am not in financial trouble,” she insisted. “My cash flow is tight, I’ll admit that, but I’m not desperate. I intend to repair and reopen the store as quickly as possible.” She didn’t add how much All That Sparkles meant to her. It was more than a business. It was the company her mother had poured everything into and entrusted to Carolyn to take into the future.
“We’ll wait for the final report on the fire and the police investigation before issuing any kind of payment,” the adjuster concluded.
With relief, she escorted the adjuster out the temporary, plywood front door. As he drove away, she turned to survey the exterior. Other than the blown-out glass and some smoke damage to the bricks, the building had held and passed a safety inspection. At least she didn’t have the worry of a structural problem.
As she was turning to re-enter the building, a hard metal object was pressed to the small of her back. She stiffened, having no doubt it was a gun. How had she not noticed someone on the street?
“Open the door and get inside,” a male voice commanded in her ear, his breath hot on her neck.
The thought that this was a simple robbery never crossed her mind. This was the person responsible for the sabotage, which meant he was willing to kill. Knowing her life depended on it, she went through the door. Inside, she whirled around to face the man, putting a little distance between them and keeping her hands clear. Her heart was racing with fear, but on the surface, she remained calm.
She studied the intruder, taking in little details about him. A narrow scar ran from his right ear to his chin. He limped slightly, favoring his left leg as he prowled back and forth in front of her. She searched her memory. Those two things together added up to someone she’d met. But where?
“I know you,” she said, opening the conversation.
“I’ve been here before, talked to you on the phone even.”
The cadence of his voice filled in the blank for her. “You work for my IT company.” He’d been one of the techs who had come to set up equipment for them after the remodel.
“Very good, princess,” he snarled. “What’s my name?”
She searched her memory. Dan? No. Dale. She didn’t think he’d ever given his last name, but she couldn’t shake the idea that she knew him in some other way. She’d seen him more recently, but in what capacity? The memory of an image she’d seen during her online research came to her. Except it wasn’t him. It was someone he resembled. She took a guess. “You’re Dale. Dale Huntly.” The son of her mother’s former partner. Carolyn’s instinct had been right. The sabotage was connected with Marta Huntly. It was a hollow victory, considering he had a gun pointed straight at her.
“Smarter than I thought you were, princess,” he said.
“You’re the one trying to destroy my business?” She wanted the truth from him.
He smiled, a terrible smile. “How’s it feel to finally face me?”
Raw anger was how it felt, she wanted to yell at him, but she needed to buy some time so she could plan how to get away from him. Her mind was drawing a blank, too dominated by fear and loathing.
“The robbery?” she questioned to get him talking.
“Yeah, I started with that. Robberies look bad to customers. I thought you’d take a hit there. Damn druggie I hired screwed that all up, but you finished him off for me. Thanks for tying up my loose end.”
She wanted to shiver at his gratitude. “And the orders and email? That must have been easy for you, considering your access to my accounts.”
“Sure. I just did a little dancing around in the coding to hide my tracks. Since I work with morons, I didn’t think they’d be able to track it back to me. I was right until you sent in the expert.” His expression changed to one more sinister.
“Steve?”
“Yeah, the guy knows his shit. He was closing in on me, but I got a little revenge.”
“Against him?” She hoped not. Zach’s friend was doing her a favor.
“You, princess. It’s all about getting you and yours. Just so you know, I rearranged your employees’ direct deposits and transferred money out of your accounts. Going to clean you out.” He seemed to feel a sense of triumph. “But the fire was the best. It was fun watching it burn.”
He’d been in the crowd, then. She’d