Midnight Lies: The Wildefire Series (12 page)

Lauren nodded vigorously. “I took two buses, paid cash for a used car in Birmingham
and used a fake name. No one followed me.”

“You’d better hope to hell you’re right, because if you’ve brought that scum to my
town and endangered my family, Armando Cruz will be the least of your problems.”

Feeling decidedly uneasy, Samantha said, “Maybe you should clue Savvy and me in on
who this Armando Cruz is.”

“He’s a drug lord out of Mexico,” Bri answered. “He relocated to Miami a few years
ago. He’s been tied to a half dozen or so murders, but the cops can’t make anything
stick.”

“He’s responsible for three times that many,” Lauren said.

“How do you know this?”

“I’ve been his mistress for over two years.”

Few things surprised Samantha or her sisters anymore. After learning the truth of
their parents’ murders, nothing seemed impossible or shocking.

Bri, who’d been keeping a watchful eye out the window, looked over her shoulder to
Lauren. “This man that’s stalking you … he’s not really stalking you, is he?”

“No, he’s trying to find me to bring me back to Armando.”

“Why?” Savannah asked.

Lauren shrugged delicate shoulders. “Armando told me more than once that I’d have
to die to leave him.”

“How long have you been trying to get away from him?” Savvy asked.

“Almost from the moment I met him.” Eyes haunted, her smiled strained, Lauren suddenly
looked much older than the lovely young woman who had walked confidently into their
office.

Sensing there was more to the matter than Cruz just wanting his mistress returned,
Samantha said, “What’s the other reason Cruz wants you back?”

“What do you mean?”

“She means, do you have information that could put him away?” Savvy asked.

“Not really. I may have picked up some things every now and then.”

Not for a minute did Samantha believe her. But they would get to that later. “Why
did you come to the Wildefire Agency?”

Before Lauren could answer, Bri did it for her. “You thought since we were new, we
might be so grateful for the business, we wouldn’t ask many questions.”

“I—”

Savvy leaned forward. “You have to be totally honest with us if you want us to take
your case.”

Lauren’s eyes went wide. “You’re still considering taking me on?”

Samantha shot Bri a searching look. She had total faith in her sisters’ abilities,
but now that Savvy was pregnant, she wasn’t sure taking this case was the right thing
to do. Protecting her sister and her baby was priority number one.

A huff of exasperated breath came from Savvy. “I saw that look, Samantha Camille Wilde.”

Samantha shrugged. “So? Is there anything wrong with wanting to make sure you and
the baby stay safe?”

“No, and I appreciate it, but I’m not going to allow you, Bri, or my gorgeous, overprotective
husband to treat me like I’m made of spun glass. I’m pregnant, not sick.”

Turning back to Lauren, Savvy ignored the looks both Samantha and Bri were giving
her and said, “What exactly did you think we would do, Lauren? Kill this man if he
came close to you?”

“I hadn’t really thought it through. I need protection.” Her chin lifted slightly.
“And think what you want of my reasons for choosing you, but I did hear that one of
you is a former cop, so I figured you could protect me.”

“Until what?” Samantha asked.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“I mean, how long will you need protection? Do you think Cruz will eventually give
up and just let you go?”

A deep furrow appeared in Lauren’s brow as if this had never occurred to her. She
confirmed Samantha’s thoughts with “I guess I haven’t thought that far ahead. I just
wanted to make sure he doesn’t catch me. I hadn’t thought about what happens next.”

“Do you have family, Lauren?” Savvy asked.

“No.” She surged to her feet and began to pace. “Look, I know I should have been honest
before, but I wasn’t sure how you’d take to protecting me from someone like Armando.”
She whirled around. “I have money … lots of money.”

Samantha met her sisters’ eyes. They were wondering the same thing she was. “How much?”

“Close to two million dollars.”

“And how did you get this money?”

The pacing increased, revealing more than any words Lauren could say.

“You stole it from him,” Savvy said.

Jerking to a stop in the middle of the room, she snarled, “I earned that money. He
would only give me enough to buy clothes or jewelry. I deserved it and a whole lot
more.”

“How did you steal it?”

“I didn’t steal it, I took what’s mine.”

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Samantha said, “How did you take it?”

