Deadly Desire (Carrington-Hill Investigations Book 2) (14 page)

He leaned against the open door of the pool house and watched as she repacked her suitcase. He moved to the bed and plopped down. “Sara, what is
Plan B?”

“Plan B is taking me off your
immediate detail. They’ve bought the bait and now I’m more of a liability than anything else. We both knew that the threat might turn in my direction, and you’re in more danger if I stay. They’ll still come after me because I’ll make sure that it’s evident we’re still a couple; I’m not backing down. I’m going to call them out, but I can’t be distracted for even a second and let’s face it Collin… you’re a distraction. The only other option is to put you in a safe house and I’ll stay here and deal with the threat. Either way, I need you out of the picture.”

“How long are we talking?”

Sara shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess until we find Maureen and catch your stalker. They’ll both try to take me out of the equation before coming back for you.”

Collin propped himself up with his elbow as he lay back on the bed and mulled over how he might talk her into staying. “How are we going to play this? You’re my girlfriend, pretend or not, and th
e reporters are going to want answers for your absence. It’s not like I can show up at the charity functions without you. Let me rephrase that… I won’t show up at the charity functions without you.”

Sara zipped up her suitcase and did one more walk
-through of the room and adjoining bathroom before she returned and sat next to him. “Yes, you will.”

Collin sat up
, took her hand and kissed her palm. “Don’t go.”

Sara slid her fingers from his and stood. She clicked the comm in her ear. “10-4.”

“Garrett just arrived to replace me. Collin, you won’t be helping anyone if you’re dead. Maureen might not kill you, but one wrong word to your stalker, and she could turn on you. You need to be smart about this.” She cupped his cheek. “Please stay safe.”

He stood and was about to rebuff her remark before she leaned up on her toes and kissed him. She kissed him like she’d never see him again, a final good-bye kiss, sweet and tender, yet heated and sincere all at the same time. A tear trickled down her cheek as she picked up her bag and
, without another word, left him standing in the pool house.

Oh no, this wo
uldn’t work at all. By the time he realized what she’d just done and he’d run up to the main house, she was gone. 

Chapter 15

Sara arrived back at her house to find Lexi and Catherine waiting on her porch. Three peas in a pod if you didn’t count for the difference
s in their love lives. She should have known that they’d show up with a gallon of her favorite ice cream and margarita mix. Their tradition of comforting each other wasn’t lost on her, and she did need comforting. She wasn’t as worried about the threats to her life as she was the man she’d left behind. The man that was better off without her. So many unsaid conversations they needed to have. She reminded herself it was for the best. Being away from him might help to keep him safe, no matter how much she hated just picking up and leaving when things between them weren’t settled.

“Looks like you’re stuck with us until this is all over.”

Catherine grabbed the bag out of Sara’s trunk as Lexi threw her arm around Sara’s shoulder and steered her up the steps to her empty, lonely house. “You know this isn’t necessary.”

Catherine patted her on the back. “Sure it is. We’re not going to let any deranged women take a potshot at you. We’ll always have your back, just like you would for us.”

Lexi followed into the house behind Sara. “Besides, it’s our duty as your best friends…” She glanced over her shoulder at Catherine. “Speaking of which…I think it’s time for a visit to the beach house. Nothing will give you a better prospective like the salt water, sand, and sun.”

Sara smiled and knew it didn’t reach her eyes.
It felt like there was a big gaping hole in her chest where her heart normally sat. The uncertainty of the outcome weighed heavy on her shoulders. Her mind was scattered, but she was determined. Her friends were trying to take her out of the danger just like she’d done with Collin and she appreciated that… but it wasn’t going to change a thing.

“I’m sure you can last a week without Mr. God’s
-gift-to-women, right?” Catherine asked as she set the bag down.

Sara
felt the heat travel up to her cheeks just thinking about Collin and their last night together. They’d had sex more than any one couple should be allowed.

Lexi gasped and covered her mouth. “Oh no
, you didn’t.” She turned to Catherine. “She’s been holding out on us.” Lexi pointed to Sara. “She slept with the client.”

Catherine winked. “Was he good?”

Sara waved her hand as she walked to the fridge and pulled out a soda. “Oh, give me a break, will ya? At least I didn’t marry him. Even if you did have a great reason, I’m still not sure I could have done that.”

