Midnight Lies: The Wildefire Series (15 page)

“What’s got you so worried all of a sudden?”

“Ian called just before I came in here. He’s done a little more digging on Cruz.”

“And?”

“It’s even worse than we thought. Cruz is an animal. Even though he can’t be tied
to any of the murders he’s suspected of, Ian checked them out. They’re about as gruesome
as they come. The man has no conscience. The last thing I want to do is put Savvy
in danger.”

“Then we’ll just have to make sure we don’t. Lauren is safe with Brody and Logan,
but I agree, it’ll be best if they
take her to another town. If she has to stay here for any length of time, Midnight’s
gossipers are going to find out about her, no matter how diligent we are in hiding
her.”

Bri nodded. “You’re right about that. And if anyone comes around asking questions,
no one would hesitate to talk.”

“I’ll call Brody and Logan and talk to them about moving her to a new location. You
go to Florida and see what you can find out. In the meantime, I’ll stay here and keep
a close eye on who comes into Midnight. If Cruz’s goons manage to trace Lauren here,
they’ll have to ask questions and look around to locate her.”

Laughing, Bri turned to leave. “Finally something the gossips are good for.” Stopping
at the door, she looked back over her shoulder, the laughter gone. “Sammie, you’re
one of the most beautiful people I’ve ever known, inside and out. Don’t let this thing
with Quinn take that knowledge away from you.”

Swallowing around the sudden lump in her throat, Samantha asked, “How did I get so
lucky to have such wonderful sisters?”

“You must’ve had awfully good parents.”

How wonderful it felt to be able to say, “I certainly did.”

“Night, Sammie.”

“Night, Bri.”

The door closed and once again Samantha looked out into the night. She had so much
to be grateful for. That’s what she needed to concentrate on. She had a great life,
full of love and purpose. The thing with Quinn hadn’t been real.

Leaning her forehead against the windowpane, she repeated softly, “It wasn’t real.”
She ignored the little voice inside her that responded with
Then why the hell does it still hurt so much?

“Samantha, it’s good to finally see you out and about.”

Smiling and thanking the umpteenth person who’d said the same words, Samantha once
again refrained from explaining why she was just now “out and about.” When she had
returned home, she had been in no shape to gallivant around town, and surprisingly,
Midnight’s residents had accommodated her need for privacy. A good thing, since none
of them would have recognized the morose, introverted Samantha Wilde. They only knew
her as the perky and always-smiling former cheerleader. She hadn’t been that person
in a long time.

She didn’t fool herself that the gossips hadn’t been at work, though. Having often
been their favorite topic of conversation, she was quite sure there had been plenty
of speculation about her circumstances. Talk didn’t really bother her. Most of the
people in Midnight weren’t malicious or spiteful—they were just nosy.

But her world had shifted once more. She and Quinn had apologized to each other and
she could now move on. She was wiser and perhaps more wary than she had been before,
but that was a good thing. Growth came from mistakes. That would be her takeaway from
her massive screwup. Samantha Wilde had officially grown up.

She was beginning to feel like her old self again, albeit
a more mature version. The acceptance from her hometown was a stroke to her badly
damaged ego. She had been the golden girl here, popular and pretty. Few had known
what lay behind her smiling demeanor.

How odd that she had been considered the one least impacted by her parents’ deaths.
And though she had carefully built that façade to cover the pain, little had she known
that it would come back and bite her on the ass. With a broad judgmental stroke, she
had painted the murder-suicide of her parents with the same brush as the murder of
Charlene Braddock. That had been massively wrong. The two hadn’t compared at all.
And to now know she had misjudged her father, too? Was it any wonder confidence in
her judgment was at its lowest depth?

Nodding and waving at an elderly couple she had known since her birth, Samantha ducked
into Deacon’s Real Estate office. Even though it had been a boost to her spirits to
visit the town again, she hadn’t forgotten her real purpose. Midnight’s residents
often knew who was doing what before it actually happened. Mary-Jo Deacon, the town’s
only real estate agent, had a bird’s-eye view when it came to newcomers. If anyone
was looking for housing, temporary or otherwise, Mary-Jo was the first to know.

