Deadly Deception - By Andrea Johnson Beck Page 0,39

her lower lip. She was allowing Anne’s words to soak in.

“Go. We’ll be there soon with back up. Don’t make me regret this, Anne. We all have a lot on the line.”

She nodded. Anne swiftly located Adam’s spare key for his newly restored 1967 cherry red Ford Mustang Shelby convertible. She left Victoria, knowing she was probably already regretting her decision to let her leave.

There it sat in all its vintage glory under a large black tarp in the car port next to the garage. Anne pulled the heavy nylon covering off the flashy red splendor and slid into the black leather driver’s seat. The roar of the engine growled like a lion ready to pounce. The thin snake-like steering wheel felt peculiar in her hands as she backed out of the parking spot.

Anne had grown to despise Victoria, but now she had become her only ally. She had never seen that one coming. She didn’t scream FBI—more like lingerie model. Anne was such a fool. She had believed Carter over her own fiancé. Carter had abandoned her, Adam had saved her, and what did she do? She turned around and abandoned him. Her chest flared from rage to sorrow. Her mother’s insanity had driven her into the ground. Maybe that’s what she needed to finally rid herself of Carter—a little insanity.

CHAPTER 14

The moon hung high in the velvet sky, only occasionally covered by ill-omened clouds. A few droplets of rain raced down the windshield while distant lightning lit up the city. Silently, Anne prayed that she would make it in time to save Adam. In his own backward way, he had been protecting her. She had made a deal with the devil the moment Carter held her in his arms and soothed her worries with a lullaby of deception. The very thought of their intimate encounter made her shudder with repulsion.

The drive to Leeds Imports seemed endless; her heart raced with angst. The flashes of electricity sewed through the black clouds, illuminating the large brick building. The parking lot was empty; all was quiet. She pulled around to the back of the building where the barbed wire fence separated her from the tan metal door. Leaving Adam’s prized possession parked in the darkness, she walked along the side of the building where she had noticed a gap between the fencing and brick wall. She slinked through without difficulty and pulled on the door, but it was locked tight.

“Damn it,” Anne hissed through her teeth.

Approaching three two-story dock entrances, she saw that one was slightly opened. Lowering her body to peer through the thin slit, she could see nothing but darkness. Hoisting herself onto the damp concrete slab, Anne pushed her body through the tight opening, sucking in her stomach until her ribs grazed the bottom of the massive steel door.

The substantial warehouse intimidated her five-foot, five-inch stature. All that echoed through the solid walls was the reverberation of the rumbling thunder. Inhale, exhale, she reminded herself while she lightly walked through the open void. She was exposed in the vastness, which sent dread through her bones. Once again, she felt hunted. A set of metal crisscrossed stairs led her to a rickety mezzanine that eventually opened up to the offices of Rita, Steven, and, at one time, Carter. Anne placed her ear to Carter’s office door, desperately listening for any type of noise or a voice. Again a crash of thunder shook the wooden frame. With an unsteady hand, Anne turned the door handle and flung it open; the office was empty.

It was as if she stepped into a time machine; she had not crossed the threshold into this space since his vanishing act. Carter’s taste was very old world; his office was decorated with large wooden pieces intricately designed and fabrics that danced with burgundy and bronze in meticulous paisley patterns. His smell lingered; he had recently been here, and was possibly still watching her from a distance, biding his time until she was completely vulnerable.

In the corner of the office stood a cherry armoire. Anne tugged at the black pulls, but it was locked. With all her might, she yanked on the door, breaking the latch as she tried to steady her balance. Papers, photos, and letters shuffled together like a deck of cards in the wooden enclosure. Through the flashes of lightning that flickered through the pane of glass above her, she could see faces of his family, Sam and other people he had befriended along