Determined: To Win (Determined Trilogy Book 3) (15 page)

“Then we meet back here on Friday night and go over next steps. What time does the service end?”

“I’m not sure … maybe four-thirty, five o’clock?”
I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this. This is freaking nuts. This is supposed to be a memorial service.

“We’ll have Elliot bring you back here. We’ll plan on debriefing after the service if Brian doesn’t show.”

I took another deep breath and closed my eyes for a moment. When I opened them, everyone in the room had their eyes trained on me. “Okay, fine. How will I know who the plainclothes agents are tomorrow?”

“You won’t,” Agent Williams said.

I glanced around the room and then looked down at the floor. “I’d like to talk to David alone for a minute,” I said, finally. David gave a little nod, and the agents, along with the security team, left for the hallway.

David got up and walked around the desk to me. “Samantha, I know this is probably a little overwhelming…”

“It’s not that…” I cut in, “It’s just—it’s a lot to think about tomorrow, when I’d rather be grieving my friend.”

David looked down at the floor for a few beats and then back at me. “I know baby. And I’m sorry we have to do this. It’s just too good of an opportunity to pass up.”

“Are you still going to be at work?”

“Yes, they think it would arouse suspicion if I don’t go. But I will meet you after.” He lifted my chin up and looked in my eyes. “Trust me baby, I am not going to let anything happen to you.”

I nodded and let him pull me in. As I closed my eyes against him, I knew I would be fine. This man would walk through fire for me. Living together, engaged or not engaged, it didn’t matter. I knew we were soul mates, and that he’d do anything to keep me safe. This was what I wanted to believe. This was what I had to believe.

25

David

“Do you think she suspects anything?”

Ted looked over at me. The agents had all departed, and I leaned back against the door of the office to make sure it was closed all the way before responding. The whole plan hinged on Samantha not knowing what was going to really happen tomorrow afternoon, and I had to admit, this made me slightly nervous. The agents subscribed to the typical law-enforcement ‘need to know’ philosophy, and had managed to convince my security team and my loyal lawyer, Ted, that this was the best course of action.

“I honestly don’t know,” I said flatly. “I’m trusting them and their experience this time, Ted. And I’m trusting you to tell me if I’m being an idiot.”

“And you know I’d never pass up such an opportunity, DK. But the situation doesn’t warrant it. Really. Sam’s going to be fine. You need to trust them.”

“I hate lying to her.”

“Relax. You aren’t lying—this isn’t
suppressio veri
. You are just
omitting
the truth and it’s for her own good. She’d never agree to this otherwise. You’ve been dealing with this too long. It’s time put it to bed. For the both of you.”

I rubbed my face with both my hands, exhausted, and looked over at Ted. The man had counseled me since I had first gotten into the business world years ago. And he had never steered me wrong. I should trust him.

“Come on, where’s the DK I know? I’ve never known you to shy away from a gamble in the business arena—”

“We are not betting on a company or share price,
Ted
. This is Samantha we are talking about. We are talking about purposely putting her in harm’s way.” To say I was conflicted was an understatement. My gut had been wrenching for days over this plan.

“They are professionals, David. You need to trust them,” he said again.

I paused and then finally nodded my head. I was not looking forward to tomorrow.

26

“Miss, I took the liberty of pressing some outfits for you. They are on the bed in your room.”

“Thank you, Hilde.” I looked over at her and smiled. She was standing by the sink, cleaning up after our late lunch. Getting my clothes ready was a sweet gesture that made this day as painless as possible, but pressed clothes or not, today was going to suck. There was just no way around it. I was saying goodbye to not just my boss, but to my mentor and friend. Curtis had watched over me since I arrived at the gallery, and his encouragement and friendship were going to be impossible to replace.

While I was brooding, the doorbell rang. I got up to answer it, and it was Agent Williams, ready to hook me up to the monitoring system so that we could try and catch not just the monster that had done this to Curtis, but the prick who had been tormenting David and me for the past few weeks.

“Hey, I just need to get dressed. It will only take a second. Do you want to wait in the living room?”

“Sure, Ms. Sharp. Just let me know when you are ready.”

