Amy Bensen 04 Unbroken (7 page)

I sit down and sigh. I need an opinion. I’ll ask Betty. She’s honest, at least. Heck. Maybe I really will ask for Tellar to come back and look, or break tradition and ask Liam. I stand up, liking that idea. He’s my other half and my best friend, too. I sit back down. I like tradition. I’m not asking Liam. I want the dress to be a surprise for him on our wedding day. Maybe I’ll buy them both and return the one I don’t wear.

The door opens abruptly without a knock and I jump to my feet, thinking Liam has come to make good on his erotic promise, only to see a young woman with a dark bob and thick glasses walk in and close the door. I blink at her face and blink again. I can’t be seeing right—but then I realize the hair is a wig, that this brunette is actually a blonde.

I gasp. “What are you doing here, Meg?”

PART SEVEN

Control

“IS HE REALLY DEAD?” MEG DEMANDS,
her voice trembling, her fingers clutching a soft cloth purse to her side, a perfect hiding spot for a gun, I fear.

I hold my hands up and take a step backward, appalled that she’s obviously been watching the house and following us. “Meg—”

“Is Chad dead?” she all but hisses at me. “I need to know if he’s dead.”

She sways toward me and I sit down on the seat, clutching my own purse and mentally planning how to reach my gun inside. “He’s gone,” I say. “It’s true.”

“I didn’t ask if he was gone,” she growls from between gritted teeth. “I asked if he’s dead.”

“He’s dead,” I confirm, resenting how easily her betrayal of my brother could have made it true.

She searches my face and shakes her head. “No. No! You’re lying.”

“I’m not lying.”

“You wouldn’t be out shopping two days after you buried your brother if he was really dead.” She gives me a once-over. “And for a wedding dress? No way.”

“I’ve spent the past six years pretending bad things aren’t real. It’s how I survive. He’s
dead,
Meg.”

“He’s hiding. Just like before.”

“You think I didn’t want to believe that?” I demand, my voice wavering at the truth in her words. “The police used dental records to prove it was him.”

She chokes out a disbelieving laugh. “He faked those records like he faked his death in the past. I need to see him. I need to explain what happened.”

“What does that even mean? What happened?”

“I didn’t want to betray him, Amy. You have to believe me. Rollin made me do it all.”

Rollin being the man responsible for killing my family, and I’ve seen photos of her kissing him, while she was supposed to be in love with my brother. She’s not sorry for anything. She’s digging for information; she’s after Chad and that cylinder. “It doesn’t matter what you did or didn’t do or why,” I say tightly. “He’s gone. I buried him for real this time.”

Anger flares in her eyes and she grabs the pink dress I love so much and shakes it in the air. “You’re looking at freaking dresses. You don’t look at dresses two days after you bury your brother.”

Defensiveness flares. “It’s called survival. Focusing on the one person I have in my life who’s still here and loves me.”

She glares at me. I glare back, ignoring the fear in the pit of my belly at the certainty that she’s about to snap. Heavy seconds tick by, the challenge crackling between us, and I can feel her searching my expression for proof of the secrets I
will not
reveal. Expecting confrontation, my fingers tighten on my purse; I’m worried that I can’t retrieve my weapon before she does hers.

Suddenly though, her spine softens, her face crumpling as she sobs. “He can’t be gone.” Her hand leaves her purse to press to her face. “He can’t.”

My teeth clench at what I am certain are tears of manipulation, a tactic she’s used on me once before with a success she won’t have now. “I wish it weren’t true,” I say, my voice quaking with the anger she’s stirred in me. “But it is.”

She swipes at her wet cheeks and hugs herself. “Who killed him? Was it Rollin?”

My anger deepens at the name of the man who is responsible for killing not only my family, but at least one of this woman’s employers when she betrayed my brother. “I don’t know who did it.”

A knock sounds on the door and she whirls around to face it, her hand flying to her purse, her fingers slipping inside.

“I need a minute more, Betty!” I call out, desperate to defuse the moment. “I’m on the phone.”

“Okay, honey,” she replies. “I’ll hang the dresses I brought you on the door.”

“Thank you!” I say, holding my breath to listen for her retreat and the instant I am certain she’s left, I warn Meg, “She’s going to return. What do you want from me, besides driving a stake in my heart over Chad?”

