Midnight Lies: The Wildefire Series (45 page)

Samantha hated to ask the question, but it needed to be said. “Do you think she killed
him?”

A soft snort came from the doorway. “I can be reckless on occasion, but I’m not insane.”

Samantha and Savvy turned at the same time. Bri stood at the bedroom door. Wearing
a pair of gray fleece sweatpants and a FSU T-shirt, she looked about sixteen years
old. The defiant, stubborn look on her face was an expression both sisters knew well.
She was on shutdown.

“You’ve been so secretive, that was the only scenario I could come up with on why
you won’t tell us what’s going on. I thought we agreed to share everything,” Samantha
said.

“Don’t try to guilt me into telling you something that I can’t. It’s better that both
you and Savvy stay out of this.”

“Stay out of what?” Savvy asked. “We don’t even know what we’re staying out of.”

Bri chewed her bottom lip worriedly for several seconds, then shook her head again.
“No, it’s safer this way.”

“Safer for whom?”

“For all of us. You guys are just going to have to trust me on this.”

“Trusting you isn’t the issue, Bri,” Samantha said. “You know we trust you with our
lives.”

“Then let it go. Believe me, it’s better this way.”

“Better for whom?”

“For all of us.” She bit her lip and added, “Most especially for me.”

“Did you tell Zach?” Savvy asked.

“No. He asked me what was wrong. I told him what I’ve told you guys.”

“Which is nothing,” Savvy said. “You know there isn’t anything you could tell us that
would shock us or we would reveal to anyone.”

“I know that, Savvy. I just—”

Dreading to know the answer, Samantha asked anyway. “You’re in danger, aren’t you?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.” She shook her head. “Probably not, but it’s safer if we just
pretend we never even knew about Armando Cruz. Lauren is perfectly safe. No one’s
going to come looking for her.”

“And is someone going to come looking for you?” Samantha asked.

Chin up, green eyes lit with that rebellious streak that was so Bri, she shook her
head emphatically.

Samantha met Savvy’s eyes and saw resignation and acceptance. When Bri went into one
of her silent moods, there was no going further with her.

“If you change your mind, you know we’re always here. Right?” Samantha said.

“Thanks, you two. You know I love you lots.”

Though Bri’s smile was brilliant, the solemnity of her eyes said there was something
major bothering her. But until she agreed to share, there was nothing else Sam or
Savvy could do.

“Now that we’ve got that settled.” Savvy cut her eyes over to Bri. “Or not. I’ve got
something I need to talk to both of you about.”

Apparently deciding she wasn’t going to have to bolt to avoid being questioned, Bri
finally came farther into the room. And because she couldn’t stay irritated with either
sister for more than a couple of minutes, Samantha motioned her over to sit in the
oversized chair with her.

With another brilliant smile, this one reaching her eyes, Bri settled into the chair.
Leaning her head against Bri’s shoulder, Samantha turned to Savvy and said, “What’s
up?”

“Brody and Logan mentioned something to me a couple of days ago. I told them I’d talk
to you guys about it because unless we’re all on board with it, it’s a no-go.”

“What is it?”

“They want to know if we want to partner with them on the security agency. It would
stay the Wildefire Security Agency, but we would be equal partners.”

“We do work really well together,” Bri said.

“And they have more business than they can handle,” Samantha added.

Savvy grinned. “Whereas we’ve had one case so far.”

“Would they keep their office in Mobile?”

“Yes, though if we agree to the partnership, we’ll run the main business here at the
Wilde house. Both Brody and Logan would move to Midnight but would go to Mobile a
couple of times a week to meet with clients, if necessary.”

For the first time in days, Samantha felt a spark of
excitement. Still, that excitement was tempered with practicality. “One of our biggest
problems is lack of exposure. If they come here, isn’t that going to compound the
problem?”

Savvy grinned and Samantha realized her sister had probably figured all of this out
beforehand. One of the things she admired most about Savvy was her planning skills.

“We’re going to get plenty of exposure. I’ve talked to a Web designer. She’s sending
me several mock-ups we can choose from. And Brody and Logan both have a load of contacts,
which is where most of their business has been coming from.”

