“You do not mean this,” Annabelle said. “Just as I didn’t mean it when I told Rick that I knew nothing of how Marcel died, that it was a terrible, terrible accident. That Percy did not know what she was doing.”
Was that an admission of guilt? A wave broke against Sofia’s knees. It didn’t matter. Sofia was out of time.
Annabelle might only have one whistle, but Sofia had several. She drew in a long breath, pursed her lips, and blew, hitting the same note as Rick’s now smashed whistle.
Percy reared, strong back legs pushing against the sand, front legs flailing against the moon. Sofia ran in the opposite direction. The ocean sucked at her feet, and she lost a shoe, but she didn’t stop moving until she couldn’t hear the horse.
She dared to look over her shoulder. Percy stood alone in the surf. She wasn’t rearing any more, just shuddering.
Where was Annabelle?
Then Sofia saw a dark lump in the water by Percy’s feet.
She hung up on Aidan, dialed 911, and barked in her name and location, then stuff the phone back into her pocket and ran to Annabelle’s still form.
CHAPTER 42
Sofia was out for another morning swim. It had been awhile since she’d fished out Jaxon, but she’d learned her lesson. This time she had on a 3 millimeter wetsuit, and she sat on a surfboard. Jaxon was a few feet away on a board of his own. He’d come back to Los Angeles after he’d finished up the show in San Francisco.
They’d caught a few waves. She wasn’t a very good surfer, but Jaxon was terrible. She’d have thought that his incredible balance and coordination would have helped him out, but it didn’t seem to. She was better than he was, and he didn’t seem to mind.
“I read the papers today,” he said.
She was staring out at the horizon, watching for a wave. “Mm-hmm.”
“Annabelle was charged with murder,” he said.
“I know,” she answered. “I feel bad for her.”
“But she killed her husband!” Jaxon’s hazel eyes were wide and indignant.
“He was an ass.”
“Still. Wrong,” he said.
“She lost everything.” Sofia decided that the next wave was too small and let it pass under her. “The Grigoryans are buying the vineyard. The horse got sold at auction.”
“I feel sorry for the horse,” Jaxon said. “She didn’t deserve any of this.”
“I hope she went to a good home.”
“She did,” said Jaxon.
“How do you know?”
“A horse like that? Great bloodline. Amazing gait. Easy to train.”
Sofia reached over and grabbed his board and hauled it to her. “Did you buy that horse?”
Jaxon grinned and leaned in to kiss her. They weren’t taking it slow anymore. His lips were cold and salty, but his tongue was warm and soft.
The surfboard rocked, then flipped, dunking them both in the icy ocean.
She came up sputtering. “Jaxon?”
A moment of panic touched her heart before his seal-black head surfaced.
“I’m OK,” he said. “But, yeah, I bought the horse.”
“When are you taking her back to Colorado?” Sofia pulled herself back onto the board.
“Might be a while,” he said. “I got a job working as a stuntman on the new Gray Cole film. Horse work.”
Sofia smiled. Gray was always looking out for her.
Her surfboard dipped and she turned back to the horizon. She’d missed that last wave, but she’d catch the next one. She could already see it heading her way.
OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES
“A” is for Asshat
After a decade spent in the glare of the Hollywood spotlight as the star of kids’ TV show Half Pint Detective, Sofia Salgado has had enough. Desperate to build a life outside showbiz, she quits acting to do something that everyone around her– including her family – thinks is plain nuts. Get a real job.
They think she’s even crazier when she announces that she’s going to become a real detective, instead of playing one on TV. She’s convinced the technical consultant from her TV show, Brendan Maloney, to take her on in his detective agency, but can accident-prone Sofia hack it?
“B” is for Bad Girls
Maloney Investigation's newest private detective, Sofia Salgado, is back on the case that turns into her mother's worst nightmare when she ends up undercover in one of Malibu's many rehab clinics.
If she doesn't solve the mystery in time, she and all the bad girls she meets inside, including rock star Brandi Basher and reality TV train wreck Monaco Jane, might just end up going to the big rehab center in the sky.
“C” is for Coochy Coo
Sofia Salgado is finally finding her feet as a trainee investigator at Maloney Investigations when she’s drafted in to help thirteen-year-old Daniel find his birth father. But there’s one snag.
According to Daniel’s mom, former Los Angeles party girl Candice Collins, there’s more than one candidate.
A lot more!
ALSO BY REBECCA CANTRELL
The World Beneath
The Tesla Legacy
The Chemistry of Death
A Trace of Smoke
A Night of Long Knives
A Game of Lies
A City of Broken Glass
The Blood Gospel (with James Rollins)
Innocent Blood (with James Rollins)
Blood Infernal(with James Rollins)
iDrakula
iFrankenstein
ALSO BY SEAN BLACK
Lockdown: The First Ryan Lock Novel
Deadlock: The Second Ryan Lock Novel
Gridlock: The Third Ryan Lock Novel
The Devil’s Bounty: The Fourth Ryan Lock Novel
The Innocent: The Fifth Ryan Lock Novel
Fire Point: The Sixth Ryan Lock Novel
Lock & Load: A Ryan Lock Story
Budapest/48: A Ryan Lock Story
Post: The First Byron Tibor Novel
Blood Country: The Second Byron Tibor Novel
Table of Contents
Copyright
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Other Books in the Series
Also by Rebecca Cantrell
Also by Sean Black
D is for Drunk Page 20
