by B. J Daniels
“Charlie?”
She took another step back, then realized that all she was doing was moving deeper into the shadowy atrium. “Please let me leave.”
He looked surprised. “Why are you acting like this?”
The shock of earlier was wearing off quickly as anger and fear took over. “Why are you determined to get me alone? You’re getting married tomorrow. I don’t want to hear about your old loves or your new ones and I certainly don’t want to hear how you feel about me. I don’t want to hear about any of it. Don’t you realize that you’re making it impossible for me to work for you?”
Greg took a step back, holding up both hands, a shocked look on his face. “Oh no, that wasn’t my intent at all. I’m so sorry. I... Yes, I had been wanting to tell you something—not apparently what you were thinking though. I’m in love with Amanda. But I can see now what you must have thought. I certainly didn’t mean to scare you.”
He took another step back. “I...I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m so sorry. I don’t want to lose you at the company. I’m such a fool. Please forgive me. I promise nothing like this will ever happen again. You have my word.”
* * *
ALL SHEP CAUGHT was the last part of Greg’s speech. He’d found them in the atrium after asking in the lobby if anyone had seen the woman he’d described. Apparently a lot of people had. Another guest pointed toward the atrium, saying, “A man took her in there after...” The woman had smiled rather than go on. “She seemed upset.”
In the atrium, two figures were silhouetted against the lights coming from outside the hotel. “Charlie?” Shep said.
By the time he’d caught his breath and limped down the rest of the steps after almost colliding with a door, he’d lost Charlie and feared she’d caught up with Lacey. Instead, it seemed Greg had caught up with Charlie.
At the sound of her name, she glanced over at him, then quickly moved toward him. Greg stepped out of the way to let her pass without turning around. As Charlie rushed into Shep’s arms, he saw Greg hang his head.
“Are you all right?” he asked quietly as he led her out of the atrium. People in the lobby were watching them with interest.
“I’ve been better,” she said as they headed for the elevator.
Back in their room, she told him everything that had happened. “It wasn’t Lacey. If you could have seen the look on that woman’s face.” She began to laugh, then cry.
He pulled her close. “Hey, it was an honest mistake. That woman had no idea what you’ve been going through.”
“I definitely acted as imbalanced as I have been,” she said between sobs.
“You’re fine. I would have done the same thing. What am I saying? I ran after you.”
She met his gaze. “You did the same thing and you got hurt because of me.”
“It’s just a twisted ankle as I tried to avoid nailing the edge of the door face-first. It wasn’t one of my most graceful moments. But we both survived.”
She nodded. “You heard what Greg said?”
“He sounded sincere. You getting angry at him must have done the trick. Once he realized he’d lose you as an employee...”
“I still don’t know if I’ll be able to continue working for him,” she said.
“Well, you don’t have to make any decisions tonight, maid of honor.”
Charlie groaned. “Oh, the wedding. We still have that to look forward to.”
“Once it’s over, I say we go back to your apartment in Bozeman.”
Curling against him, she nodded.
“What a night, huh?” he said.
“What a week,” she said, sounding as if she would be asleep before her head hit the pillow. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
“Hopefully, you’ll never have to find out,” he whispered into her hair and realized that she’d already dozed off.
CHAPTER THIRTY
“PINCH ME,” AMANDA said when a still half asleep Charlie opened the hotel room door to her. “Pinch me. I can’t believe this is really happening. I’m getting married today!”
Charlie wanted to do more than pinch her. “What time is it?”
“Get dressed. We have so much to do. You do remember that it’s a morning wedding, right?”
Charlie groaned, telling herself all she had to do was get through the wedding.
“I’ve had coffee and breakfast sent up,” Amanda went on. “Enjoy. But I expect to see you in an hour downstairs in the anteroom.”
“You got it,” Charlie said and closed the door on her. Before she could reach the bed though, there was another knock at the door. She grimaced at Shep, who had sat up in bed and was grinning. Why was he so cheerful in the mornings? She turned back to the door, anticipating not being so nice to Amanda this time, only to find it was a young man from the hotel with a cart full of food.
She had him leave it in the center of the room, found a tip for him and closed the door behind him.
“Come back to bed,” Shep said and patted the space next to him.
“You heard what Amanda said. You want her coming back here?”
He only grinned as she climbed back into bed.
Later, her skin glowing, she showered, grabbed some coffee and breakfast, and made her way down to the anteroom.
“Well, look at you,” Amanda said. “Breakfast definitely woke you up it seems. How was it?”
“Wonderful. Thank you.”
Amanda looked past her. “Is he planning to hang around?”
Charlie glanced over her shoulder to see Shep nearby. “He is. He worries about me.”
Amanda lifted a brow, but must have thought better of what she was clearly fighting against saying. “I saw Daniel,” she said as they moved deeper into the anteroom. “He didn’t seem to think you’d broken up with him.”
“He was confused. He isn’t anymore.”
She frowned. “I just don’t want him barging into the wedding.”
“He won’t. So let me see your dress.”
