Midnight Lies: The Wildefire Series (18 page)

“Yeah. It never would have lasted.”

“So what’s your girlfriend’s name?”

“I don’t really want to talk about her. That’s over and done with.”

Samantha knew to back off. Shrugging, she said, “No problem. So have you had a chance
to check out the beaches around here? Alabama has some of the most beautiful beaches
in the world.”

“Not yet. It’s still a little cool for me.”

Before she could comment that Indiana weather was a heck of a lot cooler than it was
here, he raised the bottle of wine beside him and said, “Ready for more?”

She shook her head. “No thanks.”

As he topped his glass off, he said casually, “I heard that you and your sisters have
a security agency.”

Though she maintained her bland expression, her heartbeat picked up again. They’d
skirted around the issue of jobs and careers. This question sounded innocuous enough
but she was on alert.

“That’s right,” Samantha said. “We’re still fairly new at it.”

She and Savvy had talked about this scenario. They
had agreed that Samantha would be a wide-eyed, clueless girl who was just playing
at this security thing. If Blaine was Cruz’s man and believed she was incompetent,
he would be more likely to let his guard down. Of course, he would also discover at
some point that she had been a cop. She was prepared for that, too.

“How did you get started in something like that?”

She shrugged. “Just seemed like an interesting thing to do. I saw this television
documentary about all sorts of exciting stuff people got involved with. We’re just
going to try it for a few months to see how we like it. If it doesn’t work out, no
big deal.”

“But I heard you were once a cop.”

She scrunched her nose up and fluttered her hand in a dismissive gesture. “Yeah … well,
that didn’t work out, either.”

Seeming satisfied with her vague answer, he said, “So what kind of cases does the
Wildefire Agency handle?”

“Oh, you know … security issues and things like that.” She shrugged. “We’re just learning
this stuff.”

She hated to sound this clueless, but if she went into detail, he’d definitely know
she had a few more brain cells than he expected.

“You haven’t had any cases yet?”

Oh, he was definitely digging. She was wearing the wire Brody had loaned her and knew
he and Savvy were listening to every word and nuance of the conversation.

“Not yet but we’re hoping something will come our way soon.” She grinned and added,
“Midnight isn’t exactly a hub of excitement, and since we’ve not done any advertising
yet, I doubt anyone outside of town has even heard of us.”

“Samantha, how are you?”

She’d been so focused on playing her role, Mary-Jo Deacon was at her table before
she knew it. Smiling
her greeting, Samantha was about to pretend she didn’t know that Mary-Jo and Blaine
already knew each other and was going to introduce them. Instead Blaine started talking
to the woman as if they were the best of friends. The man really could put on the
charm when he wanted.

Samantha was content to watch them converse, her eyes on Blaine. He really was a nice-looking,
pleasant man. The bland, even-keeled kind of guy she had always felt comfortable dating.
Quinn had been completely different from any man she’d ever met. It was no wonder
she’d found him so fascinating.

A week had passed since she’d run into him. Midnight was a small enough town for her
to know that he had left. She told herself she wasn’t disappointed that he had given
up so easily. She hadn’t wanted him to stick around and try to see her again … she
hadn’t.

There was a lull in the conversation and Samantha looked up from her inattention to
see that both Blaine and Mary-Jo were looking at her. Apparently one of them had said
something and she was expected to respond.

With a silent furious curse at her carelessness, Samantha gave them her most winning
smile. “I’m sorry, I was just noticing how lovely your blouse is, Mary-Jo. What were
you saying?”

Mary-Jo laughed. “Thank you, Samantha. You always say the nicest things. I was just
saying that I finally sold the Hartley place. I remember you once told me how much
you loved that house.”

Samantha’s heart sank a little. Silly, but she had hoped to buy the place one day.
Her inheritance was more than enough to purchase and renovate the house. Being too
pragmatic, she had talked herself out of it numerous times. Since she lived in Atlanta,
it had made no sense to buy a house hundreds of miles away. Still, there was a
strong tug to her heart at the loss. If she had been thinking clearly the last few
months, she might have made the purchase. She loved living with her sisters again,
but Savvy and Zach would soon be parents, and though the mansion was large enough
to accommodate several families, she knew there were times they’d appreciate having
the place to themselves. If the guesthouse hadn’t been destroyed, she and Bri would
probably have moved into it. A newly wedded couple needed privacy.

