Jace’s questioning gaze flicked to her. Kara bit her lip. “All right. But, Dylan, please, we need you to come in. The police are looking for you.”
“Everyone is looking for me. It’s why I can’t meet you guys. I’ve got a target on my back. I’ve got to go it alone.”
“I can help you, Dylan,” Jace said, cutting in. “I have resources.”
“You’re not going to turn me over to Lance? I checked his email and that’s what he says.”
“How did you...?”
“Hacked into his account when he wasn’t looking. The guy is more oblivious than a bag of rocks. Except with guns. How can I know you won’t turn me over, Gator?”
You can’t. Except I’m not turning you over to a cold-blooded murderer. Just my supervisor.
“I have no intention of letting Lance know where you are, Dylan.” That much was a truth he could dole out.
“Dylan, please, let us help you,” Kara pleaded.
“No can do, coz. But I can help you.”
He gave them the GPS coordinates. Jace memorized them.
“The necklace is inside the cabin in a velvet bag in the fireplace.”
“You put my diamond necklace in ashes inside an unlocked cabin?” Kara sounded incredulous.
“No one goes there. Everyone in this town says it’s haunted. A guy was murdered there ten years ago.”
“Terrific,” Kara muttered.
“You afraid of a ghost story?”
“No, Dylan. I’m afraid for you. Please, let us help you.”
“Sorry.”
The phone went dead.
Jace took the phone from her trembling hands and looked at the number, memorizing it. Even if it was a burner phone, at least he now could contact Dylan.
He knew Kara. She would face a horde of zombies to help her family. Admiration filled him. She held no concern for her own welfare, only her young cousin.
Such bravado and selflessness made his job more difficult, because Kara had a tendency to make reckless decisions as long as she thought someone threatened one of her family members.
“Let’s go get your necklace and then revert to Plan B.”
“Plan B. Where you leave me someplace and go off to trace Dylan. I don’t give a damn about the diamonds.” She swallowed hard. “Don’t dump me someplace and go off without me, Jace. The diamonds mean nothing compared to Dylan.”
Jace gently tipped up her chin with a thumb, caressed her soft skin. She bit her lip, her woebegone gaze regarding him.
“Listen to me, babe. You’re coming with me right now. We’re going to find the diamonds and then put them someplace safe. Dylan will be okay. I won’t stop until he’s found and protected. I know how much you care.”
Moisture glistened in her big blue eyes. “I do. Care.”
For a moment he dared hope she meant him, not merely her cousin. Jace dropped his hand and returned her cell phone.
Suddenly, hair rose on the nape of his neck. Sirens sounded in the distance. He cursed a blue streak. “I knew it was too good to be true. I bet that’s for me.”
Kara turned around. “Oh, no. Is that a cop?”
“Yeah. Local LEO, probably responding to the BOLO for me. Cops put one out after the murder. I’m wanted for questioning.”
At her stricken gaze, he added, “One reason I didn’t want you along for the ride, babe. I don’t want you mixed in with this mess.”
Her chin took on that stubborn tilt he remembered well. “I bet someone in that diner reported you to the cops.”
He thought hard. If he dodged the cop, he’d bring every single LEO in town after him.
Blowing his cover remained the only option. But he wasn’t ready for that. Not yet, not when he’d put so much into this case and Dylan remained at large. They were close.
“I’ve got a plan.” He popped the trunk.
They got out. Jace climbed into the trunk. “You’ve got to sound convincing. Sorry, babe, but you have to play the, excuse me, naive girl to the cop. You picked up a hitchhiker, treated him to lunch because he needed a meal and dropped him off someplace.”
Kara nodded, bit her lip and shut the trunk. Jace centered his breathing. The trunk smelled like oil, grease and suntan lotion.
He heard the car pull up, a door open. Kara calling out through her open window.
“May I help you, Officer?”