Amanda beamed. “It’s so beautiful. It’s like something a princess would wear. I won’t tell you how much it cost. It would floor you. Greg is so good to me.” They stepped into the dressing room and closed the door.
Hanging on the door to the closet was a dress with a massive skirt that crinkled as Amanda touched it. “Isn’t it amazing?”
“Amazing,” Charlie said, hoping Amanda didn’t see her surprised look at its volume. She wondered if it would even fit between the chairs as the woman came down the aisle.
Amanda suddenly teared up. “I’m so happy. Greg has been so wonderful. Last night we drank champagne down in the hotel bar until it closed.” That explained what he’d been doing in the lobby last night. He must have seen Charlie rush in—everyone in the lobby had.
“He loves me,” Amanda was saying. “He loves me so much.” All Charlie could do was nod. “He would do anything to make me happy.”
She wondered if Amanda had seen Greg leave the bar to come after her. “So did the two of you have champagne with Royce and his date?” she asked casually. If Royce had been there, then Amanda wouldn’t have even noticed Greg leaving the bar.
“Greg insisted they join us. It was the polite thing to do. I mean, Royce is the best man. He isn’t serious about that woman though. He’s just trying to make me jealous. Whatever.”
Charlie quickly changed the subject as they began to get ready for the wedding. She was counting down the minutes, afraid it still might not happen.
* * *
SHEP HUNG around in the anteroom. From where he stood, he was able to watch the lobby as people came and went. He didn’t see Lacey, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t here, he told himself.
Wedding guests began to arrive and were led into the main room where the ceremony would take place. As the time got closer, Shep tapped on the d
ressing room door. “Everything okay in there?” he asked.
“We’re fine,” Amanda called.
Closer to the door, Charlie said, “We’re ready and waiting.”
Only then did Shep enter the main room, find a seat and try to relax. He felt as if there was a bomb ticking in the room. He just wanted the happy couple married. Not that he thought Greg wouldn’t bother Charlie again. Still, he wanted this to be over. He wanted the Lacey problem over as well. He and Charlie couldn’t move on with their lives until then. It was all he’d been able to think about today as he watched for Lacey and waited for this wedding to be over.
The pastor came in and took his place, followed by Greg and Royce, both in tuxes. Shep tried to discern if Greg was having second thoughts. The man looked a little nervous, but it could have been excitement. Royce, on the other hand, looked bored.
A movement from Greg caught Shep’s eye. He reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a tiny bottle. Shep watched Greg put eye drops into both eyes before returning the vial to his pocket.
Amanda might have been telling the truth about putting the eyedrops into the desserts that had made both Charlie and Greg sick. Or was it possible it had been Greg who’d made Charlie sick so she would think it had been Amanda? Why would he do that? Had he put the eye drops in his own mousse, too? Or had he only pretended to be sick that afternoon?
Shep heard his cell ping and realized he should have already turned it off. He eased it out and saw that he had an attachment from Paul Wagner with a note that read Patrick, right and Frank, left. He opened the attachment and felt shock ricochet through him as he stared at the photograph.
In the shot was Lindy or Lacey, who knew which? She stood between two men, both considerably older than the seventeen-year-old. She was grinning at the person taking the photo. The men had their arms around her, one looking at the photographer, the other looking at Lindy/Lacey.
Even in profile, Shep recognized the man who was staring at the teenage girl instead of the camera. His mind argued that it couldn’t be. Wagner had said the man’s name as Patrick.
Shep looked up in confusion. But there was no doubt. Greg Shafer had changed from that love-struck twentysomething-year-old staring longingly at Lindy/Lacey. But he hadn’t changed so much that Shep didn’t recognize him, no matter what name he went by now.
He stared at the photo, trying to make sense of the cold wave of fear that moved through him.
Not that it mattered. What did was that Greg Shafer had been in the same neighborhood as Charlie and Lindy/Lacey whenever he visited his father. Beyond that, Greg had known one of the twins.
A coincidence that Charlie was working for a man who’d been that close by at the worst time of her life? Not a chance. Was that what he’d been trying to tell her?
He wanted to stop the wedding, find Charlie, put an end to whatever this was. But as he pocketed his phone, the organist struck up the first chord of the wedding march. As everyone stood, a million thoughts raced through his head. He looked at all the people who had gathered for this wedding, and he tried to breathe.
What would stopping the wedding buy him? The best thing he could do would be to let Greg and Amanda get married and then find out the truth about Greg Shafer later. Could this possibly be what Greg had to tell Charlie? Hadn’t he told her something about them having a connection?
Did it have something to do with the murder? Did Greg know something he wanted to tell her? Charlie had heard the killer come into the house. Mulvane had found blood on the stairs the killer had left behind after he’d brutally killed Lindy.
Shep’s heart pounded. Perspiration popped out on his forehead even though it was cool in the room. The music was a dull roar in his ears. He stared at the groom, terrified of his thoughts. Greg’s gaze was on the door that had just opened at the end of the room.
Shep turned to see Charlie as she made her walk down the aisle. She took his breath away, making him forget all about Greg for a moment. All he could think about was what a beautiful bride she would make. The navy blue dress Amanda had chosen for her was tasteful and fit her perfectly. Her long curly hair was pulled up, loose dark tendrils framing her face.
