by Lori Ryan
“We have to run through whatever Rick tells us to. He w-won’t let us stop now,” said Alan.
“He has to let us stop. We didn’t agree to this much. And, I’ll tell you one thing, brother. There’s no way all of this is for him anymore. No way he’s taking in ten thou a week. I’m telling you, he’s got us cleaning money for other people now. If we’re gonna take that kind of risk, I want a bigger cut.”
Jennie bit her cheeks to keep from gasping and backpedaled down the hallway. She and Chad had gotten into something a lot more dangerous than they were used to.
Well, at least than she was used to. Chad dealt with this kind of thing all the time when he was in the military, but she sure as hell didn’t have this kind of experience.
Jennie’s breathing suddenly sounded too loud in her ears—as if it would fill the hallway and alert the brothers to her presence any minute now.
In her rush to get away from a conversation she shouldn’t be listening to, she tripped over a decorative table, knocking over the vase of flowers that sat at its center. The clunk of the thick glass hitting the hard wood seemed to echo around her.
“What was that?” she heard from the room down the hall.
She panicked, looking around her frantically, for a way to get away. A place to hide. She was too far from the door that led to the lobby to make it down the hallway safely. She ducked into another open doorway. An office.
There was nowhere to hide in the room she’d entered. The desk was open at the bottom on both sides, so she couldn’t crouch down there. The door opened out into the hallway so there was no way hide behind it. She was trapped.
Jennie looked down and saw her hands were shaking. She focused on slowing her breathing, listening for any sound from the hallway. She didn’t have her cell phone with her and she couldn’t remember Chad’s number to use the office phone on the desk to call him.
The hallway was quiet and still for a minute but then the telltale cadence of shoes sounded on the tile floor. Jennie knew they’d find her any second.
With a small curse, she pulled off her favorite sandals. She quickly snapped the heel off one of them. In reality, they only had a one-and-a-half-inch heel so a heel would be unlikely to snap as she was walking in them, but she was banking on the brothers not knowing that.
She braced herself with one hand on the wall in the small office and waited.
“Oh, help. Can you guys help me?” She took a couple of little hopping steps toward them. Not the direction she really wanted to go, but at this point, she needed to go toward them before she could get away from them.
“What are you doing back here? This area is off limits,” barked Alan.
“It is?” Jennie batted her eyelashes. “I’m sorry. I twisted my ankle and I thought the infirmary was back here. Can you guys help me?” She held up the broken sandal as evidence of her plight and held her breath.
The men walked toward her slowly and she couldn’t tell if they were buying her story or not. Nerves settled firmly in her stomach as she began to wish she hadn’t tried to dig so deep for information this time.
She’d give anything to be back at the villa with Chad right now. She watched the two men approach and remembered how empty and abandoned this hallway was.
They’re not buying this.
Alan reached out and grabbed her arm. Hard.
Jennie swallowed and her voice sounded small, almost foreign to her ears. “I’m looking for the infirmary. My ankle—”
“Calm down, Alan,” Matt said, placing a hand on his brother’s arm.
Alan dropped Jennie’s arm, but before she could try to get away, Matt had an arm around her shoulder. He was being gentler than his brother, but there was no mistaking the firm pressure guiding her back down the hall toward their office.
“We’ll help you in our office,” he said.
Her mind was scrambled as she ran through possible ways to get out of this. Should she scream and run down the hall? If she did that, they’d definitely know she overheard them.
If she didn’t make it to the lobby in time, she’d be trapped. And, she wasn’t completely sure any of the employees would be willing to risk their jobs and take on the brothers even if she did get their attention.
Should she go with them to their office and hope she could talk her way out of this? She was a master at playing dumb, but the thought of going even further away from the populated spots on the resort with these guys made her feel sick.
Unfortunately, she didn’t think she had a choice. She took a deep breath and started to let Matt walk her toward his office. A tight knot of nerves settled in the pit of her stomach.
She was in trouble.
Chapter 19
Chad made himself slow to a walk when he entered the lobby. Jennie had a habit of poking and prodding for answers. If she asked the wrong question here, she might put herself in danger, but he didn’t want to let on that anything was wrong.
He scanned the front desk, but she wasn’t there. One of the women he’d seen Jennie chat up a number of times stood behind the desk.
He approached and nodded a greeting to the woman, putting on his meathead facade. “Hey,” he grunted. “You seen Jennie?”
“Oh, you just missed her! She was here, but she went out the east stairwell. If you hurry, you might catch her.” The woman gestured to the stairwell with a smile and Chad nodded.
He pulled some cash from his pocket put it on the counter. Hopefully, it was enough.
“We’re heading out with some friends to spend the last few days on a boat. I need our bags and a car out front right away.” Chad knew most people did what they were told when he gave them an order.
He didn’t wait for an answer. He headed toward the east stairwell. When he spotted the door marked ‘Private’ before he reached the stairs, he knew exactly where Jennie had gone.
Chad stopped by the door and pulled his cell phone out, acting as if he were going to call his wife. Through lowered lids, he watched until the woman at the front desk turned away, and then slipped through the doorway.