“And?” Bri asked.

“I got a call this morning from a pharmaceutical company in Atlanta. They’re interested
in retaining us for a fraud investigation.”

“Why us?” Samantha asked. “There’re a dozen or more security agencies in Atlanta,
all with more experience.”

“It’s on the hush-hush. They didn’t want to use anyone close by. And someone you used
to work with, Sammie, told them about us.”

“Who’s that?”

“Captain Mintz.”

That brought a smile to her face. She was glad there were no hard feelings that she
had so abruptly left the force.

“So what do you guys think?” Savvy asked. “If we start getting more jobs, we’re going
to need more people to work them.”

“I’m in,” Bri said. “I like working with both men.”

Samantha nodded. “I do, too. And I don’t know what we would have done without them
the last few months.”

“Then it’s settled. How about we set up a meeting January 2 to discuss moving forward?”

“Why wait so long?” Samantha asked.

“For one thing, you’re still recovering. And another thing, Logan is gone for a few
days.”

“Visiting family for the holidays?”

Both of her sisters shook their heads but it was Bri who said, “My fault. I told Lauren
she was no longer in danger. Within the hour, she was gone. Didn’t say goodbye to
anyone. Left a note, along with ten thousand dollars in cash.”

“What did the note say?”

“ ‘Thanks for your help.’ ”

“And Logan has gone after her?”

“Yeah.” Bri grimaced. “To put it mildly, he was pissed. He came by to tell us and
then tore out of the drive like a bat out of hell.”

Logan’s attraction to Lauren had been apparent to anyone who was around him for more
than five minutes. Had she left because of that or something else?

“Okay, I’ll give Brody a call and let him know we’re in. Hopefully Logan will be back
by then.” Savvy stopped at the door and turned back to leave some parting news. “By
the way, we’ve settled on a name—Camille Sage. What do you think?”

Tears sprang to Samantha’s eyes. As she had so many times before, Savvy was showing
her love for her sisters. Camille was Samantha’s middle name and Sage was Bri’s. “That’s
perfect, thank you,” Samantha said.

Bri nodded her agreement. “I love it, too.”

“Good. Couldn’t resist using two of my favorite people’s names.”

The instant Savvy disappeared, Bri got to her feet. “I’m in the mood for some major
cooking.”

Bri cooked massive amounts of food when she had something on her mind.

“Are you sure you can’t tell us—tell me—what’s going on?” Samantha asked.

“I can’t, Sammie. Believe me, I would if I could.” Stopping at the door, she turned
and said, “Jambalaya sound good to you?”

Refusing to let it go without one more push, she said, “If there’s anything I can
do, will you let me know?”

Bri grinned. “After the way you handled that bastard Blaine Marshall, you bet. You’ll
be the first person I call.”

The worry increased as Samantha watched her sister leave the room. Not for a moment
did she believe her. What in the world had Bri gotten herself mixed up in?

Quinn pulled in front of the Wilde mansion. He’d been back for two days, and as far
as he knew, only two people in town, Zach and Brody, knew he was back. Somehow the
gossips of Midnight hadn’t detected his presence. Of course, it helped that he had
arrived before dawn the day before yesterday and hadn’t stepped foot off his property
since.

It had almost killed him to walk away from Sam. Every day he was gone felt like he’d
lost something of himself. And with each phone call, she seemed to be drifting further
and further away from him. Most of the time, she gave monosyllabic answers to his
questions. Getting her to tell him what was wrong had been impossible. She’d said
she understood why he had to leave, but dammit, something was off.

So he’d come back two days ago and had been working night and day since. Grand gestures
weren’t his forte and there wasn’t a woman in the world that would call him the least
bit romantic. But for Sam, he would try.

He got out of his car and marched up the steps. He almost felt like he was starting
all over again, the way he did when he’d first come to Midnight to apologize. Her
reception had been cold then. Would he meet with the same resistance?

He rang the doorbell and wasn’t surprised when it
was opened immediately by a brilliantly smiling Savannah. He’d figured Zach would
probably tell his wife what he and Brody had been helping him with.

“Thank goodness you finally came.”

“What’s wrong? Is Sam okay?”