Hiding her disappointment behind a bright smile, she said, “Congratulations on the
big sale. Who are the lucky owners?”

“The buyer asked to remain private for the time being.”

Now, that was interesting. “The Hartley family didn’t change their stipulation, did
they?”

“No, and the new owner agreed to it. It will remain a single-family residence.”

Dismissing it as an oddity but nothing more, Samantha nodded and smiled through the
rest of the conversation.

When Mary-Jo finally returned to her own table, Blaine gave Samantha a wide grin.
“She’s a talker.”

Samantha laughed. “That she is.”

“So this place she sold … you had your heart set on it?”

“Not really. It was just one of those silly dreams I had as a kid. Did you have fantasies
like that? Things you wanted but when you grew older or gained more experience, you
realized they would never happen or weren’t rational?”

An odd, fleeting expression crossed Blaine’s face, and once again Samantha felt as
if she saw behind the pleasant mask to a man with a multitude of secrets. An instant
later, the amiable smile was firmly in place. But now her suspicions had greatly increased.
Could the
seemingly mild-mannered, uncomplicated Blaine Marshall be Armando Cruz’s man after
all?

“Then on June 6, Armando took me to Isis, a nightclub in downtown Miami. We’d never
been there before. I didn’t want to go. I had a bad headache, but as usual, he didn’t
care. We sat in the back, hidden from view, like we usually did. His regular goons,
Dallas Bartow and Ray Slatterly, were with him. Armando was in a lousy mood, worse
than usual. Ray got a call on his cellphone. The music was so loud it was impossible
to hear the conversation, but the look on his face made it clear it was bad news.
He muttered something to Armando. I picked up the words ‘lost shipment’ and ‘went
sour.’ Whatever had happened, it infuriated Armando. He ordered everyone at the table
to get up.”

For at least two hours, Samantha had sat in the living room of the safe house, out
of view of the camera, and listened in both horror and awe as Lauren detailed her
two-year nightmare with Armando Cruz. The young woman had already admitted to being
a naïve, starstruck girl who had been impressed with the man’s wealth and influence.
She said she soon regretted her association with him but unfortunately it was too
late. What followed were two years of abuse, both physical and mental.

“Armando grabbed my arm and pulled me with him. We went into a room in the back of
the club. Armando threw me into a chair and turned around to Ray.”

Lauren’s detailed account of the violent argument and then the gruesome murder of
Ray Slatterly would turn any sane person’s stomach. Slatterly had apparently
botched a job he’d been in charge of, and based upon Lauren’s eyewitness report, Cruz
had spared the man nothing.

“When it was over, Armando was covered in blood. Then he …” Shuddering, Lauren closed
her eyes and swallowed thickly. “That’s all I can tell you about that one.”

“You need a break?”

The deep voice came from the man behind the camera. Logan Wright had barely let Lauren
out of his sight since he’d met her. Though the man was as closemouthed and reserved
as they came, the tic in his jaw and the blazing fury in his eyes each time Lauren
described her life with Cruz told the tale. Logan was enamored of the beautiful, damaged
woman.

Lauren shook her head. “Just some water, maybe.”

Savvy, who was sitting a few feet from Samantha, sprang to her feet and filled a glass
from the pitcher on the table and handed it to Lauren.

The woman nodded her thanks and sipped her water. Then, with a determined breath,
she said, “Okay, I’m ready,” and began another account of one of Cruz’s many illegal
activities.

The cellphone in Samantha’s pocket vibrated and she pulled it discreetly out, not
wanting to disturb the taping. A surge of panic jolted through her as Ian Mackenzie’s
name flashed on the screen. It had to be about Bri.

Getting up as slowly and calmly as possible, Samantha made a sweeping smile of apology
to no one in particular as she exited the room. The last thing she wanted to do was
alarm Savvy.

She waited till she was in the bathroom with the door closed before she answered.
“Ian? What’s wrong?”