Catherine threw her head back and laughed. It wasn’t too long ago that Lexi had
staged a real marriage to Trip to figure out who was behind his corporate embezzlement and who the culprit was who had attempted to murder Catherine when she was working undercover. During the marriage, no matter how much of a sham it was originally, feelings developed, love bloomed and the upcoming wedding was going to be real in less than a month. 

“Sure you would have. Lexi just beat you to the punch
, and who can blame her? Have you seen how hot her billionaire husband is? He’s one hunk of a fine specimen.”

Lexi had the grace to blush
, even as they all plopped down on the couches in Sara’s living room. “I appreciate it, guys, but this isn’t necessary. I’m sure that Marco has a team watching me, and you two have lives to get back to.”

After arguing for two hours, Sara walked them both to the door and waved as the
y pulled away. Her gaze went to the SUV parked across the street. One of Marco’s teams, she was sure.

Sara checked
all of her windows, locked the door, set the alarm, and knowing the team was inconspicuously stationed around the perimeter of her house, she curled up on the sofa with a gun under the cushion and a book she’d been dying to read. She normally longed for the quietness of her house, but not tonight. Her thoughts were on Collin.

Her cell phone rang
, and she was glad for the reprieve from the silence. She went to her dining room table and flipped it open. “Johnson.”

“He’s been shot
,” Marco said matter-of-factly.

“Excuse me
?” Her heart stuttered, her legs turned to jelly, and she sagged against her dining room table. No, no, no, she’d left Collin to keep him safe. This wasn’t happening; this wasn’t how it was all supposed to go down. She was grabbing her keys from her purse and had almost made it to the door before Marco elaborated.

“Sanchez, the blogger
, has been shot but, since it wasn’t through the heart like the stalker’s other victims, I’m thinking it was Maureen that came for him.”

Her heartbeat started to return to normal
. Just the mere thought of something happening to Collin had her head spinning. Maybe leaving him hadn’t been such a good idea after all. At least she would have been extra eyes to keep him safe. “Is he dead?”

“No, but he is unconscious
, and based on the untouched breakfast he left on the stove, I’m betting he was shot early this morning. We’re lucky he didn’t bleed out. Sara…” The tone of Marco’s voice when said her first name told her she wasn’t going to like what was coming next.

So she cut him off. “No, I’m not running
; I’m not hiding, and I’m damn sure not going on vacation
or
staying with you. What else do you have?”

“How do you want to play this?”

“Let’s narrow the stalker down. What time did Sanchez upload the picture of Maureen being arrested onto the computer?”

“Hang on a second.” Sara
heard the clicking of the keyboard. “It looks like he downloaded the picture at seven a.m., but he uploaded the post at nine a.m.”

Sara plopped down in her recliner. “Why did he wait so long to post it?” Her mind raced with possible scenarios. She rushed to the table and flipped open the file
with the pictures that Marco had given her earlier at Collin’s house. The time stamp on the back read seven-thirty.”

Sara bit her lip. “Okay
, so we can narrow down who knew about the arrest. The picture wasn’t posted until after Sanchez was shot, so his stalker had to have been someone who knew what was going on even before the picture went live. If I had to guess, the stalker came back and shot Sanchez, trying to pin it on Maureen, although I’m not sure why since the stalker was the one who freed her.”

The line went silent. “You think it was an inside job?”

“I think it was either someone he knew or someone who knew what was going on. That narrows it down to Collin, everyone at his house, our team, and anyone I would have seen at the police department. We’re going to need background checks on everyone, including the criminals at the station that day. Also cross-reference those names with the roster from the cancer benefit. That should really narrow down our list and give us a good start on suspects.”

“It’s
going to take a while to tap into their database and run the checks. How do you want to play this in the mean time?”

“The bitches want me, so let’s send
them both a message.”

Marco chuckled. “What do you have in mind, luv?”

A knock sounded on her door. A knock she hadn’t been expected. “Someone’s at the door. Let me call you back.”

“Sara… be careful.”

She flipped her phone closed, moved to the foyer on silent feet, pulled the drawer open, and grabbed the Berretta that she had stashed on the underside of the drawer. She stood on her tiptoes and glanced through the peephole.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” She hit the buttons on the security code, flipped the lock
, and pulled the door open with a jerk. “What the hell are you doing here? Do you have a death wish?”

“He doesn’t deserve this
, and neither do you. Tell me what I can do to help.” Collin’s assistant, Regina, barged in with a black backpack thrown over her shoulder. “The reason Collin hired me is because of my expertise at keeping track of not only his schedule but the small details. I think I might have something to help you track down where Maureen might be holed up.”