I hurried back to the bedroom, and surveyed the clothing selection Hilde had prepared. I ended up going with a set of black trousers and a black sweater. Black. Black felt so inappropriate for today. Curtis was so much more than black. Curtis was hot pink. Yellow. Cerulean blue. I tied a purple scarf around my neck in tribute to him, and then pulled it back off with a sigh. I wasn’t sure what was appropriate—I had never been to a memorial service before. I hated all the black. I hated today.

Once dressed, I checked myself in the mirror and walked down the hall to grab Agent Williams.

“Ready?” she asked. I nodded.

She followed me back into the bedroom and took out the device I was supposed to wear. It was small, tiny really—just a little gray box with a clip on it.

“Okay, so this is really simple. All we need to do is hook this onto your waistband and then we will do a test.”

“What about the wire?”

Agent Williams laughed. “Oh, that’s just the terminology. No one actually wears a wire anymore. It’s all digital now. This little guy is all we need,” she said, smiling as she snapped the box inside the top of my trousers. “There. Done. Now let me test it.” She whipped out a cell phone, pushed a few keys then put the phone away, apparently satisfied. “Okay, good. All set.”

“That’s it?” I asked.

“Yep, you are good to go. Technology is a remarkable thing, isn’t it? Just try not to knock the device around too much, and you should be fine.”

“Okay. Is it okay to cover it with my sweater?” I asked. I never would be able to explain this to the girls if they caught a glimpse of my waistband.

Agent Williams chuckled. “Sure, Sam. Just try to forget it’s there. Now, let’s get you going. We’ve got some work to do.”

I nodded and stood up, following her to the kitchen in search of Elliot.

He was there with Hilde, sitting at the counter, sipping a cup of coffee. He was dressed appropriately for a service, in a non-descript black suit. He and Hilde looked over as I came into the room.

“Hey, Sam,” Elliot said gently as he put the mug back on the counter. “How are you feeling?”

“About as expected.” I sighed as I helped myself to a cup of coffee. Elliot just nodded. I’m sure Hilde had clued him in on my mood. I sipped the coffee for a few moments while we all stood around silently. I was such a mess of nerves. My mind started to wander to David and his role in all this. I didn’t blame him, not in the least. But I felt guilty. Because honestly, if I hadn’t met David, Curtis might still be alive. The thought had surfaced before and clearly wasn’t going away. Instead, it sat inside my mind, festering, digging a dark hole into my subconscious. It wasn’t fair, to me or to David, but there it was.

“Are we ready to go?” I said finally, eager for a change of scene and ready to try and get some justice for my friend.

“Ready if you are,” Elliot said, drinking the last of his coffee. He got up, and we walked to the elevator and went down to the car in silence.

I don’t remember what happened in the car ride over. If there was traffic or if it was clear. If it was foggy or if it rained. I was in a daze the whole way. I was only ushered back to reality when we parked down the street from Chapel of the Chimes. I looked out the window. There were a ton of cars circling. Clearly this was going to be a busy service.

As we approached the single story, historic building, a greeter welcomed us and pointed us toward the front door. Inside, the echoing halls of the columbarium were lined with metal drawers containing the cremated remains of those long past. I made my way toward a reception table, so that I could sign the guest book while Elliot hung back. While I was waiting, I looked around. The place was filling up rapidly. I craned my neck, looking for Carrie, Eve and Kate, but couldn’t see very far into the crowd. I gave up and texted them to let them know where I was. I hoped they got there soon. Once I got to the guestbook, I was taken off guard by the large photo of Curtis sitting on the table. He looked so happy, posed with a woman I guessed was his sister. Tears started to well up in my eyes, and I grabbed one of the complimentary packets of tissues off the table before leaving to let the next person sign.

Elliot stood with me as I dabbed my eyes. I noticed him subtly scanning the crowd.
Right. Brian.
I was surprised I had been able to put the concern out of my mind. I put my hand to my waist, checking to make sure the receiver was still in place. It was. I followed Elliot’s gaze as it circled the room, looking for a thatch of blond hair or a glint of pale skin. It was an impossible task; there were so many people there, and all colors and shapes. I shifted my focus and tried to guess who the plainclothes agents were, but every time my eyes landed on a man or woman who seemed serious and solitary, someone would come up to them, and knock them out of their fog of grief.

