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Back The Last Goodnight Save as PDF
Chapters (50)
  1. Also by
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. CHAPTER ONE
  5. CHAPTER TWO
  6. CHAPTER THREE
  7. CHAPTER FOUR
  8. CHAPTER FIVE
  9. CHAPTER SIX
  10. CHAPTER SEVEN
  11. CHAPTER EIGHT
  12. CHAPTER NINE
  13. CHAPTER TEN
  14. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  15. CHAPTER TWELVE
  16. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  17. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  18. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  19. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  20. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  21. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  22. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  23. CHAPTER TWENTY
  24. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  25. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  33. CHAPTER THIRTY
  34. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  35. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  43. CHAPTER FORTY
  44. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  45. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  46. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  49. EPILOGUE
  50. Teaser Chapter

“How far away is it?”

“From here, about an hour and half.” Kade rubbed a hand over his jaw. “Two dead steers and now this. There’s always problems to deal with on the ranch, but this feels different. I don’t like it.”

“You’re thinking there’s a chance killing the steers wasn’t enough payback after all.”

That was exactly what he was thinking. Ellie seemed to have a knack for reading his thoughts. His glance strayed to the tempting swell of her breasts beneath her pale blue turtleneck sweater. He hoped to hell she couldn’t tell what he was thinking right now.

He fixed his gaze firmly back on the road. “You’re a detective. You made some solid observations at the scene of the shooting. Maybe you’ll pick up on something at the mine the rest of us miss.”

“I’m on your payroll. Up to you to decide where I can be the most useful.”

His mind slid immediately into the gutter. Kade clamped down on his lustful thoughts. He had more important matters to deal with than the throbbing in his groin.

Kade stepped on the gas.

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER EIGHT

ELLIE SETTLED BACK FOR THE DRIVE FROM COFFEE SPRINGS TO THE Red Hawk Mine. The case she’d undertaken had turned out to be far more complicated than she’d expected. And far more intriguing.

She was too much of a professional not to wonder if the dead steers and the explosion at the mine were connected. She’d know more once they got there and she took a look around. In the meantime, she planned to sit back and enjoy the ride.

Kade drove Highway 131 from Coffee Springs to I-70, took the interstate east through Vail, past Copper Mountain, then turned south on 91. A sign read LEADVILLE and GRANITE. Their route had started in high mountain country, dropped down to a drier, more arid landscape, then started climbing again, winding through soaring mountains, clear, glassy lakes, and deep green, forest-lined canyons.

It was in those canyons that silver, copper, and lead were discovered in the 1870s and ’80s, producing huge amounts of ore, creating the great Colorado silver boom. Some of the mines were still producing today.

Which was about all Ellie remembered from her history classes.

The pickup pulled onto a single-lane asphalt road that ran parallel to a rushing stream and climbed slowly higher. At one point, it forked, and she could see a timber gate just like the one leading into the Diamond Bar, with a pair of elk antlers on each end of the sign. Instead, the pickup took the left-hand fork in the road.

“The old ranch is that way.” Kade pointed toward the gate. “The original cabin is still there, built by my great-grandfather, along with a couple of outbuildings and the original barn.”

“Do you still use the cabin?”