“I drugged his drink one night, took his banking passwords he kept in a notebook,
and withdrew the money from some of his accounts. I did it over several months so
he wouldn’t notice it.” She shrugged. “He had millions and millions in those accounts.
I knew he wouldn’t miss a few thousand here or there.”

As if suddenly exhausted, Lauren returned to her seat, inelegantly slumping into her
chair. “That’s it … that’s the full truth.”

“So the real reason Cruz is after you has less to do with wanting you back in his
bed and more to do with recovering the money you took?”

For an instant, Samantha thought she was going to take exception to that statement.
Then, as if deciding
that disagreeing wouldn’t help her case, she shrugged and said haltingly, “Perhaps … maybe.
I don’t know.”

“So is there a man following you or not?” Samantha asked.

“I don’t know. Someone will be coming for me soon. I do know that.”

Savvy stood and went to the door. “As you might imagine, Lauren, my sisters and I
need to confer again. Are you staying anywhere right now?”

Lauren shook her head. “No. I came here as soon as I got into town.”

“Then you need a place to stay for the night. We have plenty of room. I’ll get April
to show you to a guest room.”

Tears filled Lauren’s eyes and she once again looked like a fragile, terrified young
woman. “Thank you.”

While Savvy spoke with April about which room to take Lauren to, Bri looked over at
Samantha. “I don’t like this.”

“Me either.”

“But we’re going to take it. Right?”

Samantha grinned. “Oh yeah. Definitely.”

“I don’t like this.”

Samantha hid a smile as her brother-in-law voiced his disapproval of the Wildefire
Agency’s first case. Those had been her and Bri’s exact words.

“What’s not to like?” Savvy said. “Lauren’s not even here at the house anymore. She’s
across town with Bri at your old house. No one’s going to come looking for her here.
We’re all perfectly safe.”

While Savvy and Zach argued, Samantha stood at the kitchen window. Even in early November,
the grounds in the back were beautiful, a testament to the tireless work her mother
and grandfather had put into them. They had wanted an oasis of beauty for the family
to enjoy. Many barbeques and parties had taken place there, along with quiet moments
of reflection.

As her mother had intended, the entire area was a place of serenity—with one stark
exception, the darkened bare area where the guesthouse had once stood. Only a few
months ago, her parents’ murderer had burned it to the ground in an effort to kill
Savvy and had almost succeeded. Zach had every right to be worried.

Construction to replace it hadn’t started yet. Each time she looked out the window,
there was the grim reminder of what had almost happened.

Samantha turned back to the couple sitting at the kitchen table. Despite her dismal
thoughts, she couldn’t help but smile at the scene. Though they were arguing, they
sat next to each other, holding hands, with Savvy’s head on Zach’s shoulder. After
what they’d been through to achieve their happy ending, the last thing she wanted
was to cause them trouble. Zach was Midnight’s chief of police. With only two deputies,
he had his hands full already.

“What happens after you protect this woman from a hit man?” Zach asked. “You take
care of one, another will replace him. If she has secrets this Cruz creep doesn’t
want known, he’ll keep sending people after her until he succeeds.”

“Not if we can bring him down,” Samantha said.

The chair skidded on the tiled floor as Zach went to his feet. He stared at Samantha,
then at his wife as if they’d both lost their minds, and said very quietly, “What?”

“Now, Zach,” Savvy said. “We can’t just let this man get away with what he’s been
doing. Not when we’ve got a way to stop him.”

“Shit, Savannah. That’s way past bodyguard services.”

“What choice do we have?” Samantha asked. “Like you said, Cruz won’t stop with one
man. He’ll keep sending people after her. Our only choice is to take out the big guy
himself.”

His eyes narrowed with suspicion, he asked, “Take him out how?”

Samantha snorted. “I’m not going to assassinate him, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Then what is your plan?”

“We gather all the intel Lauren has and take it to the DA’s office in Miami. Bri said
Florida officials have been after this guy for a while. Hopefully the information
Lauren has will put him away. And that will either
get Cruz out of her life for good, or, if she has to, she can go into witness protection.”

“What exactly does Lauren know?”

“We don’t know yet.”

“Well, why the hell not? She’s been in Midnight for three days.”

