Chapter 18
Asharp knock brought Audra awake. She sat up, then groaned as the muscles in her hip and thigh protested. Flopping back to the bed, she covered her face, waiting for the pain to subside.
Sam’s hand landed on her belly. The warmth seeped into her, offering some comfort. “You okay?”
“Yeah. I moved too fast.” Dropping her hands, she pointed toward the door. “Answer the door, would you?” To emphasize her words, whoever was on the other side knocked again.
He got up, treating her to a glimpse of his naked back. A tattoo decorated his left shoulder blade. She squinted, trying to get a better look. He hadn’t had that in Spain.
Before she could contemplate it further, he opened the door, letting in Dean and Max.
“We have a problem,” she heard Dean say a moment before he came into view.
The two men paused, taking in her position and the rumpled covers on both sides of the bed.
Max cleared his throat. “Sorry to barge in.”
“You’re fine,” Sam said. He picked up his discarded t-shirt. “We were still asleep. It’s early yet.”
Audra glanced at the clock. It was just after seven. “What’s up?” She pushed herself into a sitting position, but stayed in bed. She wasn’t comfortable parading around in front of Dean and Max in her short shorts and silky pajama tee. The outfit left little to the imagination.
“This.” Max took out his phone, then handed it to Sam.
“What is it?” Audra asked.
Sam groaned. “Trouble.” He came over and sat down next to her to show her the screen.
“Hit play,” Max said.
Sam touched the screen, and a newscaster began speaking.
“Police are looking for help identifying the body of a man found Sunday morning. He’s described as approximately forty years old, dark hair and blue eyes.” The newscast showed a composite sketch that looked exactly like Theo. “They’re also looking for this woman.” A grainy security image from the hospital appeared.
Audra let out a squeak and covered her mouth. “Shit.”
“Authorities believe she may have information about his death. Anyone with information on her whereabouts or on the man’s identity is urged to call Las Vegas PD.”
Sam stopped the video. “Damn.”
“Damn is right,” Dean said. “We saw that on the television downstairs while we were getting breakfast.”
“Dee was supposed to take care of my involvement.” Audra ran a hand through her hair, her mind working overtime. This was not good. And not only because it thrust her into the spotlight. If Liam didn’t suspect something, he would now. The entire Vegas branch of the Irish mafia could be on the lookout for her.
“She probably did until Theo showed up dead,” Sam said. He looked at Dean and Max. “We need to get out of this hotel and find a short-term rental.”
“Honestly, I think we need to get out of town.” Dean’s gaze shifted between him and Audra. “I know you want to stay because the investigation is here, but you can’t do anything when you can’t even go out in public.”
A thought struck Audra. “Let me see that.” She pointed at Max’s phone.
Sam handed it to her. “What are you doing?”
“I ditched my phones, but that doesn’t mean the numbers are inactive. I wonder if Dee called and left a message.” She dialed her burner phone’s number.
“Can we trust anything she says?” Sam asked.
“I don’t know, but in any case, it’ll be information we didn’t have.” She touched the speaker button, and they listened to the line roll straight to voicemail. She punched in her code, then the automated voice told her she had two messages.
“Ridley, where are you? I don’t know what you’re doing, but you better be on a plane.”
“She doesn’t sound pleased,” Max said.
“No.” Audra saved the message and the next one played.
“Obviously, you weren’t on a plane. I can’t reach Theo, either. I don’t know what’s going on, but you need to call me. There’s a lot riding on this operation and you need to debrief, so we can hopefully salvage some of it.”
Audra saved the message and hung up.
“She didn’t sound suspicious,” Sam said. “Just concerned. Are you sure we can’t trust her?”
“I don’t know who to trust. Someone knows who I am. Why else would they try to kill me?”
“If the ‘TS’ in Brogan’s ledger was Theo, then maybe he’s the only bad actor.” Dean crossed his arms.
“Possibly, but I’m not willing to put my life on the line and find out.”
“I agree.” Sam laid a hand on her leg. “We need to work this alone for now.”
“What about your other phone?” Max said.
“My other phone?” Audra frowned.
“The one you used to be Alexandra. Have you checked that voicemail?”
Her face heated. “No.”
“Do that. Maybe there will be something there.”
She ducked her head. The phone screen swam as she punched in the number to Alexandra’s phone. Some spy she was.
