drive rig waiting for us at the airport. That’s right. Just as soon as we can fly out.”
Two hours later, Samantha was sitting across from Alex in a soft leather seat, the rest of the small jet empty except for the pilot. She hated to think what this was costing Alex, but apparently he could afford it.
Samantha closed her eyes as the plane took off, recalling her hurried phone conversation with Rachel before takeoff. The Holcom-Anders wedding had gone off without any trouble. No more Weddings Your Way clients abducted or injured. But also no ransom demand on Sonya Botero yet.
“I’m on my way to Tennessee,” Samantha told her. “Alex is chartering a plane.”
“You told him then?” Rachel asked.
“I couldn’t keep this from him.”
“Have you blown your cover?”
“No.”
“But you’ve considered telling him you’re an agent.” It wasn’t a question. “I would think long and hard about doing that. You could be jeopardizing the team—let alone your own life. I don’t think I have to remind you that in this business you have to be very careful who you trust.”
“No, you don’t have to remind me,” Samantha said.
“Let me know as soon as possible what you find out in Tennessee.” Samantha had heard the warning in her boss’s voice and the disappointment. Samantha’s cover had been blown only once before while in the FBI but she was sure Rachel knew about it. That time it had cost her dearly but she feared this time it could cost her her life.
“So who was he?” Alex asked.
Her eyes came open with a start. “What?”
“The man who let you down, who was he?”
She stared at him. Alex had to be a mind reader. “I don’t know what—” She stopped. His gaze held so much compassion. She looked away. “What would make you think—”
“You don’t have to tell me if you’d rather not,” he said and turned to look out the window. Wisps of clouds blew past against a backdrop of blue. She caught a glimpse of the Gulf as the plane banked and headed for Tennessee.
“I met him after college,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. Alex said nothing. He didn’t look at her and for that she was grateful. “It was the first time I’d been serious about anyone. Even at the time, it seemed too good to be true. It was. He’d been playing me to get to my roommate—his real target.”
He looked at her then, his gaze filled with empathy. “I’m sorry.”
She nodded, deciding to tell him all of it. “The thing was, my roommate didn’t want him. His obsession led to him kidnapping and killing her. He’s on death row now.”
Alex’s eyes widened in shock. “My God.”
She didn’t tell him that she and her roommate were both FBI agents working undercover or that her cover was blown and her career almost lost before the man was captured.
“He totally fooled me,” she said. “What does that say about me?”
He shook his head. “That you’re trusting. His kind are pathological liars with no feelings other than basic survival instincts. It’s like they were born with something missing inside them. They’re so good at lying, no one can see through them.” He fell silent. “I’m afraid this Presley Wells might be one of them, that’s how he fooled my sister.” He looked over at her. “You do realize that all men aren’t like that, right?”
“It’s just hard to trust your instincts after something like that,” she said quietly. “I’ve always felt I should have seen what was going on. If I had, I might have been able to save Meredith.”
He reached over and took her hand. “You certainly aren’t the first woman to be taken in by a man. At least you weren’t pregnant with his baby.”
“My instincts told me that Preston…Presley was a good man,” she said with a lift of her brow. “If I’m wrong about him, too…”
“Then you could be wrong about me?”
Heat warmed her cheeks. She looked away. “It’s not quite the same thing.”
“No,” he said. “It’s not, because I’m not like either of those men.”
Silently she said the words she couldn’t bring herself to voice. How time will tell.
VICTOR CONSTANTINE watched the plane until it disappeared into the clouds before he made the call. “They just left in a chartered plane for Knoxville, Tennessee.” He held the phone away at the sound of loud swearing.
“I want them stopped. Whatever you have to do.”
Victor frowned. “How would I stop them? Shoot down the plane?”
“Not now, you fool. Catch