Secret Weapon Spouse - By B. J. Daniels Page 0,18
left the big question: Whose shirts were those in Caroline’s closet?
Someone had followed them after they’d left the condo. She had to assume the caller knew she’d been to the condo tonight. Knew she and Alex were digging into Caroline’s life—and Preston Wellington III’s.
That meant there must be something to find.
More and more Samantha thought Alex had been smart to put a private guard outside his sister’s hospital room. Caroline might be in serious danger. And Preston Wellington III could be the person she had to fear most.
SAMANTHA HAD NO CHOICE—especially after that threatening phone call.
She would have to go back to Caroline’s condo tonight and get the champagne bottle and glasses. It was time to find out what was going on.
She considered who the caller might have been. The list of suspects was fairly short at this point. It came down to who had something to hide.
Right now that seemed to be Preston Wellington III since no one had heard from him.
Samantha didn’t even want to think what that meant. She’d liked the man. What did that say for her instincts? Nothing good.
One way or the other, she had to answer some nagging questions about him and what had happened to Caroline. There’d been no word on Sonya Botero and the clock was ticking.
But first Samantha had to make sure she wasn’t followed this time. She checked her gun. Fully loaded with an extra clip in the bottom of her bag.
She added two large evidence bags and a pair of latex gloves to her oversize shoulder bag, then leaving the light on in her office, she went into her private restroom and changed her clothing, stripping out of the business suit and dressing in black running gear.
She pulled her hair up and under a black hat and checked herself in the mirror, pleased. Then she left by the back way.
The humid Florida air hit her as she stepped from the air-conditioned building into the well-lit staff parking area under Weddings Your Way. Sliding into her small black sports car convertible, she turned the key.
The car was the only hint of the woman Samantha kept hidden from most people. The one crack in her armor. Her one little secret vice since she drove a midsize white sedan except on those rare occasions that called for cloak-and-dagger, speed or letting the real her out under the cover of darkness.
The engine roared to life with a throaty rumble that made her smile. Catch me if you can.
She blasted out of the parking garage and onto the street. A set of headlights flashed on behind her. She could imagine the driver half asleep, bored, caught off guard since her office light was still on. And in this car, he couldn’t be sure he was even following the right person.
Samantha smiled to herself and gunned the engine, rocketing around a corner, then another. Losing her tail had been almost too easy. But she still zigzagged her way to Caroline’s condo enjoying the feel of the night air.
“WHAT THE HELL do you mean you lost her?”
Victor swallowed back the bile rising in his throat. After he’d lost her, he’d stopped at a drugstore and bought himself some antacids but they were taking their sweet time working.
“I can’t even be sure it was her,” he said, hating the apologetic tone of his voice. He was a professional. How had he let a snip of a wedding planner trick him like that? The light was still on in her office when the little black sports car had come flying out of the back of the place. “She switched cars on me.” She’d had a head start and was driving like a bat out of hell. Driving nothing like he had expected her to do.
“So maybe she’s still at her office?”
He swore under his breath. “I don’t think so. I think that was her. Given the way she dresses, it was unlikely but still…”
A curse on the other end of the line. “Never mind. I’ll take care of it. Go home. I’ll call you when I need you.” The line went dead.
The antacids were starting to work. Victor Constantine began to breathe a little easier.
But he didn’t go home. Instead, he circled back to Weddings Your Way. He had a hunch. And he wasn’t going to be able to sleep until his heartburn got better anyway. She’d fooled him once. But she wouldn’t again.
THE SAME GUARD was on duty as when Samantha had been to the renewal project