The instant the door closed, the older woman was running around her desk with her
arms open wide for a hug. Her eyes behind her wire-rimmed glasses sparkled. “Samantha
Wilde, how nice to see you again.”

After returning the hug, Samantha took a seat opposite Mary-Jo, and they chitchatted
about the cooling weather, Mary-Jo’s grandchildren, and the time Mary-Jo’s daughter
dropped Samantha during the middle of a cheerleading pyramid to wave at a boy.

“I swan, I never thought Donna would end up marrying
him. I’m glad she did, though. Bud turned out all right.”

“All right” was a compliment in the South. And considering that Donna and Bud had
eloped in defiance of their parents, that was high praise indeed.

Shifting the discussion toward her primary goal, Samantha said, “So how’s business?”

Mary-Jo shook her head. “Almost at a standstill. Nobody’s buying or selling. I’ve
had to let go all my office help, and I only work about two days a week now.”

“I’m so sorry, Mary-Jo. No new prospects?”

“Well, funny you should ask. I had a handsome young man come by day before yesterday
looking for a house to rent.”

Telling herself not to sound too interested, she said, “Is that right? So he and his
family are moving to Midnight?”

“I don’t think he has a family. He told me he just went through a painful breakup
with his girlfriend and wanted a quiet place to heal.”

Okay, even the romantic in her cringed at the lameness of that statement. Not because
men didn’t need that kind of time, just like women. But how many men would share that
kind of information with a total stranger?

“Well, hopefully he’ll like it so much he’ll want to buy a house. Does he already
have a job here?”

“I’m not sure. We’re going to look at a few places tomorrow, but he’s already told
me that money isn’t a factor.”

At that, her inner voice began squawking up a storm.
A stranger comes to town with the vague excuse of a bad breakup, and money is no object?
What better way for one of Cruz’s men to roam around town searching for Lauren without
looking suspicious?

Now she was extra glad that Lauren was gone from Midnight. She had talked to Logan
and Brody late last
night, and they had both agreed that taking Lauren to another town would be wise.
She hadn’t heard from them yet, but knew their plan had been to leave around three
this morning. A friend of a friend of Logan’s owned a time-share in Magnolia Springs.
They would keep Lauren there until further notice.

She would have liked to ask more, but if she delved any deeper about Mary-Jo’s prospective
client, there would be questions Samantha didn’t want to answer.

Her smile bright, she got to her feet. There were several places to go and other people
to talk to about a newcomer in Midnight.

“It was good to see you, Mary-Jo. Be sure to tell Donna I said hey.”

“She and her family are coming for Thanksgiving. I’ll tell her to give you a call.”

“Wonderful. I’d love to see her again.”

“Just wait till you get a look at her young’uns. I swear they get cuter every time
I see them.”

Figuring if she didn’t get out of there, the proud grandma would soon be pulling out
pictures, Samantha backed out the door with one last wave. Turning, she slammed face-first
into a large, unmovable object. Embarrassed that she hadn’t been watching where she
was going, she looked up to apologize. Instead of the apology she’d planned, she snapped,
“What the hell are you doing here?”

The words were appropriate but she inwardly winced at how breathless and weak her
voice sounded.

Quinn let his gaze roam over the beautiful woman before him. She looked fresh and
lovely and it took every bit of his self-control not to drop a kiss on that full,
pouty mouth, pursed in disapproval. The fact that she would probably slug him if he
tried was another deterrent.

“How are you?”

“I asked you a question. I told you to leave.”

Quinn raised his brow. “I wasn’t aware you were in charge of the whole town.”

“There’s no reason for you to stay.”

“On the contrary. Midnight seems like the perfect place to spend my vacation.”

“Vacation?”

He watched the color leave her face and battled his conscience. The last thing he
wanted to do was cause her more pain. But he wasn’t a quitter and he refused to believe
this was the end of their relationship. They’d both made mistakes. He just needed
to figure out a way back into her life. Hell, if he had to move to Midnight, then
that’s what he’d damn well do.

