Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense March 2021--Box Set 2 of 2 by Dana Mentink (good fiction books to read .txt) 📕

took shallow breaths of the cold, musty air. Her bones vibrated and her hair felt as if it was starting to freeze instead of dry after their swim in the rapids. A dim light appeared in front of Maya. Nora held a hand to her heart. “You were in town, then. All along?” Her voice cracked ever so slightly. All those years of pain and worry and loneliness, and her sister could have stopped by at any time. Did Maya hate her so much she couldn’t have even tried to heal the divide between them?

“Follow me.” Maya shuffled along a dusty path with rocks on either side. She turned a sharp corner and flipped a switch. Lightbulbs rigged by electric wiring draped precariously along the ceiling sprang to life. They were standing on a long, inclined straight path made of metal grates, like an enormous ramp. “We can probably talk now, if we’re not too loud.”

“What are you doing here?” Nora asked.

Maya raised an eyebrow and popped her hip out to the side, the same sassy move she used to do whenever she didn’t like Nora’s input. “Saving your life. Obviously.” Her brows dropped low over her eyes. “I was assured you would never be in danger, so the deal is clearly off.”

“Who? Who assured you? Carl?” Henry asked.

Maya pursed her lips but only gave him a cursory glance before addressing Nora again. “I see you two are still together.”

Fire sparked in Nora’s chest and she embraced the heat and stepped closer to Maya. “When you slammed the door on our relationship, you lost the right to comment on my love life. And what are you now?” She thrust her hands out, gesturing to the tunnel. “A smuggler?”

Maya’s eyes glistened for half a second before she blinked hard and turned away. “At the moment, I’m your rescuer, so I think you can leave your high-and-mighty comments for someone who cares.”

A flood of regrets cascaded over her, so much so, she could hardly pull in a breath. She’d failed. Nora reached for her arm. Maya flinched but didn’t move away. A cry caught in Nora’s throat, as she pulled Maya into her arms. “You’re my sister,” she whispered.

Her mom had told her to take care of her sister, and here Maya was—obviously involved in drugs or worse. Part of Nora didn’t want to know. She wanted to pull Maya out of this hole in the literal ground, wash her up and get her back on track. Whatever it took. But instead of the big sister lecture on the tip of her tongue, she pulled in a breath, catching hints of vanilla and coconut. The familiar scent of Maya’s favorite shampoo eased her heart. At least some things stayed the same. “I missed you,” Nora said instead.

“And sharing your soaked shirt with me.” Maya pushed her back, half-heartedly but with a soft smile, though her eyes were downcast. Her satellite radio burst with static and she dialed it down before words could be heard. “The less you know, the better. Come on. Let’s get you out of here.”

“You know I can’t agree to that,” Henry said softly. “I can’t pretend I never saw or heard anything, but I want to help you, Maya. Honestly, I do. I know I acted rashly the, uh, last time I saw you.”

The sister Nora used to know appeared for a split second before all emotion seemed to disappear and Maya’s spine straightened. “Like I said, we need to keep moving.”

“This—” Henry gestured in front of him “—can’t be the life you wanted.”

Maya crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at them both. “Ganging up on me again? Nora, you always were so judgmental. Drugs help people, okay? They want them. I help supply them. I have a good life.”

“In this—”

Maya held up a hand. “I only work here in the spring and then I’m free to go and do whatever I want the rest of the year. Wherever I want. Which is away from judgmental people like you.”

“Do you take drugs, too?” Nora fought to act nonchalant. If her sister wanted nonjudgmental, she would deliver.

She shrugged. “I don’t, personally. I prefer to provide a service for a lucrative income. Give the people what they want. No one gets hurt.” Maya started ever so slightly. If she hadn’t known her, Nora wouldn’t have seen that Maya had realized the mistake in her words.

“I almost died,” Nora said softly. “More than once. I’ve been shot at. Bobby got shot at today. I don’t know if he’s—” She placed a hand over her mouth, trying her best to hold back her fear.

“Bobby?” Maya’s armor cracked. “They shot at him?” She blinked rapidly. “Did you ever think that maybe I didn’t visit, didn’t get back in touch, because it’s the only way to keep you safe?”

Nora stopped midstep. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Maya shook her head. “Forget it.” She moved forward, but there was no way Nora would let a statement like that go.

“One of your aunt’s guides was murdered last week,” Henry said before Nora had formed her next question. “Dexter—”

Maya trudged ahead, following the string of lights. “Yeah, I knew about him, but that wasn’t part of the plan. Carl wasn’t supposed to—”

“Is he in charge of all this?” Henry interjected. “Deputy Carl Alexander?”

Maya spun and rolled her eyes at Nora as if to say, Can you believe this guy? She blew a thin line of air out past her lips. “He acts like it sometimes. But no, he’s not in charge. He’s just a jerk, though I heard his hand was forced.”

“By who?”

“It’s better you don’t know.”

“Are you in charge?”

Maya barked a laugh. “I may be important, but would I really choose to become an expert in old mining tunnels if I were the boss? Give me a little credit.”

“Is this related to Tommy?” Henry asked. “Did he die for the same reason?”

“Don’t ask me any more questions,” Maya said. Her statement signaled an order,