That gut feeling of fight or flight never registered with Sara
. She didn’t view Regina as a threat, although with a bag that hadn’t been checked, she probably should have. “What’s in the bag?”

Regina unzipped it and pulled out a one
-inch binder and handed it to Sara. “A copy of every deal that Maureen has made that included Collin, along with a list of all of her properties and known acquaintances.” Regina dropped the bag by the table and walked into the kitchen, only returning a few minutes later with two coffee mugs in her hand. “Ms. Johnson, I see a lot, I know a lot, and I can help you. Maureen has her own personal assistant, and we’re friends. If I was a betting woman, I would bet money that she doesn’t return to any of her properties, but she’ll use what she knows. And that would point to Collin’s rarely used, untouched residential properties. The police wouldn’t be smart enough to look at those places.”

Sara took the mug that Regina handed her and moved to the dining room table where she could spread out the file. Regina grabbed her laptop from the bag and booted it
. Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she bit her lip with a determination Sara had only ever seen in herself and her friends. This woman meant business, and she might be the best person to help Carrington-Hill track down Maureen.

A few hours went by and two pots of coffee
vanished. Sara was no closer to figuring out where Maureen might be hiding than before Regina showed up. Regina was seated at the end of the table, clicking away on the keyboard, trying to figure out where Maureen might be holed up. She stopped suddenly and gasped. “The server just went down.” She started clicking furiously on the keyboard before she leaned back in her chair and looked up at Sara. “I don’t understand.”

Sara stood and grabbed her keys while hunched over the table. She ran her fingertip down the list of properties associated with Collin but couldn’t find what she was looking for. “What would you do to hurt the man who turned on you?”

Regina shrugged. “Hurt him where it counts, I guess.”

Sara grinned like a child that
had found her favorite doll. “Exactly. I assume he doesn’t keep his server on his property.”

Regina rounded the table and pointed to an address in the business district about ten minutes away. “He
, along with several other techies, keeps them secure at Global Tech, but there is no way she could have gotten past the security they keep onsite. They wouldn’t have even let her in without a clearance badge. And they only give those to the people that store onsite.”

Sara tore the address from the binder. “Do you have a badge?”  

“Well, yes. Mr. Martin gave me a badge in the event I ever needed to go there on his behalf. You know in case something happened when he was out of town and the situation couldn’t wait for him to get back.”

“
I”ll bet he gave Maureen one too. I need your badge.”

Regina reached into her purse
, opened her wallet, and pulled out the badge, handing it to Sara. For the first time since returning home, Sara held a sliver of hope that she could take at least one of the psychos out of the equation. Sara grabbed her keys, her Beretta, and then Regina’s arm, and escorted her to the door and one of the security details SUV across the street. She pulled open the back passenger door and helped Regina inside. Megan and Dixon, another Carrington-Hill investigator, were in the front seats. “Make sure she gets back to Mr. Martin’s residence in one piece. I’ve got a lead on Maureen.”

Sara jogged over to her SUV and hopped inside. The butterflies in her stomach summersaulted the closer she drove toward Global Tech
. This was the break she needed. Now if only she could catch Maureen on the property, then it would really be time to celebrate. Sara was stopped at a red light when she spotted Maureen in a red four-door sedan taking a right onto the street in front of Sara.
Finally, the stars have aligned, and it’s my lucky day.
When the light changed, Sara gunned it, but kept enough distance not to let on that Maureen had a tail. She hit the Bluetooth in her car and waited for Marco to pick up.

“You better have a good reason for sending your detail back to Collin’s house. Where the hell are you, Sara?”

“I’m on her six.”

“Who’s the t
arget, and where are you?”

“I don’t have time to explain
. Pull up the GPS on my vehicle and send a team to tail me. Maureen is in a red four-door sedan in front of me; I’m tailing her, hoping that she’ll lead me right back to the stalker.”

“How the hell did you find her?”

Sara shrugged but kept her gaze on the red car, two cars ahead of her. “I had help, and if I’d waited one more second to check it out, I would have missed her turning out of the entrance of Global Tech.”

“I’ll call the
sheriff and have him and his deputies meet us there.”

“No!” Sara screamed into the speaker. “I want her handed over to the FBI for holding until we at least clear the staff at the
sheriff’s department. I don’t want her to miraculously escape again.”