Savvy cut her eyes over to Samantha, who sighed and said, “She’s being evasive. First
she said she didn’t know anything. Then, when we pressed her, she said she’s protecting
us by not telling us.”

Zach gave a disbelieving snort. “Sounds to me like she’s playing games.”

“We’ve asked Brody and Logan to help out,” Savvy said. She shot Samantha a small smile.
“We think she might be more inclined to open up with them.”

“Why don’t—”

The radio attached to Zach’s belt squawked out the croaky voice of Midnight’s police
dispatcher, Hazel Adkins. “Chief, you there?”

Zach spoke into the mic. “Yeah, I’m here.”

“There’s a traffic accident over on the bypass, right in front of the motel. Three
car pileup.”

“Okay, I’m on my way.”

Zach gave both Savvy and Samantha a hard look. “This discussion isn’t over.”

He walked out the door before Samantha could respond to his dictatorial tone. Zach’s
having final approval authority on their cases wasn’t something she planned to let
happen. She glanced over at her sister and swallowed her indignation. Zach’s concern
was understandable. They had almost lost Savvy; there had been three attempts on her
life in as many days. That nightmarish time still lingered in everyone’s mind.

“Don’t worry, Sammie, he’ll come around. He’s just being super protective, with the
baby and all. And I
think he’s trying to make up for all the years we were apart. Give him some time.”

“I know. And he has every right to be concerned. Midnight doesn’t need any more trouble.”

“If we play our cards right, whoever Cruz sends after Lauren will never know she’s
here.”

“You think Brody and Logan are going to be able to get anything from her?”

“My money’s on Brody. Logan’s too taciturn.”

“Really?” Samantha grinned. “Want to place a little bet that Logan can get what we
need before Brody does?”

“You’re on.”

“They should arrive soon. I told them to go on to the safe house.” Samantha picked
up her cellphone. “I’ll check and see if they’re there yet.”

The doorbell chimed.

“You make the call, I’ll get the door,” Savvy said.

Samantha had just hit the speed-dial number for Bri when it suddenly occurred to her
that they needed to be careful about answering the door. If Cruz’s man had followed
Lauren to Midnight, he would know she had come here.

She dashed from the kitchen and was in the middle of the foyer when she heard Savvy
snap, “Well, she doesn’t want to see you. You need to leave.”

Surprised at the venom in her sister’s normally sweet tone, she took another step
and then jerked to an abrupt stop when she heard a familiar male voice growl, “Why
don’t you let her answer for herself?”

Quinn? He was here? In Midnight?

He almost made a huge mistake. When Samantha’s sister opened the door, Quinn had almost
grabbed and kissed her. Other than her hair being wavy and a darker
gold, she looked just like Sam. Good thing he hadn’t tried. The old saying “If looks
could kill” fit her expression perfectly. If it was up to this woman, he’d be road-kill
right about now.

Her eyes, so much like Sam’s, glared up at him icily. “Samantha’s not here.”

She tried to close the door; Quinn stuck his foot out to stop it. “I saw her car in
the drive.”

Stubborn mutiny entrenched on her face, she said, “She’s in another car. Leave. Now.”

“Then I’ll just wait till she comes home.”

“No. She’s not—”

“Savvy, that’s okay. I’ve got this.”

“Sammie, no, you don’t have to talk to him.”

Quinn’s heart set up a thudding so loud, he could barely hear the sisters speaking.
It felt like forever since he had heard that husky, ultra-feminine tone. He waited,
holding his breath, until she appeared at the door.

“What do you want, Quinn?”

As receptions went, it was ten degrees below subzero. He had expected nothing less
and deserved even worse.

“I’d like to talk to you.”

“Everything you had to say you articulated perfectly the last time I saw you. Nothing
more needs to be said.”

In seconds Quinn took in her appearance. She looked like Sam, but a different one
than he was used to. This was a much more casual Sam. Her hair was pulled back into
a high ponytail, she wore minimal makeup, and her long legs were encased in faded
jeans. An overlarge white shirt hung on her slender frame, hiding her curves. Quinn’s
gaze went back to her face, and the differences he saw there made his heart sink to
his feet. The biggest difference was its thinness. And her shirt wasn’t overlarge
because of its size. Hell, how much weight had she lost and was he the cause?