When he turned, his heart dropped into his stomach. Jennie was being led down the hall by the two idiot nephews and she didn’t look like she wanted to be there. Chad broke into a jog again.
“There you are, baby,” he said as he came up to her. “I’m starved. You know I gotta eat breakfast before ten or my stomach hurts. What are you doing back here?” He looked around, his meathead wrinkled brow firmly in place.
The nephews stopped their forward motion, but the one that had his arm around Jennie kept it there. She turned her sweet, trusting eyes to Chad and he could see the panic beneath her ditzy show.
“I hurt my ankle, baby. I fell.” Jennie’s eyes locked onto his, trusting and sure, as if she knew he’d get her out of this.
God, he loved this woman—even when she was playing dumb.
He scooped her up in his arms, easily extricating her from the man’s grasp. “I’ve got you, babe. I’ll take care of you.” He dropped a kiss to her mouth and began to walk down the hall, carrying her away from the nephews.
These yahoos didn’t worry him. It was the people they most likely worked for that had him sweating.
One of the nephews grabbed Chad’s arm as he turned away and Chad felt Jennie tighten her hold on his neck.
“Hey, wait,” the idiot nephew said.
Chad turned, looking down at the man’s hand on his arm. “Yeah?” he grunted, staring down the smaller man. Chad knew most guys wouldn’t argue with him when he turned up his scowl.
He waited a half beat but the guy didn’t say anything. He dropped his arm and stepped back as Chad turned and left.
Chad didn’t look back. He walked through the door to the lobby then set Jennie on her feet. They walked out the front door of the resort and Jennie slipped into one of the cabs waiting in the circular drive. He handed her a wad of cash.
If he spotted the brothers, he’d tell the driver to leave with Jennie and he’
d catch up to her after dealing with Matt and Alan. Chad stood guard by the side of the cab while their luggage was loaded.
As he expected, the brothers didn’t show. The luggage was loaded and Chad whisked Jennie away.
They didn’t slow down until they reached the airstrip and boarded the small private jet Jack had waiting for them. And Chad didn’t breathe easy again until Jennie was back in Connecticut, safely at home.
Chapter 20
Jennie walked down the hospital hallway, smiling absentmindedly at people she passed in the hall. Her stomach was flipping and churning. She knew when she arrived in Kelly’s hospital room she’d likely see Chad for the first time in three days—she couldn’t exactly avoid the situation.
Kelly had given birth to Madeleine Sophie Sutton three hours earlier. Jennie couldn’t wait to hold such a tiny new life in her arms.
Even the nerves she felt at the prospect of seeing Chad for the first time since they returned from Florida wasn’t scary enough to keep her away from her best friend today. It was just scary enough to keep her from being able to eat anything. Or take a deep breath. Or stop fidgeting.
She found the room and knocked on the door.
“Come in,” came Kelly’s voice from the other side.
Jennie pushed open the door and found Kelly sitting up in bed. She looked tired, but happier than Jennie had ever seen her. In her arms was a tiny pink creature with a scrunched-up face. She was ugly and beautiful, all at the same time.
And she was awake! Wide eyes looked around as Kelly beamed at Jennie.
“Oh, Kelly. She’s beautiful,” Jennie said as she sat on the edge of her friend’s bed.
“I can’t believe she’s finally here. I never want to put her down.” Kelly’s smile was wide and almost glowing.
“Does that mean I don’t get to hold her?” Jennie laughed. “I washed my hands and everything,” she said, holding her hands up.
Kelly laughed and transferred Maddy into Jennie’s arms. She was swaddled tightly in a striped blanket and she gazed up at Jennie. As Jennie watched, tired lids sank down over her eyes. Within minutes, the baby slept soundly in her arms.
“Wow. I think I could watch her forever.” Jennie glanced up at Kelly before gazing back down at the baby.
She’d never seen anything like it. She was perfect in every way. Soft skin and fuzzy hair. A tiny button for a nose and little ears. Eyelashes that fluttered on her cheeks lightly as she slept.
“I know. They say newborns sleep for long stretches in the first one or two days. After that, we’re supposedly in for feedings every two hours and nights without a lot of sleep. I’m trying to soak up the fun stuff right now before I become a walking zombie,” Kelly said.
“Well, I’ll come over and give you a break whenever you need it. You just call.” She looked around the room for Jack. “Speaking of breaks, where is Jack?”
“He and Chad went out to get me some real food. The nurses said I can eat soon and Jack didn’t want me to have to eat hospital food. I have to admit, I was a bit relieved. I’m starving after so many hours with nothing but ice chips and popsicles. And, hospital food doesn’t exactly sound appealing.”
The two women talked about babies and the size of tiny fingernails for another few minutes.
Jennie had suspected Kelly would bring up the Florida trip and she wasn’t wrong.
“So, does Chad think you guys are in danger because of what you found in Florida?” she asked. She had a strange look on her face that Jennie couldn’t quite interpret.
“We’re not sure what’s going to happen yet. We met with Jonathan Masters to tell him what I overheard and it was awful, Kelly. The poor man was so shocked. I think he always knew his nephews were lazy but you could tell he had no idea they would do something like this. Then it hit him that they’d put his whole family at risk with this.