Her bottom lip trembles—actually, her whole body trembles. “I’m afraid.”

I narrow my gaze on her, certain that this is another ploy to win information. “Afraid of what?”

“The father-and-son monster duo. Who else? Rollin and Sheridan. Someone is looking for me. It has to be one or both of them.”

I don’t ask how she knows. “Why do you think it’s them?”

“Because I could hurt them if I testify. I know things. Lots of things.”

“They’re locked up.”

“With money and resources that reach beyond those cell walls.”

“People who betray their countries do not go to regular prisons or have the same rights to communicate with the outside world,” I argue, saying only what has been revealed publicly. “And I’m not even sure they need witnesses. The news said they were turned in by the Chinese.”

“Their attorneys are trying to get them moved to a regular prison with the right to a trial. Sheridan Scott and his consortium of wealthy investors are dripping with money. If you think their attorneys won’t connect them to the outside world, you’re crazy.”

My gut clenches at the idea that our enemies could soon be free. “How do you know this?”

“I called an ex-friend of Rollin’s when I figured out I was being followed. He told me everything.”

“Where did this person get this information?” I push further.

“He has a friend still close to Rollin who told him. Amy,” she pleads, going down on one knee in front of me, and snapping me back into the present. “I need help. I have no one but you to go to.”

“Help yourself, Meg. Give the CIA what they want and keep the people who mean you harm in jail.”

“I told you. Anyone who betrays these people will end up dead. And they have Jared, anyway. He knows more than I do, I’m sure.”

“What? Jared is in prison?”

“He’s working for the CIA, I think. Some kind of deal he made. He’s a fool. He’ll be dead in a heartbeat.”

I’m not sure if I should be relieved to know where Jared is or worried he’s going to become a problem anyway.

“I need help, Amy. I have no money and no resources. Chad was my only hope. Please. Help me. I’ve taken every step Chad taught me to hide and they still found me.”

“You lived in New York with Chad. Of course they’re looking for you here.”

“I didn’t hide here. I came to New York to see you.”

“You betrayed my brother.”

“I fell in love with him. It destroyed me to keep lying to him.”

“But you did.”

“I wanted to tell him the truth, but I knew he’d hate me and we’d both end up dead.”

“He
is
dead, Meg, and as far as I’m concerned you had a role in that. And the fire. You set the electrical fire at Liam’s house.”

“I had to do it or they would have killed me.”

“My family died in a fire. In
a fire
.”

“I’m sorry.” Her hand goes to my leg and I stiffen, fighting the urge to shove her away. “I’m
so sorry
,” she repeats. “I’ll help you avenge Chad. I’ll do anything to help you if you will just help me too.
Anything
.” She grabs my hand and thrusts a piece of paper in it, curling her fingers around mine. “This is a number you can reach me at. Leave a message and I’ll call you back. Please, Amy. Talk to Liam. Get him to help me.” She releases me and stands, and before I can blink, she’s thrown open the door and vanished into the hallway. Stunned, I sit there for a moment and have to shake myself. She knows things we need to know.

Leaping to my feet, I reach the doorway.

“Liam!” I scream, yanking up my long skirt and taking off at a run. “Liam!” She disappears into the store and I shout louder, “Liam!” I gasp as I smack into his hard body, and I grab his arms to right my footing. “Meg,” I pant. “That was Meg that just ran by. In the black wig and glasses.”

He presses me to the wall, blocking my body with his, and this time it’s him shouting. “Are you hurt?”

“No. I’m not hurt. We have to catch her.”

Betty appears in the hallway. “What’s happening? What’s wrong?”

“Call security,” Liam orders, offering no further explanation, shifting his attention back to me. “Was she alone?”

“I don’t know. I think yes. We have to catch her.”

“The only thing I have to do is keep you safe. She could be leading us into a trap.”

Tellar rushes to our side. “Why do we need security?”

“Meg was here,” I gasp. “She cornered me and then took off. Short black wig and thick glasses.”

“Is she alone?” he asks, clearly in the same mindset as Liam.

“I think so. She thinks someone is following her. I think there’s a gun in her purse.”

He eyes Liam with a silent question and Liam nods. “Yes. Go get her.”

