Secret Weapon Spouse - By B. J. Daniels Page 0,32

had a message from her. Rachel answered on the first ring as if she’d been expecting a call.

“The body in the river? Was it Sonya?” Samantha asked quietly.

“No.”

Samantha leaned against the garden wall, relief and the aftereffects of her latest encounter with a killer, making her weak. She thought about the dead woman. Some other family and friends would be grieving tonight.

“Are you all right?” Rachel asked. “You sound funny.”

“I’m at the hospital. Someone just tried to kill Sonya’s chauffer. I didn’t get a good look at the man. All I know is that he was Hispanic, medium height and weight, no visible scars or tattoos. He was wearing a surgical mask, posing as a doctor. Johnson refused to let me call the police. He says it has to do with gambling debts.”

“So he needed money,” Rachel said. “I’ll have the team see if he’s telling the truth. Are you sure you’re all right?”

“A few new bruises, nothing serious.” Her shoulder ached. All she wanted to do was go home to her hot tub, pour herself some wine and soak. “He placed another call after I saved his life and he kicked me out of his room without even a thank-you.”

Rachel let out a long breath. “We got the number Johnson called before. It’s a pay phone in Ladera. He has family ties there so it proves nothing. We’ll see where he called this time and keep an eye on him. I thought there was a guard down the hall in front of Caroline Graham’s door?”

“He was reading and not paying any attention,” Samantha said. “No reason he would. The guy looked like a doctor in all that surgical garb and he didn’t try to go into Caroline’s room. Johnson’s running scared, but even so, he isn’t talking.”

“And Caroline Graham?” Rachel asked.

“Still unconscious. I’m going to go home now.”

“Good idea. By the way, nice work.” Rachel hung up.

Samantha stuffed her phone back in her purse and headed for the elevator, glad to see it was empty. She hit the lobby button, closed her eyes and leaned back against the cool surface of the wall.

All she wanted was to be out of this hospital and in her car headed home. She really wished she’d brought the sports car now. She could make it home much faster.

The elevator doors started to close.

Her eyes flew open as she heard someone slam the elevator doors open again.

Chapter Nine

Alex was startled to see Samantha. Almost as startled as she was. He saw her hand go to her purse and for an instant he thought she was going for a gun.

He half laughed at how crazy that thought was. A wedding planner with a gun?

But was that any crazier than some of the more personal thoughts he’d been having about her?

“Well, hello.” He couldn’t believe how happy he was to see her.

She, however, didn’t look all that happy to see him. She looked…guilty of something. He’d already suspected that Samantha was hiding something from him. Now he was almost positive of it.

He decided what he needed to do was keep an eye on her. He smiled at the thought. It really was no hardship. The woman was easy to look at. And she already intrigued him. And any excuse would do to get closer to her.

“Were you visiting someone in the hospital?” he asked, watching color flood back into her face as he held the elevator door so it didn’t close. She released the death grip she had on her purse and straightened.

He realized he’d caught her at a rare moment. Had this prim and proper woman actually been leaning against the back of the elevator resting and he’d startled her?

He recalled the other time he’d startled her and wondered again what had happened to her that made her fearful. A man, he thought with some clarity. That might explain the way she dressed. This woman didn’t want to attract attention.

Her hair swung back from her face and he saw the bruise and cut he’d seen earlier when he’d come by her office and talked her into going with him to his father’s. She’d said she banged into something being clumsy. Even at the time he couldn’t imagine her ever being clumsy.

He suspected there was another story—one much more interesting that she wasn’t telling him. Nothing new there.

“I was worried about your sister,” she said and stepped toward the door as if to escape. “I just came up to see how she was doing.”

“Really?” His heart