Secret Weapon Spouse - By B. J. Daniels Page 0,29

culminate in the ceremony tomorrow.

Everything was set but still she went over the details again. Her mind had been wandering all day and wandering in an annoying and worrisome direction: Alex Graham.

Her phone rang, making her jump. For just an instant, she thought it would be Alex and was disappointed when she saw it was an inner-office line.

“I’ve got more bad news for you,” Clare said without preamble. “A woman’s body was found this morning in the Miami River. Rachel asked me to let you know. I guess she’s gone down there to make the identification if it turns out to be Sonya. She’s hoping to spare both Juan and Carlos. Might not even be Sonya, although the description sounds close.”

Samantha felt sick. “It can’t be her. Why take her only to kill her? They didn’t even make a ransom demand.”

“Sometimes it isn’t about money, you know that.”

Hadn’t she suspected that if Preston, or whoever he was, was behind this that he’d taken Sonya just to hide his true crime—his attempt on Caroline’s life. “Let me know as soon as you hear?”

“I will. And as for Preston Wellington III…”

Samantha braced herself for the worst.

“During the last year he’s made a bunch of investments. Looks like he might be overextended. Big-time.”

Just as Alex had suspected. “Check something for me?” She hated to even voice her latest fear. “Did he by any chance take out an insurance policy on his future bride?”

ALEX MADE A DOZEN more attempts to reach his sister’s fiancé, then did something drastic. He called his brother.

“I’m sorry but Mr. Graham is in a meeting,” the third secretary he spoke to told him.

“I don’t want to speak with Mr. Graham, I want to speak with Brian. Which secretary are you?” Alex asked.

“I’m his private secretary,” the woman said.

“What man needs three secretaries? Look, tell Brian his brother is on the line and if he doesn’t take my call I will come down there. It’s urgent.”

“One moment please.”

It wasn’t a minute later that Brian came on. “What the hell are you doing threatening my staff?”

“Three secretaries?”

“Did you want something? I’m busy.”

Alex raked a hand through his hair and sighed. “I still haven’t been able to reach Caroline’s fiancé.”

“That’s why you got me out of an important meeting?” He swore. “I told you Dad was handling this.”

“Don’t you think the man should know that his fiancée is in the hospital, possibly even…” He veered away from even the thought. “I know Dad invested some money with him. He wouldn’t have done that without checking with you first.” Silence. “Dammit, Brian, if you have some way to reach the man, I want it. And if you don’t, I want to know why the hell not.”

His brother sighed deeply. “I have the same numbers you do.”

“Dad did invest with him, didn’t he?”

“I have to get back to my meeting.”

“How about addresses then? These businesses Pres sold the two of you on, they have addresses, right?”

For a moment, he thought his brother would just hang up on him. Or at the very least refuse to give them to him. “I’ll have one of my secretaries find them for you and call you back,” Brian said.

“I’ll hold.” But while he waited Alex realized Brian wouldn’t give him the addresses unless Brian had already tried finding Preston through them—and couldn’t.

Another dead end.

IT SURPRISED SAMANTHA that she hadn’t heard from Alex again. Had something happened? She called the hospital but Caroline was still unconscious.

Maybe Alex had located Preston. He might already know more than she did about his sister’s fiancé.

Samantha got up and went to her office window to look out on the bay and was surprised it was dark outside. The shop had been closed all day because of what had happened but the team had still been working—getting ready for the Holcom-Anders wedding tomorrow and trying to find out what had happened to Sonya Botero.

Now, though, the place had taken on an eerie emptiness as she straightened her desk and picked up her purse to leave. She had done everything she could for the wedding tomorrow. She couldn’t just sit here but she didn’t want to go home, either. She was too anxious waiting to hear about the body that had been found in the river, to hear about Caroline’s condition, to hear more news about Preston Wellington III—or whoever he was.

She headed for the door, not completely sure where she was going to go. She had Clare looking into Preston’s two companies.

There was no