I was staring at a well-dressed middle-aged man on the far side of the room when a husky voice said my name.

“Samantha Sharp?”

I turned in the direction of the voice. Camille. I had met her in Miami last month. Evan had introduced me to her at an Art Basel party. She owned a couple of galleries in San Francisco and New York.

“Camille. What are you doing here?” I asked, surprised. It probably wasn’t the most polite way to start a conversation, but she hadn’t exactly been the warmest person when we last spoke.

“Curtis and I go way back. Didn’t I tell you that? I still can’t believe it. This is just tragic. He was in the prime of his life.” She looked genuinely upset. I let down my guard-today wasn’t the day to hold grudges.

“I know. We’re all heartbroken at the gallery. He was the best.”

She dabbed the corners of her eyes with a tissue, carefully keeping her eye make-up intact. “Samantha, you know, I was actually hoping I would run into you.” Camille pulled in closer to me, her eyes turning dark and serious. “Curtis called me before he died.”

“He did?” I said, there was something in her tone of voice that made my throat seize up.

“About you.”

I furrowed my brow at her. “What do you mean?”

“He said he’d gotten wind of what Evan had done to you.” She moved to a whisper. “You know, your reputation. He wanted my help in combatting the damage.” She pulled back but kept her tone low. “He was pissed, Sam. At Evan. He was calling in all his connections.”

I looked at her, dumbfounded. I mean, I had known Curtis was concerned, but, wow.

“And I want you to know, I don’t know what happened with you and Evan, but I don’t tolerate that way of working. Lord knows the business is hard enough as it is, without lies and rumors. Just because he had a thing for you doesn’t mean he’s allowed to tear you to shreds. I’m going to do my best to make sure everyone knows that Samantha Sharp is good people, okay hun?”

I was floored. Camille had seemed chummy with Evan at Art Basel, but maybe I mis-read the situation.

“Curtis also told me you were still seeing David Keith.”

I cringed, suddenly remembering the wire. I imagined the agents, back at the office, huddled around a speaker, listening to all these details about my personal life. I had to be careful about what I was going to say. “Uh, um. Yes. I am.”

Camille didn’t flinch. “Good, hun. You must have something special. I didn’t mean to doubt that before.”

Uh, thank you?
How do you respond to someone who was congratulating you on your ability to lasso a wild horse? “Thanks Camille. We’re very happy.”

“Okay, well, we will talk soon I’m sure.” She motioned with her chin across the room. “I see someone over there I need to say hello to. In the meantime, if you encounter any more backlash from Evan, let me know, and I’ll help fill in now that Curtis can’t.”

I nodded gratefully, and we exchanged brief hugs before she set off for the other side of the room.

I brushed my fingers over my waistband again, feeling around discretely to make sure the clip was still in place. For a moment, I thought I saw a blond man who looked like Brian, but when he turned around, the he was actually a she. This whole process was making me paranoid. I gave my body a little shake, and was headed back toward the memorial hall when I ran into Carrie and Eve.

“Oh, hey guys, thank God you are here,” I said, pulling them both into a group hug. “I was looking for you.”

“Sorry Sam, we just got here. Parking was a nightmare,” Carrie said.

“Yeah, it’s amazing, right? So many people.” Eve added, looking around at the crowd.

We all stood around nodding, not sure of what to say. I mean really, what do you say at a memorial service? What can you talk about that is of any consequence?

“Do you guys want to get seats for the service?” I finally asked.

They agreed, and we went into the main hall and commandeered some seats toward the back, saving an extra two for Kate and Greg, who were supposed to join us. I looked around carefully, surveying the area.

“Are you looking for David?” Carrie asked as we sat down. “Should we save him a seat?” We had gotten our seats just in time; the crowd was now starting to fill the hall for the service.

I turned to her. “No, he couldn’t make it. He wanted to, but he had something come up at work that he couldn’t miss.” A glint of copper-colored hair caught my eye across the room. “Hey look, there’s Kate.”

We gently waved our arms and after a beat Kate saw us and headed over.