawing in a deep breath through my nose, I slowly let it out, forcing my emotions to calm. Letting the adrenaline and fear rule would get me killed.

I turned my head, listening, but the room was silent. That wouldn’t do. I needed to know where he was. “Why did you do it, Gabe?”

“Because she was no better than the jackass she married. She still intended to leave. Even though she was divorcing him, she still wanted to move back East. Said she was done living her life with someone else in mind.”

Bingo!With his words, I pegged his location. He was against the wall, sliding along it toward the kitchen. To come in, he’d be exposed when he got within a few feet to round the corner.

Gabe snorted. “That didn’t stop her from wanting to spend as many nights together as we could until she left.” A moment later, I heard the scuff of his shoe on the floor.

“So, what? She called you over and before she could seduce you again, you stabbed her?” I shifted into a crouch, moving further away. I would get one shot at this. There was nowhere else to hide. He’d cut me off from the rest of the house and the back door was locked.

“No.”

I frowned, but stayed silent, not wanting to give away my position.

“My plan was to move with her. To get a job there and do my best to convince her we belonged together. But she just… wouldn’t…listen.” He shuffled closer.

I shuffled further away.

“Grace didn’t like my plan.”

Grace?

My eyes widened. The last few pieces of the puzzle clicked into place. The woman Savannah saw fleeing the fire. It was Grace.

“And you know? She was right. Hers was so much better. Except we didn’t count on Warren being so adept at hiding. He’s really not that smart.”

Turner’s boot hit the floorboard at the edge of the kitchen that always squeaked. I tensed.

“And you. We didn’t count onyou.”

Ears open to the sound of the smallest movement, I slid around the side of the island, rising just above counter height to fire two shots as he lunged into the kitchen.

The first bullet missed, but the second hit him in the left shoulder, spinning him to the side. I fired a third and struck him in the chest.

His hand went slack, and the gun slipped from his fingers, hitting the floor with a clatter. Blood welled from the wound near his sternum, and he crumpled to his knees. The cabinet caught him as he tipped sideways, and he slouched against it.

“Oscar!”

Ellis’s distant shout carried through the broken front window. I ignored him and moved toward Gabe Turner’s still body. With my foot, I kicked his pistol away. It skittered over the wooden floor and smacked into the cabinet baseboard behind me.

Using one hand, I checked his pulse. It still beat weakly beneath my fingers, but his chest no longer rose and fell.

“Oz!”

Ellis’s voice was closer now. At the window.

“I’m in the kitchen,” I called back.

Glass crunched and a soft curse floated through the air.

Laying my gun on the counter, I shifted Gabe onto his back and started chest compressions.

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