Midnight Lies: The Wildefire Series (16 page)

Flirty banter had always come easily for her, or it had until she met Quinn. With
him, she’d been tongue-tied, shy, and awkward. Even if this man was a hired assassin,
she was glad to see she hadn’t completely lost her touch.

Giving him the playful look she had perfected years ago, she said, “It’s nice to meet
you, Blaine. I hope Midnight meets your expectations.” She turned to walk away and
then stopped. Glancing over her shoulder, she smiled. “It just occurred to me that
I’m famished. Would you like to join me for lunch?”

His eyes widened with delight. “I was just headed to Faye’s Diner for a quick bite.
That sound okay to you?”

Samantha hesitated. Would Quinn be there? He had mentioned Faye’s. She couldn’t handle
seeing him again, especially when she was on a job. If Blaine was one of Cruz’s men,
she would need all of her focus on him.

“Actually, there’s a new place around the corner, Cornbread Kitchen. I’ve been wanting
to try it. Want to go there?”

“Sounds good.”

They walked down the street and unfortunately had to pass by Faye’s, where Quinn sat
in a booth by the window. The dark look he gave her sent electricity zipping up her
spine. It said they weren’t over, that he would see her again. And damn the little
voice inside her that shouted a gleeful
Yes!

Two hours later, Samantha let herself into the Wilde house. Lunch had been pleasant
but not especially informative. Blaine had a knack for talking about himself without
telling her anything substantial. Others might not have noticed but she recognized
the type. She had done the same thing herself for much of her life.

He had asked her out for tonight and she had turned him down. A risky tactic considering
she wanted to determine if he was Cruz’s man. However, she also knew a thing or two
about pursuing a man. Turning him down while leading him on should make him even more
interested.

That particular tactic hadn’t worked with Quinn. When she had met him, she had tried
to play her usual flirtatious games. After that first date, all pretense stopped.
She had wanted him unlike anyone she had ever met. And to Quinn’s credit, he hadn’t
taken advantage … he had seemed to feel the same way. Even when he had been bluntly
honest about not wanting anything permanent, he had never tried to hide how much he
wanted to spend time with her.

She dropped her keys and purse on the foyer table and took a second to breathe in
the scent from the giant vase of lilies. For as long as she could remember, lilies
had graced this table. Her granddad had started the tradition
when he had first brought his bride, Camille, into the house. Lilies had been her
grandmother’s favorite flower, and even after her death, the flowers continued to
fill vases throughout the house. It was a tradition neither she nor her sisters had
been able to give up.

“Hey, find out anything interesting?”

Samantha turned to Savvy, who stood at the bottom of the stairway. “More than I thought
I would but less than I needed.”

“Hmm. Sounds very mysterious. Let’s go to the kitchen and nibble on the chocolate
cake Bri made before she left.”

Her stomach rumbled in approval. The lunch at Cornbread Kitchen had been enjoyable
but skimpy. If they were going to compete with Faye’s Diner, they were definitely
going to have to step up their game. Faye had a tendency to overfeed her customers.
“Sounds good to me.”

Samantha waited until they were both seated, with slices of chocolate cake and large
glasses of milk in front of them, before she sprang the news. “Quinn is still in town.”

Her eyes wide, Savvy sat back in her chair. “Really? How do you know? Did you see
him? Did you talk to him? What did he say? How long is he going to be here?”

Despite the subject matter, Samantha grinned at all the questions. “Yes, I did see
him and did talk to him. He’s taking some vacation time and decided that Midnight
is the perfect place to spend it. He invited me to lunch.”

“Did you go?”

“No, of course not. I told him yesterday that we were over. I haven’t changed my mind.”

Her eyes narrowed in doubt, Savvy took a giant bite of chocolate cake. Samantha had
a feeling she did that to keep from expressing her opinion. She didn’t blame
her sister for her doubts. She had them, too. But what she also had was a strong sense
of self-preservation.

Moving on to a safer topic, she said, “I walked through downtown, visiting to find
out if there were any newcomers to the area.”

“What did you find out?”

“Nothing till I got to Mary-Jo Deacon’s office. She told me about a guy who contacted
her to rent a house. He’s new in the area, supposedly getting over a bad breakup or
something.”