“It’s been years since I’ve taken time off. There’s a lot to be said for this charming
little town.”

“You didn’t even know Midnight was on the map before you met me.”

“And I have you to thank for that. Want to have lunch with me? It’s chicken and dumpling
day at Faye’s.”

She backed away, shaking her head. “You need to leave, Quinn. There’s nothing for
you here.”

He struggled with staying still when all he wanted to do was reach out and pull her
to him. He had let this go on far too long and he cursed himself for it. While he’d
been in Atlanta, pissed at the world in general, Sam had been here, suffering. She
had lost at least fifteen pounds, weight she hadn’t needed to lose. Shadows beneath
her eyes indicated she wasn’t sleeping well, either. This was his fault. He shouldn’t
have treated her so badly in the first place, but neither should he have kept away
from her for so long.

“I’m not going anywhere, Sam. Not till we’ve had a chance to talk … really talk.”

“We have nothing more to say to each other.”

“Yes we do. And until you agree to spend some time with me, sorting those things out,
I’m going to be here.”

Anguish briefly crossed her face, then her expression returned to the icy blankness
she’d shown him yesterday. “That’s not going to happen.” She turned and walked away.

Quinn didn’t try to stop her. He’d said enough today. All he could do was hope that
she realized he was serious and that she would change her mind about talking to him.
If they could just spend some alone time together, he knew he could convince her to
give them another chance. He refused to believe anything different.

As he opened the door of the real estate agent’s office, the first words out of his
mouth shocked the hell out of him. “Mrs. Deacon, my name is Quinn Braddock and I want
to buy a house here in Midnight.”

Samantha sat on the park bench in front of the mimosa-tree-shaped fountain. For as
long as she could remember, she had been coming here and making wishes. If the fountain
ever gave up its secrets, her entire life story could be told here. As a kid, her
wishes had to do with things like a puppy for Christmas or an elaborate doll-house
for her birthday. After her parents’ deaths, she had wasted a whole year of wishes,
begging for them to come back and for things to return to the way they had been. Between
the fountain wishes and her prayers to the Almighty, her entire year had been all
about asking for the impossible. After that, her wishes became more focused. She wished
different things for her family members; Savvy and Bri had desperately needed those
wishes to come true. And her grandfather had needed all the help he could get.

After she left for college, she had left childish things like pennies for wishes behind.
But still, on visits home,
she had returned to the fountain and made wishes—she’d told herself for old times’
sake.

Today, she didn’t care that it was silly superstition. That a penny thrown into the
fountain had no bearing on a fervent, whispered wish. That no matter how much she
wished something would come true, throwing a penny into the water would never make
it happen. Long ago she had learned that when you wanted something to happen, you
had to make it so. Wishes were for children.

Pushing aside all of that mature, logical mumbo jumbo, she withdrew a penny from her
purse, closed her eyes, and wished … for what? She wasn’t strong enough to wish Quinn
away for good, but she was too cowardly to put her heart at risk again.

“That’s either a powerful wish or a really bad headache.”

Her eyes popped open. A good-looking man stood only a few feet away. With short brownish-blond
hair, twinkling hazel eyes, and a charming smile, he was boyishly handsome. He was
also a stranger.

“So which is it, a wish or a headache?”

“Actually it’s both.” Surreptitiously dropping the penny into the water, she stood
and held out her hand. “I’m Samantha Wilde. And you are …?”

“Quite enamored of your little town.” Grinning, he shook her hand. “I’m Blaine Marshall.”

“You said you’re enamored of the town. Are you new here?”

“Actually, yes. Just got here a few days ago.”

This must be the man Mary-Jo Deacon had mentioned. How coincidental that the one man
she was determined to meet today had found her instead. Coincidences didn’t usually
pass the smell test for her. Charmingly boyish or not, he definitely put her radar
on high alert.

“And what brings you to Midnight?”

“Would you believe I’m trying to find myself?”

“And you think Midnight is that place?”

The boyish grin reappeared. “Maybe not but things are definitely looking up.”