“The federal government will most likely seize the resort and if they try to go after the winery, the rest of the family could lose everything. His grandkids would lose their inheritance, all of it. Never mind the fact that the feds could decide to arrest Jonathan as well,” Jennie said.
“I can’t believe how selfish and stupid the nephews have been. You met them, right? What are they like?”
Jennie shook her head. “Arrogant and useless, for the most part. I can tell you one thing; I doubt they were the brains behind this. When you talk to Jonathan, it’s hard to believe they’re even related to him. He’s the sweetest man. He totally understood when Jack told him we needed to report this. He wasn’t angry at us at all. I think he was mostly just heartbroken over the whole thing.”
Kelly picked at the blanket covering her in the hospital bed. “So, you and Chad will have to testify?”
Jennie nodded. “Most likely. And, mostly me. They might not need Chad at all since it was me who heard the brothers talking. But, Chad said federal investigations take a very long time. The FBI is notorious for investigations that last as many as five years, or even more. They tie everything up in a bow and won’t go to trial until they have mountains of evidence ready to go.
“Jonathan Masters is getting his nephews a lawyer and they’re going to try to convince the nephews to turn themselves in. Chad says at that point the feds will probably send the brothers back in to feed them evidence against the building inspector and whoever else is involved. The amount of money that was going through there couldn’t be from a single inspector taking bribes. The FBI is going to want to know who they were laundering money for. They may end up not needing my testimony at all if the brothers start collecting evidence for them.” Jennie looked up to see that strange look on Kelly’s face again.
“Um, Jennie, I need to tell you––” Kelly started as the door opened and Chad and Jack walked back into the room.
“Hey, sweetheart, how are my girls?” asked Jack. He looked almost as worn out as Kelly but every bit as happy.
Jennie felt Chad’s eyes on her and then the walls seemed to be closing in as if the room were filled with too many people.
Oh, who was she kidding?
It was Chad’s presence that made the walls close in on her. Jennie suddenly felt like she’d never be able to take a deep breath again. She hated that her body responded so strongly to him—even more so, since their one night in Florida.
It was as if her body now knew what it could have and it wasn’t willing to let go, even though Jennie ordered it to forget.
“I’m going to get going, guys. Kelly, I’ll stop by tomorrow. They’ll keep you here for two days, right? I can bring lunch tomorrow if you want,” she said as she scooped up her purse and moved to the door.
She knew she was speaking just a little too quickly and she felt like everyone was staring at her, but she needed out of there. Now.
“Oh, you don’t have to go. You just got here,” Kelly said.
Jennie smiled and shook her head. “I’ll be back. I’ll come hold her while you nap tomorrow. Promise. I’ve got some errands to run now, though.”
They said good-byes and Jennie slipped from the room, finally taking a deep breath as she started down the hall.
“Jen!” Chad called from behind her.
Damn.
She turned to find Chad coming toward her, hands shoved in his pockets. He looked more uneasy than she’d ever seen him.
“Hey,” she said, smiling at him, but feeling like she couldn’t breathe again.
He towered over her and she could see the concern in his eyes. “Are we okay, Jennie? Can we go back to the way things were between us? Before?”
He didn’t have to clarify what he meant by ‘before.’ She knew perfectly well what he was asking about.
She nodded. She didn’t trust herself to speak but he still watched her intently and she knew he wanted her confirmation. And, the truth was, Jennie didn’t want to lose Chad.
Their time in Florida before ‘that night’ had brought them a lot closer than they used to be. They’d talked about so many things and sp
ent more time with each other than she ever thought they would.
“We’re good. It’s okay, Chad,” she said as she put on her brightest smile and ordered her nipples to stand down. “We really are okay, Chad, I promise.”
He smiled. “Okay. See you at work then, Jen.”
She turned and walked down the hall, hoping she was right. She didn’t want to lose a friend she’d only begun to truly know.
Assistant United States Attorney, Caroline Waters, steered her sedan down the dirt driveway that served as the entrance to the abandoned building site. The location should have been an enormous mall by now, but the owner had run out of funds and the project was on hold. The lot was sufficiently isolated to serve Caroline’s needs today.
She spotted Bandon waiting for her in his truck and pulled alongside him. She didn’t plan to get out of the car for this talk. She hated coming to the filthy job sites he was used to.
In fact, she hated dealing with Bandon at all. She found him tactless and rude and he certainly didn’t go to any lengths to hide the slimy, appreciative looks he gave her body whenever they met. It made her skin crawl, but he was a necessary evil at this point in her life.
When Caroline discovered just how hard it really was to pay off her law school debt on fifty thousand dollars a year, she decided there were two options. Go to work as a defense attorney instead of a prosecutor or pick and choose the crimes she really cared about prosecuting.
When she found a crime she didn’t feel truly needed to be prosecuted, she offered the accused a chance to pay their way out of trouble. Then it was simply a matter of telling her boss the case they had wouldn’t stick, there had been errors in the collection of evidence that would damage the case, or any number of other excuses. On a few occasions, she’d had to go a little further and arrange for evidence to disappear so no one would begin to see a pattern in her ‘dropped’ cases and suspect her.