“Was that Quinn?”

“Of course not. First, Quinn’s only here for a few days, and secondly, he’s not going
to tell a complete stranger that he’s recovering from a breakup. Hell, he barely told
me about himself.”

“That’s why I think you need to give him another chance.” She raised her hand when
Samantha would have challenged the statement. “I’m not saying another chance at a
relationship. I mean a chance to talk.”

Samantha didn’t bother to argue. It would do no good. “Anyway, to get back to the
subject, after I talked to her, I was sitting at the fountain and was approached by
that same man.”

“Is that right?” Savvy’s eyes gleamed with interest. “What did he say?”

“He told me he’s trying to find himself in Midnight. We had lunch at that new place,
Cornbread Kitchen.”

“Wow, I’d forgotten how fast you can work.”

“It wasn’t like that.” Her sister’s remark wasn’t meant to be hurtful, but it stung
all the same. She had worked so hard to overcome the “flirts with anything with a
penis” reputation some girls had given her in high school.

Savannah’s eyes went wide with remorse. “Oh, Sammie, my gosh, I didn’t mean anything
by that other than I admire you. You have to know that.”

Feeling like crap for snapping at her sister, she said, “I
know, Savvy. I’m sorry. I think I’m still rattled over seeing Quinn.”

“Okay, we’ll get back to that in just a minute. What’s this guy’s name and what’s
your take on him? Did you get anything useful?”

“His name is Blaine Marshall. I Googled him on my phone, but there’s not much there.”

“You think he’s one of Cruz’s men?”

“I don’t know. I’m going out with him on Friday.”

“You think that’s safe? If he’s been sent here to find Lauren, he could use you as
bait.”

“I’ll be prepared, don’t worry.” She took a giant bite of the scrumptious cake and
closed her eyes in delight. How she wished she had just half of Bri’s kitchen talent.

“Bri said she would call as soon as she got to Miami.”

“Think she’ll stop in Tallahassee for a quickie?”

Savvy snorted. “Like we’ll ever know. She won’t even admit there’s anything remotely
romantic between them.”

“I’m not even sure she admits it to herself.”

“Poor Ian.”

“He can hold his own.”

“I just hope he can hold it until Bri’s ready for him.”

The first time she and Savvy met Bri’s business partner, they immediately decided
he was the ideal man for their sister. And the sparks between the two were more than
obvious. Bri, however, continued to deny them. Thankfully Ian was laid-back and easygoing,
seeming to realize that Bri needed the space.

“Tyler Finley continues to be on my top five list of people I wish were still alive
so I could slap the crap out of them.”

Raising her glass of milk, Savvy said, “Hear, hear.”

Scraping the last of the chocolate off her plate, Samantha savored her last bite and
stood. She took the empty plates and glasses to the sink, enjoying the contentment
of her chocolate fix.

“So let’s talk about Quinn.”

She swallowed a sigh. The chocolate contentment immediately vanished. Turning, she
shook her head at her sister. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“You still love him, Sammie. You know that … right?”

Of course she knew that. One didn’t get over a man like Quinn quickly. She was saved
from having to answer when the doorbell rang.

Samantha peeked out the window and recognized the black SUV parked in the front of
the house. “Brody’s here.”

“I’ll let him in,” Savvy said. Before she walked out of the room, she threw over her
shoulder, “This discussion isn’t over, Sammie.”

Ignoring her, Samantha cut a large slice of cake and turned as Brody James walked
into the kitchen.

The instant he saw what she was holding, his eyes lit up. “That for me?”

Laughing, she handed him the cake and said, “Milk or coffee?”

“Milk, please.” Ever the gentleman, Brody waited until Savvy sat down at the table
and then seated himself across from her. Winking, he asked, “How’s Little Bit doing?”

“Wonderful,” Savvy answered.

After taking a giant bite of cake, Brody swallowed and said, “Know what you’re going
to have?”

“No, we’re not going to find out. As long as it’s healthy … that’s all we care about.”

“I’ve never seen Zach so happy. You’d think he’s done something nobody else ever had.”

Savvy laughed, nodding. “He’s taken a picture of me every day since we found out.
It took some talking to convince him that my belly would not make a good Christmas
card. By the time this baby’s born, he or she will be the most photographed child
in the world.”