“Oh, she’s fine physically. And I have a feeling she’ll soon be fine in every other
way, too.”

“I hope so.”

“Why don’t you go on up? Her bedroom is on the second floor, the fourth room on the
left.”

His heart rate increasing in anticipation, Quinn raced up the stairs. He stopped at
Sam’s bedroom door, took a breath, and knocked.

“Come in.”

Opening the door, he stood for a moment and just drank in the sight of her. The panicked
feeling he’d been having slowly melted away. Everything was going to be all right.

She was sitting by the window, looking outside. She wore faded jeans, the kind that
made her slender, beautiful legs look impossibly long; the deep red of her sweater
made him think she was trying to get into the holiday spirit. He hoped to help her
with that.

Apparently thinking it was one of her sisters who’d entered, she said, “I think we
need to get started on rebuilding the guesthouse. That way I can live there and Bri—”

“But you already have a house here.”

She gasped and turned. “What are you doing here? When did you get back?”

Since it was easier, he answered the second question first. “Day before yesterday,
around three in the morning.”

“But why didn’t you tell me you were back?”

“I wanted to surprise you.”

Instead of the brilliant smile he’d hoped for, she gave
him one of her solemn, too-serious looks. Something was definitely wrong and it wasn’t
just his absence the last few days.

He walked slowly toward her. “What’s wrong? Aren’t you glad to see me?”

“Of course I am. Did you get everything taken care of in Atlanta?”

“Yeah. Charlene’s murder case is officially closed. You don’t have to do more than
the statement you gave Zach. That, with the necklace, sealed the deal.”

“I’m glad. And your parents—did you see them?”

“Yes, I saw them.”

Quinn waited for the anger to reappear and was surprised when he felt nothing. The
people who had claimed to be his parents were no longer a part of his life. And there
was a possibility that Geneva Braddock could be in serious trouble. She swore she
had no idea what her son was capable of. That was up to the judicial system. As far
as Quinn was concerned, she no longer existed.

“Turns out Geneva’s been sending money to Dalton for years. Even paid for extensive
plastic surgery.”

“Why plastic surgery?”

Quinn shrugged. “Everyone believed he was dead. He had a new face, a new identity,
so she could pretend he was a new person, too. Most of his surgery took place in Florida.”

“That’s why he had such an extreme reaction when I asked him about spending time in
Florida.”

“That’d be my guess.”

Quinn still couldn’t get his head wrapped around the fact that Geneva had hidden from
the world that her sick freak of a son was roaming the countryside. Since he had a
new identity and a new face, no one could tie him back to the Braddocks of Virginia.

“Dalton was released into his parents’ care when he was seventeen. To avoid the stigma
of having a mentally
unbalanced son, they claimed he committed suicide. So much better to be the grieving
parents of a deceased child than the parents of a live psychopath.”

The memorial, the giant tombstone, the fabricated grief—all had been lies perpetrated
by two people who were so fucking selfish and self-absorbed that a taint on their
reputation was worse than the knowledge that they’d freed a lunatic.

“Geneva swore that the doctors had him well in line. Dalton had an apartment, a job … just
like a regular person. She said she believed he was perfectly sane. That the medications
he was on prevented the violent temper tantrums and destructive behavior. About ten
months ago, he went off the grid. Didn’t keep his doctor’s appointments and no one
knew of his location.” Bitterness entered his voice as he added, “She didn’t know
what to do, so she did nothing.”

Sam gasped. “That’s why she called you out of the blue nine months ago.”

“Yeah. She knew Dalton might come looking for me.”

And he had. Problem was, he hadn’t sought Quinn out to reconnect with his older brother.
The bastard had only wanted one thing—payback.

“Still don’t know why they never bothered to tell me I was adopted.” He shrugged and
added, “Maybe they knew how happy and relieved that would’ve made me.”

“You’d think someone in your town would have figured it out and told you.” She gave
him a quick smile, briefly looking like the old Sam. “If you had lived in Midnight,
there’d be no way you wouldn’t have known.”

“I’ve missed you.”

“Have you?”

He sat on the window seat, facing her. “Tell me what’s wrong, sweetheart.”