Sam squeezed her leg. She pressed her lips together, holding in the tears. She liked to pride herself on her independence and her ability to handle most any situation, but she didn’t know how she would have gotten through the last few days without him. He’d not only been a safe space where she could let her guard down, but he helped settle her emotions so she could stay focused.
Her voicemail picked up, and she typed in the code to access her messages. When the robotic voice told her she had seven, she groaned. “What do you want to bet they’re all angry ones from Liam?”
“Play them,” Sam said.
The first message was from Liam’s sister, asking her if she was free to go over more wedding details. So was the second one. The third one was from Siobhan, ordering her to call Hannah back.
“Are we sure she’s not the one who’s really in charge?” Max asked.
Audra let out a soft snort. “I’ve wondered that too. She has a lot of sway, but the final decisions come down to Liam. He usually does what she wants, though.”
The fourth message played. It was from Liam.
“Alexandra, where are you? You missed dinner. And with no phone call. That is unlike you. Please, call me back.”
“He actually sounds concerned,” Dean said.
He did, but that didn’t surprise her. She’d worked hard to endear herself to him and to earn his respect. It was how she’d kept him content with a sexless relationship.
The fifth message played. This one was again from Liam.
“Alexandra, I’m getting worried now. I went to your house, and you weren’t there. I even called your father. He hasn’t heard from you, either. Please call me.”
Audra grimaced. “I hope dear old dad called his SIS contact about that and they put some extra people on him.” Things could get dicey for Sean Burton if Liam thought he’d been double-crossed.
The sixth message began, also from Liam.
“You bitch. I saw the news. Who is he? Your lover? Is that why you always shut me down? Have you been fucking him behind my back? You better hope I don’t find you, or you’re going to end up just like him.”
“Whoa,” Max said.
Whoa was right. She’d never heard such vehemence in Liam’s voice.
“What was the timestamp on that one?” Sam asked.
Audra played it again, listening to the AI voice read the timestamp. It was from last night.
Sam cursed. “We definitely need to get out of this hotel. The news must have aired that story yesterday, too, and we didn’t see it.”
“There’s one more message,” Audra said. “Let’s listen to it, then we can make a plan.” She hit the key to play it.
“Alexandra? It’s Donny. Look, I don’t know where you are or what you’ve done, but you need to call Liam and explain. I’m sure it’s not what he’s thinking. I know you love him. Please call him. Even if you don’t want to come back, please call. He’s on the warpath, and I’m afraid someone’s going to get hurt.” The message ended.
“Who’s Donny?” Dean asked.
“His number two.”
“Is it normal for him to call you?” Sam asked.
Audra lifted a shoulder. “He has before. Usually it’s at Liam’s request. But that message—something like that is a first.”
The three men looked at each other. Audra’s gaze bounced between them. “What?”
Sam stared at his friends for a moment longer, then looked at her. “We definitely need to leave. It sounds like Brogan doesn’t know who you are, but he’s still angry. Spurned lover angry. That makes him doubly dangerous.”
She tipped her head as a thought occurred to her. “If he doesn’t know who I really am, and he doesn’t know where I am and wasn’t the one who tried to kill me, then who did?”
“I think we need to dig deeper into your handler,” Max said. “The answers lie with him.”
“I agree. What’s the plan in the meantime? Where do we go? Because I can’t stay in Las Vegas.” That was now abundantly clear. Big city or not, she couldn’t risk it. She glanced around the room at all three men.
“Maybe you should listen to your boss,” Sam said, a contemplative expression settling on his face.
She frowned, tipping her head again, assessing his look. “What do you mean?”
“Brogan doesn’t know who you are. He doesn’t know who Theo is. The Irish mafia didn’t try to kill you. That means it’s someone inside your operation.”
“Possibly, but that encompasses more than just SIS officers. This is a joint investigation.”
“I know. And I also heard your boss’s voice on those messages. She sounded genuinely concerned. It could be she’s just a really great actress. But it could be that she’s not involved. We need to determine that, because we need an ally from within your agency that we can trust.”
Audra chewed on her bottom lip. “Going to London would mean we could sus her out.”
“Exactly.”
“But how do we get there? I mean, I have my passport, but my face is all over the news.”
A cheeky smile slid over Sam’s face. He glanced at Dean and Max.
Max crossed his arms, grinning. “We might know a guy.”