Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose Page 0,245

can claim I smuggled it, remember that Isaac, the head of our household, thoroughly searched us. Those drugs belong to DJ.”

A man stepped forward. “I’ll check. One of your policemen may come with me.”

Tom exhaled slowly. He’d thought they’d ask who killed DJ and he wasn’t sure how to answer that. He’d had to surrender his weapon and badge to Molina on the way to the caves. It was standard procedure when one fired their service weapon. He’d probably have to undergo counseling before he was reinstated.

Molina clapped her hands to regain the group’s attention. “While they are checking Graham’s claim, we can transport anyone who wants to go now. If you’d like to talk to Gideon and Mercy first, they will be here. Amos Terrill will also be here in a few hours.”

A middle-aged woman stepped forward. “Amos is all right? And Abigail? I’ve been so worried. She’s my daughter’s best friend.”

“They are very much all right,” Molina said kindly. “Amos realizes that many of you may want more proof, and he will tell you what he saw that drove him to run from Eden. If you’d like to leave, the first transport will depart in two hours. I’ll stay here to answer any questions.”

“And if we choose to stay?” Joshua asked, still belligerent.

“I can’t make you come with us,” she said, “unless you’re suspected of a crime. Like kidnapping or child endangerment.”

Joshua’s jaw tightened. “And for those of us who are innocent of wrongdoing?”

“I can’t make you come with us, but you can’t stay here. This is private property.”

Two hours later, the first transport departed, Tiffany and her little boy on board, and there wasn’t an empty seat.

And, after Amos arrived and talked to the remaining members, the next transport was also filled.

Finally, an ambulance arrived with two paramedics. Hayley and her baby were loaded in with Graham riding in the back with them.

Tom waved as they drove away, headed to Sacramento, where Hayley would be checked out at UC Davis. Arm tightly around Liza’s waist, Tom turned to Gideon, Mercy, and Amos, who’d stayed to help the members understand the new world.

“We did it,” Tom said, feeling both satisfied and oddly unsettled. “We found them.”

“You found them,” Mercy corrected with a smile. “You and Liza. Thank you.”

Amos nodded. “Yes. Thank you both. For me and for Abigail and every person who felt trapped and too afraid to escape.”

Tom didn’t want the gratitude. He was doing his job. He knew Liza felt the same way.

“Did you notice that no one asked about DJ?” Liza asked, redirecting the conversation. “I think everyone knew that he was capable of everything we told them.”

“I agree,” Mercy said. “And I for one am not sorry at all. Pastor, Ephraim, and DJ are all gone. We can live our lives and not worry that they’re coming to kill us.”

Amos put his arm around Mercy’s shoulders. “Abigail never has to worry about what happens when she turns twelve. You all have done a good thing. I’m proud of you.”

“It feels . . . unfinished,” Tom murmured. “I mean, there’s still the fifty million to figure out, but over a hundred people have to start new lives.”

Amos sighed. “They’ll have to learn technology and how to function in a real community. They’ll have to unlearn all the fiction they’ve been taught as fact. Some of them might even choose to continue living in isolation, but they’ll still need support. Land and supplies. Medical care and guidance on how to rebuild legally. It’s not going to be easy.”

Gideon nodded. “The hard work has just begun.”

EPILOGUE

GRANITE BAY, CALIFORNIA

TUESDAY, JULY 4, 2:30 P.M.

How was your first day at nursing school, lubimaya?” Irina asked, settling into the lawn chair next to Liza’s.

Liza thought this might have been the first time Irina had sat down in days. The Sokolovs were hosting a barbecue and Irina had been in overdrive. The kitchen was filled with food, the house filled with people, and, because no one was shooting at them, the backyard was crowded as well.

The day was a scorcher, well over a hundred degrees, but awnings shaded and fans blew and children ran through the sprinklers. So many children, including a few from Chicago.

Karl and Irina had invited Liza and Tom’s family to join them, and they had. It had been a huge surprise—for both Liza and Tom. Apparently Irina, Tom’s mother Caroline, and Liza’s adopted big sister Dana had been burning up the phone lines, setting all this up.

It was