Settling beside Brody, Samantha said, “Speaking of doing something no one else has,
have you gotten any information out of Lauren yet?”

“That woman …” Brody shook his head.

“What’s wrong now?” Savvy asked.

“She’s trouble wrapped in a pretty package.”

“Do you think she’s just not telling us what she knows, or she doesn’t know anything
and she’s playing us for some reason?” Samantha asked.

“Oh, she knows plenty.”

“But?” Savvy said.

“She’s got nothing to back up what she knows. But if Cruz knows about her gift, she’s
in even more danger than we thought.”

Savvy and Samantha looked at each other, then asked in unison, “What gift?”

“She’s got some kind of photographic memory. Everything she’s seen, she remembers.
Cruz apparently took her to business meetings all over the world. She’s got names
and dates of every interaction since they began their relationship. She swears he
doesn’t know about her memory.”

“Even if she’s right, Cruz will still come after her, if for nothing else than his
ego,” Samantha said.

“I agree,” Brody said. “We’re going to record everything she remembers. It might not
be proof enough to put him away, but it could damn well reinforce a case when it comes
to trial.”

“You guys make the move okay?” Samantha asked.

“Yeah. No problems.” Brody shrugged. “If anyone was following, I would’ve seen. She’s
tucked out of sight.” He grinned and added, “As Aunt Gibby would say, she’s snug as
a bug in a rug.”

Both Samantha and Savannah grinned. Brody had become a favorite of Aunt Gibby’s, and
the feeling was mutual.

“So our plan is still the same,” Samantha said. “Bri’s digging for what she can in
Florida. I’ll keep an eye out in town for newcomers. Can both you and Logan spare
the time to stay with Lauren?”

“One of us might have to go back to Mobile every few days, but she’ll be safe whoever’s
with her.”

“And I’m going to do some research on your new friend, Sammie,” Savvy said.

“Sammie’s got a new friend?”

Samantha nodded. “I met a man this morning, new to Midnight. He started talking to
me out of the blue. I thought it was suspicious.”

A tremble at Brody’s mouth told her he was fighting a smile. “Men don’t normally talk
to you?”

Actually, they often went out of their way to do just that. Which meant Blaine might
well be just a nice guy who was attracted to her. She wouldn’t know until she delved
deeper.

Samantha shrugged. “Just seemed a little too coincidental. Here I am looking for newcomers
to Midnight and he suddenly appears before me.”

“Yeah, I bet it had nothing to do with you being a beautiful woman.”

She could feel herself blushing. Brody had flirted with her on occasion. With his
gorgeous smile, velvet brown eyes, and hair the color of rich dark chocolate, along
with a solid, muscular physique, he would catch the eye of most women. But not her.
Though she could appreciate his looks, she had met him just after that terrible event
with Quinn. He and his business partner, Logan Wright, had been called in to help
investigate her parents’ murders. Those things had influenced and colored everything.
Nothing about those days made for pleasant memories. She told herself it had nothing
to do with the fact that after her first meeting with Quinn, she hadn’t been attracted
to anyone else.

“It’ll help to know as much as possible when I do the background check on Blaine Marshall,”
Savvy said. “What exactly did he tell you about himself?”

“Just that he’s from northern Indiana. Is a CPA but left his job at a small accounting
firm a few months ago. Says he’s been traveling around, looking for a place to light.
Thinks Midnight might be the perfect spot for him.”

“Is he planning on working here as a CPA?”

“He didn’t say. Said he was still trying to find himself.”

“Did he mention family, ex-wife, children? Anything like that?” Brody asked.

“Ex-girlfriend, but he didn’t tell me her name. Said all his family was gone.”

Savvy stood. “That’s enough to get started with.”

“I’ll try to get more information from him tomorrow night.”

Brody’s eyes cut over to Samantha. “What’s tomorrow night?”

“I’m going out with him.”

Brody was silent for several seconds. Was he going to object? This was her job, and
while he was her friend, she wasn’t going to let him deter her.

“Think it’d be a good idea to wear a wire?”

Actually, that was a good idea. Not only would it record their conversation, picking
up nuances she might miss, it would be good protection. If Blaine was Cruz’s hired
man, then he could very well try to use her to get to Lauren.