“Have you talked to Brina?” The urgency in his voice told her she was right to be
alarmed.

“No, what’s happened?”

“I’ll tell you what’s happened. Your stubborn, foolish sister is in over her head.”

“Dammit, Ian. What?”

“She’s gone inside Cruz’s domain.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean she’s gone undercover.”

Trying to control the fear zooming through her, Samantha said, “Tell me exactly what
you know.”

“We had an argument. I won’t go into detail but she left me a note saying she had
an informant she was meeting. The next thing I know, I get a text with the damn evasive
message of ‘I’m in. Don’t try to contact me.’ ”

Shit, shit, shit. Bri hadn’t pulled one of her crazy stunts in a long time. That could
only mean one thing. The argument with Ian had scared her. Nothing could be done about
that now. She just needed to figure out how she was going to make sure Bri didn’t
get herself killed. After listening to Lauren’s horrific accounts, Samantha knew that
was a definite possibility. Cruz didn’t react well to people who betrayed him.

“This man is not someone to cross, Ian. Bri could be in a lot of danger.”

“Believe me, I’ve heard enough about the man to know that. He’s the most dangerous
kind of maniac. He’s got the power to do what he damn well wants and more than enough
money to pay off as many people as he needs to look the other way.”

“I’ll call her and try to get her out of there.”

“Good luck.” He paused and then added, “Tell her I’m sorry, will you, Samantha? I
shouldn’t have pushed her.”

“I will, Ian.” She closed the phone and blew out a ragged breath. It was as she’d
feared. Ian had probably tried to get her to commit and Bri had run like a terrified
deer.

Samantha was about to hit her speed dial to make the
call when Savvy knocked on the door. “Sammie, are you in there?”

Pocketing the phone, Samantha hurriedly turned on the faucet for water noise and called
out, “Yes, I’ll be out in a minute.”

“Hmm, could you make it faster than a minute?”

Despite her worry, Samantha laughed. Savvy’s increased need to use the bathroom was
so normal and safe. Sanity in the midst of madness.

Opening the door, she said, “Sorry, I got a call from an old friend. Didn’t want to
disturb anyone.”

Savvy grinned as she hurriedly unzipped her pants. “No problem. Little Bit’s just
pressing on my bladder more than usual today.”

Leaving the bathroom, Samantha headed outside to her car. She would keep Bri’s reckless
behavior from Savvy as long as possible. Her sister didn’t need any additional worries.
And as soon as she confirmed that Bri was okay, she was going to make sure her sister
knew how wrong she was for putting them through the stress. She wasn’t above using
Savvy as a weapon of guilt. Keeping her sister safe was more important than her feelings.

The instant she slid behind the wheel of her car, Samantha pressed speed dial for
Bri, who picked up on the first ring. “Hey, I was going to call you in a few minutes.
You’ll never guess what happened.”

Bri sounded thrilled and so very proud of herself. So much so that Samantha could
feel her anger deflate. That didn’t lessen the worry, though. “You’re in Cruz’s camp?”

“How did you—” Bri blew out an angry breath. “Ian … I told him to stay out of it.”

“He’s worried about you. And so am I. How could you do this without talking to me
first?”

“I didn’t plan it, Sammie. My main contact here in
Miami told me that the police have a man working on the inside. So I went to the cops
and made them an offer. I’m going in as the undercover cop’s girlfriend.”

“And what did you promise them?”

“I told them we had evidence that couldn’t convict Cruz on its own but we could use
it to back up anything they had. I told them as soon as they arrest him and make their
case, I’d give them enough to bury the bastard.”

“Bri, you’re going to get yourself killed. The man is a monster. I’ve been listening
to Lauren’s tapings. He has no conscience or morals.”

“Which is exactly why he needs to be stopped.”

She played her best card. “Have you thought about what this is going to do to Savvy?
She’s going to be worried sick about you.”

“And that’s why you can’t tell her.”

“How am I going to keep it from her?”

“Tell her I’m digging for info. Just don’t tell her I’m going undercover.”

“And how do you think she’ll feel if something happens to you?”

“It won’t, Sammie. I’ll be fine.”

“What did you and Ian argue about?”