If You Know Her: A Novel of Romantic Suspense

her hands, she swung up, catching him between the legs. At the same time, she surged to her feet as hard, as fast as she could, putting that extra momentum into it.
    She wrenched away from him and stumbled toward the steps as Ezra lunged for Carter. Sobs threatened to choke her, tears—fear, relief, both—blinded her. But she didn’t need to see just then.
    What she wanted, needed, was standing in the doorway and his hand reached out and caught her the minute she was close enough.
    “Law.”
    “Shh … it’s okay.”
    She pulled back long enough to glare at him. “You fucking idiot—you were shot and you’re telling me, it’s okay?”
    But then, she pressed her head against his chest, shuddering.
    Maybe it was over …
    “Put it
down
,” Ezra snarled.
    Nia had caught Carter off guard, but the man either had no balls or they were made of steel, because before Ezra could even reach him, he had recovered enough to point the gun at Ezra.
    “I’m not going to jail,” Carter said. His voice was polite. Almost pleasant. His blue eyes were vague and blank. And in the dim light of the house, his naked scalp gleamed as smooth as a babe’s. “I always planned to end it if it ever got that far, and I’m not changing that plan now.”
    He still held the gun pointed at Ezra, his hand rock-steady, like he could hold that position all night.
    Nobody could, though. Guns were heavy—nobody could stay that way indefinitely.
    “Come on, Carter. You don’t want to end it this way. Don’t you want to see Roz? Your wife? You love her, right?”
    “Of course I do. And that’s a nice try, but no. I don’t want to see her enough to let you arrest me, Ezra.” He gestured toward the steps with the gun. “Why don’t you just go on downstairs now?”
    “You know I can’t do that.”
    “Hmm.” Carter frowned, his brow creased like he was thinking very, very hard. Then, slowly, he smiled.
    A chill raced down Ezra’s spine.
    Carter’s finger tightened on the trigger. “You know, you never were one I’d planned on killing, Sheriff. I had no problem with you. Never had a problem with Dwight, either. But he got in the way, there at the end. Just like that idiot Carson did. So I had to take care of him. Now you’re in the way. So …”
    “Don’t, Carter,” he warned. His life started to flash before him. Damn it—he’d made himself a promise, more than a year ago. He wouldn’t take another life.
God—
    “I’m sorry. But you’re in my way,” Carter said, his voice so polite, so reasonable.
    Ezra squeezed the trigger.
    As Carter dropped to the ground, Ezra sagged against the railing.
    Yeah. He’d made himself a promise, all right. Back when he’d been forced to kill his own partner. It was that action that had led him on the winding road to this small town, to this very house, in fact.
    “Ezra!”
    Hearing Lena’s voice, he looked up. If he’d only stoodthere, frozen by guilt, he would have been taking a life anyway. It just would have been his own instead of a killer’s. Sighing, he looked at Carter Jennings. There was a neat hole between his lifeless eyes.
    “I guess I’m not in the way now,” he murmured.
    Then he headed up the stairs. He had one gigantic mess to clean up, but first … he needed to hold his wife.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR
     
    “R EMY .”
    Dawn was still just a distant thought. In the cold, bright lights of the hospital, he couldn’t hide from the truth anymore, although he was trying.
    He also couldn’t hide from Hope, it seemed.
    She’d tracked him down to the small chapel and when he looked up and met her eyes, he knew she wasn’t about to leave him alone, either.
    As she rested a hand on his shoulder, he reached up and covered it with his. “Did you let the doctors look you over?”
    She eased down on the small wooden bench next to him. “No need. He never even touched me.” She brushed his hair back from his face, studying him with worried eyes. “Are you okay?”
    Remy laughed bitterly. “Okay? I just found out my cousin was a killer. A brutal one.” He paused and then said, “You know what one of the deputies told me? They found what they think are human ashes in the workshop, darlin’.
Ashes
.”
    “Ashes … how?”
    “The kilns.” He looked over at her and said softly, “Last year at Christmas, he gave my mother this bowl.
    It had the most amazing glaze—it shimmered, almost like it was alive. She asked him how he had come up with such a unique