She met his gaze and smiled, her brown eyes warming to liquid honey. He felt his heart lift and soar. He wanted this woman—for life. He wanted to marry her, have children with her, grow old with her. He found it hard to breathe and felt as if he would die if he lost her.
He had to swallow the lump that formed in his throat as she passed. As Shep turned to watch her approach the pastor, he caught Greg looking at her, his expression unreadable.
Was it longing? Or was it fear? Had Greg been there the night Lindy died? Was he afraid that Charlie had seen something? That she knew more than she’d told the police about that night? His hands fisted at his sides before he saw Greg’s attention shift to the young woman coming down the aisle. Tara, Charlie’s friend who’d had the baby just days ago.
Greg was looking past Tara to his bride.
Shep turned to see Amanda swishing toward the altar. She’d chosen a very voluminous dress that brushed both sides of the aisle. Static seemed to crackle and pop as she moved. But it was her expression that surprised him. There was something almost fragile-looking about her. Definitely vulnerable. Shep wondered if she had any idea what she was getting herself into.
He was only thankful that this wedding would soon be over. That earlier sense of foreboding he’d felt was now a thunder in his chest.
The preacher cleared his voice and everyone sat. Shep lowered himself into his chair. He realized he was holding his breath, terrified that something horrible was about to happen and he wouldn’t be able to stop it.
* * *
CHARLIE FELT IN a daze as she listened to Greg and Amanda share their vows. This was really happening. All the wild days since she’d first seen Lacey standing across the street from her apartment seemed to lead up to this moment. She felt as if she’d been caught in a whirlwind that had brought Shep back into her life.
Amanda had wanted her to pinch her because she couldn’t believe it was finally her wedding day. Charlie felt the same way. She’d never dreamed she could feel this way at just the sight of Shep. She was beyond happy. Beyond content. Beyond her wildest dreams.
With a start, she realized that she hadn’t checked her horoscope this morning. She never forgot, but this morning... She took a breath and let it out slowly. Maybe it was for the best. What if it had said something terrible was going to happen today?
She heard the pastor say, “If anyone has any reason why these two should not be wed in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace.”
The room fell silent. Charlie held her breath.
* * *
SHEP REALIZED IT was almost over. Well, the wedding at least. He was anxious to talk to Greg. Why had the man kept it a secret from Charlie that he had lived just down the street? That he had known her stepsister? And why had Greg wanted her on his team so badly? Maybe more important, what had Greg been so hell-bent to tell her?
His head ached, his pulse a roar in his ears, as he stared at Greg while the pastor pronounced the bride and groom husband and wife.
“You may kiss your bride,” the pastor said and the room broke into cheers and clapping as the guests rose to their feet. The woman in front of Shep wore a large hat, blocking his view of the front of the room.
And then he heard the gunshot.
It echoed through the room, followed by a cacophony of shouts and screams. He heard someone yell, “He’s shot! Greg’s shot!”
Shep began to push his way toward the front of the room, fighting to get through the wedding guests who were panicking like cattle during a stampede.
A second gunshot boomed, adding to the pandemonium. Shep finally got a glimpse of the pastor, white-faced, holding his heart and leaning against the far wall. The room was a blur
of movement and noise with raised panicked voices and screams.
In front of the pastor, Greg lay on the floor bleeding, Amanda in that huge wedding dress kneeling next to him. There was no sign of the best man—just as there was no sign of the maid of honor. But Tara was kneeling next to Amanda trying to stop Greg’s bleeding.
Shep’s gaze shot to a doorway off to his right in time to see a blond woman with a gun.
The gun was pointed at Charlie’s head as the woman dragged her down a hallway, around a corner and disappeared.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
LACEY’S FINGERS BIT into Charlie’s arm as she steered her away from the wedding, a gun literally to her head. Charlie had been so shocked at first that she hadn’t been able to move. No one had for those few seconds after Lacey came out of a side door and shot Greg.
Lacey had grabbed Charlie, fired a shot into the air and put the barrel of the gun to her temple. “Don’t think I’ll kill you?” Lacey had whispered as she backed Charlie out of the room. “Think again.”
It was that second shot that had sent everyone scurrying in a panic.
Except Shep. Charlie had seen him fighting to get to her through the terrified guests.
Lacey had forced her down a hallway, her grip painful but not as worrisome as the gun to her head. Charlie had no doubt that Lacey would kill her. She’d had no choice but to come along with her. Lacey had already shot Greg. Charlie didn’t want her shooting anyone else. Especially Shep.
“I don’t understand,” Charlie said as Lacey hurried her down yet another hallway. She had no idea what Lacey was planning to do with her. She assumed eventually she would kill her. All she could do was hope that before Lacey pulled the trigger again, there would be a chance to turn the tables. “Why would you shoot my boss?”
“Why do you think?” Lacey snapped. “Do you really not know why he hired you?” Apparently not. “He lived down the street from you. You didn’t recognize him?”