Liam had barely finished the sentence before Tellar is on the move and Betty is claiming his spot next to us. “Security’s on the way. What can I do to help?”

“Secure the boutique,” Liam states. “No one in or out.” He glances at me. “Go change. I’ll be right there.”

I nod, eager to get out of here, but once I’m at the end of the hallway I can’t stand the idea of being shut inside the dressing room without knowing what’s going on. I go back to find Betty missing and Liam talking with a security guard. Seconds tick by that feel like hours before the guard makes a call on his radio and Liam turns toward me, motioning me into the dressing room, his long strides closing the distance between us.

I enter the room with him on my heels, and I quickly unzip my dress as he shuts the door. “What the hell did she want?” he asks.

“Confirmation that Chad’s dead,” I say, shoving the dress to the ground and stepping out of it.

Seeing my struggle with the dress and hanger, he takes over. “I knew someone would nose around, thinking that he’d set up his death again. I just didn’t expect it to be Meg.”

“She says Jared is helping the CIA.”

“How does she know that?”

“Someone close to Rollin. But that would mean that the Chinese turned Jared over to them. He’s a world-class hacker. Would they do that?”

“Did she say what he’s doing to help the CIA?”

I give a shake of my head. “No. She didn’t seem to know. If it was a witness protection program, she wouldn’t know, right?”

“Right. There could be any number of other options, though. He’s a double agent of some sort, or the two countries simply made a trade deal for something more valuable to the Chinese.”

“So, in light of those things, is knowing where Jared is a good or a bad thing?”

“We’re not making any assumptions based on the claims of that woman with her track record for deception. We’ll investigate. We’ll figure it out.” He withdraws his phone from his pocket. “Finish getting dressed. I want out of this store.”

I cover his phone before he can dial. “Wait. I need to tell you something else. She said Sheridan, Rollin, and everyone in the consortium supporting Sheridan . . . they all might get moved to regular courts and be granted trials.”

“And she told you this why?”

“She wanted Chad’s help, and now wants ours. She thinks her testimony would be incriminating and therefore she’s in danger. Someone is tracking her.”

“You know this could all be fabricated to try and pry our secrets out of us, right?”

“I do. But what if it’s not?”

He cups my cheek and kisses my forehead. “Take everything she said with a shaker of salt, baby.” He releases me. “And whatever happens, we’ll deal with it like we always do.” He gives me a once-over. “Clothes, baby. We need out of here.” He punches the auto-dial button on his phone.

“She says they have reach beyond the prison, no matter how secure.”

“And that ‘reach’ might be her, trying to bait us,” he says, shifting his attention to his phone, listening a moment before quietly saying, “Meg just paid Amy a visit. Call me.” He pauses a beat. “Now.”

Chad,
I think, pulling on my jeans, hyper-focusing on the zipper to fight the ball of emotion in my stomach. Will he call us? I’m not sure that he will. I reach for my shirt on the floor and Liam grabs it first, offering it to me but holding on. He searches my face, understanding in his eyes as he lifts my shirt and pulls it over my head. “He will call back,” he assures me. “He’s not gone, Amy.”

I give a choppy nod and my fingers curl around the paper in my hand. “Oh.” I offer it to him. “She gave me this number. She said we can leave a message and she’ll call us back.”

“And we’d do that why?”

“To help her.”

“I repeat. And we’d do that, why?”

“She offered to help me get revenge for Chad’s death.”

“And she took off running, why?”

“She got spooked, is the only answer I have.”

He doesn’t look convinced. In truth, I’m not either.

Footsteps sound in the hallway, followed by a knock. “Liam.”

At the sound of Tellar’s voice, Liam opens the door while I lean against the wall to pull on my boots. “I caught her at the door and then lost her in the crowd,” he announces, “but I already have Josh tracking the security feeds. Without a coat in this weather she couldn’t have gone far and she’ll be easy to spot.”

I step to Liam’s side. “Did you tell him that she might have taken off the wig?”

“I told him,” he states, narrowing his gaze on me. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. Just shaken up a bit.” And noting the questions in his eyes, I quickly summarize the important facts. “She cornered me, tried to get me to admit Chad was alive, told me Jared was working with the CIA, and then begged for our assistance before taking off.”